Arthrotomita

Nimble crept softly among the shelves.  A dizzying array of items filled them, all marked and labeled but in no language or order that he could determine. 

A soft clicking caused him to freeze.  The moonlight coming in through the small high windows was barely enough to see by, but Nimble turned slowly to look in the direction of the noise.  Seeing nothing, he closed his eyes and listened closely.  Multiple clicks, more like a ticking, faint, but coming closer, and from above – the top shelf most likely. 

Still too dark to see anything, Nimble drew the dirk from his belt, and waited.  After what felt like an hour, but was more likely just minute or two, Nimble spotted a spider leg, and then another walking along the top shelf.  The ticking was still soft, but much clearer now, and definitely coming from the spider.  When it finally was visible, Nimble could see its distinctive black eight legged form.  What caught his eye was the gleam of copper above its head.

The spider continued along the top of the shelf, until it was near Nimble’s location.  It paused and seemed to look down at Nimble, but made no other move.  The ticking continued. 

Eventually Nimble had to breathe, and his position shifted slightly to relive an impending cramp.   The spider reared back, the ticking sped up, and it leapt at Nimble’s head. 

Instinct and training fought for a fraction of a second, and in the end neither won.  Nimble ducked and jabbed with his dirk.  The spider missed his head, but landed on his back, avoiding the dirk completely.  Reacting as only one who has a spider on them can, Nimble used his free hand to swat the creature off of him, and jabbed down onto it with his blade, in the process knocking several boxes, jars, and cages onto the floor with a crash. 

Arthrotomita are a fusion of magitech with various arthropods.  They are able to understand and follow simple commands, and are used for a variety of purposes.  When creating an Arthrotomita, the maker must decide what purpose it will serve. 

Defense: These Arthrotomita will be equipped with various attack powers, usually poison for those interested in a lethal option, and webbing for those interested in live capture.

Scouting: Arthrotomita designed for scouting will often have enhanced movement capabilities, and the ability to record limited visual data, which they can then replay using a minor illusionary magic.    

Communication: Sometimes you have to get a message delivered ASAP, and a grasshopper is less likely to be spotted than a horse and rider!

Arthrotomita base statistics are as follows:

Armor Class: 9

Hit Dice: 1 hit (S)

Move: 60' (20')

Attacks: none

Damage: none

No. Appearing: 1

Save As: Normal Man

Morale: 12

Treasure Type: none

Intelligence: 3

Alignment: Neutral

XP Value: 2

They can be upgraded with no more than 3 of the following abilities

Armor I: AC 7

Armor II: AC 5

Improved Movement I: 90’ (30’)

Improved Movement II: 120’ (40’)

Flying Movement I: 30’ (10’)

Flying Movement II: 60’ (20’)

Flying Movement III: 90’ (30’)

Attack: Poison

Attack: Web (per spell)

Attack: 1d4 damage

Once the method of construction of an Arthrotomita is known, the base cost for creating on is 2,000gp, which gives the base creature 1 pick from the upgrade list, as chosen by the creator.  Each additional upgrade costs an additional 2,000gp, which means fully upgraded Arthrotomita cost 6,000gp each!