Chelarac, Chelarac BroodlingChelarac Broodling CR 2Source Pathfinder #144: Midwives to Death pg. 80
XP 600
NE Small aberration
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8DefenseAC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 11 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 size)
hp 22 (3d8+9)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +5OffenseSpeed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee bite +5 (1d6+3 plus poison)StatisticsStr 14, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 11
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 17
Feats Dodge, Mobility
Skills Climb +10, Knowledge (history) +3, Knowledge (local) +3, Perception +8, Stealth +13
Languages Common, plus one other languageSpecial AbilitiesPoison (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 14; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1 Int damage; cure 1 save.
Chelaracs appear as enormous spiders that have a human head with spiderlike mouthparts. They are usually a greenish-yellow hue, and their abdomen is covered in dozens of fluid-filled sacs in which their young gestate. A typical chelarac stands 7 feet tall, has a leg span of 10 feet, and weighs over 800 pounds.
Chelaracs are dangerous monsters that become even more dangerous as the fight goes on. Thankfully, these reclusive creatures live in isolated lairs underground or within ruins far from regular foot traffic. Some adventurers initially mistake chelaracs for araneas, often underestimating their danger.
These creatures can siphon memories from their victims, and they use this stolen knowledge to gain a better understanding of the outside world. Since they are typically encountered by explorers and adventurers, chelaracs obtain exciting and esoteric lore from their victims. Chelaracs are also long-lived, their life spans sometimes lasting for thousands of years. Taken together, this means that chelaracs can become living libraries of obscure lore and valuable information that would otherwise be lost to the march of time. Some creatures seek out chelaracs in hopes of learning from them; few chelaracs welcome strangers into their lairs, so interested parties must bargain with the monsters for their secrets. These bargains usually involve the stranger voluntarily subjecting herself to the chelarac’s bite so that the monster can siphon her memories in exchange for the sought-after lore.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing about chelaracs is the blister-like sacs that protrude from their abdomens, which hold their wriggling young. Chelaracs reproduce through parthenogenesis and thus do not require another chelarac to mate. Creepy enough by themselves, chelarac broodlings are only more terrifying in that their humanlike faces match the faces of victims from whom their parent has siphoned knowledge. The memories siphoned from victims are passed down to the young chelaracs as well. This effect can happen immediately, resulting in disturbing encounters with a chelarac. A victim of the chelarac’s siphoning might be surprised to see a young chelarac emerge with his own face or that of someone the victim knows. In addition, when young chelaracs emerge they babble stolen memories, making for an uncomfortable and potentially embarrassing encounter with the brood.
A chelarac can choose when to release a broodling and can keep one in its brood sac for an indefinite amount of time. A broodling grows to its young stage and then remains in stasis until the chelarac hatches it or the sac is ruptured. Young chelaracs rarely spend more than a day with their parent before scuttling off into the darkness to find their own lair. Broodlings grow at a surprising rate, reaching full adulthood in a matter of months. Newly hatched broodlings are less reticent to share their stored memories, and strangers can more easily ask these young monsters for information.
An obscure text written by a Darklands alchemist includes a formula to make a substance that can be combined with the blood of a chelarac. The text claims that if the alchemist mixes this substance with the chelarac’s blood and drinks the resulting concoction, the drinker is able to access a wealth of memories that were siphoned and stored in the monster’s mind.Creatures in "Chelarac" CategoryThis monstrous creature appears to be an enormous spider with a humanlike head. Sickly blisters holding squirming young cover the creature’s abdomen.
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