Ecology of the Grick
W "HAT!? BWHAHAHAHAHAHAA! You ACTUALLY thought you would come into MY guild and steal my most precious treasure!? Oh, that's too funny! I'm afraid, not funny enough though, you are beginning to bore me. All right, pull the lever, to the Grick Pitt with you... Oh my, I forgot how hungry they were..." - The last words heard by the intrepid "heroes."
Introduction
As I tirelessly work to recover the lost knowledge since our library fire, we had lost nearly all information on the creatures known as the Gricks. While not an uncommon creature, in fact, they are quite common in even this city; not many take the time to study the "mundane" beasts of the world sometimes. Studying specimens both close to home, in captivity, in the wild, and in the far reaches of the Prime Material Plane has resulted in some exciting finds.
Origins
There are not many records of, tales, or stories involving Gricks as they have just been a fact of humanoid life since the start. We do see rudimentary Grick traps, gates, and even pits from as far back as we know, archeologically suggesting even then, as of now, they were always a small nuisance. However, on where the Gricks come from, we have no knowledge.
There is 1, it's overly friendly to say culture, but more of a cult that attributes Gricks with being the watchers of civilization for their "Masters in the Sky." I'm sorry if you subscribe to this thought; summarily, no, this is not their origins. This line of thought popularized enough to, at one point, having Gricks classified as aliens or as aberrations.
We do know from careful study that they are indeed advanced Annelida like the more researched Purple Worm. They are advanced in many ways for catching small prey or as groups taking down larger meals. Unlike their massive purple kin, they do not burrow as well and rely mostly on predation and ambush for catching food.
Physiological Aspects
Identifying a Grick
Gricks are common in many realms but sometimes miss-recognized as worms. Usually earthy tones browns, dark greens, and even black at times, their long segmented bodies appear as enormous worms. Worms, however, can't raise half of their body in the air like a Grick. A Grick's head is the distinguishing trait as it ends in 4 hooked tentacles. These tentacles are usually about a tenth of their body length and converge at the mouth, which is a sharp beak. If the tentacles are closed, it resembles a large worm with weird interlocking hooks on the snout.
Hooked Tentacles
Gricks have adapted to a predatory lifestyle, hunting in the lightless tunnels away from the sun. Their tentacles are the adaptation that allows them to catch and hold onto prey despite their slow locomotion. The 4 appendages can hook prey and pull them into the mouth. They are especially good at holding onto food both with the hooks the pulsating suckers like an octopus that slowly moves food into their maw. The hooks and beak are both made of hard chitinous material.
Grick Senses
Gricks are often mistaken as aloof and somewhat oblivious, but they are usually much more aware of their surroundings than the average human, maybe not an elf.
Most assume they can't see, but they can, with tiny eyes that sit to the sides of the beak. While sight is their weakest sense, they see in black and white but in close to pitch black. They can only see about 30 feet in front of them, but this is usually quite enough in subterranean environments.
Touch/hearing is their most tangible way of experiencing the world around them. Their body is covered in tiny cilia or hair-like structures that both feel and "hear" vibrations. In a sense, it is all the sense of touch, making them immune to adverse effects such as loud noises as it would take incredible force to break their hearing faculties. The feeling is acute, though, and can seem as if they hear better than even an elf.
Both taste and olfactory are chemical detections by most creatures, and Gricks do not differ in this aspect. They possess a small and short tongue sitting in the bottom half of their beak. Their noses, instead of on the beak-like many birds, are inside on the upper beak's inside. Although, it is not much of a nose and more olfactory pits. This behavior is why Gricks seems to be always "chewing"; they are gulping air to smell. Their sense of smell isn't especially acute, but it does particularly well at detecting poisons and other hazardous material for consumption.
Subterranean Crawlers
Gricks do best in areas where they have the advantage of surprise, which is dark or and usually underground. While they live under the surface, they aren't adapted to digging but more to squeezing through crevasses. This inability to dig is why many can be trapped in areas forming a "Grick Pit."
Mudslides and heavy rains can soften the soil enough for Gricks to burst into the night for hunting. While they aren't fast enough to catch anything that can run, they are great at ambush attackers. It's also easy to grab something curios or stupid enough to get close.
Their advantage lies in their incredibly squishable body that can squeeze through cracks as small as their beak is wide. This ability makes Gricks difficult pests to root out of underground structures such as crypts, dungeons, and basements. As a result, their bodies are resistant to impact from bludgeoning and falling from heights.
Predators of Surprise
Gricks are not picky eaters; if it's meat, they eat. Being ambush predators, they are adapted to hiding and surprising prey rather than chasing their food. They can move quietly and slowly by stretching then contracting their bodies with only a slight shuffling noise. This movement is slow and only allows for a short-range lunge at prey. They will often blend in like a rock or some other debris and strike when food approaches. They also do like to climb and drop onto prey as well that they hear beneath them.
With this poor means of catching prey, they often have a high success rate once a target is hooked. With their sharp beak, they immediately begin to feed while hooked and even drill into more gigantic monsters who fail to extract the hooks. This feeding makes for a terrible wound if survived as the Grick will tunnel into the flesh, and being sometimes a yard wide can leave a sizable hole.
They can go weeks without eating as it does take days to digest a meal. They are often sluggish and docile during this time. Not a real threat to anything. The more hungry they become, the more aggressive, though.
Incredible Regeneration
While nowhere near the abilities of a Hydra, Gricks can heal most if not all damage they suffer in a short amount of time. Of course, if they can find the food to do so. This process also speeds up their appetite. Thus, an injured Grick most often starves more often than succumbs to their wounds. They can re-grow every part of their bodies. However, the hooks and beak do take a more extended amount of time. If their brain is too far damaged or too many wounds suffered at once can fell them. Unlike other worms, they can not grow rapidly, and any significant loss of organs is just as fatal as it would be to you and me.
Life Cycle
Gricks hatch from leathery eggs. These eggs are about the size of a grape and usually stuck to walls or ceilings. They rely on unsuspecting creatures to imbibe the grape-looking egg, unknowing of their true origin. While mostly safe to eat, honestly, there is a small chance that a larva can survive and take root in the intestines. The uneaten eggs will perish as the larva can not break the soft shell simply due to size and space constraints.
They begin life as small parasites that eventually eat enough of their victim that they perish. Having a Grick for a parasite at first is relatively harmless, but once it starts to grow in size, sizable portions of the muscles, their favorite meats, can severely deteriorate.
The stage of the parasite is slow, to begin with only an inch long for many weeks. Once they start to grow, severe pain starts to set in. If not removed and the host perishes, the Grick will then consume the rest of the body and emerge, usually from the chest and stomach area at a 3 to 4 ft length.
As an adult, they will continue to grow their whole life. It is unknown if they perish to old age; thus, their life-spans are not well recorded. It is estimated that they don't live past a century, but Gricks as large as 10-feet long have been recorded. They must have lived a long time.
Interactions with other Creatures
Prey
Any living creature can be considered prey and attacked enthusiasm. While something small enough is simply grabbed and devoured, larger ones are latched onto with abandon in times of hunger. As I have mentioned before, they are entirely docile if not hungry. Unless harmed, they won't lash out even to the point of animals being able to walk on them or even pick them up to move them.
Hook Horrors
Hook Horrors are a common occurrence where most Gricks live. Gricks often can't pierce their tough chitinous armor. This disadvantage, however, doesn't stop them from attacking. If unable to break the shell, they claw their way to a gap in the armor and attempt to enter the body by force. Hook Horrors can fight off Gricks most of the time but often not if there are a dozen or more. Not many creatures give the massive bird-beetles pause except Gricks. Often if an empty shell of a Hook Horror is found, you should beware of a possible Grick inside.
Dragons
Gricks are a parasite to some dragons who dwell beneath the ground. It takes a long time for Grick to become fatal to a massive dragon, but sometimes it can be precisely that. Dragons aren't especially worried or careful about Gricks as they can often pull the troublesome worm out themselves. Gricks have to work their way between the thick scales, which can take a long time. Thus a Gricks success at attacking a dragon is lower than most other creatures.
Oozes
Gricks and Oozes don't mesh well. Most other creatures would know that an ooze would be toxic to consume. Oozes also often don't care about how dangerous of a foe they consume. Thus when a Grick and an ooze meet, it usually results in mutual destruction. The ooze engulfs the Grick while the Grick eagerly eats the ooze. Unknowing of the fatal consequence of doing so. The Grick can eat and regenerate enough to nearly devour the entire ooze unless it's incredibly gigantic. Thus the 2 unstoppable eaters lay perished, both fed and dead.
Grick Pits as traps
There is a reason why Grick Pits have become infamous as a trap for influential people willing to put effort into constructing and maintaining such an area. Grand Vizier Tallius of Montredo was famous for throwing his political enemies into a Grick Pit. Thus the stories of the cruel dictator's methods became popular for wealthy folk of not so kind hearts to employ the Grick Pits. Some have them as secrets, others brazenly with pride.
As mentioned, this phenomenon can occur naturally and likely the way in which Tallius had devised the idea, as he was known for having an underground network, literally underground. These natural pits often aren't purposely fed, and most will starve to death in a matter of months.
Gricks as Pets
While I highly advise AGAINST this practice as a Grick will never care for an owner like even the most wounded wolf could, the fads of Grick Pits have evolved into keeping them as close pets. These Gricks are often fed multiple times a day and grow to enormous sizes quickly. Unfortunately, there is a point in which they become way too large and have to be slain, discarded, or sealed away.
Variations
Common Gricks
Found nearly all over the material planes are the Common Gricks. They are as adults around 10 feet long and 2 feet wide. They can lift half of their bodies in the air to fight and lunge, making their striking range quite extensive compared to the average humanoid. Greys, Browns, or Greens are most common in their colorations with black beaks and hooks. They live most commonly in cave systems, underground areas, or recently muddied areas. Their screeches are high-pitched but not damaging unless directly in someone's ear.
Shrill Gricks
Far less common are Shrill Gricks. These Gricks have adapted a louder and shrill screech that can stun enemies long enough to close the distance. They are most easily identified as having a yellow streak down the top and bottom, which top and bottom are interchangeable anyway, of their bodies extending the whole length. They tend to live in slightly colder climates, although never arctic.
River Gricks
These Gricks are brighter in coloration, from neon greens, blues, and reds to look like enticing fish in murky rivers. Usually, in more tropical and warmer climates, they are rounder in appearance and have membranes that act as fins running down their sides to help maneuver better in water. While they can move in the water fast enough to catch their prey, they have adapted to being caught or fished out and attacking their would-be captors. They are also amphibious, and like many amphibians, require water near-by to stay wet.
Carrion Gricks
Obsidian in color, these Grick specifically only eat dead flesh, especially that of undead creatures. While they can be scavengers, they most often lurk in high-negative energy areas and feed on zombies or any other dead being. They feed off negative energy and are immune to many ill-effects of undead such as disease or curses. Their saliva can be used to combat many such ailments in other creatures. Vampires even fear them as inside their beaks is a bony tongue they project into a vampire's heart that serves as a stake. Carrion Gricks have a low, undulating, and vibrating call instead of a shriek that they use. This call does not affect living beings but can lock an undead in place, although how this is achieved isn't known.
Plant Gricks
Infused with plant properties, some Gricks have taken on the aspects of some plants. Their tentacles resemble the petals of flowers with bright reds and yellows. They have leaves sprouting from the top of their green bodies to absorb a small amount of sunlight. Plant Gricks are still predators but in fields and forests soaking in the sun when not fighting. How they adapted is still under research, but it's not unheard of as creatures such as Shambling Mounds are mostly plant as well. The mixture of plant and animal is what makes it rare.
DM's Notes
Gricks are fun monsters to use in dungeons for a fight but often are treated like a mindless challenge. THUS one day in 4th edition, I created the GRICK PIT. This trap is something I did to challenge my players as a dungeon trap. Being the invincible 4th edition players, they thought they were it was a TPK for them, unfortunately. I tell my players I don't pull punches, and they learned the hard way.
I like to use monsters in new situations, and I hope the Grick Pitt is something everyone can use.
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