Jishin Mushi

Called the earthquake beetle, the jishin mushi is a huge, plump, six-legged meat-eating insect. A tough blue-green shell covers its back and thick gray plates armor its belly. Black bristles cover its legs, which end in flat, bony hooks good for digging but useless in a fight. Under its shell lie two wing covers; lifting them in flight reveals four wings, a small front pair for steering and a large rear pair that beat so fast they nearly vanish. On landing it tucks all four safely away.

Two hairy, antlerlike feelers on top of its head give it a keen sense of smell, enough to scent prey 100 yards away. It has bulging black eyes and a pair of curved, jagged mandibles for tearing food and fighting.

The beetle is not aggressive, fighting only in self-defense or to kill food. Its bite deals 2d8 (2-16) damage. It uses its mandibles to grab prey and drag it into the seclusion of the forest, but they grip poorly and most victims wriggle loose easily, so it normally keeps biting until its prey stops moving, then hauls the body away.

Far more dangerous is its power to shake the earth. Slamming its abdomen against the ground produces a small tremor, and each further blow over successive rounds makes the quake stronger, building to tremors of tremendous force.

Its lairs lie deep in the woods: under heaps of rotting vegetation, in crevices, inside fallen and decaying tree trunks in big forests, or in tunnels it digs through soft soil. None is permanent. The beetle spends every waking hour roaming in search of food, and after a long night's hunting it beds down in whatever suitable spot is closest.

It eats any kind of meat and has a special taste for oxen, sometimes attacking them as they pull a farmer's plow. Incense makers pay up to 2 tael per flask of its ichor, and some primitive tribes regard its larvae as a delicacy.