SJCC: Space Scorpion

Space Scorpion
Based on the pterygotus.

Climate/Terrain: Any space
Frequency: Rare
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Animal (1)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1

Armor Class: 3
Movement: 15
Hit Dice: 3+3
THAC0: 15
No. of Attacks: 3
Damage/Attack: 1d6+2/1d6+2/1d2
Special Attacks: Poison
Special Defenses: Bonus vs. respiratory attacks
Magic Resistance: Standard
Size: M (6-8' long)
Morale: Average (10)
XP Value: 420

Space scorpions are insect-like creatures of wildspace. Its body is
comprised of a head and thorax. The head is dominated by large compound
eyes. These eyes can see laterally and vertically, giving the creature a
good field of vision. Protruding from the large head are 6 pairs of limbs.
The first pair juts from the front of the head and end in vicious pincers.
These pincers have spikes at the ends that allow them to pierce armor. The
inside edge of the pincers are lined with spiky teeth that cause jagged,
penetrating wounds. The next four pairs of limbs are used as legs for
walking about and grasping on to asteroids, ships, and other objects. The
final pair of limbs are paddle-like and are used to help steer the space
scorpion. The thorax comprises two-thirds of the creature's length and is
segmented. The thorax ends in a spiny tail. The entire body of the sea
scorpion is encased in a hard carapace.

Combat: The space scorpion will attempt to grasp its prey with both pincers.
These pincers cause 1d6+2 points of damage. If the space scorpion scores +3
over the roll needed to hit, it has grasped its victim. Once it has grasped
its victim, the scorpion will not let go, instead twisting its pincers to
shred the victim's flesh. The victim will automatically take damage each
round until they can break free. The victim must win a Strength contest
versus the scorpion to break free. The victim and the scorpion each make a
strength roll; if the victim rolls a higher success value than the scorpion,
they break free. The scorpion has STR 15 for this roll. The victim may make
this roll only once per round and it is the only action they may attempt
during that round.

The spiny tail contains a stinger. The space scorpion may arch its body over
or under its head to strike at opponents. The stinger causes 1d3 points of
damage and the victim must save vs. poison. After a failed save, the victim
will lose 2 points of Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution each round. If
the victim's Strength or Dexterity reaches 0, they become paralyzed. When
the victim's Constitution reaches 0, they are dead. Victims with a bonus on
their save due to high Constitution or natural resistance (such as dwarves),
but not magical aid, lose only 1 point of Constitution per round. Any hit
points gained due to high Constitution are also lost as Constitution is
drained away. [For creatures without Attributes, assume 1 hit die drained
each
round. Add one hit die for this purpose only for creatures of Medium size, 2
for Large, 4 for Huge, and 6 for Gargantuan.] Space scorpions are not immune
to their own poison.

Opponents killed by a space scorpion will be dragged away to its lair to be
cut up and eaten. Space scorpions will not attack large or on-guard
opponents unless very hungry. They tend to attack from ambush and go for
weaker prey. If reduced to one-third of its hit points, a space scorpion
will attempt to flee unless very hungry or cornered. In these cases it will
fight to the death.

Habitat/Society: The space scorpion lives within debris fields, asteroid
belts, and clusters of planetoids. It lairs within caves and crevices on
these rocky surfaces. The scorpion requires air to live, but it has a very
high tolerance level. This allows it to exist in fouled or low oxygen
atmospheres. As a result, the space scorpion has a +4 bonus to saves
involving respiration. Space scorpions will avoid planets larger than size A
as they cannot escape these gravity fields. They are very rare, but not
unknown on these large planets. In these cases, space scorpions will be foun
d in rocky areas that are cool and dry. Space scorpions rarely stray far
from their lairs and are usually encountered by those exploring asteroids.

Ecology: The scorpion tends to hunt for the crustacean- and hard shelled
fish-like dev that frequent asteroids. However, it is not picky and will eat
anything. Space scorpions are frequently the largest predators in an area,
becoming so numerous that fights between them for territory become common.
In these areas, the scorpion is a danger to spacers as the creatures will be
extremely aggressive as they search for food. In other zones of wildspace,
space scorpions must be wary of competing predators. They are sometimes
attacked by dragondev or massive tylosaurs. In addition, some varieties of
Beholder hunt these creatures. They find space scorpion flesh tasty (spacers
say it is vile) and also use specially treated pincer limbs for mouthpick
tools.

Space scorpion poison loses some of its efficacy once the creature is dead.
However, it has been successfully used to create the poison Euryptic, which
causes weakness (-2 penalty to STR, DEX, CON) for 1d6+2 hours. This poison
is cumulative, so multiple doses will result in increased weakness or even
death. The poison is expensive (500 gp/dose) and must be administered into
the bloodstream (i.e. insinuitive only). The antidote to Euryptic provides
complete relief from any number of doses for 12 hours, but costs 300gp/dose.
An antidote for space scorpion poison is also available for a mere
250gp/dose.


John McCloud
jmccloud@????????.???.net