The Locari are scary, but not SCARY enough…yet...

While working with our newest writer, Benjamin Wenham, I discovery that the second revamp of the Locari (inspired by the Giger’s Aliens and Marvel Comics Brood) I created for NeoExodus: A House Divided, we not REALLY scary enough. I mean PCs would be worried but not have the level of fear I think they should have. And with that we scraped the 2nd version of them and started working on a 3rd version. But the sad part was that no one saw the 2nd version we were going to scrap. I didn’t like that, so here we are with the 2nd revamp of the Locari. Enjoy!

Locari

This creature resembles a man-sized insect, its chitin mottled with dark browns and grays. Its features hint at the moth, the mantis and the wasp, though it has no visible wings and its stance is undeniably humanoid.  The locari are a young race, a race of killing machines whose origins are shrouded in mystery – unlike the deadly danger they pose to all of Exodus, about which no rational being has the slightest doubt.  In poor lighting, a locari can pass for a humanoid shrouded by a heavy coat or cloak, but even a cursory inspection reveals its monstrous form. It resembles a giant insect standing on its rear legs, and its shape and armaments partake of many different arthropod ancestors.  Locari communicate with each other by means of a complex language of sounds, gestures and pheromones. Exceptionally intelligent specimens (Int 10+) have been known to convincingly ape humanoid languages.

Locari - CR2
XP 600
LE Medium monstrous humanoid (Locari)
Init +2 Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +1

Defense
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+2 Dex, +5 natural, +1 dodge)
hp 19 (3d10+3)
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +4

Offense
Spd 40 ft. (8 squares)
Melee 2 claws +5 (1d4+2) and stinger +5 (1d3+2 plus disease)
Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft.
Attack Options: implant, pounce
Special Actions

Statistics
Str 15, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 19
Feats Ability Focus (Implant), Dodge
Skills Acrobatics +7, Climb +7
Language Locari

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Disease (Ex): Locarexis: Sting-injury; save Fort DC 12; onset 1d4 days, during incubation, the locari eggs can be removed with a Heal check (DC 30) or a heal spell; frequency 1/day; effect 1d4 Con damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save is Constitution-based.

Pounce (Ex): A locari can make a full attack at the end of a charge.

Combat
Created for the battlefield, locari make unsurprisingly fearless and formidable combatants. Since they have little or no instinct for individual survival, they happily throw themselves en masse against even the most stalwart Defense, hoping to overwhelm more skilled foes with numbers and ferocity.

The initial frenzied assault of a locari band is bad enough; far worse is the aftermath. Anyone stung by a locari risks becoming a host to its offspring, and the creatures willingly throw their lives away if they can sting a foe. Often, the implanted egg goes undetected until it is too late for medics or clerics to remove.

Locari seem to lack the intelligence and initiative to employ more complicated tactics, yet they have occasionally been known to employ them; like many aspects of these enigmatic terrors, the source of their occasional tactical expertise lies outside the knowledge of the wisest sages.

Talk to you later…