Giant Mantis (5e Creature)
Giant Mantis
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Large beast, unaligned Armor Class 15 (natural armour)
Skills Perception +6, Stealth +6 Ambusher. In the first round of combat, the mantis has advantage on attack rolls against any creature it surprised. Surprise Attack. If the mantis surprises a creature and hits it with an attack during the first round of combat, the target takes an extra 10 (3d6) damage from the attack. ACTIONSMultiattack. The mantis makes two attacks: one with its claws and one with its bite. Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 14). The mantis can only grapple one creature at a time. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature grappled by the mantis. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage.
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Fearsome predatory insects, giant mantises—sometimes called giant praying mantises for the way they keep their front limbs tucked under their heads as they wait for food—hunt from ambush, taking prey by surprise and tearing it to pieces with its vicious mouthparts. In some cultures, warriors ride these beasts into battle, though the opportunistic mantis doesn't hesitate to grab an easy meal, preying just as often on its rider or its rider's allies as it does its rider's enemies. Others view giant mantises as heralds of death with supernatural powers, such as the ability to sense the souls of the living or to become invisible. These myths are exactly so, but the fear ascribed to the giant mantis causes many warriors to wear armour stylised to look like the terrifying insect, or wield weapons made to look like its vicious bladed forelimbs. |
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