FREQUENCY: Rare

FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Dungeon Level II])

FREQUENCY: Rare ([Temperate Wilderness Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Temperate Wilderness Hills], [Temperate Wilderness Forest], [Temperate Wilderness Plains])

FREQUENCY: Rare ([Tropical Wilderness Swamp])
FREQUENCY: Very rare ([Tropical Wilderness Hills], [Tropical Wilderness Forest], [Tropical Wilderness Plains])

NO. APPEARING: 2
ARMOR CLASS: 5
MOVE: 6" / 18"
HIT DICE: 1+1
% IN LAIR: 50%
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 ~ 18
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralyzation
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
INTELLIGENCE: Animal
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S (up to 2' long)
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: II | 65 + 2

SAVES: 14.15.16.17.17

Resembling giant bluebottle flies with four limbs -- miniature arms
&& legs -- the assassin bugs are rarely seen except during their mating
season (one day in every two months) when a male and a female may
be encountered flying in SEARCH of a host for their offspring. The
natural host is human, but assassin bugs have been known to lay
their eggs in demi-humans and (rarely) humanoids.

The male will always attack first, biting a victim for 1-4 HP of
damage while the female flies nearby, as close to the intended victim
as possible consistent with not risking being attacked. If the male's
attack succeeds, its saliva will paralyse the affected AREA of the
victim's body unless the victim makes his saving roll at +2. The male
will continue to attack until destroyed. For purposes of aerial
combat, they are manoeuvrability class C.

As soon as one of the male's attakcs has achieved the desired paralysation,
the female (which detects the scent of the male saliva) will
'attack' the affected AREA. If successful, the female implants her egg
into the victim's body. The female will die as soon as the egg has been implanted.

The egg will hatch, producing 7-12 larvae, 13-24 hours after it has
been implanted. During this period only a very powerful spell such as
a [limited wish] or [heal] will remove or kill the egg. WHen the larvae
hatch, each one wil cause 1 HP of damage to the host each hour
as it devours the host's internal organs. After 2 weeks the larvae will
leave the host, burrowing out through the AREA in which the egg was
originally implanted and causing an additional 5-8 HP of
damage per larva as they do so. As soon as they are outside the body
they will metamorphose into fully-grown assassin bugs.

While the larvae are in the host's body, they can be killed by a
number of spells CAST on the host:

    Cure serious wounds -- will kill one larva per experience level of the
        caster above the 6th level;
    Cure critical wounds -- will kill all larvae;
    A limited wish or similar spell can also be effective during this period.

Assassin bug eggs are regarded as great delicacies by trolls, troglodytes and
bugbears. The eggs themselves are 4-5" long and oval, coloured a deep blue.

Description: Assassin bugs are generally the colour of bluebottle
flies though the female tends to be a lighter shade than the male.
The four limbs are the colour of human flesh. The wings are nearly
transparent but have a faint silver hue.
 

        by Ian Livingstone