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Legacy of the Dragons
Darval Huge Aberration Hit Dice: 16d8+96 (168 hp), dying/dead –7/–22 Initiative: +0 Speed: 40 feet AC: 20 (–2 size, +12 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 20 Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+26 Attack: Bite +18 melee (2d6+6) Full Attack: Bite +18 melee (2d6+6), slam +16/+11 melee (1d8+1 plus poison) Space/Reach: 15 feet/15 feet (Face/Reach: 10 feet by 10 feet/15 feet) Special Attacks: Attraction, improved grab, swallow whole, poison Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet, camouflage Saves: Fort +11, Ref +10, Will +13 Abilities: Str 23, Dex 11, Con 22, Int 5, Wis 16, Cha 15 Skills: Climb +18, Sneak +15, Spot +13 Feats: Cleave, Fast Healer, First Strike, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack*, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Sneak) Environment: Underground Organization: Solitary Challenge Rating: 14 Treasure: Standard Advancement: 17–32 HD (Huge) Level Adjustment: — * Denotes a feat from the MM.
A terrible subterranean predator, the darval has earned the name “the living trap.” A few refer to it as “the joyous death.” The akashic Neverad Nosk once used his abilities to learn of the fate of the human explorer Maggerin Thyll at the “hands” of a darval: “Maggerin made his way down the narrow, natural passage. Like a cleft in the earth, the tunnel’s floor angled toward the center, and the passage rose very high above him. His companion, the spryte Theea, hovered behind him a few steps. Ahead, the tunnel split. Normally, the two would take a moment to discuss the proper path, often with Theea flying ahead to scout down each option. This time, however, Maggerin kept moving forward and entered the left tunnel branch, ducking beneath a low rock formation jutting from the wall. “‘Wait!’ Theea called, but her companion did not stop. “It lay just ahead! Maggerin thought excitedly. What he’d been seeking all his life. His heart raced as he quickened his pace. The tunnel was treacherous, sloping down roughly and filled with loose stones, but he thrust aside concerns for safety. “Theea called again, but he did not answer. Had she only realized he had fallen victim to a magical compulsion, things may have ended differently. “Maggerin stumbled into a high-ceilinged cave. Above him loomed a creature of nightmare—tall and slender, spiderlike legs
supporting a bulbous body that seemed to be almost all mouth. A broad tendril-like tail covered in spikes rose from the thing’s body, flailing about. Maggerin did not see the beast until he was actually underneath it. Rather than being afraid, however, he was delighted. This monstrosity was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen—it was what he had sought all his life. Even as the creature lowered its body toward him, even as the huge maw engulfed him, Maggerin felt joy. Theea flew into the cave and shrieked. She attempted to cast a spell, but the beast thrashed her with its tail, smashing her against the cavern wall. “Maggerin disappeared down the creature’s throat, pulled along by muscles that crushed his bones as it swallowed. He slid down into its gut, happier than he had ever been.” This carnivorous creature dwells deep underground—so deep, in fact, that most surface dwellers have never heard of it. The slassans (see Chapter Four in The Diamond Throne) and the Vallorians (see page 112) hate and fear the darvals and destroy them whenever they can find them. Sometimes, deep-delving chorrim use darvals to guard their own lairs (bribing them with food) or even to battle as tests of combat prowess and willpower. (In such tests, a powerful chorrim warrior is thrown into a darval’s lair and must come out alive.) The darval does not burrow but lives in natural caves and underground structures constructed by others. Once every 10 years, females lay 11 to 20 eggs, but they abandon them immediately afterward. Most darval eggs in a clutch never hatch, but instead form into crystalline nodules worth 1d6 × 100 gp each. Darvals live at least a hundred years, sometimes going for almost a year without eating. During such periods, they become almost dormant, never moving until prey approaches. Darvals obtain all the water they need from the creatures they kill. With their legs fully extended, these creatures stand almost 16 feet high. When at rest, however, they often crouch, their round bodies resting on the ground. Underground explorers can easily mistake their four spindly limbs for tall “soda straw” stalagmites or thin pillars. This sometimes allows the creatures to “hide in plain sight” right above an entrance to a cavern. Darvals do not speak, but some learn to understand a few words in various languages. They are usually Unbound.
Combat The darval relies on its attraction ability to draw prey to it and hold the prey nearby until it can bite and swallow it. While eating, it uses its barbed tail to strike at other foes. The poison on each barb weakens and incapacitates its targets, giving the creature victims for its next meal. The darval is content to wait for hours or even days, hidden in a cave, for prey to come along.
