Mastyrial

The desert mastyrial resembles a huge six-legged scorpion with jagged pincers and a tail longer than the rest of it. Its hide runs from dark brown through rusty orange, striped like drifting sand so that even a sleeper uncovered by wind may be overlooked; a few lack color entirely. Two dark patches on the head mimic eyes, while the real eyes are tiny and set farther forward. It hunts by bat-like clicks that reveal where prey is and otherwise moves in eerie silence.

The black mastyrial of the mountains is only 3 feet long, blind and eyeless, colored anywhere from soot black to pale brown. Its ridged, bony shell looks like rock when it lies flat and still, and gnarled mandibles strong enough to cut stone let it tunnel into solid rock.

A desert mastyrial sleeps until prey comes close, then explodes from the sand. It hears through sand better than air, so its first attack from below gains +2, though its tail, last to emerge, cannot strike that round. Afterward it attacks with two pincers (1d10 each), a bite (2d6) and its tail (1d6). Tail venom adds 30 damage, or 15 if the victim saves vs. poison at -1, and a natural 20 impales for another 2d6. Its shell makes it immune to blunt weapons such as clubs, maces and flails, and it regenerates 3 hit points per round. Reduced below a quarter of its hit points, it burrows away to recover.

Black mastyrials lie in rock with only their heads showing and go unseen 90% of the time. Anything within 100 feet is sensed; the pack lures it nearer with clairvoyance, contact and send thoughts, then springs, and the target must save vs. paralyzation to avoid surprise. Against weak prey each attacks with pincers (1d6 each), a sting (2d4) and mandibles (3d4), at most three per man-sized foe. A stung victim who fails a poison save takes 1d4 more, and either way the stung spot swells and goes dead within 1d4 rounds, staying useless for 1 turn. Roll 1d6 for where: 1 head, 2-3 right or left arm, 4-5 right or left leg, 6 body or tail. A head sting leaves the victim wandering aimlessly.

A natural 20 with pincer or mandibles locks on, dealing 1d6 (pincer) or 1d8 (mandibles) each round until the beast dies or someone succeeds at bend bars/lift gates with a +4 bonus. A locked-on mastyrial is exposed, and others attacking it gain +2. If a pack loses half its members, the rest retreat into their holes, where only armored shell shows and nonmagical physical attacks are useless; they must be dug out or pried loose.

Desert mastyrials live alone or in groups of up to three in burrows, crevasses and ruins. The larger females mate once in life, then sting and eat the male, who never tries to escape. A lair holds 4-20 eggs.

Black mastyrials form family packs, each member digging its own burrow and treating every outsider, even other packs, as food. Hunger drives them to attack almost anything, though they leave creatures bigger than giants alone unless starving. Constant psionic contact gives the pack a shared ancestral memory: survivors of an encounter grant every member +1 against that kind of creature from then on, and each member adds a cumulative 2% chance that a given creature type is already known. This group mind clashes with their solitary instincts and has driven them insane.

Desert mastyrials keep giant spiders, ants and other oversized vermin in check, rarely eat what they did not kill, and refuse carrion over an hour old. Warriors prize the shell for well-ventilated armor and shields; assassins and life-draining wizards seek the venom. Black mastyrials also scavenge, and a blade made from their carapace gains +1 to attack and damage.

Desert mastyrial psionics: sciences clairvoyance and mind link; devotions contact, send thoughts, id insinuation, ego whip, know direction, hear light and feel light.