Coinsect
by Cab Davidson
| Stat | Copper | Silver | Electrum |
| AC: | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| HD: | 1/8*(1hp) | ¼*(2hp) | ½* |
| Move: | 60’(20’) | 60’(20’) | 60’(20’) |
| Move (Flying): | 180’(60’) | 180’(60’) | 180’(60’) |
| Attacks: | 1 bite | 1 bite | 1 bite |
| Damage: | 1d2 | 1d2 | 1d3 |
| No. Appearing: | 6d10 | 5d10 | 4d10 |
| Save As: | NM | NM | NM |
| Morale: | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Treasure Type: | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Intelligence: | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alignment: | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral |
| XP Value: | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Stat | Gold | Platinum | |
| AC: | 5 | 4 | |
| HD: | ½*+1* | ½+2* | |
| Move: | 60’(20’) | 60’(20’) | |
| Move (Flying): | 180’(60’) | 180’(60’) | |
| Attacks: | 1 bite | 1 bite | |
| Damage: | 1d3 | 1d4 | |
| No. Appearing: | 3d10 | 2d10 | |
| Save As: | F1 | F1 | |
| Morale: | 8 | 9 | |
| Treasure Type: | Nil | Nil | |
| Intelligence: | 0 | 0 | |
| Alignment: | Neutral | Neutral | |
| XP Value: | 6 | 6 |
A curious species of insect, the coinsect is a round beetle resembling a coin of any type. It has a unique life cycle, spending much of its time dormant, and in such a state being almost entirely indistinguishable from a coin. It can smell sources of food (which to a coinsect is almost any organic matter) contained within chests, bags or even flesh in armour, and if mistaken for a coin and carried from where it is found will wait for the right conditions to crawl towards that food source. Said conditions involve darkness or near darkness (no more than a light spell or camp fire) and being stationary. They are only attracted to thus contained foodstuffs, that being a requisite of their unique survival and distribution method.
The insects begin to feed as soon as they find such a food source, eating just enough to allow them to lay eggs, which hatch out within hours into small, iridescent grubs that soon (within a day) pupate and become adult coinsects, which in turn will either seek out new food or become dormant if there is nothing appropriate for them to eat within range, perhaps remaining in the chest, sack, or other container in which they pupated.
They are not aggressive, but may be a severe hazard for armoured individuals. If not noticed (they surprise on a 1-5 on 1d6) they crawl into armour, and effectively gain the armour class thereof (if they have entered a suit of chain mail armour they have an effective AC of 5, if they have entered plate mail +3 they have an effective AC of 0, etc.), and they attack any creature they are inside the armour of as if that creature is AC9. They then begin to feed, biting their prey until it is either dead (and can have eggs laid in it) or they themselves have been driven off/killed.
While often considered almost harmless, many adventuring parties have been lost to starvation due to coinsects, often found decayed many years later, with nothing but sacks full of coinsects awaiting their next prey.
Mixed groups of coinsects are common.