The Monster Depot: Cancrevour

A potential likeness for the Cancrevour. Art by Maciej Janaszek

The Cancrevour is a crablike, humanoid monster. Its body is covered with a reddish, chitinous shell. This natural armor makes the Cancrevour a very tough opponent to damage; all but the hardest hits bounce harmlessly off its body. This aberrant monstrosity also sports two large pincers that it uses to chop and slice its prey. Though it does not have have their own language, one of the more unsettling features of the Cancrevour is its ability to imitate speech. While they are not intelligent enough to understand spoken language, they can repeat sounds and words that they hear from other beings. However, due to the difference in vocal chords, this “speech” is filled with blood-curdling trills, clicks, and hisses.

In battle, this crablike foe will often attack the enemy it considers to be the most armored or protected. This may be because it considers armored opponents to be the most dangerous. Another observed trait of the Cancrevour is its seeming refusal to retreat once it has engaged in a fight. While many believe this is because the species are fearless hunters, the truth is actually much more disturbing. In actuality, the beast is controlled by an infectious parasite that leeches of its host’s body in order to replicate. The parasite drives the Cancrevour to attack so it can infect new hosts through open wounds and replicate. After a host becomes infected by the parasite, it will slowly be transformed into another Cancrevour in a matter of weeks. Once the transformation is complete, the process repeats itself with the new Cancrevour host.

 

OSR statblock

 


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J.T. Dimino

Tabletop gamer, freelance writer, and all-around geek.

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