Knell Beetle

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Knell Beetle • Lesser Knell Beetle

Knell beetles are an offshoot of giant beetles that were long ago warped by overexposure to transmutation magic and sonic energy. Since their original creation, the twelvelimbed vermin have thrived in underground colonies, constructing immense, convoluted tunnel complexes reminiscent of anthills.

A knell beetle’s black and red carapace looks like it might conceal wings, but it acts only as durable armor. Two more limbs⁠—​jointed, agile, and wickedly hooked claws⁠—​jut from each side of a pair of long mandibles. Above the knell beetle’s head is a hornlike growth shaped like the bell of a massive trumpet, tapering above the creature’s shoulders and flaring out over its sharp jaws. Its four black, insectoid eyes sit in a chitinous brow ridge that runs just below this horn. Essentially, the creature lacks a true head; in its place is the large horn, which warbles and trumpets when the knell beetle communicates to other knell beetles.

Knell beetles, like most vermin, are mindless hunters. They live to breed and expand their warrens, breaking off into new colonies when one has grown too large for an area (typically when a colony has amassed more than fifty members). Knell beetles have also been known to be used as mounts by Underdark races. Hobgoblins have domesticated them in the past, as have some orc tribes. These groups know that in great numbers knell beetles only become more effective, and mounted units of knell beetles riders sometimes form the elite fighting units for certain tribes or cities.

A knell beetle usually measures about 9 feet in length and weighs about 1,500 pounds.

Knell beetles in groups fight by using their shake the earth ability, attempting to knock prone as many enemies as possible. They then rush in and trample whatever foes they can before switching to claw, bite, and rend attacks. The creatures only resort to their sonic chime attacks if necessary. Although mindless vermin, knell beetles fight with a certain amount of savage cunning, perhaps also a result of the long ago transmutation experiments that created them.

Rend (Ex): If a knell beetle hits with both claw attacks, it latches onto the opponent’s body and tears the flesh. This attack automatically does additional damage (amount shown in entry).

Shake the Earth (Ex): A knell beetle can channel some of the sonic energy within its body by performing a rhythmic stomping on the ground as a standard action. Any creature within 5 feet of a knell beetle when it activates this ability must make a Reflex save (DC shown in entry) or fall prone as the ground lurches and buckles beneath it. Knell beetles are immune to shake the earth generated by themselves or other knell beetles and never need to save against the effect.

If multiple knell beetles activate their shake the earth ability in the same round, the radius of the effect expands as the resonance in the ground combines. For every knell beetle within 5 feet using shake the earth, the radius of the effect expands by another 5 feet. Thus, two knell beetles within 5 feet of one another generate a shaking that affects all creatures within 10 feet of either knell beetle. Three knell beetles within 5 feet using the ability would generate an effect that affects all creatures within 15 feet of any one of the knell beetles.

Creatures with stability or that are considered stable against trip attempts receive a bonus on their Reflex save as if they were being tripped (so a dwarf would receive the +4 bonus on the save to resist being knocked prone). The save DC is Strength-based.

Sonic Chime (Su): Once per day, a knell beetle can emit a cone of sonic energy from the chitinous bell above its head. The cone is 30 feet long, and activating the chime is a standard action. Creatures within the cone take 10d6 points of sonic damage (Reflex DC 22 half). A knell beetle is immune to its own sonic chime attack and that of other knell beetles. Knell beetles attacking in numbers use this ability instinctually to heal their fellow knell beetles once several have taken damage (see sonic healing, below). The save DC is Constitution-based.

Sonic Healing (Su): Knell beetles are healed rather than harmed by sonic damage. They heal exchange a certain amount for damage to heal a point of damage it has already sustained (exchange rate shown in entry). If a knell beetle receives more healing than its current hit point maximum, the extra hit points are wasted (the creature does not gain temporary hit points from exposure to sonic damage). A knell beetle gets no saving throw against attacks that deal sonic damage.

Skills: Knell beetles have a +8 racial bonus on Balance, Listen, and Spot checks.

Lesser knell beetles are the equivalent of the worker drones in a beehive. They scavenge for food, build and expand the nest, and serve as frontline defenders if the colony is attacked. Although not nearly as potent as the normal knell beetles, in groups, the lesser versions can be nearly as deadly. A lesser knell beetle measures 4–5 feet long and weighs 180–200 pounds.

Like their larger brethren, lesser knell beetles seek to attack in groups, using their shake the earth ability and sonic screeches to both deal damage on their foes and heal each other. A key difference in strategy when lesser knell beetles and normal knell beetles fight together seems to be an instinctual tactic. The lesser knell beetles attack in a line as a unit, while the normal knell beetles gather together behind their smaller brethren. In this way, a normal knell beetle’s sonic chime attack catches many more lesser knell beetles in its blast. Due to their sonic healing ability, which is more potent than that possessed by the larger specimens, the lesser knell beetles are able to fight much longer than expected. Combined with their own screeches, lesser knell beetles often seem as durable, if not more so, than their heftier kin.

Screech (Su): Once per day, a lesser knell beetle can emit a cone of sonic energy from the chitinous bell above its head, just as a normal knell beetle. However, the lesser knell beetle’s cone is 20 feet long, and creatures within take 5d6 points of sonic damage (Reflex DC 17 half). The save DC is Constitution-based.

Skills: Lesser knell beetles have a +4 racial bonus on Balance, Listen, and Spot checks.

Knell beetles were used as mounts by the warrior legions of the ancient Dhakaan Empire. The ancient hobgoblin dynasty lives on as a series of ruins across Khorvaire, and knell beetles inhabit several of these sites. They also lurk in the depths of Khyber, where their ominous sonic chimes can sometimes be heard for miles.