Aratha [Killer Beetle]

The aratha has a large carapace, purple shading to brown, with swept-up horns, six hairy legs and four long, flexible tentacles ending in pincer claws. It reaches in any direction, even behind itself, with startling speed, yet usually moves almost silently but for an occasional click. Two clusters of eyes on the shell's front give it sight, aided by crude light- and vibration-sensing organs on its back and belly, and its grinding, iris-shaped mouth sits under the front of the armored body.

Arathas use psionics to slip away from strong foes or blast them when trapped, to track and shadow prey, and to strike when a target is confused, shaken or weak. Their powers: psychokinesis (molecular agitation); psychometabolism (body equilibrium, suspend animation); telepathy (the science psychic crush, plus the devotions attraction, empathy, mind thrust and psionic blast).

The tentacles shoot out to 20 feet and pull back to 8 feet when idle, and each claw snaps shut with bone-breaking force. The aratha never bites, only chewing what its claws rip loose. An odd metabolism makes it immune to petrification and all heat damage.

Arathas are solitary, hermaphroditic wanderers who survey an area for food, threats and hiding places before beginning a hunt. They locate prey by mind and smell, especially relishing halflings, owlbears and brain moles, though they will eat any meat. They avoid crowded lands, roaming wild country with good cover, and rural folk dread them. They were once common on one prime world but were hunted nearly to extinction as a menace to all civilized races.

An old, failing aratha picks a fight with a powerful foe to die in battle. They mate once; 2-4 months later one partner bears 1-3 live young and dies doing so, becoming their first meal.

Only scavengers eat them, as the flesh tastes sharply of vinegar. The shell rots soon after death, but the claws can be worked into almost unbreakable arrowheads and spear points that hold their edge.