[Thundarr Thursday] Savage Menagerie: Stalker From the Stars

No. Enc.: 1
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40'); burrowing 90’ (30’)
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 11
Attacks: 6 (4 claws, tail, bite)
Damage: 1d8, 1d8, 1d8, 1d8, 1d6, 1d8
Save: L9
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XVI

A stalker is a large (8 feet tall) slug-like creature with four clawed arms, a large fanged mouth, and yellow pupil-less eyes on eyestalks. The stalker is not a mutant, however, but rather an evil space-faring creature that travels from planet to planet, collecting prey to take back to its homeworld for food. A stalker will not stop until it has collected 50 creatures (mutants, animals, etc.) and secured them for transport. Once it has captured enough prey, it will return home with its “harvest” to feast. NOTE: A stalker prefers to eat live prey, so it will try to subdue or overpower a victim rather than killing them outright.

A stalker is able to burrow underground at an accelerated rate using its hyperburrowing ability. The stalker often likes to dig underneath a victim, grab them, then pull them underground for an attack. The stalker can also use this ability to break through wood flooring or other fragile ground coverings in order to surprise and overtake its victim.

When attacking, the stalker has four claws that can each strike for 1d8 hit points of damage. It also has a tail it can whip around for 1d6 hit points of damage as well as biting for 1d8 hit points of damage. The creature’s eyes can also emit an optic emission that will strike a foe for 1d6 damage as well as blinding them for 1d4 rounds. One additional ability of the creature is that it can control any machine for 1d10 rounds once per week. The control is only through line of sight and is used as a last resort for defense if the creature is in danger of being captured or defeated.

Stalkers are able to cocoon their prey using webs that spray from their claw’s tips. Once a victim is defeated or captured, the stalker cocoons its victims and returns them to the cargo hold of its hidden spaceship for later transport back to its homeworld. The creature does not use its webs in combat or as a trapping material. It is used only to bind an already defeated creature.

The stalker is an incredibly powerful and dangerous creature and should not be randomly encountered. Rather, an entire campaign should be built around investigating and stopping this monster from another planet. Failure could mean the disappearance of entire communities – including the party’s home village.

Mutations: webs, hyperburrowing, optic emissions, machine control

NOTE: This creature is inspired by the episode “Stalker From the Stars” from the classic Ruby Spears post-apocalyptic cartoon “Thundarr the Barbarian.” Stay tuned each week for “Thundarr Thursday”!