The Piercer (Mollusca Maegastromus Pilum) is a monstrous dungeon denizen that inhabits caves, caverns, and similar subterranean places. After slowly making its way to the roof of a cave, the adult piercer hangs there by its sucker foot, oculars alertly canted, waiting for its prey. With their stoney outer casing these monsters are indistinguishable from stalactites found on cave roofs. They are attracted by noise and heat, and when a living creature passes beneath their position, they will drop upon it in order to kill and devour it. Great patience by the piercer is required, but when a creature passes immediately underneath it, down it plummets with fearful accuracy. Normally its rocky shell will penetrate most hides and armor, making any hit almost certainly a kill. The largest recorded piercer was noted to be approximately 6’ long, had a 1’ base diameter, and weighed 500 pounds. However, much smaller versions are more common; with the most immature versions almost undetectable by the naked eye.
The piercer is a mollusk, hatched from an egg the size of a hen’s, laid in clutches of six or eight in crevices on cavern walls or floors. When first hatched, it resembles a slug with a rather more pointed tail than usual, but soon its abrasive
tongue is scouring from the walls not only the fungi on which the young feed, but grit and sand. Gradually the grit and sand are secreted into a rocky shell around its body, growing from a thin, sturdy point to a cone as thick around as a man’s thigh, as it grows. As the piercer matures, it develops the distinctive adult oculars or eye stalks, which can be extended from the shell to point back along it.
Avoiding the piercer requires great care and diligence. It is very difficult for even seasoned adventurers and geocachers to spot the piercer before it attacks. Well equipped adventurers using a combination of magic like True Seeing and ranged or melee weapons (such as polearms and pikes) have proven successful in staying out of the piercers drop radius. Unfortunetly, geocachers do not have access to such capabilities. While negligent adventurers can expect a quick death from undiscovered piercers, geocachers unfortunately can only expect the lingering suffering that comes with a DNF.