General Rules: Monsters - Ironbiter Swarm

Ironbiter Swarm (from Dungeon Crawl Classics #30.5: Trek from the Vault)
Diminutive Vermin (Swarm)

Hit Dice: 12d8+12 (66 hit points)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20 feet, climb 20 feet
Armor Class: 17 (+4 size, +3 Dexterity); touch 17, flat-footed 14
BAB/Grapple: +9/-
Attack: Swarm (3d6 plus poison plus special)

Full Attack: Swarm (3d6 plus poison plus special)

Space/Reach: 10 feet by 10 feet/0 feet
Special Attacks: Destructive bite, distraction, poison

Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 feet, immune to weapon damage, swarm traits, tremorsense 30 feet, vermin

Saves: Fortitude +9, Reflex +7, Will +4
Abilities: Str 3, Int -, Wis 10, Dex 17, Con 12, Cha 2
Skills: Climb +11, Spot +4
Feats: -
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary, raid (2 - 4 swarms), or invasion (7 - 12 swarms)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: -

An individual ironbiter beetle is roughly four inches long with a dull, metallic carapace and razor-sharp mandibles.

Combat
An ironbiter swarm seeks to consume metal along with any other prey it encounters. A swarm deals 3d6 points of damage to any creature whose space it occupies at the end of its move.

In order to attack, an ironbiter swarm moves into opponents' spaces, which provokes attacks of opportunity. It can occupy the same space as a creature of any size, since it crawls all over its prey, but remains a creature with a 10 foot by 10 foot space. Ironbiter swarms never make attacks of opportunity, but they can provoke attacks of opportunity. An ironbiter swarm’s attacks are nonmagical. Damage reduction sufficient to reduce the swarm attack’s damage to 0, being incorporeal, and other special abilities usually give a creature immunity (or at least resistance) to damage from a swarm.

Unlike other creatures with a 10 foot by 10 foot space, an ironbiter swarm is shapeable. It can occupy any four contiguous space and it can squeeze through any space large enough to contain one of its component creatures.

Destructive Bite (Ex): Ironbiter swarms cherw through metal as easily as flesh. An ironbiter swarm automatically deals its swarm damage to metal armor and weapons as well as living targets. Characters may attempt a DC 17 Fortitude save to halve the damage inflicted to any attended magic armor or weapons. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its turn with an ironbiter swarm in its space must succeed at a DC 17 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 17, initial and secondary damage 1d2 Strength. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Swarm: A swarm has no clear front or back and no discernible anatomy, so it is not subject to critical hits or flanking. An ironbiter swarm is immune to all weapon damage. Reducing a swarm to 0 hit points or lower causes it to break up, though damage taken until that point does not degrade its ability to attack or resist attack. Swarms are never staggered or reduced to a dying state by damage. Also, they cannot be tripped, grappled, or bull rushed, and they cannot grapple an opponent. A swarm is immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate), with the exception of mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects) if the swarm has an Intelligence score and a hive mind. A swarm takes half again as much damage (+50%) from spells or effects that affect an area, such as splash weapons and many evocation spells. An ironbiter swarm is susceptible to high winds such as that created by a gust of wind spell. For purposes of determining the effects of wind on an ironbiter swarm, treat the swarm as a creature of Diminutive size. A swarm rendered unconscious by means of nonlethal damage becomes disorganized and dispersed, and does not reform until its hit points exceed its nonlethal damage.

Vermin: No Intelligence score, and immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).

Skills: An ironbiter swarm has a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks and a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks. It uses its Dexterity modifier instead of its Strength modifier for Climb checks. It can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.

Vulnerabilities
Ironbiter swarms are extremely difficult to fight with physical attacks. They have a few special vulnerabilities as follows.

A lit torch swung as an improvised weapon deals 1d3 points of fire damage per hit.

A weapon with a special ability such as flaming or frost deals its full energy damage with each hit, even if the weapon's normal damage can't affect the swarm.

A lit lantern can be used as a thrown weapon, dealing 1d4 points of fire damage to all creatures in squares adjacent to where it breaks.

Home     Three Worlds     Monsters