BX Monsters A to Z: Beetle, Giant

 Remember when the Beetles* were huge? The D&D Basic Set remembers.

Giant beetles come in several flavors: Fire, Oil, Tiger, and Ringo. 

"We all live in a dungeon garbage heap, a dungeon garbage heap, a dungeon garbage heap..."
Alternate caption: "I wanna eat your ha-a-and. I wanna eat your hand..."

Wait, what? OK, just Fire, Oil, and Tiger. Regardless of type, all the giant beetles have tough shells and very good AC, so Basic-level adventurers are likely to go through a lot of unsuccessful attacks if it comes to a fight. That means more opportunities for the monsters to use their own attacks, which are pretty respectable in terms of damage. With almost no possibility of loot to be had, they're better avoided than fought, if it can be managed.

Giant fire beetles are the smallest of the giant beetles, and by far the ones I've used most in my games. They're best known for their three glowing glands, which emit light in a 10' radius and will go on shedding light for 1d6 days after the beetle's death, which could come in handy if a low-level party runs out of torches and lamp oil. I imagine these guys are mostly scavengers, feeding on carrion, offal, and perhaps the fungi that also feed on those things. Why do they glow? My theory is that it's a way for the beetles to recognize their own kind, perhaps for mating purposes, and I like to think that makes them prone to bumble into an adventuring party's light sources, mistaking them for fellow beetles. I think they'd also be capable of clumsy low-altitude flight, or at least wing-assisted hops, at their listed movement rate.

Giant oil beetles are a kind I've sadly neglected, but I'm seeing real potential in them now. They also seem like they'd be scavengers. They can bite for 1-6 points of damage, but it's their oil spray attack that makes them especially appropriate for low-level parties. It inflicts no actual damage, but inflicts painful blisters which cause the target character to attack at -2 for the next 24 hours. A cure light wounds spell will heal the blisters, but won't cure points of damage if used for that purpose. This sort of non-lethal but impactful effect is something D&D could use more of, in my opinion, providing medium- to long-term consequences other than direct damage or death.

Giant tiger beetles are the largest and strongest, with 3+1 HD and a crushing bite for 2-12 damage. Because of that, and the fact that you could encounter up to six at a time in the dungeon and eight outdoors, they're not a foe to be casually engaged by Basic-level characters. They're explicitly stated to be carnivorous, feeding mainly on robber flies (interesting bit of D&D ecology there) but also perfectly happy munching on humans, and presumably any other living creatures they come across. Because they feed primarily on robber flies, though, and robber flies feed on killer bees, I'd expect the three species to be found in proximity to one another quite often -- another interesting bit of fantasy ecology. Tiger beetles are the only giant beetles to have a Treasure Type, specifically Type U, so it's still likely to be rather paltry compared to the risk involved.

All types of beetles could possibly be dissuaded from attacking with food. Fire beetles might be distracted by light sources (making it a real shame that B/X as written has no dancing lights spell, but it'd be worth porting in from AD&D). Tiger beetles might be distracted by the sounds of robber flies (audible glamer is another spell worth BX-ifying).

I honestly wouldn't change a thing about any of these giant beetles; they're perfect exactly as written.


*When it comes to British bands, I'm much more of a Deep Purple guy, but the Power of the Pun compels me.


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