Spellgaunt

Spellgaunts feast upon the arcane energy stored within magic items and creatures that use spells, draining the magic from them in the process.

A spellgaunt appears as a bizarre, elongated arachnid. Its spindly legs are 10 feet long, and its flat, golden body is covered with hairy, chitinous plates. The monster has tremendous, saw-edged fangs that end in fine, razor-sharp points. Sparkling saliva drips continuously from its maw.

Combat

A spellgaunt senses magic items and attacks any creature that carries one. It usually tries to immobilize foes with its force web first, then moves in to feed, drinking up the strongest magic first. Foes that evade its webs are bitten and clawed. If outnumbered, a spellgaunt moves quickly to snatch any visibly displayed magic items, then flees to its lair to feed in peace.

Disjunctive Bite (Su): A magic item bitten by a spellgaunt (see Sunder) must make a successful Will save (DC 23) or instantly become a nonmagical object. A spellgaunt feeding on an artifact has a 33% chance of destroying the item. If it destroys the item, it must make a successful Fortitude save (DC 25) or die instantly from an overwhelming ingestion of magical energy.

A spellcaster or a creature with supernatural or spell-like abilities that is bitten by a spellgaunt must make a Fortitude save (DC 23) or lose the ability to cast spells or use its magical abilities for 1d2 rounds.

Enhanced Bite (Ex): A spellgaunt’s fangs function as +4 weapons.

Force Web (Su): A spellgaunt can spray flexible strands of sticky, invisible force at a single Medium-size or smaller target up to 20 feet away. A successful Reflex save (DC 23) lets the target avoid the webs; failure means the creature is stuck and entangled (–⁠2 penalty on attack rolls and –⁠4 penalty to Dexterity). A force web is immune to damage of all kinds from most spells, including dispel magic. However, disintegrate immediately destroys a force web, and it is also vulnerable to the effects of a sphere of annihilation or a rod of cancellation. Since force webs extend into the Ethereal Plane, they also affect ethereal creatures. A force web dissolves after 1d4 hours.

Snatch Item (Ex): A spellgaunt can take an openly displayed magic item away from an opponent with a successful disarm attempt, whether or not the item is actually a weapon. It cannot remove armor or other items that are attached at multiple locations, but it can snatch forcefully enough to break a single strap or other such attachment⁠—​the strap holding a wand to an opponent’s belt, for example. See Grabbing Items.

Detect Magic (Su): A spellgaunt can see magical auras in its line of sight to a range of 120 feet. It immediately senses the aura strength of each magic item and magical effect it detects.

Quick Leap (Ex): A spellgaunt can make a standing jump as a free action.

Skills: A spellgaunt receives a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks, a +6 racial bonus on Jump checks, and a +12 racial bonus on Spot checks.

Source: Monster Manual II, page 188. This creature’s statistics block has been updated to version 3.5 as given in the D&D® V.3.5 Accessory Update for Monster Manual II.