Mutated Scorpion

These massive, terrifying arachnids are typically 8 feet long from head to the base of the tail. Giant scorpions are the favored pack animals and war beasts of various desert-dwelling monsters, particularly gnolls. They are most commonly encountered in the wild, however. There they lair in mountainside caves or burrow beneath shallow layers of sand where they lie in wait for prey to wander near. Sleek, pallid subterranean scorpions also exist, as do still larger species.

Chitinous scourges of deserts, forests, savannas, and badlands, scorpions are deadly arachnids with powerful pincers and a painful sting. Scorpions can be found in nearly every climate, where they hunt their prey with a mixture of patient stealth and raw strength. Most scorpions live in underground burrows, either as lone hunters or part of a larger colony. These arachnids are so feared and dangerous that in many cultures, they are treated as deities or dualistic symbols of both death and protection from said death.