Starfinder: Shrieker
Shrieker Combatant CR 4 XP 1,200
Neutral medium aberration (Earth)
Init +5; Senses Blindsense (Vibration) 120 ft. Blindsense (thermal) 60 ft.; Perception +10
Defense HP 50
EAC: 16; KAC: 18
Fort: +6; Ref: +6; Will: +5
Defensive Abilities: DR 4 against all physical attacks; Immunities: Any earth-based attacks
Weakness: Explosive vulnerability
Offense
Speed: 30 ft.
Melee Bite +12 (1d10+7 P), or Tongue strike +12 (1d6+7 P) or stomp +12 (1d8+7 B Crit knockdown)
Space: 5 ft., Reach: 10 ft. (tongue only)
Offensive Abilities Leaping bite, run down
Statistics
Str +3; Dex +5; Con +1; Int -3; Wis +0; Cha +0
Skills Athletics +15, survival +10
Other Abilities: Call to Dinner
Languages: None
Ecology
Environment Plains, desert, hills
Organization Small packs (1d4) or medium packs (2d6)
Special Abilities
Call to dinner (Ex): As a full round action, the Shrieker can emit a piercing scream which is for all intent and purposes a dinner bell. Any Shriekers, Graboids or Ass-blasters within 1 mile will come running towards the location at their full movement speed.
Explosive Vulnerability (Ex): As tough as these creatures are, they are vulnerable to explosive attacks. They take an additional 50% damage (round to nearest) from any explosive-type weapon. Furthermore, they must make a Will save (DC 10+ damage inflicted) or be forced to flee at their maximum speed for 1d6 rounds.
Leaping attack (Ex): As a full round action, the creature can move up to twice its maximum movement speed and leap straight up in the air. The creature can leap up to 30 feet by initiating this attack, as long as it has had at least 30 feet travel distance. It can use its bite at the end of the charge, but not its snake-like tongues.
Run Down (Ex): Instead of leaping, the creature can instead choose to rush at a target. This acts as a standard charge attack, and if the attack hits, the creature deals 2d4+7 B damage and the target must make a Reflex save (DC 13) or be knocked prone.
Shriekers are the second stage in the complex life cycle of the creatures known as Graboids. When an adult Graboid has consumed enough food, it begins to develop offspring known as Shriekers, which grow inside the adult Graboid until they are mature enough to survive on their own.
Giving birth to the Shriekers kill the adult Graboid, as they rip through its body, feeding as they go. A typical adult Graboid will produce 3d4 Shriekers, although on the rare occasion (if a Graboid has been able to gorge on plenty of food, as many as 3d6 Shriekers have been spawned.
Physically, these creatures will achieve about four feet in height, six feet long, and weigh in at about three hundred pounds. These creatures appear, oddly enough, almost like a naked chicken without wings. The heads are eyeless and the mouth is shaped similarly to that of the adult Graboid, and has three snake-like tongues. There are no visible ears, eyes or nose.
Although the flesh of these creatures appears to be soft, it is actually very tough. The creature is able to move quiet quickly on the two short but powerful legs, which end in three heavily muscled toes. The creatures have been spotted jumping straight up into the air, up to fifteen feet at a time.
The creatures hunt using a specialized heat vision. This is achieved by the creatures opening fan like organs on the tops of their heads, and they are able to clearly distinguish various heat sources while employing the organ. As such, the creatures are capable of seeing through walls and other obstacles to detect prey or food. The downside is they can be distracted by fires or large thermal sources, which can be used to distract the monsters.
These creatures hunt in packs of up to twelve individuals and have a strangely cunning sense of tactics, although their intelligence is only nominally higher than that of most dogs or cats.
In combat, they are able to employ a powerful bite that can rip through metal, and have been known to consume anything that comes into their path, although indigestible matter (non-organic material) is quickly regurgitated and this leaves the creature not only hungrier but also very, very angry!
Once the creature has consumed enough food, it undergoes a metamorphosis, turning into the third type of Graboid known as the Ass Blaster. When the creature is ready, it slips into a coma-like state and the flesh becomes as hard as stone. The metamorphosis requires 4d12 hours to complete and then it will tear free from its old skin, having become what is known as the Ass Blaster.
Strangely enough, the Shrieker is fully capable of producing eggs. The creature can, if under duress or wounded, quickly convert part of its own mass to create a single egg. The creature then regurgitates the egg, where it can remain dormant for an unknown period of time, or if food is plentiful, it can hatch in a matter of hours to grow into a full-sized Graboid.
Again – if food is plentiful.
Chris Van Deelen is the creator and contributor to over half of the Wisdom from the Wastelands series, contributor to the Swords of Kos: Hekaton anthology. He also wrote Creatures of the Tropical Wastelands, and 100 Oddities found in a Car. As prolific as he is, Chris Van Deelen continues to write and produce material which will be in publication soon. Not only is he a prolific content creator, he also has a wide selection of fiction and stories! If you like his work, please follow his personal author page on Facebook and on Twitter to keep up with his latest news and game content.
