[My name is based on a portmanteau of “petra” from “rock”, and the scientific name of the group including crabs and lobsters, the Malacostraca]
Petramalc This
creature looks like a cross between a lobster and a man, standing as tall as an
ogre.
Sometimes called “pinchers”
or “rock lobsters” by adventurers, petramalcs are subterranean monsters that prey
on travelers and residents of the Darklands. They are savage combatants that
prefer to strike from ambush, lunging through solid rock to grab prey and drag
it back through the stone with them. A petramalc is a claustrophobe’s worst
nightmare—particularly troublesome opponents may be left behind in tiny
lightless chambers.
Petramalcs are of human
intelligence, but their mental energies are turned solely to killing prey and
collecting treasure. They especially prize soft and flexible materials—stone and
metals are common in the lightless depths, but silk is another level of rarity.
The most prized object a petramalc can own is magical clothing of some kind,
and they may be able to be dissuaded from murder with a gift of a magic robe,
cloak or vestment. A petramalc stands nine feet
tall and weighs more than a ton.
Petramalcs, usually called pinchers for their distinctive claws, are recorded by the dwarves as persistent foes to their mining operations. Thankfully, they were never numerous. Dwarven folklore recounts them as dwarves cursed by the gods for their covetousness, explaining their material greed. Their notorious gripping claws led to a popular Dwarven expression of ‘caught in a pincher’s pinchers,’ akin to ‘being caught between a rock and a hard place.’
Shores of Swords 