Why, that's an Eye Mite!

The final comments are in from last week's "Weekly What the Heck". The result is a bestial size-changing liver-eating war beast created by beholders to battle mind flayers and their psicow servants. It grows from the size of your finger to large size when hit with psychic powers, and uses its elastic tongue to grapple opponents.

I'd like to thank Doctor Checkmate, Gomez, Reverend Mike, RPG Ike and Wyatt for their ideas, all of which have been mashed together to create:

Eye Mite

Eye mites are strange beasts created by the beholders to destroy their psionics-using enemies. Normally about the size of a human fingertip, eye mites grow to large size and become enraged whenever they are in the area of effect of psychic powers. In their tiny forms, eye mites live symbiotically on beholders, cleaning them and feeding on their dead skin and parasites.

Level 1 Minion

Eye Mite Midge

XP 25

Tiny aberrant beast

Initiative +2 Senses Perception +3
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 15; Fortitude 13, Reflex 13, Will 15
Immune Psychic
Speed 6, climb 6 (spider climb)

mBite (standard; at-will)

+3 vs. AC; 4 damage.

Psychic Growth

An eye mite midge that is in a square targeted by any attack with the psychic descriptor grows instantly into an eye mite berserker or eye mite mindraper.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Skills Stealth +7
Str 8 (-1) Dex 14 (+2) Wis 17 (+3)
Con 14 (+2) Int 2 (-4) Cha 16 (+3)

Eye Mite Midge Tactics

Eye mite midges rarely engage in combat at all unless their psychic growth is triggered by the use of a psychic power on their beholder host.

Level 16 Brute

Eye Mite Berserker

XP 1,400

Large aberrant beast

Initiative +13 Senses Perception +14
HP 192; Bloodied 96
AC 28; Fortitude 30, Reflex 28, Will 29
Immune Psychic
Speed 8, climb 8 (spider climb)

mBite (standard; at-will)

+19 vs. AC; 3d8 + 7 damage.

MTongue Lash (standard; at-will)

Reach 3; +19 vs. AC; 2d8 + 7 damage, and the target is pulled 2 squares and grabbed (until escape). The eye mite berserker cannot use its bite attack while holding a target grabbed by its tongue.

MGnaw (standard; at-will)

Grabbed target only; +19 vs. Fortitude; 3d8 + 7 damage.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Skills Intimidate +17
Str 24 (+15) Dex 20 (+13) Wis 22 (+14)
Con 22 (+14) Int 2 (+4) Cha 18 (+12)

Eye Mite Berserker Tactics

An eye mite berserker charges into combat with wild abandon, trying to reach whatever creature triggered its growth, if possible. If its beholder host triggered the growth with a fear ray, the eye mite berserker mindlessly attacks the nearest non-beholder target. If there are no enemies adjacent to it at the start of its turn, it uses tongue lash to try to grab one to gnaw on.

Level 18 Controller

Eye Mite Mindraper

XP 2,000

Large aberrant beast

Initiative +14 Senses Perception +17
Psychic Headache aura 5; enemies that start their turns in the aura take a –1 penalty to attack rolls and Will defense.
HP 174; Bloodied 87
AC 32; Fortitude 30, Reflex 30, Will 32
Immune Psychic
Speed 8, climb 8 (spider climb)

mBite (standard; at-will)

+23 vs. AC; 2d8 + 6 damage.

MTongue Lash (standard; at-will)

Reach 3; +23 vs. AC; 1d8 + 6 damage, and the target is pulled 2 squares and grabbed (until escape). The eye mite mindraper cannot use its bite attack while holding a target grabbed by its tongue.

MGnaw (standard; at-will)

Grabbed target only; +23 vs. Fortitude; 2d8 + 6 damage.

REnslave (standard; recharge 5 6)

Ranged 10; +22 vs. Will; the target is dominated (save ends).

CPsychic Scream (standard; recharges when first bloodied) * Psychic

Close blast 5; +20 vs. Will; 1d10 + 7 psychic damage, and the target is dazed (save ends).

APsychic Burst (standard; recharge 5 6) * Psychic

Area burst 1 within 10; +20 vs. Will; 2d6 + 7 psychic damage, and the target takes ongoing 5 psychic damage and is weakened (save ends both).

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Skills Insight +22, Intimidate +21
Str 22 (+15) Dex 20 (+14) Wis 26 (+17)
Con 22 (+15) Int 22 (+15) Cha 24 (+16)

Eye Mite Mindraper Tactics

Eye mite mindrapers prefer to stay out of melee, using psychic burst as long as targets are far away, and psychic scream if they get too close. If pressed into melee, the mindraper tries to shift back and enslave its attacker, only resorting to its bite or tongue lash if it cannot get away or its enslave power has not recharged.

Eye Mite Lore

A character knows the following information with a successful Dungeoneering check.
DC 15: Eye mites are tiny bugs that live on beholders. They can instantly grow to the size of a horse and attack the beholder's enemies.
DC 20: Eye mite growth is triggered by the use of psychic powers on them or their host. Once enlarged, they are fierce fighters that grab enemies with their long tongues.
DC 25: Some eye mites grow into highly intelligent forms with their own psychic powers. Beholders have been known to kill and eat these intelligent specimens after a battle ends, perhaps out of fear that they will rebel or pose some other threat.

I think this might be my favorite monster so far. At the very least it's up there with the pyrosphynx, the narleth conversion, and the psicow.