Monster Monday - Tentacled Worm for Classic Traveller

Tentacled Worm

Intimidator, Solitary or Pack (1d6), 200kg, hits 20/9, as Mesh, Teeth (3D damage) and special (see below), 4D, A5, F7, S2

Like many life-forms native to the arid, cold, dusty homeworld somewhere beyond the Spinward Marches, the Tentacled Worm is exceedingly hardy and exhibits both insectoid and mollusk characteristics. This xenomorph is the apex scavenger of its homeworld, eating anything and everything, but rarely actively hunting. It prefers its meals dead, though it might act as an opportunistic predator if it detects easy prey. Since it can feed on virtually anything organic and biologically compatible with humans, the Tentacled Worm quickly found its way to the trash-dumps and sewers of many worlds, its eggs inadvertently carried by many a merchant ship to different worlds. This creature looks like a combination between a grub and a cephalopod, 3 meters long and standing a meter high, with multiple legs carrying its weight and many tentacles surrounding its mouth.

The Tentacled Worm has two attacks which it may use in the same round: slapping its prey with its poisoned tentacles, or biting with its many sharp mouth-parts. The tentacles cause no damage, but on a successful hit, the victim must roll 8+ or be paralyzed by its venom for 1d6 rounds. The bite itself is handled as a normal "teeth" attack. It also enjoys a keen sense of smell used to located food, and any party attempting to surprise it rolls at a -2 DM. Note that this sense of smell does not usually allow it to detect non-organic targets.