Tidal Blades
Monkulas are dangerous, heavily armored spiders about the size of large dogs that roam the desert. They often make their nests in abandoned crypts and caves, spinning elaborate silken webs that snare and preserve their prey until mealtime.
Monkulas have powerful legs that allow them to take huge leaps, and extremely sharp mandibles with which they quickly dissect and devour prey.
Before monkulas reach their full size, they sometimes spin a web between the horns, spines, or other body parts of another creature and go along for the ride, hoping to find new territory, lifelong mates, or fresh food. Most of these nomadic monkulas find a new location quickly and make their home there, but a monkula may remain on their host creature for years.
Baby monkulas are about the size of a human fist and typically move in groups of eight to ten creatures.
Motive: Hungers for flesh
Environment: Dark, cavernlike spaces, including caves, abandoned buildings, and underground burrows
Health: 15
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (5 points)
Armor: 2
Movement: Short; long when traveling across webs or jumping
Modifications: Jumping and climbing as level 6; act as level 3 creatures when in cold weather or very bright light
Combat: A monkula's envenomed fangs inflict a moderate wound (5 points), plus 3 points of Speed damage (ignores Armor) from poison if a victim fails a Might defense roll. Debilitated victims are not killed but instead cocooned and hung for later dining. The creature's webs (level 5) hold victims immobile until they manage to break free. A monkula in cold weather or an area of very bright light has all of its actions hindered by two steps.
Interaction: Most monkulas are aggressive predators and react accordingly.
Use: A farmer's herd animal or a merchant's wagon has been overtaken by baby monkulas. The characters come upon a monkula while searching through a cave or crypt.
Loot: Cocooned corpses of previous victims hanging in a monkula's web sometimes contain valuables, including 1d6 shells and cyphers.
GM Intrusion: While running from another creature, a character stumbles into a monkula's web and gets stuck.