Gaj

''This horrific beast looks like a twisted cross between a spider and a tortoise. From its huge bulbous head grow three large, feather-like antennae, six compound eyes, and a pair of powerful mandibles. Its body is six feet in diameter and covered by a scaly, rust-orange shell. Six four-jointed legs ending in webbed feet sprout from beneath the shell.''

Tactics
A gaj uses psionic dominate to compel its prey to come within range of its mandibles. Once the gaj has the creature in its grip, it will wrap one of its antennae around the victimʹs head and begin to damage the creatureʹs intelligence.

If forced into melee combat, the gaj uses its mandibles along with its painful strike power against its attackers. Anyone within reach will also be subject to attacks from its antennae and its Intelligence-damaging ability.

Description
A gaj is a predatory insectoid creature that feeds by draining the intelligence of other creatures. These creatures spend their time hunting such creatures; though they can partially subsist on meat for up to a week. If a gaj locates an area with abundant supply of “food”, it will establish a den in a shallow burrow. There, it will send a mental broadcast to all nearby gaj in search of a mate.

After breeding, females lay two to six eggs, which are tended by both parents and hatch in one month. Gaj infants stay with their parents for about three months and then leave to establish their own territories. No familial bond remains.

Gaj are carnivores and require flesh to survive, but they also need to consume the mental energy of other sentient creatures to live. Gaj prefer to live and hunt alone, though they can occasionally be found in pairs. They prefer to live in rocky areas where their shells serve as camouflage, or in sandy areas where they can hide themselves from predators in a shallow burrow, so almost every encounter begins with an ambush by the creature.

A typical gaj is 6 foot long, 7 foot tall, and weighs around 900 pounds. A gaj appears as a large crossover between a reptile and a beetle. Its body is covered by a scaly, rust-orange shell about six feet in diameter. From beneath this shell protrude six four-jointed legs which end in webbed feet with long, sharp claws. Its head is a spongy white globe about two feet in diameter. Spaced at even intervals around the head are six compound eyes. A pair of barbed mandibles as long as a man's arms flank six fingerlike appendages that hang over its mouth, and three feathery stalks rise from the top of the head.