Halls Hopper
Posts: 72
Joined: Wednesday, 5th January 2011, 21:48
Cranium Rats: A Dlvl-1 Unique
Its a "unique" called Cranium Rats. Remember them from Planescape: Torment? The idea is that, individually, these suckers aren't any different than rats, but when they come together as a group, a sort of telepathic collective-consciousness starts to form between them... working together when in a small handful, picking up a few spells when their numbers build to a few dozens, and culminating in a lethally frightening intelligence when they are legion.
In Dungeon Crawl, we'd see the weakest possible form. Together would spawn (preferably in an open area) three cranium rats. When all three are alive, "they" can cast a 1d6 dmg Magic Dart (with the projectile coming form an empty tile, if possible, or maybe such that a random one of them gets the spell on any given turn) and all three have the monster-intelligence of orcs. They still have the same HD and HP as ordinary rats, however. However, as soon as one dies, the last two become no different than ordinary rats. The first rat is worth 5-6 XP and the last two are each worth 1 XP a piece.
In essence, they're a scary enemy for a lvl 1 character, but the best way to neutralize the threat is to bum-rush them and kill one!