Beachquill (3.5e Creature)
What seemed to be a field of purple glass-like plants suddenly launches into the air, dozens of projectile creatures aiming to jam their spiked proboscises into you.
| Beachquill | |
|---|---|
| Size/Type: | Tiny Vermin |
| Hit Dice: | 1d8+1 (4 hp) |
| Initiative: | +5 |
| Speed: | 5 ft. (1 square) |
| Armor Class: | 13 (+2 Size, +1 Dex), touch 13, flat-footed 12 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +0/-11 (-3 when attached) |
| Attack: | +4 melee Stab (1d3-4 plus poison) |
| Full Attack: | +4 melee Stab (1d3-4 plus poison) |
| Space/Reach: | 1 ft./1 ft. |
| Special Attacks: | Attach, Poison, Spring, Cumulative Poison |
| Special Qualities: | Blindsight 60 ft, Tremorsense, Vermin Traits |
| Saves: | Fort +3, Ref +1, Will -1 |
| Abilities: | Str 1, Dex 12, Con 12, Int —, Wis 8, Cha 4 |
| Skills: | Hide + 9 Jump + 13 Listen +4 |
| Feats: | Improved InitiativeB, Weapon FinesseB, Weapon Focus (Stab) |
| Environment: | Any land or underground. |
| Organization: | Solitary, Pair, Cluster (4-20), Garden (21-1000) |
| Challenge Rating: | 2 |
| Treasure: | None |
| Alignment: | Always neutral |
| Advancement: | — |
| Level Adjustment: | — |
Short-range attack hunters, poison-tipped beach quills often strike in colonies. Individually among the smallest animals on Darwin IV, in packs they can fell even the largest animals on the planet. Each beach quill can propel itself with enormous velocity over short distances by means of a folded, muscular "foot" that snaps the animal through the concealing undergrowth toward its target. Beach quills stab into their prey, each of the animals' quills delivering a dose of neurotoxin.
Combat
Due to their small size and poor ability to deal damage in melee, beachquills prefer to strike from ambush, catching prey flat-footed and stabbing into it, bringing it down with multiple doses of poison.
Spring (Ex): As a full round action, a beachquill can launch itself into the air. This is considered as a ranged touch attack with a +6 attack bonus that deals 1d4 damage and has a range of 30 ft. A successful attack which equals or exceeds the target's normal AC also means the beachquill has attached itself (see below.)
Attach (Ex): A beachquill that has successfully attached itself to an opponent automatically dealing 1d3 damage and poison each round as it burrows into the tissue. Once attached, the beachquill is effectively grappling its prey. The beachquill loses its Dexterity bonus to AC and has an AC of 12. Adhesive secretions give it an +8 racial bonus on grapple checks (already figured into the Base Attack/Grapple entry above).
An attached beachquill can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself. To remove an attached beachquill through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the beachquill. However, tearing the beachquill loose deals another 1d3 damage.
Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 15, initial and secondary 1d6 Strength damage. DC is consitution-based.
Cumulative Poison (Ex): A beachquill's poison potency increases with higher quantities. For each round and for each beachquill that has exposed a target to poison, the DC of the fortitude save to resist the poison increases by +1.
Blindsight (Ex): A beachquill has blindsight out to 60 feet.
Tremorsense (Ex): A beachquill can immediately pinpoint the location of any creature touching the ground within 60 feet of it.
Mindless (Ex): A Beachquill, has no intelligence score, granting it immunity to all mind-affects (Charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects.)
Skills
A beachquill gains a +10 racial bonus on Jump checks, and uses its dexterity modifier instead of strength.
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