“I still have nightmares. I can’t get them out of my head. The cracked, rotten shells, dead lifeless eyes, and the legs… so many legs writhing in the darkness!”
– Aebae, Sole survivor of the 3rd expedition to Goth’fol.
Physical Traits
Scuttlers is the name used to refer to the giant undead insects that plague the jungles and temples of Floodplains. They come in all varieties of insects, yet typically grow much larger than should be possible. From 10ft-long centipedes to hulking beetles the size of rhinos, Scuttles would be a fearsome threat, even without the undead enhancements they benefit from.
The undead qualities manifest in the form of lifeless eyes, missing limbs, cracked shells, or in extreme cases, hollow shells piloting themselves about. The correlation between their size and undead nature is unknown, however, there have been no sightings of living insects of this scale so the conditions must be related somehow.
Not Part Of Gods Plan
The Floodplains has no native undead. Chaac didn’t design the Scuttles or any other undead creature when building his realm, and as such, he didn’t account for them when creating the environment, wildlife, and civilisations of the Floodplains. This is why the Scuttlers have caused such disruption in their existence. The realm is perfectly suited for them to hunt and kill without challenge and those creatures and races that are native to the realm often find themselves trapped by the environment. An environment that the Scuttlers are much better suited for traversing.
While their origin is not known (despite the Compendium’s efforts to find out), it is generally accepted that Scuttlers are a man-made creation from ages past. Deep within one of the many sunken temples surely lie the answers to the Scuttler’s creation.
Killing Without Purpose
Scuttles, by nature of being undead, do not need to eat and cannot digest anything they do accidentally consume. In most situations, a Scuttler will kill without reason or intent. Unlike a beast killing for a meal, or a person fighting for survival, a Scuttler will kill just to end a creature’s life. They are known for becoming relentlessly single-minded when it comes to slaying their target, ravaging their target even once they lose consciousness, only moving on once the life is utterly snuffed out.
Scuttler Stat Blocks
In this blog, I have five variations of the Scuttler. Each has its own abilities and strengths which are detailed below. Click the stat block to download it.
Scuttler Pest
Scuttler Pests are small undead insects that make up the bulk of a typical population. They have many appearances, from decaying ants, cracked woodlice, shambling beetles, or rotten aphids. Scuttler Pests are limited in their weapons and easily dispatched. As such, they rely on numbers and speed to tire out their enemies until the stronger Scuttlers arrive to finish the job.
Scuttler Pests are minion-type enemies. Their purpose in combat is to die, preferably in large numbers and in epic situations. They do, however, make excellent bait for tempting your party into throwing some of their biggest resources into these relatively harmless foes. They should be used in large enough numbers to immediately cause panic in your players but soon after make the party feel powerful as they tear through a hoard of undead insects. From the perspective of the Scuttlers, the Pests are designed to stall the party and make them expend some of their resources until the stronger Scuttler variants arrive. Even once the ‘real’ threats show up, Scuttler Pests can be utilised as great distractions or living crowd control. Have them swarm and separate some of the magical members of the party and pester them, making it difficult to use their supportive skills and spells, instead having to focus on themselves.
Scuttler Hulker
The large, powerful Scuttler Hulkers are the big, stocky insects that sit low to the ground and have thick, hardy shells. Many of this variety of Scuttlers come in the form of undead beetles or armoured roaches. They use their size and weight to bully smaller foes by shoving them around and crushing them beneath their hulking forms.
As one of the strongest types of Scuttler, Hulkers should be a devastating threat that disrupts the entire battlefield. With abilities and actions such as Wide Stance, Heavy Step, Slam, and Crush, the Scuttler Hulker is designed to knock the party around and become an immovable wall that slowly wears them down and eventually finishes them off. It is a particularly mean creature with an entire reaction designed for killing vulnerable characters and is a particularly deadly threat if it is allowed to remain until late into a battle when characters are hurt and at risk of going unconscious. As DM, you have to decide how you want to utilise this creature. Whether to lean into its potential as a character-killer or to throw it in with the first wave of Scuttler Pests and allow your party the best odds to take it down in time.
Scuttler Writher
These long, spindly undead insects are a thing of nightmare for those that survive an encounter with them. Whether they appear as mouldy centipedes, cracked millipedes, or rotten caterpillars, their jagged, barbed bodies and tendency for wrapping around their victims is a traumatising experience for all involved.
Scuttler Writhers excel in grappling and restraining their prey. They bide their time at the edge of battle before rushing towards an isolated target, constricting them and crushing them. If their plan goes awry or help comes rushing over, the Scuttler Writher will throw their captive prey and flee, ready to try again. A particularly effective strategy to use with the Writher is to hold the Pounce & Bind action with the trigger of a creature moving closer to it. It can then suddenly lurch forward and grapple the target, hopefully taking the players by surprise. This will be especially effective if the Writher has been waiting at the edge of combat and is yet to actively engage in the fight.
Scuttlers Squirter
Scuttler Squirters are variants of Scuttler with the rare ability to fire globules of acidic spit at their enemies. They might appear as stink bugs, spitting beetles, or other types of spraying insects. They are able to brace themselves to better aim, allowing them to launch their acid globs at further distances, with better accuracy.
As the ranged option for Scuttlers, Squirters are best utilised from a distance. Thanks to their Spider Climb ability, they can position themselves on the ceiling and begin firing upon the party. If they find a good spot, out of range of the party’s reach, they can start using their Steady Aim ability. If the party rushes into range with a Scuttler Squirter, use their Scarper reaction to make space and prepare to use their next turn to dash away. Should they find themselves in the thick of combat, a well-placed Stink Spray action could cause big problems for your players and give the Scuttler Squirter an easier time retreating to safety.
Scuttler Fixer
The final Scuttler variation is the Scuttler Fixer because even undead insects need healing sometimes. Scuttler Fixes typically appear as insectoid forms that lack much hostile weaponry. Lady bugs, maggots, or slugs all could manifest as a Fixer.
Due to the near-unlimited healing capabilities, I highly recommend you use this Scuttler variant sparingly. The Organic Reload ability does work to stop them from providing an unchallengeable amount of healing and gives the party time to focus them down. Once your players realise what the Scuttler Fixer is capable of, they’ll likely want to focus them down straight away and unless you’re going for a very dangerous encounter, it’s a good idea to let them do this. You can even subtly help them out by making use of the Sacrifice reaction when possible. After all, the main goal of a Scuttler Fixer is to keep the ‘real’ threats alive for as long as possible.
Group Tactics, Encounters & Lore Checks
Scuttler’s are hive mind creatures that really on their numbers and aggression in combat. When building an encounter using Scuttlers, you should bulk out the hoard with a large number of Minions and then select a few of the stronger variants to big the main threats. Fixers are only of real use alongside Hulkers or Writhers so you should account for that when deciding whether to add them to the encounter.
Through the Hive Mind ability, Scuttlers can create devastating combo attacks. A Hulkers can use its Heavy Step ability to separate a party member from the group and then use its Wide Stance ability to keep their companions at a distance while a Writher uses a Pounce & Bind action to immediately grapple and Constrict the target. Minions make really effective living walls that work to stop the party from reaching each other once the mess of combat takes over.
Some possible encounter groups could be:
Level 4 Encounter:
- 14 Scuttler Minions (Introduced over multiple rounds)
- 2 Scuttler Squirters
Level 6 Encounter:
- 10 Scuttler Minions
- 2 Scuttler Squirters
- 1 Scuttler Writhers
Level 10 Encounter:
- 22 Scuttler Minions (Introduced over multiple rounds)
- 3 Scuttler Squirters
- 1 Scuttler Hulker
- 1 Scuttler Fixer
Level 16 Encounter:
- 2d4 Scuttler Minions (Enter at the start of each round)
- 3 Scuttler Squirters
- 1 Scuttler Hulker
- 2 Scuttler Writhers
- 2 Scuttler Fixers
Hilt Stalker Lore:
| Nature/Arcana Check | Lore Learned |
|---|---|
| DC 12 | Scuttlers are undead creatures and as such have similar benefits to other undead. This includes not needing to feed or breathe and being immune to poison. |
| DC 16 | Scuttlers are mentally connected through a hive mind. If you alert one, it’s likely many more will have been made aware of your presence. |
| DC 20 | Scuttlers have the capability for limited team work which they’ll use to split up their victims and kill them one by one. They are highly violent and will finish off downed enemies without hesitation. |
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading! I hope you like the Scuttlers! These are highly adaptable creatures that can be used in many different situations. They could be a one-time threat or even be the primary threat for a short story arc or Oneshot. If you do run these guys in an encounter, I’d love to hear how it goes either in the comments or in my community discord! Like the majority of the content on this blog, these creatures were created on my Twitch streams. Please come and join in the fun!
Have a great day everyone, and as always, may your next session be filled with glory!!
Veneon Reforged 
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