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{{Creature start2 <!-- See Help:Creatures for full instructions on editing creature pages and copy/paste code. Copy/pasting code from an existing creature page may result in missing fields -->
{{Creature start
| picture = Giant_fog_beetle.jpg
| level = 32
| level = 32<!-- This will also be used at the end of the page in the Near level creature template -->
| type = Insect
| family = Beetle<!-- Add creature to family page list, which will be linked on preview/save -->
| family = beetle
| type = Insect<!-- Creature body type -->
| attacks = Pincers and Special.
| otherclass = <!-- Other classification limited to corporeal undead, non-corporeal undead, elemental, extra planar, magical; insert otherclass2= for 2nd classification (up to 3) -->
| area = [[The Broken Lands]]<br>[[Greymist Wood]]
| undead = No
| otherclass2 =
| area = Greymist Wood<!-- For multiple areas, add area2, area3, area4 (through 8) fields if needed -->
| bcs = Yes
| area2 = The Broken Lands
| area3 =
| area4 =
| area5 =
| area6 =
| area7 =
| bcs = Yes <!-- All new creatures are BCS -->
| hitpoints =
| roundtime = <!-- Creature speed -->
}}
}}
{{Creature attack attributes2 <!-- ALL WEAPONS, SPELLS AND COMBAT MANEUVERS WILL LINK AUTOMATICALLY. -->
{{Creature attack attributes
| PA1 = Pincer<!-- Physical attacks insert up to PA10 and corresponding value/range up to PAJ -->
| physical =
| PAA = 228
{{creature ability|[[Pincer]]|+228 [[Attack Strength|AS]]}}
| nobolt =
| PA2 =
| nowarding =
| PAB =
| noability =
| PA3 =
|maneuver =
| PAC =
| BT1 = <!-- Bolt spells insert up to BT10 and corresponding value/range up to BTJ -->
{{creature ability|Green gas}}
| BTA =
| WD1 = <!-- Warding spells insert up to WD10 and corresponding value/range up to WDJ -->
| WDA =
| WD2 =
| WDB =
| WD3 =
| WDC =
| OS1 = <!-- Miscellaneous offensive spells (non-bolt and non-warding) insert up to OS10 -->
| MN1 = <!-- Combat Maneuvers insert up to MN10 -->
| MN2 =
| AB1 = <!-- Special abilities insert up to AB10, include creature maneuvers here, manually link if appropriate -->
| ABA = <!-- Special abilities right column, use respective corresponding right column as needed for misc info -->
}}
}}
{{Creature defense attributes2 <!-- Replace ? with value or range, but do not include when the creature is under the effects of disabling statuses (stun/knockdown/interference/curse/etc.) -->
{{Creature defense attributes
| asg = <!-- Insert asg # and template will automatically convert to include type of armor -->
| defense =
| IMM1 = <!-- add IMM2 (up to 15) for additional immunities -->
{{creature ability|[[Melee]] |100 [[Defensive strength|DS]]}}
| Melee = 100
{{creature ability|[[Ranged]] | [[Defensive strength|DS]]}}
| Ranged =
{{creature ability|[[Bolt]] |+102 [[Defensive strength|DS]]}}
| Bolt = 102
{{creature ability|[[Bard Base]] |+97 [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| UDF =
{{creature ability|[[Ranger Base]] | [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| BarTD = 97
{{creature ability|[[Sorcerer Base]] | [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| CleTD =
{{creature ability|[[Wizard Base]] | [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| EmpTD = 112 - 118
{{creature ability|[[Cleric Base]] | [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| PalTD =
{{creature ability|[[Empath Base]] |+112 to +118 [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| RanTD =
{{creature ability|[[Paladin Base]] | [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| SorTD =
{{creature ability|[[Major Elemental]] |+120 [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| WizTD =
{{creature ability|[[Minor Elemental]] |+119 [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| MjETD = 120
{{creature ability|[[Major Spiritual]] |+109 [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| MnETD = 119
{{creature ability|[[Minor Spiritual]] |+109 [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| MjSTD = 109
{{creature ability|[[Major Mental]] | [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| MnSTD = 109
{{creature ability|[[Minor Mental]] | [[Target defense|TD]]}}
| noability =
| MnMTD =
| DSP1 = <!-- Defensive spells insert up to DSP15, they will automatically link -->
| DSP2 =
| DSP3 =
| DSP4 =
| DSP5 =
| SDA1 = <!-- Special defensive abilities list insert up to SDA10, these will not link automatically -->
}}
}}
{{Creature treasure
{{Creature treasure
| gems = No
| coins = No
| coins = No
| magic items = No
| magic items = No
| gems = No
| boxes = No
| boxes = No
| other = None
| other = No
| skin = a fog beetle carapace
| skin = a fog beetle carapace
| nobox =
| skinvalue = ?
}}
}}
{{Creature end}}
{{Creature end}}
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==Hunting strategies==
==Hunting strategies==
Fog beetles are immune to [[Mind Jolt (706)]] and do not stun for [[Implosion (720)]], though they will stun for [[Evil Eye (717)]].
Fog beetles are immune to [[Mind Jolt (706)]] and do not stun for [[Implosion (720)]]. They are like some other stun resistant creatures in that they will stun for [[Evil Eye (717)]].


They will fight with the [[hooded figure|hooded figures]] and the [[jungle troll|jungle trolls]]. The figures and trolls do not fight back.
They will fight with the [[hooded figure|hooded figures]] and the [[jungle troll|jungle trolls]]. They do not fight back, though when figures cast [[Cone of Elements (518)]], it hits the fog beetles.


==Other information==
==Other information==
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</pre>
</pre>


==Behind The Scenes==
==Behind the Scenes==
[[Uthex Kathiasas]] did not have an [[Iruaric]] name for these insects, and it did not change with the end of the [[ICE age|I.C.E. Age]]. They appear to be "other standard" (non-demonic) extra-planar entities from [[Rolemaster]] called Dictics, who were quite simply large insect-like creatures from another plane of existence. Their chitin had the strength of "fine steel", and they were unintelligent. The premise was that they came in many variations, much like beetles in real life, infesting other planes of existence when they find their way to them. This would explain the [[dust beetle|dust beetles]] which were in [[Shadow Valley]] before the [[shadow steed|shadow steeds]] returned to fight the "[[Muylari#Behind The Scenes|wyrm]]." It explains why they seem to arrive out of nowhere. They have often appeared where there has been [[Maleskari#Behind The Scenes|historical presence]] of the major demonic. They are not considered [[Extraplanar beings (saved post)|extraplanar beings]] for system purposes in [[GemStone]] IV.
[[Uthex Kathiasas]] did not have an [[Iruaric]] name for these insects, and it did not change with the end of the [[ICE age|I.C.E. Age]]. They appear to be "other standard" (non-demonic) extra-planar entities from [[Rolemaster]] called Dictics, who were quite simply large insect-like creatures from another plane of existence. Their chitin had the strength of "fine steel", and they were unintelligent. The premise was that they came in many variations, much like beetles in real life, infesting other planes of existence when they find their way to them. This would explain the [[dust beetle|dust beetles]] which were in [[Shadow Valley]] before the [[shadow steed|shadow steeds]] returned to fight the "[[Muylari#Behind the Scenes|wyrm]]." It explains why they seem to arrive out of nowhere. They have often appeared where there has been [[Maleskari#Behind the Scenes|historical presence]] of the major demonic. They are not considered [[Extraplanar beings (saved post)|extraplanar beings]] for system purposes in [[GemStone]] IV.


The fog beetles are probably an allusion to the "beetle civilisation" that was supposed to follow the end of the race of man in [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/sot.aspx "The Shadow out of Time"] by H.P. Lovecraft. The idea was that an [[Crystyl|immensely knowledgeable]] race would [[The Dark Path#Behind The Scenes|transfer their minds]] into other races of the future, "the bodies of whose members the cream of the Great Race would seize when the [[Purgatory#Purgatory|monstrous doom]] overtook the elder world", which in this context is the [[Lords of Essaence]] and the [[First Era]] cataclysm. Their portals were capable of time travel, and the [[Marlu#The Broken Lands|Dark Shrine]] [[Lesser vruul#Behind The Scenes|inscription]] is a [[The Temple of Darkness|temporal anomaly]]. There is a similar premise regarding the [[Uthex Kathiasas#Behind The Scenes|crystal dome]], apparently an allusion to [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/tgsk.aspx "Through the Gates of the Silver Key"].
The fog beetles are probably an allusion to the "beetle civilisation" that was supposed to follow the end of the race of man in [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/sot.aspx "The Shadow out of Time"] by H.P. Lovecraft. The idea was that an [[Crystyl|immensely knowledgeable]] race would [[The Dark Path#Behind the Scenes|transfer their minds]] into other races of the future, "the bodies of whose members the cream of the Great Race would seize when the [[Purgatory#Purgatory|monstrous doom]] overtook the elder world", which in this context is the [[Lords of Essaence]] and the [[First Era]] cataclysm. Their portals were capable of time travel, and the [[Marlu#The Broken Lands|Dark Shrine]] [[Lesser vruul#Behind the Scenes|inscription]] is a [[The Temple of Darkness|temporal anomaly]]. There is a similar premise regarding the [[Uthex Kathiasas#Behind the Scenes|crystal dome]], apparently an allusion to [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/tgsk.aspx "Through the Gates of the Silver Key"].


The Jagged Plain can be regarded as the analog of the plateau of Leng, due to the monastery and [[hooded figure#Behind The Scenes|hooded figures]], and allusions to [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/mm.aspx "At the Mountains of Madness"]. However, it refers also to the underworld in [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/dq.aspx "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath"], escaping the [[Traag#Behind The Scenes|Vale of Pnoth]] into a plain of giant boulders. In the [[A Popular History of the Broken Lands|background story]] for The Broken Lands these boulders originate in a [[525|meteor swarm]]. It is worth noting that [[Shadow Valley]] and the Jagged Plain are both shrouded by unnatural mist, where in the former case it was dust beetles and [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/mo.aspx "The Mound"], whose subterranean realm had the [[Uthex Kathiasas|material world]] form of the [[Traag#Behind The Scenes|vaults of Zin]] with sealed up [[Magru#Behind The Scenes|shoggoths]]. It features ''another'' immortal telepathic race who performed cruel transmogrification experiments on life and reanimated corpses as [[Spectral miner#Behind The Scenes|slave labor]]. The gas cloud of green poison may [[Lesser vruul#Behind The Scenes|refer]] to a recombinant manifestation of [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/cc.aspx Cthulhu] where: ''"the ship was befouled by an '''acrid and blinding green cloud''', and then there was only a '''venomous seething''' astern."''
The Jagged Plain can be regarded as the analog of the plateau of Leng, due to the monastery and [[hooded figure#Behind the Scenes|hooded figures]], and allusions to [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/mm.aspx "At the Mountains of Madness"]. However, it refers also to the underworld in [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/dq.aspx "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath"], escaping the [[Traag#Behind the Scenes|Vale of Pnoth]] into a plain of giant boulders. In the [[A Popular History of the Broken Lands|background story]] for The Broken Lands these boulders originate in a [[525|meteor swarm]]. It is worth noting that [[Shadow Valley]] and the Jagged Plain are both shrouded by unnatural mist, where in the former case it was dust beetles and [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/mo.aspx "The Mound"], whose subterranean realm had the [[Uthex Kathiasas|material world]] form of the [[Traag#Behind the Scenes|vaults of Zin]] with sealed up [[Magru#Behind the Scenes|shoggoths]]. It features ''another'' immortal telepathic race who performed cruel transmogrification experiments on life and reanimated corpses as [[Spectral miner#Behind the Scenes|slave labor]]. The gas cloud of green poison may [[Lesser vruul#Behind the Scenes|refer]] to a recombinant manifestation of [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/cc.aspx Cthulhu] where: ''"the ship was befouled by an '''acrid and blinding green cloud''', and then there was only a '''venomous seething''' astern."''


However, the messaging on fog beetles has been modified over time, so it cannot safely be parsed that stringently. The beetles may also be taken as a specific reference to the Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath when the narrator reaches [[Greater kappa#Behind The Scenes|Ngranek]], shortly before being [[Traag#Behind The Scenes|kidnapped]] to the underworld by [[Lesser vruul#Behind The Scenes|night-gaunts]], seeking the enormous carved face of the Great Ones. ''"Black caverns and odd crevices were still numerous on the '''sheer vertical cliffs''', but none of them was accessible to a climber. There now loomed aloft a '''great beetling mass''' which hampered the upward view, and Carter was for a moment shaken with doubt lest it prove impassable."'' In The Broken Lands this face would be the eye windows of the [[Marlu#Behind The Scenes|Dark Shrine]] overlooking the Jagged Plain, though there is also a scene with mountain sized heads in the distance flying over the plateau of Leng to Kadath.
However, the messaging on fog beetles has been modified over time, so it cannot safely be parsed that stringently. The beetles may also be taken as a specific reference to the Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath when the narrator reaches [[Greater kappa#Behind the Scenes|Ngranek]], shortly before being [[Traag#Behind the Scenes|kidnapped]] to the underworld by [[Lesser vruul#Behind the Scenes|night-gaunts]], seeking the enormous carved face of the Great Ones. ''"Black caverns and odd crevices were still numerous on the '''sheer vertical cliffs''', but none of them was accessible to a climber. There now loomed aloft a '''great beetling mass''' which hampered the upward view, and Carter was for a moment shaken with doubt lest it prove impassable."'' In The Broken Lands this face would be the eye windows of the [[Marlu#Behind the Scenes|Dark Shrine]] overlooking the Jagged Plain, though there is also a scene with mountain sized heads in the distance flying over the plateau of Leng to Kadath.


== See Also ==
== See Also ==

Revision as of 15:14, 29 June 2019

Giant fog beetle
Giant fog beetle.jpg
Level 32
Family Beetle family creatures
Body Type Insect
Area(s) Found Greymist Wood
The Broken Lands
BCS Yes
HP
Speed
Attack Attributes
Physical Attacks
Pincer 228 AS
Defense Attributes
Armor
? ASG
Defensive Strength (DS)
Melee 100
Ranged
Bolt 102
Unarmed Defense Factor
UDF
Target Defense (TD)
Bard Base 97
Cleric Base
Empath Base 112 - 118
Paladin Base
Ranger Base
Sorcerer Base
Wizard Base
Minor Elemental 119
Major Elemental 120
Minor Spiritual 109
Major Spiritual 109
Minor Mental
Treasure Attributes
Coins No
Gems No
Magic Items No
Boxes No
Skin a fog beetle carapace
Other No

The giant fog beetle appears to be some sort of giant insect. It looks a little like some misshapen scorpion, but the tail on it is not as long as a scorpion's would be, and it flares like the tail of a lobster rather than ending in a poison sting. The segmented body is wide, supported by six short multi-jointed legs. A dull red chitinous shell covers most of its body, and a broad carapace protects its head. Two massive claws provide the creature with formidable weapons.

Hunting strategies

Fog beetles are immune to Mind Jolt (706) and do not stun for Implosion (720). They are like some other stun resistant creatures in that they will stun for Evil Eye (717).

They will fight with the hooded figures and the jungle trolls. They do not fight back, though when figures cast Cone of Elements (518), it hits the fog beetles.

Other information

Fog beetles are puncture resistant rather than puncture immune since being converted to BCS.

Other Messaging
A giant fog beetle comes scrambling into view, seemingly from nowhere.

A giant fog beetle nudges your corpse with its head. 

A vile green liquid slowly drips to the ground from the underside of a giant fog beetle.

A giant fog beetle gnashes its mouthparts and begins to nervously flap its wings at a rapid pace. It takes flight!
A giant fog beetle hovers north, its wings a flurry of movement.

Gas Maneuver

A giant fog beetle rears up momentarily and hisses loudly.  A huge cloud of green gas pours from an orifice on the creature's underside!
The cloud of gas rolls in your direction.  You scramble out of the way and easily avoid it.
  • Failure resulting in RT:
A giant fog beetle rears up momentarily and hisses loudly.  A huge cloud of green gas pours from an orifice on the creature's underside!
The cloud of gas rolls in your direction.  You try to scramble out of the way but the cloud of gas rolls over you, causing you to cough and choke!
Roundtime: 5 sec.
  • Failure resulting in RT and poison (10-11 per round dissipating 3 per round):
A giant fog beetle rears up momentarily and hisses loudly.  A huge cloud of green gas pours from an orifice on the creature's underside!
The cloud of gas rolls in your direction.  You try to scramble out of the way but the cloud of gas rolls over you, causing you to cough and choke!
You feel a fierce poison coursing through your veins!
Roundtime: 5 sec.
A giant fog beetle rears up momentarily and hisses loudly.  A huge cloud of green gas pours from an orifice on the creature's underside!
The gas washes over you and you calmly breathe it in like it was pure air.

Behind the Scenes

Uthex Kathiasas did not have an Iruaric name for these insects, and it did not change with the end of the I.C.E. Age. They appear to be "other standard" (non-demonic) extra-planar entities from Rolemaster called Dictics, who were quite simply large insect-like creatures from another plane of existence. Their chitin had the strength of "fine steel", and they were unintelligent. The premise was that they came in many variations, much like beetles in real life, infesting other planes of existence when they find their way to them. This would explain the dust beetles which were in Shadow Valley before the shadow steeds returned to fight the "wyrm." It explains why they seem to arrive out of nowhere. They have often appeared where there has been historical presence of the major demonic. They are not considered extraplanar beings for system purposes in GemStone IV.

The fog beetles are probably an allusion to the "beetle civilisation" that was supposed to follow the end of the race of man in "The Shadow out of Time" by H.P. Lovecraft. The idea was that an immensely knowledgeable race would transfer their minds into other races of the future, "the bodies of whose members the cream of the Great Race would seize when the monstrous doom overtook the elder world", which in this context is the Lords of Essaence and the First Era cataclysm. Their portals were capable of time travel, and the Dark Shrine inscription is a temporal anomaly. There is a similar premise regarding the crystal dome, apparently an allusion to "Through the Gates of the Silver Key".

The Jagged Plain can be regarded as the analog of the plateau of Leng, due to the monastery and hooded figures, and allusions to "At the Mountains of Madness". However, it refers also to the underworld in "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", escaping the Vale of Pnoth into a plain of giant boulders. In the background story for The Broken Lands these boulders originate in a meteor swarm. It is worth noting that Shadow Valley and the Jagged Plain are both shrouded by unnatural mist, where in the former case it was dust beetles and "The Mound", whose subterranean realm had the material world form of the vaults of Zin with sealed up shoggoths. It features another immortal telepathic race who performed cruel transmogrification experiments on life and reanimated corpses as slave labor. The gas cloud of green poison may refer to a recombinant manifestation of Cthulhu where: "the ship was befouled by an acrid and blinding green cloud, and then there was only a venomous seething astern."

However, the messaging on fog beetles has been modified over time, so it cannot safely be parsed that stringently. The beetles may also be taken as a specific reference to the Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath when the narrator reaches Ngranek, shortly before being kidnapped to the underworld by night-gaunts, seeking the enormous carved face of the Great Ones. "Black caverns and odd crevices were still numerous on the sheer vertical cliffs, but none of them was accessible to a climber. There now loomed aloft a great beetling mass which hampered the upward view, and Carter was for a moment shaken with doubt lest it prove impassable." In The Broken Lands this face would be the eye windows of the Dark Shrine overlooking the Jagged Plain, though there is also a scene with mountain sized heads in the distance flying over the plateau of Leng to Kadath.

See Also

References

Near-level creatures - edit
Level 30 Level 31 Level 32 Level 33


Level 34
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