Wednesday 13 April 2011

Do the skrabs scrabble?

The response to the nekrobra was encouraging so here's a second creature of blue Hogintu, or the Cerulean Sphere as it will now be known thanks to the ever-inventive Justin S. Davis.

I've statted this one using Humanspace Empires too because I like the approach, but it would suit any generic sci-fi or fantasy setting, and is easily converted to other OSR systems.


Hush! Do the skrabs scrabble?

The skrab is a small blue insectoid creature apparently unique to Hogintu, and swarms wherever the cobalt sands drift, even deep within the ruins. It is an aggressive creature with a lightly-armoured, bulbous body and scurries rapidly on a dozen spindly legs, the forward three of which are needle-like and used for skewering its prey. A swarm brings down larger victims through the individuals attaching themselves and using their weight to topple and pin, all the while stabbing at vulnerable points until the victim succumbs.

The creature is of relatively recent provenance and in the short time since its appearance skrab populations have fluctuated dramatically for no clear reason. The skrab is seen as a mixed blessing, for when the skrabs are scrabbling, the nekrobra is rare...


Skrab

No. Enc.: 1D6+6
Alignment: Neutral
Move: 150' (50')
Armour Class: 6
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: 1
Damage: 1D6 + pinning
Morale: 12

A skrab making a successful attack will also attach itself to the victim, who must then pass a force test or be brought to the ground. At the Referee's discretion, larger potential victims may require multiple skrabs to achieve this. If additional skrabs are in combat with the victim, all but one will now pile on. The victim has its armour class increased by one point for each multiple attached and the combat continues as normal, with all participants fighting. The victim may attempt to free itself in each subsequent round by making one force test per multiple; if any are failed, the victim remains pinned by all.
_

4 comments:

Kathy said...

Hi there,
Thanks for checking out my blog and for the 'follow'! So glad to have you with me!!! I’m still new to blogging and really appreciate any new followers.
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netherwerks said...

Skrabs are a wonderful addition to the Humanspace Bestiary...

Needles said...

Skrabs are stolen to bedevil my players! Thank you

Porky said...

My pleasure, in every case.

The only issue with the skrabs as is, and the nekrobra too, is their being so linked to Hogintu. Most obviously the nekrobra could make a prize for powerful rogues or collectors and be trapped and shipped, or bred offworld, with the adventurers perhaps being involved in the process. Need to think about the skrabs though...