Lurker (Dungeons & Dragons)

Infobox D&D creature
name=Lurker
alignment=Neutral
type=Aberration
subtype=
source=Tome of Horrors 1, Strategic Review#3, 1E Monster Manual, Monstrous Compendium Volume 2, 1E Monster Manual 1, Monstrous Manual, Underdark
first=
mythical=
based=
wizards_image_URL=http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/ud_gallery/52076_CN.jpg

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Lurker is an Aberration. It is similar to the Darkmantle and the Piercer, but attacks with suffocation instead of impaling. The Lurker resembles a flat, grey Stingray with two small eyes at the front. They are capable of both creeping along a ceiling and slowly gliding through the air. The Darkmantle is said to be the result of crossbreeding a Lurker with a Piercer. Lurkers live underground.

Characteristics and habits

Lurkers, as said beforeWho|date=January 2008, attack simarily to the Darkmantle and the Piercer. They flap/crawl to the roof of a cavern, and attach themselves to the ceiling. They wait until prey comes beneath them and then drop below. Because they are flat and not pointed, they do not impale the prey. Instead, they wrap around the head of the victim and suffocate them. They do not let go until either they or the prey is dead. They can only be fought off by others, or with small weapons the prey was already holding. Lurkers are solitary creatures, unlike the Piercer which lives in colonies which can be huge. Females lay glutinous sacks of eggs on the ground, and newborns feed upon vermin which can be found on cave floors, until they are old enough to fly and can attack in the above described method.Lurkers were first described in the AD & D Monster Manual (First Edition) by Gary Gyax. The original name of the monster in that publication read "Lurker Above". The "Above" was dropped subsequentially and they just became lurkers in later editions of AD & D.

Trappers

The trapper is a variation of the of the Lurker. Instead of attacking by dropping from above, it waits on the floor and kills by closing itself over prey that walks on top of it.

Forest trapper (miner)

Another, more different variation of the Lurker. The Miner waits on the floor of forests, waits until prey walks on top of it, and then attacks with two poisonous barbs.

Lurkers and their variations cannot speak, and they are neutral in alignmentvague.

Publication history

The lurker above first appeared in "The Strategic Review" #3 (August 1975).

References

*Greenwood, Ed. "The Ecology of the Trapper." "Dragon" #84 (TSR, 1984).