Ravager Beetle

This creature is covered in a jet black carapace with whitish markings crisscrossing its back and gold-tinted wing covers.

Ravager Beetle (CR 2)

Medium Vermin
Alignment: Neutral
Initiative: +0
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, Tremorsense 60 feet; Perception +0

Speed: 30 feet, Fly 20 feet (poor)
Space: 5 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 19, touch 10, flat-footed 19 (+9 natural)
Hit Points: 26 (4d8+8)
Saving Throws: Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +1
Immunity: mind-affecting effects

Offense

Melee: bite +6 (1d8+4 plus poison and Grab)
Reach: 5 feet

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
16 (+3)	10 (+0)	14 (+2)	-	10 (+0)	6 (-2)

Base Attack Bonus: +3
CMB +6
CMD 16 (24 vs. Trip)

Feats:

Skills: Fly -4

Languages:

Special Abilities

Gnaw (Ex)

A ravager beetle that is grappling a foe and chooses to damage the foe with an additional grapple check deals twice its normal bite damage (2d8+8 points of damage for most ravager beetles), in addition to injecting an additional dose of poison with each successful check.

Poison (Ex)

Bite-injury; save DC 14 Fort; frequency 1/ round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Constitution damage and excruciating pain (-2 penalty on attack rolls, checks, and saves cure 1 save. Multiple bites do not result in cumulative penalties to attack rolls, checks, and saves. Apply the penalties only once for the duration of the poison. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Ecology

Environment: Temperate Forests
Organization: solitary, pair, cluster (3-8) or nest (9-20)
Treasure: none


Ravager beetles are omnivorous beetles found in temperate or warm forests, hills, and swamps. While generally sustaining themselves on a diet of foliage and grasses, they sometimes scavenge the remains of creatures killed by other predators. Like most beetles, a ravager has a thick plated carapace and two large mandibles it uses to crush and chew its food. Its carapace is black in color with several white streaks crisscrossing it. Its mandibles are dark bluish-black. Its wing covers are black with hints of gold. A typical ravager beetle is about 4 feet long.

Ravagers have a single life cycle that spans an entire year. Females generally lay 4-8 eggs in soft earth or soil and within two weeks the larva emerges. Young are almost always born in the warmer spring and early summer months. Young are noncombatants and rely solely on their mother for protection and food, feeding generally for 10 days before entering the pupa stage. After about 20 days, the pupae become adults.

Ravager beetles are generally scavengers by nature, and rarely attack, except in times when food is scarce. Even then, they usually limit their attacks to weakened, sleeping, wounded, or otherwise incapacitated prey. When attacking, ravager beetles lock onto an opponent with their mandibles and continue biting and crushing the target until it is dead.