Cave fisher

A cave fisher is a large lobster-like monster that inhabits subterranean locations and ambushes its prey using a sticky filament similar to a strand of giant spider silk.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Cave fishers grow to about 7 feet in length and have a hard, chitinous shell arranged in overlapping plates for an exoskeleton. It has eight legs and two forelimbs that end in large pincers. Living underground, cave fishers are sightless creatures that used multiple auditory sensor organs to detect prey. These organs are located on the head and are often mistaken for multiple eyes. The creature has a large proboscis from which it shoots a long (up to 60 feet) sticky filament.

Genetics and Reproduction

Cave fishers can live over one hundred years and females mate about every twenty years. They send out an ultrasonic keening above the hearing range of humans and demihumans that attracts all males within miles of her lair during mating season. The first male to approach the female is allowed to mate with her and then becomes her victim after it was over. Any latecomers are forcefully rejected. After a three-day gestation period, the female lays a clutch of five to nine fertilized eggs in the body of the male and then departs to establish a new lair away from her previous nest. Within a month, the eggs hatch, and the young live off the carcass until it was depleted, after which then they scatter to establish their own lairs. It takes a little under three weeks for the young to reach half their adult size, and then their growth slows, reaching full size in a year.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Cave fisher diets are made up of primarily bats, and they never attack anything that they detect to be bigger than themselves. They are always cautiously looking for larger prey they could surprise, like a lone goblin, orc, or foolish adventurer.

Behaviour

The cave fisher hides on ledges above passageways and hunts by emitting a long strand of sticky filament, either dangling it to catch passing creatures such as bats or shooting it at a creature as it wanders by. They can secrete their adhesive onto their feet and anchor themselves to a ledge, wall, or ceiling once they find a good hunting spot. To release themselves, they secrete a substance from their proboscis that contains their blood that dissolves the adhesive.
Cave fishers will attack any creatures about the size of a human or smaller, but are intelligent enough to avoid large groups, preferring to pick off scouts, loners, and stragglers. Normally cave fishers work alone in an area within 300 feet of their lair, but sometimes they are found in small groups of less than five, and these pods are known to coordinate ambushes of small parties. This cooperation usually ends when there is food to be fought over. Extra food, alive or dead, is wrapped in filament and stuck to a surface in their lair for later consumption. Cave fishers have no use for clothing, armor, or weapons, so their lairs are usually strewn with the possessions of former victims.
On a successful attack, the cave fisher's prey would be stuck to the cave fisher's filament and will be slowly drawn up to the cave fisher's level where it attacks with the two front pincers. Cave fishers can reel in victims weighing up to 200 pounds or possibly 400 pounds depending on the size of the fisher. Their filament is very difficult to cut, perhaps even requiring a magically enhanced blade, and any failure to do so results in the blade being stuck fast.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Almost every part of a cave fisher is usable after the creature has been killed. The meat is edible and tastes similar to crab sauteed in stout wine. Its blood can be used for concocting several dwarven spirits, although some hearty dwarves drink the alcoholic blood straight. Extruded cave fisher filaments can be harvested and treated to dilute the adhesive and then woven into ropes that are incredibly strong for being so thin. The diluted adhesive can even be applied to gloves and boots to improve their grip when climbing. The chitinous shell is very tough and can be used to make armor, tools, and even jewelry.
Cave fisher eggs that are a week old or less are highly valued for their alcoholic content plus psychedelic properties. A sip from one of these eggs can cause an average human to become quickly intoxicated for hours while experiencing hallucinations. Consuming the full contents of one of these potent eggs is usually fatal. Fresh cave fisher eggs are sold for 50 to 100 gp in most large cities.

Lifespan

100+ years

Average Length

7 ft