Perhaps they are the remnants of ancient God-learner sorcery, or maybe they grew huge feeding on the leavings of dragons, but giant vampire crabs are a terror even rhinox riders rightly fear.  Almost entirely mindless, they fear nothing, are larger than a shovel-nose, are quick over short distances and have a carapace that can turn all but the heaviest of blows. The Vampire Crab is so named for its feeding palps which appear rather fan-like and inject an acid into its victim which liquefies the body form the inside out, to be drained by the crab.

            Vampire crabs are not subtle hunters. Their vivid purple coloration makes hiding almost impossible and their size makes their appetite formidable. They are best avoided if possible, but their feeding habits often leave valuable tidbits lying about their lairs or habitat – in the form of hollowed bodies sucked dry of anything nutritious.

Note: Primitive Nervous System: Damage to Hind Legs does not reduce total Hit Points until it is brought to below Zero, at which point it is useless, counts 10 against total HP. Any further damage to that location does not further ‘real’ damage since, if the crab survives, it regrows the limb from scratch over time.

Attacks              Reach         Attack      Damage     Maneuver 

Claw                         3             65%      1d10+2d8     Impale/ Grip

Grip /Squeeze                          -           2d6+2d8      Sunder

Bite                          0             50%       1d8+1d8      Acid attack

Skills: Swim 60%, Brawn 60%, Perception 45%, Persistence 49%, Resilience 88%

Claw: The crab may attack with either claw, and may impale if it hits well. If it gains 2 levels of success, it will take hold of its target, and Grip and Squeeze on its next action. A gripped victim may roll DEXx3 or STRx3 to break free as an Action. Otherwise it is still gripped and will be damaged automatically when the Grip/ Squeeze action takes place.   

Bite: A victim that is Gripped may be brought to the palps of the crab to be bitten. If the bite does even a single point of damage, the acid is injected into the body doing 1d6 damage [ignoring armor] for three turns [+1 for each level of success on the bite]. It begins in the locations struck and liquefies it first [it must reduce the location to -6 to do so] then moves to the next logical location with a higher location number and does the same. A gripped target may take a single attack directly at the head as a free action immediately before the bite [this is one of the few times that the ‘head’ of the vampire crab is vulnerable]. If it does even a single point of damage past the head armor, the bite is aborted.