Scrab

A scrab is a small insect-man under a thick white shell grooved lengthwise into three sections, with hundreds of tiny legs and gills along the grooves. Two pincered arms with thumblike nubs frame a small mouth and can wield knives, daggers or, rarely, a spear or short sword. They have their own tongue; leaders have a 35% chance of knowing elven.

Half the band charges into melee while the rest make psionic contact and strike with attack modes or the feared inflict pain. Before springing on a small caravan, the fighters raise enhanced strength (as Strength 18: +1 to hit, +2 damage) and biofeedback (AC 3, each hit on them 2 points lighter, minimum 0).

Sensing prey, all of them use conceal thoughts and chameleon power. One chameleon check covers the group: success means unseen, failure means one victim notices vague movement, and only a 20 on the power score reveals them. Success gives victims -4 on surprise, and surprise earns a free round of attacks.

They wield a blade in each pincer, preferred against big foes like half-giants, or pinch twice for 1d4 each plus strength bonus. A modified 18 or better grips a limb of a man-sized or smaller victim: the gripping pincer then hits automatically every round, the other gains +4, and escape costs an open doors roll and the whole round.

Bands run up to twelve; more than five include a leader, and ten or more add two sub-leaders, all with 7 HD and +1 pincer damage. Leaders start with 78 PSPs. Half also know ego whip and expansion, swelling fourfold before battle to grip large creatures. The rest are 7th-level defiling wizards with spells such as magic missile, chill touch, burning hands, web, scare, invisibility, hold person, protection from good, nondetection, detect psionics and psionic dampener, avoiding area spells that would catch nestmates.

Other powers: mind over body, mind link, psionic blast, mind thrust, mind blank, contact, thought shield, and animal affinity (lizards).

Elves are always attacked first. A lone elf is gripped by all four limbs and tortured with inflict pain until he faints, then hauled away alive.

Nests lie 10-15 feet under the sand, cemented with spittle and hidden under rock when possible. A scrab can stay buried for an hour. A nest holds 1d12+12 adults, 1d6 leaders and sub-leaders, one nest mother and 10-40 eggs or young (1 HD, THAC0 20, 1 damage per pincer, unable to grip).

Elf flesh is their favorite (half-elves or anyone with pointed ears will do), and captive elves are tormented for weeks or months. Elves, in turn, use every part of a slain scrab: shell breastplates equal to scale mail at half the weight, pincer polearms, and days of meat. Shells sell for 10 cp a section, double to elves, and rescuing an elf from a nest earns a tribe's respect.

Every two years the nest mother lays up to 100 eggs fathered by the eldest male; they hatch in three months and fewer than half survive the cannibal feast that follows. Young mature in two years (a Hit Die per six months) and live about 25 years, nest mothers 40-50. Most hatch male, only 5% of males become leaders, and 1% of females become nest mothers, so a rival rises every eight to sixteen years and leaves with a male or two.

They hunt the sandy wastes and barrens, needing only 1/20th of a human's water, much of it from blood, and are themselves prey for larger desert beasts.

A bloated giant scrab with movement 3 and Intelligence 15-16, she casts priest spells as a 9th-level priest from the cosmos sphere only, without turning undead or other priestly benefits. As a 10th-level psionicist with at least 120 PSPs she has every scrab power plus flesh armor, probe, id insinuation, tower of iron will, intellect fortress, and one clairsentient science with five devotions. Her pincers deal 2d1 each and grip on a modified 17 or better, broken by a Bend Bars roll. She never uses weapons.