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Having tried to hit you all with some Jedi Outcast nostalgia with my Artus Prime gazetteer, it’s time to double down and put forth a write up for the most irritating enemy on those levels: the mine crab. Despite not actually being a crab, it never occured to me before now to question the name of this aggressive monster. I was too busy freaking out, creeping through tunnels, and unloading far too many E11 bolts into (…and around…) them.
Artusian Mine Crab [Minion]
Hardy carnivores adapted to caves and tunnels, these so-called Mine Crabs are the scourge of Artusian subterranean development. So named for their hard carapace and crab-like legs, mine crabs bore little resemblance to true crabs found throughout the galaxy. Mine crabs packed deadly natural weapons into a small package, boasting sharp toothed maws and legs terminating in sharp claws. Their deep purple eyes, attuned to see in low light conditions, make the creatures adept at ambushing the mostly human miners of Artus Prime.
Mine crabs naturally subsist on small burrowing creatures native to Artus Prime. With the arrival of humanoid miners, however, the crabs have found new preferred prey. By attacking in packs, these small creatures can easily down an unwary miner. The mine crabs slow metabolism allows one adult human to feed a pack of crabs for several days. Miners have had limited success with extensive lighting and heavy grating, keeping some of the creatures at bay. But when doing close work, miners often have only the limited warning of the crab’s skittering and screeching to make their escape.
Br 2, Ag 3, Int 1, Cun 2, Will 1, Pres 1
Soak 4, W. Threshold 3
Skills (group only): Brawl, Coercion, Stealth, Survival.
Talents: Quick Strike (Add a Boost die to combat checks against targets that have not acted yet this encounter).
Abilities: Darkvision (Remove up to 2 Setback dice caused by darkness), Silhouette 0.
Equipment: Piercing claws (Brawl; Damage 3, Critical 2, Range [Engaged]; Pierce 2), lunging bite (Brawl; Damage 4; Critical 3; Pierce 1, Vicious 1).
Confined Spaces, Creepy Places
Worse than being ambushed by mine crabs is being ambushed by mine crabs in tight spaces. Characters squeezing through tight spaces move as per the rules for difficult terrain, requiring twice as many maneuvers as normally needed. In addition, characters unrestrained by the terrain gain the advantage of a Boost die against foes who are, such as Silhouette 0 mine crabs against Silhouette 1 characters.
For characters who know of the mine crab threat, hearing their distinct skittering and screeching can induce panic. Being caught in tight spaces by these creates can be particularly terrifying, thus a Hard (3 Purple) Fear check would be appropriate.
Christopher Hunt
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