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Legacy of the Dragons
Spined Grappler Small Magical Beast Hit Dice: 1d10 (5 hp), dying/dead –1/–10 Initiative: +6 Speed: 30 feet AC: 15 (+1 size, +2 Dexterity, +2 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 13 Base Attack/Grapple: +1/–3 Attack: Claw +2 melee (1d4) Full Attack: 2 claws +2 melee (1d4) Space/Reach: 5 feet/5 feet (Face/Reach: 5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet) Special Attacks: Horde attack Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet, evasion, spiny shell Saves: Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +0 Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 5, Wis 10, Cha 6 Skills: Climb +2, Spot +2 Feats: Improved Grapple*, Improved Initiative B, Lightning Reflexes B, Resistance to Poison Environment: Any subterranean Organization: Swarm (3–36), colony (10–200), or horde (201–1,000) Challenge Rating: 1/4 Treasure: Standard Advancement: 2–4 HD (Medium) Level Adjustment: — * Denotes a feat from the Player’s Handbook.
This odd, subterranean predator has a central body protected by a tough, spiny shell. Its long, muscular legs and arms are surprisingly strong for such a small creature, though it is no match for a giant or a trained warrior. In battle, it uses its speed and power to leap upon enemies and grapple them. Spined grapplers typically appear in large numbers, and they have learned to fight as a group in order to defeat larger and stronger opponents. Spined grapplers are generally regarded as little more than nuisances, but at times they can gather in numbers great enough to pose a threat to those who wander near their territory. In the absence of predators to keep their numbers down, spined grapplers can exhaust a cavern’s food supply. Since most creatures cannot stomach their taste, and their hard, spiked shells make them difficult for most beasts to devour, their population often outgrows the caverns where they lurk. When this happens, the spined grapplers migrate from their territory in search of a new home. Typically, they descend deeper into the earth, where more powerful monsters and other threats keep them from overpopulating their new lair. If the grapplers find a passage to the surface, they can quickly become a daunting threat to those who live nearby. While their flesh is wholly unpalatable, in some areas smiths craft their hard, spiny shells into armor, shields, and other equipment. A colony or horde of these creatures that reaches
the surface has the potential to turn into a looming disaster if inattention, laziness, or other factors render a community unable to cope with the problem before it grows out of control.
Combat Spined grapplers use simple but effective tactics to defeat opponents who are larger and stronger than they are. Their small size and high degree of cooperation allows them to fight in close ranks. They mob around an opponent, with over a dozen grapplers attacking a foe at once. They have learned to use their numbers to their advantage, employing grapple attacks to pull an opponent to the ground and grind him against their sharp spines. What these tactics lack in finesse, they compensate for with sheer, brutal efficiency. Even a heavily armored and trained warmain thinks twice before taking on more than a handful of spined grapplers alone. Horde Attack (Ex): Spined grapplers excel at using group tactics to overwhelm larger, stronger opponents. When attempting to grapple an opponent, they work together to ruin a target’s defenses and drag her down with sheer weight of numbers. Whenever a grappler attacks or attempts a grapple check against a target, it receives a +1 competence bonus to its attack roll or check for each spined grappler that currently grapples the attacker. In addition, spined grapplers can crowd together to attack a single target. Two grapplers can occupy the same 5-foot-by-5 foot space while attacking, moving, or taking any other actions. However, grapplers who share a space in this manner lose their evasion special ability; they are too closely packed together to dodge with their usual speed. Evasion (Ex): If exposed to any effect that normally allows a creature to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a spined grappler takes no damage with a successful saving throw. Grapplers have quick reflexes that allow them to take cover and avoid damage before an attack strikes them. Spiny Shell (Ex): Spined grapplers get their name from the hard, sharp spines on their shell-like outer covering. Any creature that attempts to grapple one of these monsters automatically takes 1d4 points of damage if it succeeds in getting a hold. Each time a spined grappler succeeds at a grapple check, regardless of the reason for the check or the maneuver it attempts, it deals 1 point of piercing damage to its target.
The March of the Horde The sight of a horde of spined grapplers on the march is enough to fill even an experienced soldier with cold dread. When a horde is driven from its lair by overpopulation, the monsters wander until they can find a new area that offers enough space and food to support their now diminished numbers. Predators and the environment take their toll on a horde’s
