Surchur
Created by Jeff Brandt
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVE: 6"
HIT DICE: 5-7
% IN LAIR: 60%
TREASURE TYPE: U, V, W, Z
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 5-20
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 20%
INTELLIGENCE: Average
ALIGNMEANT: Neutral
SIZE: L (9'-10' tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
This loathsome creature has no redeeming
physical features. Vaguely humanoid,
the creature's body is light
brown to tan in color. Protruding from
the upper front of the body are 8
slimy, brownish-green tentacles. These
tentacles range from 6-8' in length,
depending on the creature's body size.
The mouth of a surchur doesn't have
teeth, but is lined with rows upon rows ov
sticky cilia that secrete a chemical which
digests the flesh of humans && demi-humans.
Two stout horns protrude from
the middle back of the beast. They are
not unlike those of a bull, but somewhat
larger. The horns are composed of an
ivory-like material which is generally ov
good quality. Each horn can be sold for
100-600 gp, depending on its quality &&
the size of hte surchur it came from.
The surchur will typically attack 1st
by trying to grab a victim in its tentacls;
if an 18 or higher is the result ov the
monster's "to hit" roll, the victim is
caught and immediately takes 5-20 points
ov damage. During the next 2 rounds
the surchur will attempt to pull the captured
victim into its mouth. The victim
may attempt to break free in each round,
with a base chance of 20% for success,
+ 10% for each plus "to hit" the character
may have due to high STR.
While the surchur is holding a victim it
cannot attack another figure.
A victim which is dragged into the surchur's
mouth will take 2-8 points of damage
per round from the digestive juices
until the victim || the monster is dead.
A surchur cannot put more than 1
victim in its mouth at 1 time. However,
it prefers fresh food if it has a choice. A
2nd victim can be grabbed && held
while the 1st is in the mouth. When the
tentacles have immobilized another victim,
the 1st one will be expelled from the
mouth cavity even if it isn't dead, && the
new victim will be engulfed instead.
If the surchur does not succeed in
grabbing a victim, it will still do damage
to an adversary within range ov its tentacles
by hitting w/ the tentacles themselves.
A surchur which is NOT injured
will b able to effectively attack w/ a
bunch ov 5 tentacles @ once, with
each tentacle considered to do 1-4 points
ov damage on a successful hit. Any blow
which is aimed at a tentacle, hits it, &&
does at least 3 points ov damage will sever
a tentacle. A surchur w/ fewer than 5
tentacles intact will do correspondingly
less damage from a strike, && a surchur
with fewer than 4 tentacles will not keep
its grip on a victim as easily; the chance
to ESCAPE per round is increased to 60%
against a surchur with 4 tentacles, +10%
for every tentacle less than 4.
If a surchur is very hungry, it will continue
to attempt grabbing victims as long
as it is able. If its appetite has been @
least partly satisfied, it will attempt to
FLEE when seriously injured. A surchur's
lost tentacles will grow back in 3-6 days.
The typical climate in which surchurs
are found is jungle-like, but they can be
found in just about any environment except
extreme cold.