Entry for Beastiary
Name: Tunneler
Tunnelers were once humans, but a mixture of prolonged exposure to low intensity magic and years of living underground have changed them. Their new features are gaunt and emaciated with large eyes and pale, almost translucent skin. Their fingers have changed into badger-like claws capable of rapidly digging through most unconsolidated sediment, and some types of rock. Their claws are also capable of easily cutting through flesh. They walk with a shuffling gait and very few remember how to talk. At night, they emerge from their burrows to hunt for food. The creatures are predators, preferring fresh meat. Their most dangerous attribute is their acute sense of hearing, which they use to sense prey through the earth. Tunnelers can sense a human sized target up to 20 meters away and often try to dig under their prey to catch them unaware.
Tunnelers share all the same weaknesses that humans do, stabbing, bludgeoning, slashing and bullets are all effective at dealing with these creatures. Their eyes and ears are very sensitive, 65 Lumens (the brightness of a tactical flashlight) is enough to blind them for a few seconds. Using firearms against tunnelers is a double edged sword, however. The sound and muzzle flash from a pistol is usually enough to send it running, even if the bullet didn't connect. On the other hand, using guns are often problematic because tunnelers are usually encountered in very confined areas. This makes it difficult to maneuver weapons larger than an average handgun and the sounds often reverberate, which can cause severe hearing damage to humans and Tunnelers alike.
