Sanctacaris
| Climate/Terrain: | Shallow sea floor |
|---|---|
| Frequency: | Rare |
| Organization: | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle: | Day |
| Diet: | Carnivore/Scavenger |
| Intelligence: | Animal(1) |
| Treasure: | Nil |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| No. Appearing: | 1-4 |
| Armor Class: | 3, 0 (head) |
| Movement: | 8 (crawling and swimming) |
| Hit Dice: | 7 |
| THAC0: | 13 |
| No. of Attacks: | 1 |
| Damage/Attack: | 1d12 |
| Special Attacks: | Nil |
| Special Defenses: | Nil\ |
| Magic Resistance: | Nil |
| Size: | H (15' long) |
| Morale: | Steady (12) |
| XP Value: | 650 |
Sanctacaris is a primitive arthropod that seems to be an ancestor of the arachnids (horseshoe crabs, spiders, etc.). In appearance, it looks like a centipede with the armor of a lobster. However, the legs are more like fins, and the jaws have branching sets of feeding appendages on them. The men who described it scientifically nicknamed it "Santa Claws."
This creature bites its prey, doing 1d12 points of damage. It lives in one of two types of caves: those that are narrow tunnels, and those with narrow entrance tunnels but chambers wide enough for the animal to turn around in. It always backs into the former cave. Either way, anyone attempting to invade its lair will face its formidable jaws and head, which is more heavily armored than the body. (For the BUGHUNTERS game, attacks on the head lose four damage points and two lethality ratings, while those on the body merely lose two damage points and one lethality rating. The head is also invulnerable to all small arms rounds weaker than HEJA.)
Once "Santa Claws" gets its jaws around a victim, escaping is difficult at best. (Roll a Strength check at -1 penalty for AD&D characters and a Fitness roll with a -5 penalty for BUGHUNTERS PCs.)