Scarabs

The desert is the least hospitable place in the world for animal life. Except for a few hardy shrubs and cactuses, the sparse vegetation that dots the dry wastes can provide little sustenance for even the occasional lizard. However, there is a creature that not only survives but thrives in these less-than-hospitable conditions. Giant beetles roam the trackless sands of the desert wasteland. Called "giant scarabs" or simply scarabs, these are no ordinary insects — the smallest are a foot long, and they can grow to nearly three feet in length.

Scarabs will eat just about anything. Bushes, shrubs, cactuses — anything that manages to grow in the bone-dry ground is food to these ravenous insects. There is a possibility that scarabs are part carnivore, but this side of their appetite reveals itself only in extreme circumstances. Among other things, scarabs also have the ability to digest normally undigestible materials such as metal and wiring. A few pilots unfortunate enough to crash-land in certain desert regions will leave their planes to find help, and return hours later to witness a dozen scarabs covering their craft like ticks on a dog, devouring hull panels and chewing on pipes.

Omnivores in the truest sense of the word, giant scarabs find even the tough hide of an airplane fuselage quite digestible.

Long ago in ancient times, these hideous bugs were highly esteemed by the inhabitants of the city of Tinabula. To the Tinabulans, the scarab supposedly embodied some sort of deity that was associated with music and harmonics. Treated as gods, the scarabs were portrayed in many different forms of Tinabulian art and aesthetics. Scarab designs were reflected in almost all Tinabula's architecture, including the housing of the city’s "master bell."

With the destruction of Tinabula the scarabs have resumed their ordinary lifestyle as wanderers of the desert. Being scavengers, they do not tend to remain in one area for too long a time, and when available food sources are depleted, they simply move on in search of others. Scarabs have occasionally been sighted by traveling caravans, who report huge multitudes of the beetles traversing the wastes. It is not known whether the beetles have a seasonal migration route or not.

The most prominent appearance of the dreaded scarabs was an army of the bugs commanded by fanatic archeologist Thaddeus E. Klang. Launched from catapults or marching on foot by the dozens, these hideous insects seemed to obey Klang's every command. His ability to order the beetles indicates the slight possibility of domestication. One of his pets was sent into the city of Ghafia to deliver a ransom note to the chief of police — the creature is now in captivity, and entomologists are studying it in the hopes of learning more about the beetles and their habits.

 

SCARABS
Type: Desert scavenger insect DEXTERITY 2D PERCEPTION 1D Search: tracking desert 6D, sneak: desert 6D STRENGTH 3D Climb/jumping 6D Special Abilities: Jumping: Scarabs can leap distances of up to 100 feet, doing 5D stun damage to any character they hit. Mandibles: STR+1D damage Metal eaters: Scarabs can chew and digest metals such as an aircraft fuselage. Move: 8 Size: 3 feet