# Swarm, Cranium Rat Lesser Pack >[!rimg]+ > ![[Placeholder2.png]] <div class="grid-container"><div class="MON">Cranium Rat Lesser Pack Swarm</div> <div class="CR">CR 2 (600 XP)</div> <div class="SOU">Fiend Folio</div> <div class="SYS">Dungeons & Dragons 3.5</div></div> NE Diminutive Magical Beast (psionic, swarm) **Init** +7 **Senses** darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; **Perception** +4 #### defense **AC** 18, 17 touch, 15 flat-footed (+3 Dex, +1 natural, +4 size) **hp** 45 (6d10+12) **Fort** +7, **Refl** +8, **Will** +6 **Feint** 18, **Demoralize** 18 **Defensive Abilities** swarm traits **Immune** weapon damage #### offense **Speed** 40 ft., climb 20 ft. **Melee** swarm (2d6 plus disease) **Space** 10 ft., **Reach** 0 ft. **Special Attacks** distraction (DC 15), mind blast (60-ft. cone, DC 14, 3d4 rounds) #### statistics **Str** 2, **Dex** 17, **Con** 14, **Int** 9, **Wis** 14, **Cha** 13 **BAB** +6, **CMB** —, **CMD** —, **TA** +6, **RTA** +13 **Feats** [[Alertness]], [[Improved Initiative]], [[Iron Will]] **Skills** Climb +13, Perception +4 **Languages** Aklo (cannot speak) #### special abilities ### Disease (Ex) Filth fever: Swarm-injury; _save_ Fort DC 15; _onset_ 1d3 days; _frequency_ 1/day; _effect_ 1d3 Dex damage and 1d3 Con damage; _cure_ 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based. ### Merge (Ex) Two lesser cranium rat packs can move into the same space and merge into a single swarm, becoming an average pack. Likewise, two average packs can merge together into a greater pack. Merging in this fashion is a full-round action. #### ecology **Terrain** any Outer Plane **Advancement** — Like ten thousand eyes and ears dispatched to gather secrets for some dark deity of knowledge, cranium rats are everywhere—seeing, hearing, and sharing what they learn in a bizarre hive mind. An individual cranium rat is almost indistinguishable from a mouse or small rat, except that a portion of its large brain is exposed and pulses with a soft glow. Singly, the creatures are harmless, but they are never encountered singly. A pack of cranium rats has a group mind—and the more rats, the more intelligent the group mind. A lesser pack of cranium rats consists of about 75 rats. ### Combat While more limited than the larger packs in what they can do, lesser packs still set up effective ambushes and utilize their mind blast ability to great advantage.