Vektiss
GM's Eyes Only
Spoilers. This page is written for the GM, and players who read on will learn things their characters don't know.
A mule-sized insect that hunts in packs and lays its eggs in living prey. Source: Iron Kingdoms Monsternomicon, p. 90.
What it is. An insect about the size of a donkey, with a jet-black, thorny carapace, scythe-like forelimbs, and chattering mandibles. Its bite carries a venom that slows and then paralyzes. It is nearly invisible in the dark.
The hunt. Hunters are always male, and they hunt at night in packs of four or more. They surround prey in near silence, strike all at once, and drag whatever they paralyze or kill back to the lair: a cave, or burrows they dig. Some prey is eaten at once. Some is wrapped in silk, still paralyzed, for later.
Hosts. The worst fate is to be chosen as a host. A queen lays a single egg in an open wound, then feeds the victim a substance that keeps them paralyzed and alive as long as possible, and preserves the flesh after death so the larva has meat when it hatches. The colony can sense its eggs from far away and will chase a host a long way to get one back. Cutting the egg out can throw the pack off the trail. A queen leads a colony of five to thirteen adults.
Range. IK's vektiss live in temperate forests, caves, and mountainsides, and they don't survive desert or deep cold.
In Tir Hathar. Interesting enough to keep around.
Stats¶
First draft, built from WWN's baseline stat lines.
| HD | AC | Atk | Dmg | Shock | Move | ML | Inst | Skill | Save | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vektiss hunter | 3 | 15 | +4 x2 | 1d6 | 1/13 | 40' | 9 | 4 | +2 | 14+ |
| Vektiss queen | 5 | 15 | +6 x2 | 1d8 | 2/13 | 30' | 10 | 4 | +1 | 13+ |
- Paralytic bite. One of its attacks each round can be a bite. A creature damaged by it makes a Physical save; on a failure it loses its Move action each round. A second failure paralyzes it for an hour. The venom wears off after three successful saves.
- Night hunter. Nearly invisible in darkness or heavy cover: +2 to its Skill for stealth, and it gains a free round of attacks against anyone who doesn't notice its approach.
- Take and wrap. It drags paralyzed prey back to the lair and binds it in silk. Breaking free takes a Str/Exert check against difficulty 10.
- Implant egg. The queen only. She lays an egg in a paralyzed or helpless creature. It hatches in 1d3 days; from then on the host can't heal and takes 1d6 damage every six hours until the larva emerges or the host dies. Cutting it out takes a Heal check against difficulty 10; a failure deals the host 1d6 damage.
- Egg sense. The colony can feel its eggs within a mile, and tracks a host relentlessly.
Still open: playtesting the numbers, and where they live. Suggested, not settled: the caves and mountainsides of the Dwarven ranges.