Stag Beetle (giant)

Stag Beetle (giant)

Species	insect (lucanus gargantua)
No. Appearing	2–5
Behaviour	solitary
Range	savannah, woodland
Size	14 ft. long
Weight	2,600 lbs.
Intelligence	0
Armour Class	3
Hit Dice	7
Action Points	4
Max. Stride	8
THAC0	17
Hp/Die	3d4
Attack Forms	2: two horns
Damage	horn (2–13)
Special Attacks	none

Giant stag beetles are enormous herbivorous scavengers, preferring to consume rotted wood and compost. It is not unusual for a stag beetle to tear down an old tree and begin consuming the mass, roots and all. They are rarely aggressive unless provoked, but when disturbed, they can become dangerous. They have been known to feast on dumps and vegetable stores in towns, causing significant property damage and posing a threat to those who attempt to drive them off.

The creature attacks with its horns, swinging its head from side to side in wide, powerful arcs. It will usually overbear its opponents, knocking them aside with sheer mass and momentum before continuing its path to avoid further confrontation. They rarely stand their ground in a prolonged fight, preferring to flee rather than engage in extended combat.

Behaviour

Giant stag beetles are most active at dusk and during the night, avoiding the heat of the day by burrowing beneath decaying logs or within dense undergrowth. Their enormous mandibles are lined with specialised grooves that help strip bark and break down fibrous material more efficiently, accelerating the decomposition process in the ecosystems they inhabit.

These giant beetles do not typically associate with others of their kind, preferring a solitary existence as they scavenge for decaying plant matter. When they do encounter another of their species, they engage in violent territorial disputes, ramming one another with their massive horns in a manner similar to deer. These clashes are powerful enough to shake the ground, and the impact of two stag beetles colliding has been known to echo across entire valleys. Their horns can grow as long as seven feet, though three to four feet is more common. The beetles can open and close their horns slowly, and they often spread them wide in a menacing display before launching an attack.

Legends in some cultures speak of ancient stag beetles growing so large that they could topple entire forests, their movements mistaken for earthquakes by distant villagers. Others regard them as omens — creatures that signal the end of an era when seen in great numbers, their destruction of rotting wood symbolising the sweeping away of the old to make way for the new.

See Bestiary