Planetoid Beetle
Source: Alien Archive 2
CR: 9 XP: 6,400
N Huge vermin
Init.: +3 Senses: blindsense (vibration) 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft. Perception: +17
Defense
HP: 145
EAC: 22 KAC: 24
Fort: +13 Ref: +11 Will: +8
Offense
Speed: 30 ft., burrow 10 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee: bite +21 (2d10+15 A & P)
Ranged: acid spit +19 (4d6+4 A; critical corrode 1d6)
Offensive Abilities: break objects
Statistics
Str: +6 Dex: +3 Con: +4 Wis: +0 Int: — Cha: -3
Skills: —
Ecology
Environment: any vacuum
Organization: solitary or pair
Special Abilities
Acid Spit (Ex) Once per round as a standard action, the planetoid beetle can spit acid as a ranged attack that has the line property and a range of 60 feet.
Break Objects (Ex) When attacking an object, a planetoid beetle treats that object’s hardness as 10 lower.
Consume Objects (Ex) A planetoid beetle can eat objects with a hardness of 10 or lower. It deals 4 damage per minute to an object it’s consuming. It is sated and stops feeding on a given day after dealing 400 damage in this way.
Rock Tunneler (Ex) Using its acid to soften rock, a planetoid beetle can burrow through stone at half speed. It can make tunnels when it burrows.
Description
Even the vacuum of space has bugs. Most of these void-dwelling vermin are harmless, but some are dangerous or predatory.
Asteroid lice and planetoid beetles feed on minerals in the rock of their airless habitats. Asteroid lice are communal, but planetoid beetles are territorial, tolerating only one mate. These creatures and their eggs can float in space to a new home. However, careless quarrying and shipping have accelerated their spread through the galaxy.
Xenobiologists theorize many space vermin evolved in special circumstances. Necropedes were once centipede-like scavengers on Eox; they now have a bite that can digest undead flesh. A warpmoth is like a glowing blue-white speck attracted to moving light, such as other warpmoths or passing starships. Gathering in swarms and following ships helps the moths feed and mate. Comet wasps create nests in frozen interstellar bodies. These icy, venomous vespids lay their eggs in living creatures.
