Soldier Crab

Soldier Crab (CR 5)

True Evil - Large - Magical Beast (Water)

Lore:	Know (Arcana)
11		28
Basic DC		Full DC

Initiative

9

Perception:
18	+8
Passive	Active

Ambush:

12+

on a d20

Senses:

• Standard Senses
• Low-Light Vision
• Tremorsense 30 ft.

Movement Types:

• Walk 30 ft.
• Greater Swim 40 ft.
• Jet 60 ft.

Defense

AC

23

Man Def

21

Monster Health
78	39	7
Hit Points	Bloodied	Hit Dice

Saving Throws
Fort:	+9
Refl:	+4
Will:	+3

Strong Against:

• Hardened (½ damage): Slashing, Piercing, Slime

Weak Against:

Offense

Size:	Large
10 ft.		10 ft.
Space		Reach

To-Hit

+8

Man Off

+8

Action

0

Points

Standard Attack (Melee):

• 1x Gnashing Claws +8 (1d8+4/19-20 x2)
  as Gnashing (physical, uncommon)

Full Attack (Melee):

• 3x Gnashing Claws +8 (1d8+4/19-20 x2)
  as Gnashing (physical, uncommon)

Standard Attack (Ranged):

• 1x Spume Spray (30-foot cone -- auto-hit) (1d8+4/19-20 x2)
  as undefined damage type
  (Increment: 30 ft.; Max Range: 30 ft.)

Full Attack (Ranged):

Siege Damage: Not siege capable

Statistics

20

STR

11

DEX

24

CON

9

INT

8

WIS

13

CHA

Skills:

• Might: 10
• Movement: 8
• Perception: 8
• Sleight of Hand: 9
• All other skills: 3 (no ranks)

Languages: Aquan, Gurahn'lloig

Feats:

• Mobility (EFFECT: +4 AC against attacks of opportunity from movement)

Special Abilities

Shearing Doom (Ex) Standard Action

Once per round as a Standard Action, or as the first attack of a Full Attack Action, the Soldier Crab can attack a single target with a frenzy of claws, attempting to shred the target to bits. It rolls a single touch attack roll against the target (1d20 + 12 vs. AC (always hits on a 17+ on the die) vs. the target's AC). If it hits, it inflicts 1d8+4 points of gnashing (physical, uncommon) damage, and the target gains the Bruised condition.

Soldier Crab

Soldier Crabs are very big crabs, measuring somewhere around 12 feet wide and up to 7 feet high. They feature eight legs, and two claws, for a total of 10 limbs. Their hardened carapace makes them challenging foes to face, as most common weapons will have a difficult time penetrating their shells. Their fearsome claws can cleave a humanoid in twain with little effort. Soldier crabs require water to breathe, but have been known to hold their breath above-ground for up to several days before suffering negative effects from doing so.

Soldier Crabs are social creatures, tending to form large colonies among their own kind. However, they are fiercely territorial, and have little tolerance for any creature so bold as to come near their colony. It is a very rare thing to find crab soldiers in small numbers; they often travel in large packs. Luckily, they make their homes in out of the way places deep under the seas, often in submerged caves or deep cravasses, so only adventerous folk are likely to stumble upon such a colony. That said, it is a rare few who can survive such an experience.

Soldier crabs are not often seen on land. The most common means by which folk spot these dreaded monsters is when the male population of the soldier crab colony marches out of their home colony to lay claim to some resource, or emerge to avenge some perceived slight. While soldier crabs can't be called brilliant, they aren't simple animals, and they do have feelings and can hold a grudge as well as any humanoid (well, almost as well, anyway). As a curious aside, when the male population of a colony leaves for some expedition, and fails to return, the remaining females can designate some among their number to transform into males, a process which takes no more than a few days. Indeed, a desprate colony can transform all of its members except its queen into males to defend its territory, if driven to extremes.

Another somewhat common reason that land-dwelling folks might lay eyes upon soldier crabs is when they are subborned or recruited by a more powerful intelligence (or simply a more clever one!). Soldier crabs are, after all, prone to marshalling in great numbers to assault land-based locations, and some races have found a means of exploiting this behavior to their own ends. In such cases, the soldier crabs will typically be segregated into their own units, separated from any other non-soldier-crab units that might also be present. While the solider crabs can be cajoled into behaving around other races, it is no small task to keep them in line, so giving them a little space of their own is just good sense.

Combat Tactics

Soldier Crabs are simple creatures to combat, but extremely hardy opponents. They rely on their hardened carapice (which suffers only half damage against Bludgeoning, Crushing, and Slime damage), and their large pool of hit points to just tank most damage. Their ranged attack can be quite nasty, and their special attack can lay the hurt on even the toughest of foes.

Out of Combat

Soldier Crabs prefer to keep to their colonies unless provoked by some external entity. Of course, what actually constitutes 'provocation' can vary wildly, and soldier crabs, are, to put it mildly, fairly easily offended. While they can speak two languages, they prefer to keep their conversations simple, even amongst those beings they actually tolerate. Conversations initatiated by outsiders without first giving a gift to the colony as a gesture of submission is also seen as a hostile act. In general, most people avoid these creatures, since they're really hard to get along with.

Soldier crabs are often found in the "employ" of aboleths and other foul and powerful creatures. Such beings have little trouble convincing the soldier crabs to muster their forces to war, and use them to smash their land-based enemies while they pursue their darker, more subtle plans elsewhere.

Rewards

XP: 1,600

Treasure: Sellable Goods worth 1,625 gp.

Weight: 50 lbs.     Volume: 2 cu. ft.

Optional Treasure Rules: Roll a d20 on Table 1 below once per encounter (NOT per creature). Any items discovered are in addition to the normal treasure for the encounter.

Table 1: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 10	Nothing Found
11 - 14	1 Languid Remnant (tier 1)
15 - 17	1 Pale Remnant (tier 2)
18 - 19	1 Bright Remnant (tier 3)
20	Roll on Table 2
###	Nothing to see here!
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 2: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Languid Remnants (tier 1)
6 - 10	3 Pale Remnants (tier 2)
11 - 14	1 Intense Remnant (tier 4)
15 - 17	1 Blazing Remnant (tier 5)
18 - 19	1 Vital Remnant (tier 6)
20	Roll on Table 3
###	Or here. Move along.

Table 3: Remnant(s) Found
1 - 5	3 Bright Remnants (tier 3)
6 - 8	3 Intense Remnants (tier 4)
9 - 11	3 Blazing Remnants (tier 5)
12 - 14	3 Vital Remnants (tier 6)
15 - 17	1 Prime Remnant (tier 7)
18 - 19	1 Mythic Remnant (tier 8)
20	1 Empyrean Remnant (tier 9)