Cave Moray
The creature is a brownish-gray, slug-like creature about 5 feet long and 1 foot thick. Its eyes are dark brown and bulbous.
Cave Moray (CR 2)
Medium Magical BeastAlignment: Neutral
Initiative: +3
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, Low-Light Vision, Tremorsense 60 feet; Perception +9
Speed: 20 feet
Space: 5 feet
Defense
Armor Class: 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 natural)Hit Points: 19 (3d10+3)
Saving Throws: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +2
Offense
Melee: bite +5 (2d6+3)Reach: 5 feet
Special Attacks: ambush, recoil attack
Statistics
| Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 (+2) | 17 (+3) | 13 (+1) | 2 (-4) | 13 (+1) | 10 (+0) |
CMB +5
CMD 18
Feats: Skill Focus (Perception, Stealth)
Skills: Perception +9, Stealth +10 (+14 in rocky or stony areas)
- Racial Modifiers: +4 Stealth in rocky or stony areas
Special Abilities
Ambush (Ex)
If a cave moray surprises its opponent, it gains a +4 circumstance bonus to its attack roll for that round.Recoil Attack (Ex)
A cave moray lunges out of its cyst up to 5 feet to strike at passing opponents or prey. This attack is swift enough to attack running or flying creatures. A cave moray's recoil attack is always considered a charge attack since it recoils into its cyst after an attack to lunge at its opponent again.Ecology
Environment: UndergroundOrganization: cluster (4-6) or colony (7-16)
Treasure: none
Cave morays make their lairs underground in abandoned mines, dungeons, or natural occurring caves, usually near corridors, hallways or other areas of high traffic. Its lair is a burrow, just large enough for its body dug into the walls. Only one cave moray inhabits each burrow.
A typical cave moray cluster contains an equal number of males and females, while a colony is often contains more females than males. Even so, the male cave moray dominates the colony. Mating occurs in the warmer months of the year with a gestation period of about 6 months. Young are born live and depend completely on their mother for nourishment and food until they are about 8 months old.
A cave moray is a carnivore and its diet consists of whatever it can kill. Prey is devoured immediately and never stored or saved for later. A typical adult cave moray can go a month or more without eating. A cave moray's favored tactic is to lie in wait in its cyst-like burrow in the wall and attack whenever prey passes nearby. Two or more cave morays usually strike in unison, one from each side of a passage. After an attack, a cave moray recoils into its cyst to strike again.
Credit The Cave Moray originally appeared in the First Edition module S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (© TSR/Wizards of the Coast, 1982) and later in the First Edition Monster Manual II (© TSR/Wizards of the Coast, 1983) and is used by permission. Cave morays made their first appearance in d20 in the Necromancer Games module Tomb of Abysthor by Clark Peterson (©2001, Clark Peterson, Necromancer Games, Inc.).
Copyright Notice Authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based on original material by Gary Gygax.
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