Upcir
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Desert |
| Frequency | Very Rare |
| Organization | None |
| Activity Cycle | Continuous |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Intelligence | Genius (17-18) |
| Treasure | G |
| Alignment | Neutral Evil |
| No. Appearing | 1-2 |
| Armour Class | -9 |
| Movement | 6 |
| Hit Dice | 5 |
| THAC0 | 10 |
| No. of Attacks | Bite |
| Damage/Attack | 1d12 + Poison |
| Special Attacks | See Below |
| Special Defenses | +1 weapon or better to hit; See Below |
| Magic Resistance | 75 % |
| Size | S (3 feet long) |
| Psionic Ability | Immune to Psionics |
| XP Value | 10,000 |
Description
Appearance
Upcir resemble giant jet black beetles. They are related to certain other, similar, monsters. Foreclaws with prehensile abilities allow them to use small items (such as rings).
The origin of these powerful monsters is not known, but each has memories that go back thousands of years. They can communicate by telepathy with any creature of low or higher intelligence.
These creatures can walk on walls and ceilings easily at 6" speed. They are never surprised.
Combat
In combat, this monster can use its mandibles, and any creature bitten must save vs. poison or die instantly. It is a skillful fighter due to centuries of experience.
However, against several opponents or when otherwise appropriate the monster prefers to attack from above, using its special abilities.
Breath Weapon: It has a nonmagical breath weapon: once per day, it can breathe a 30' diameter cloud of poison (save vs. breath or die. The colorless gas also blinds victims for at least one round, permanently 20% of the time. The gas will quickly degrade.)
It can use the following, up to one per round at will:
- Detect (good, magic, or invisibility), Dispel magic, Continual (light or darkness), - Once per day
- Comprehend languages, Identify, Animate dead, Unseen servant, - Once per turn
- Teleport (no error, to a place on any plane), - Once per day
- Suggestion, Disintegrate, - Four times per day
- Cone of sleep (50' long by 20' wide, save vs. spell or sleep for 2d6 turns)
These abilities are performed at the 20th level of magic use.
This monster has a hard exoskeleton, giving it a low AC. It can only be hit by magical weapons. In addition, any inanimate weapon that is about to cause damage to it has a 1 in 2 chance of being teleported to a random location on the Astral plane before doing so. Any creature about to directly strike it for damage has a 1 in 2 chance of instead being subject to a maze effect.
It is immune to the following attack forms: any psionic attack, mind affecting magic, stunning, poison or gas, death magic, energy drain, petrification, polymorph, suffocation or drowning, disease, acid, cold, electricity, fire, and magic missile spells of any type. It has saving throws of 5 in all categories. It automatically feather falls (as ring).
Habitat / Society
Each Upcir typically divides its time between several lairs in various planes, which can be nearly anywhere. Such lairs typically have furniture for the monster, treasure including rare books, and zombies.
It is not unusual for these monsters to engage in trade with certain evil humans or similar creatures, which also keeps them informed about current events. Note that they have considerable financial resources. They are sometimes found travelling, apparently due to curiosity.
They are opposed to the Blood War on the Lower Planes, seeing it as a waste of potentially valuable resources.
Ecology
Lairs are always near a fresh meat supply. They can eat meat of any type, but the average meal will be a local animal. They do not sleep, and will heal 1-3 hit points per day even if active.