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Tallyclick - AI-generated fantasy Monster

Tallyclick

Travelers call it the Tallyclick, after the evenly spaced tapping left in the dust where it waits. Some claim the taps count the steps of approaching prey; naturalists insist the sound is simply its legs testing the ground. The name has spread farther than any reliable account of the creature.

Monsters
Large monstrosity · CR 5 (1,800 XP) · Uncommon

Tallyclick

A giant, long-legged beetle that controls space with sweeping limbs and pins prey in crushing mandibles.
AC16
HP95/95
CR5 (1,800 XP)
Init
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
ConditionsNone

Combat

AC 16 · HP 95 · CR 5 (1,800 XP)

Tallyclick

Large monstrosity, unaligned
Armor Class16 (natural armor)
Hit Points95 (10d10 + 40)
Speed
40 ft.,
Climb 20 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
Saving ThrowsConstitution
SkillsPerceptionStealth
Senses
Darkvision 60 ft.,
Tremorsense 30 ft.,
Passive Perception 13
Challenge5 (1,800 XP)
Proficiency Bonus+3
Passive Perception13
Stilt-Legged Stride. The beetle does not provoke opportunity attacks when it moves out of a creature's reach, provided it moves at least 10 feet during that turn.
Overstep. The beetle can move through spaces occupied by Medium or smaller creatures. The first time it enters a creature's space on a turn, that creature must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone. A creature can be affected only once per turn.

Actions

Mandible Clamp. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 18 () piercing damage. If the target is Large or smaller, it is grappled (escape ). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the beetle cannot bite another target.
Multiattack. The beetle makes two Leg Scythe attacks.
Leg Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 11 () slashing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Rattle. The beetle releases a harsh, rattling chitter in a 20-foot radius. Each creature of the beetle's choice in that area that can hear it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of its next turn. A creature that succeeds is immune to this beetle's Rattle for 24 hours.

Reactions

Sweeping Intercept. When a creature the beetle can see enters its reach, the beetle makes one Leg Scythe attack against it.
Role
Reach-based controller and grappling bruiser
Built for
Four characters of 5th level; a tough solo encounter, especially in confined terrain.

Notes for the game master

Custom monster designed for D&D 5E, not a canonical published creature.
Mandible Clamp's grapple and restraint end if the beetle is incapacitated or if the target escapes with a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check as an action.
Sweeping Intercept is a custom reaction and can be used once per round.

Tactics

  1. Opening

    Wait among fallen branches or stone pillars, then strike the nearest creature with a reach attack. If it can catch multiple enemies in its opening position, use Rattle to disrupt their approach.

  2. Mid-fight

    Use Leg Scythe to topple targets, then clamp a prone or isolated foe. Rattle when several enemies close in or when a frightened target might flee into difficult terrain.

  3. End of the fight

    If badly hurt, seize a single target with Mandible Clamp and drag it toward cover. It abandons a grapple rather than fight to the death if escape is possible.

  4. Retreat

    At 25 hit points or fewer, the beetle retreats by stepping over obstacles and squeezing through gaps too awkward for its pursuers. It fights on if guarding eggs or a fresh kill.

How it fights

Keep moving to threaten several lanes with its long reach.
Target creatures who have already spent movement or defensive reactions.
Use its climbing speed to attack from low walls, trunks, or cavern ledges.
Avoid fighting in open ground against a well-positioned ranged party.

Who it attacks first

A creature isolated within reach
A prone target that can be seized and dragged away
A nearby creature threatening its nest or escape route

Works well with

Small skirmishers can lure characters into the beetle's reach.
Terrain that restricts lateral movement makes its sweeping legs more dangerous.
A second creature that threatens a grappled target can force the party to divide its attention.

How to beat it

Ranged attacks can exploit its lack of ranged options.
A successful Strength check against DC 15 ends the grapple from Mandible Clamp.
Flight and elevated terrain make its ground-based reach less useful.
Its Rattle affects only creatures that can hear it, and successful saves grant temporary immunity.

Ways to avoid a fight

A steady series of taps can be imitated to draw it toward a chosen location.
It may be driven away from a nest with smoke or a strong unfamiliar odor.
It can be observed safely if approached slowly and without blocking its retreat.

Ecology

A wagon-sized beetle balanced on six impossibly long, jointed legs. Its polished, dark shell is scored with pale rings, and its oversized mandibles open and close with the slow precision of shears. When it turns, its legs tap the ground in a measured, hollow rhythm.

Behavior

A patient ambush predator that stands motionless until prey enters reach. It uses its long legs to keep distance, trip pursuers, and maneuver around obstacles. It usually drags captured prey away rather than eating in the open.

How it lives

It hunts alone, favoring prey it can knock down and carry off. Adults shed their shells in sheltered hollows, and their larvae feed on rotting wood, fungi, and animal remains. It is not ordinarily aggressive toward creatures that keep their distance.

Lair

It shelters in a broad, dry hollow beneath a fallen tree or among collapsed masonry. The entrance is marked by orderly piles of husks and bones, arranged as if swept there by a careful hand.

Habitat
Old-growth forests, cavern systems, overgrown ruins, and wooded ravines.

Signs that it is near

Evenly spaced, hollow taps that stop when approached
Parallel furrows scored into dirt or soft stone
Piles of cleanly sheared branches and discarded insect shells

Tags

beetle,
giant insect,
ambush predator,
reach,
grapple

Lore

Travelers call it the Tallyclick, after the evenly spaced tapping left in the dust where it waits. Some claim the taps count the steps of approaching prey; naturalists insist the sound is simply its legs testing the ground. The name has spread farther than any reliable account of the creature.

What drives it

Secure food and defend a sheltered breeding site.

After the fight

The mandibles remain sharp enough to serve as prized carving tools, while the long legs can be fashioned into springy poles or delicate frames. Nearby beetles may gather around the carcass unless its scent glands are removed.

“Some claim the taps count the steps of approaching prey; naturalists insist the sound is simply its legs testing the ground.”
From its lore

Variants

Pale Tallyclick: A cave-dwelling specimen with 90-foot darkvision and a habit of tapping on stone to locate prey.
Brood-Guard Tallyclick: A nesting adult that fights to the death while its eggs are threatened, but otherwise has the same statistics.

Hooks

Plot hooks

A string of supply wagons has vanished, leaving only evenly spaced impressions in the road dust.
A naturalist offers payment for an intact shell shed in the beetle's nesting hollow.
A village has mistaken the beetle's rhythmic tapping for a warning of an imminent landslide.

How to use it

Use one as a CR 5 solo threat in a space with pillars, fallen trunks, or other obstacles that complicate movement.
Pair it with lesser vermin that distract characters while it isolates a vulnerable target.
Make its tapping approach audible before it attacks, giving alert characters a chance to prepare.
Use a narrow trail or ravine to make its 15-foot reach matter without preventing characters from finding cover.

Treasure

A shed shell worth 100 gp to a collector, though too bulky for easy transport.
A bundle of rare fungi growing on the remains in its lair.
A set of polished mandible blades that can be sold as unusual artisan tools.

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