The Strange
"Canny prospectors in the Chaosphere are recommended to try using harnessed cypher eaters to locate new regions of violet spiral, cyphers, or reality seeds."~excerpt from The True Traveler's Guide to the Strange
The 10-foot-long (3 m) cypher eater grazes on manifestations of energy that crystallize out of the Strange. It prefers violet spiral, cyphers, and reality seeds. Able to surf the dark energy network if necessary, a cypher eater prefers to stay anchored to massive pieces of fundament when possible, especially fundament with elaborate texture that allows the creature to hide amid nooks and crannies. Akin to a terrestrial shark's electroreception sense, a cypher eater's "chaoreception" allows it to sense cyphers and similar objects within long range, even if such objects are stowed or otherwise cached.
Cypher eaters are lone scouts—actually just one part of a highly developed hive of creatures, each of which has a specialized task or function within the community. A cypher eater has the role of community provider.
Motive: Hunger for cyphers and similar physical manifestations of the Strange
Environment (the Strange): Anywhere
Health 17
Damage Inflicted: Minor wound (3 points)
Movement: Short
Modifications: Perception as level 8 for tasks related to sensing cyphers and similar manifestations of the Strange.
Combat: A cypher eater's chaoreception sense suffuses it, and anyone who touches or strikes the cypher eater with a melee attack takes 2 points of damage as the attacker's body becomes an unwilling extension of that disruptive sense. (The cypher eater must choose to extend its ability in this way, which means it could also choose to keep the effect in check.) If a cypher eater bites a target, it focuses its special sense into the prey, who takes 2 points of damage as described above. In addition to that damage, one random cypher, violet spiral, reality seed, or similar object carried by the target detonates. The detonation inflicts a number of points of damage equal to the item's level on everything in immediate range, except for the cypher eater; instead of taking damage, the cypher eater regains a number of points of health equal to the level of the object, and may exceed its normal maximum health when it does so.
Interaction: A cypher eater is more akin to an insect than an animal; however, a cypher eater queen is intelligent and could be negotiated with if a creature has a telepathic ability or other means to bridge a language barrier.
Use: Jagger Shipping out of Ardeyn is planning a cypher eater quelling to improve their economic outlook (not realizing that this would likely rouse the nearby hive to exact vengeance), and is looking for hardy adventuring types to sign on. Pay is promised in cyphers or in violet spiral.
Loot: A cypher eater doesn't have loot, but if encountered out in the Strange, it's likely not far from one or two cyphers that can be extracted.
GM Intrusion: A PC's artifact "goes off" due to the influence of the cypher eater with double its normal strength (if applicable). If this accidental artifact discharge can affect the PC negatively, it does. Worse, the PC must make two depletion rolls for the privilege.
Within a cypher eater hive, specialized defenders can grow much larger than a normal cypher eater. A typical defender is level 5, measures almost 50 feet (15 m) in length, inflicts a moderate wound (5 points) with its chaoreception sense, has 25 points of health, and has 4 points of Armor.