Aratha (Killer Beetle)

by Wolfwere

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Aratha (Killer Beetle)

Aratha are tireless hunters that resemble huge beetles, except that they have four very long, spiked tentacles. Their rock-hard carapaces glitter with a multitude of dark colors. Despite their bestial appearance, aratha are actually very intelligent and have powerful psychic abilities over.

Kindly Killers. Although called "killer beetles" because of their highly aggressive nature, aratha are actually fiercely devoted to their mates and young. While they attack and kill prey ruthlessly and without quarter or mercy, they are also quite polite and sociable with creatures they aren't attending to eat, with their favorite foods being large animals (especially owlbears) and small humanoids (especially halflings). They are particularly kind to small animals.


Source: Dragon #89, "Creature Catalog I"

Aratha

Large monstrosity

  • Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points (9d10+18)
  • Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 12 (+1)
  • Saving Throws Int +5, Wis +4
  • Skills Insight +4, Perception +4
  • Damage Resistances psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
  • Damage Immunities fire
  • Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, petrified, stunned
  • Senses blindsight 30 ft. (blind beyond this radius), tremorsense 60 ft., passive Perception 14
  • Languages Aratha, Common
  • Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)

Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The aratha's spellcasting trait is Intelligence (spell save DC 13). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:
 At will: control flames, create bonfire, mind sliver
 1/day each: beast sense, detect thoughts, dominate beast, feign death, mind thrust, speak with animals

Actions

Multiattack. The Monster makes four tentacles attacks. It can also use its Bite or its Pull..

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing damage.

Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +7, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15) if it is a Huge or smaller creature. Until the grapple ends, the arutha can't use this tentacle on another target. The arutha has four tentacles.

Pull. The arutha targets one Medium or smaller creature that it can see within 20 feet of it. The target must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the target is pulled into an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the arutha, and the arutha can make a bite attack against it as a bonus action.