LURKERS

Weight: 180lb (more if full)
Habitat: Urban (Alleyways)
Fright Check: -0

Lurkers are weak minions who live in derelict city slums, praying on the homeless, or anything else which is unfortunate enough to stumble across them. They appear to all intents and purposes as tattered bags of rubbish lying unattended against a wall. However, once a victim gets close enough, several mouths will open where "tears" were seen in the plastic, one running the entire length of its body. Several black, insect-like legs will lash out from all over its "skin" and from within the mouth, and drag the hopeless in, where they will be devoured over a period of several days.
Lurkers are covered with a loose black carapace, which is easily mistaken for plastic, and form knots and furls out of strands of thick hair which grow from this. They frequantly cover themselves with bits of rotting garbage to add to this affect. They can drag themselves about on their spindly, pointy legs, but can only do so slowly, and even then cannot actually lift their bodies of the ground. They tend to find an area with "good pickings", preferably with some shelter or an escape route within a few feet, and stay there.
Lurkers have several small mouths, and one big one, but they can only make cat-like mewling noises through these. They have lots of very small eyes hidden just beneath the rends in their carapace through which their mouths bite and legs sprout. This gives them a 360 degree view, but their vision is still quite poor. A Lurker may see you coming, but it probably won't be able to work out what you are until you're quite close. Not that this makes much difference; if a Lurker thinks that you're alone, it'll try to eat you unless it's just fed. After only a few hours a Lurker can fit a second victim inside itself, though this will make it look especially bloated.
Lurkers have some unknown connection to the Ragmen, and will never attack one, though will defend themselves if attacked first. Even if the lurker wins such a combat, for some reason it will never devour the remains of the slain. Maybe Ragmen just don't taste good.

In combat a Lurker will preferably get the first and last strike, Grappling a victim, biting in succession, and engaging in a contest of ST to draw them into its maw. Three success are needed to swallow a victim, at which points the toxins of the Lurkers innards will require the target to make a HT roll each turn or pass out. Bear in mind that a swallowed victim cannot breathe, and may possibly be exerting themselves, so keep track of air.
If outnumbered, a Lurker will try to escape, crawling down an open manhole or something similar. It can bite once for 1d imp damage and once for 1d cr damage each turn if at point-blank range, or lash twice with its legs for 2d cr. A Lurker uses its legs like a whip, with the same effects of pain as whips on p. B52. When a Lurker attempts to devour an opponent (which it never takes the time out to do in the midst of combat), it makes a Grappling Attack at +1 (to represent practise and a lot of limbs). Note that normally the victim is taken by surprise by the sudden attack from a rubbish bag, or may even be trying to sleep on it.

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