Wizards of the Coast. Accessed at The Art of Jim Nelson here.
[It could rip a tank apart! Jesus Christ!]
Craud This creature is a man-sized
crustacean, walking on four stilt-like legs with a pair of savage claws held
aloft. Numerous small limbs twitch and thrash along its torso.
Sometimes
called “the locusts of the sea”, crauds are ravenous omnivores that dwell along
coastlines and continental shelves around the world. Crauds usually act as apex
predators in shallow waters, although they can survive on nothing but kelp and
carrion if forced. Crauds are sociable creatures, and they tend to gather in
bands that hunt cooperatively, corralling fish or seals into the waiting claws
of their fellows. Crauds usually are capable of sustaining themselves with the
ocean’s bounty, although overfishing or other forms of resource depletion can
push them onto land to find food.
Crauds
are most dangerous under the command of a craud king. These rare mutants appear
as swollen and pale crauds, and they are capable of communicating
telepathically with their lesser brethren and guiding them into organized
raids. Craud kings are ravenously hungry, and so send their minions on shore
more frequently to hunt livestock and coastal communities.
A craud
stands about five feet tall and weighs 120 pounds. Locathah are fond of using
crauds as guard beasts, but hunt down craud kings in order to prevent their own
crauds from going rogue. More sinister are rumors of pirates who have captured
a craud king and use its horde of loyal followers as a terror weapon, following
in the wake of the destruction to loot and pillage abandoned homes.
Craud Kings A craud
king is a craud with the advanced and giant simple templates and telepathy to a
range of 120 feet. It can use inspire competence and inspire courage for 12
rounds a day as if it were a 5th level bard, but it can only use
these abilities on itself and other crauds. A craud king is CR 6.
Craud prefer to inhabit quiet shores, but under the command of a craud king will happily attack ships or even coastal settlements. They are most commonly seen in the Isles of Blessed Skies, where they sometimes come into conflict with larids.
Shores of Swords 