The Cannibal Crawlers of Ilthxos IX

The Cannibal Crawlers of Ilthxos IX

These bizarre mutant degenerates are all that remains of the industrial age civilization native to the far star of Ilthxos.  But all of that changed when pacts were made with powers fell and within but a few generations, the whole of the race was fractured and warring, devolving into brutal new forms with every passing generation until the utter end…..

The otherworldly power that infested and ultimately, ruined that world, has wrecked the people’s remnants, but the eldritch nature of the thing allows them* to be summoned to far planets such as yours.

Might be a tad upset about all this.  Thank you John Crptenter's the Thing. Plz don't sue.

Cannibal Crawler (2d6 number, if applicable): Init +2; Atk club or bone knife +2  melee (1d4+2) and/or fists  (+2 melee 1d3+2)  or +1 bite (2d6+4); AC 13; HD 2d8+2; hp 11 each or hp 14 (1), 11 (x2), 9 (x2),  7 (x 7);  MV 35; Act 1d24; SP bite;

SV Fort +3 , Ref +3, Will +0; AL Chaotic (“Wild and free and beyond good and evil.”).

A bite attack will subject the attacker to their savage, pointed teeth designed for the tearing of flesh and crushing of bone; it is an awkward attack form for a formerly upright biped however thus it’s low attack rating.  DAmage is for the initial attack. The cannibal creature is then likely to keep chewing, with every intent on eating their prey alive.  They will sometimes persist in their meal past the point of sense allowing them to be killed but not to the point of saving whom they  were consuming...thus adding to their savage reputation.

This sad guy is the best "degenerate post future rawr cannibal" I could find in 15 minutes. My google fu is weak sauce today.

1 in 4 (roughly) are known to have a toxic secretion from their fingers that reacts poorly with untainted flesh (DC 13 Fort save or begin suffering from a rotting disease that will inflict 1d6 hp and STA per day until it kills them; quite likely the dead rise as Cannibal Crawlers. ) This does not affect (and is not triggered by) contact with their own kind.

Description

These formerly humanoid beings are now forever stooped, their fullness of stance vanished in the same generation as their fullness of mind.  The decline of sentience was a rough and violent time.  Those more tainted than others had the advantage and tended to survive.

Their silvery yellow skins show signs of warp and stretching; indeed, their features seem very much as though at some point their original features tried hard to physically divide in two.  They look and, in fact seem to be, in agony all of the time.  

They hunt by scent and vibration; they prefer intelligent humanoids for some tittering insane reason and can tell by the combination of upright walk and pheromones, which on some level they still recognize.  Animals and other unintelligent forms are harmless and unharmed.  They only hunt - and can digest - that which is like that which they once were.

They are, by their very nature, implacably chaotic and unable to be reasoned with.  They should be safely dispatched on their first appearance on the edges of civilization.

Their name derives both from their savage mindless manner of eating their prey alive and whole as well as the spidery crawling manner in which they rapidly  creep across the night time landscape, seeking food.

The spell by which they are called from their dead world orbiting their dimly cooling orange star is known to certain initiates of Azi Dahaka, and other destroyers of worlds.  Consider it a second level  “summon 2nd tier bad guy minion” spell if you must, it’s not something I’d thought of giving  to PCs (tho maybe I should?)

The force that did this to them in the first place is hinted at in many places but is left deliberately ambiguous to better serve a Referee’s needs.

*not so much allows as encourages.