Day Five -- Thotharcxa, the corpse beetles

Day Five of 30 Monsters in 30 Days.

Thotcharcxa
# encountered: 3d4 (3d4)
% in Lair: 100%
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 60' (20')
       Flight: 90' (30')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 1*
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d4 + special
Save: F1
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: None (see below)
XP: 13

Thotcharcxa are a voracious and invasive beetle found in tombs, mausoleums and crypts. They feast on flesh and are capable of stripping a corpse in a matter of minutes. While preferring to feed on the dead they will happily attack any living creatures that stumble into their lair. They are about two feet long and pale green in color.

Any living creature bitten by a corpse beetle must make a Save v. Poison or be injected by a liquifying agent that deals gradual damage; one point of damage in each subsequent round, lasting a number of rounds equal to the initial damage dealt. If a target is bitten by a Thotcharcxa, taking 3 points of damage and failing their saving throw they take an additional one point of damage for the next three rounds. A Neutralize Poison spell will end the damage.

Lair Encounter. The family crypt of a local noble has been infested with nine Thotcharcxa; they discovered the beetles the previous day when attempting to inter a recently decessed cousin. There is nothing of value in the tomb, but the family is willing to pay 500 gold to have the beetles removed. The crypt consists of a single room, under their manor house, twenty feet wide and forty feet long. The dead are interred in a series of niches dug into the walls; there are forty niches, and each niche has a 1-3 chance of containing 1-2 corpse beetles. The beetles will not emerge from the niches until the party makes a commotion or an indivdual niche is disturbed. The dead cousin's corpse is on the floor in the center of the crypt, stripped to the bone.