By jhubert
The Trapdoor Alligator is an unusual type of alligator which has adopted to non-aquatic environments. Despite not having fine manipulators, it somehow manages to build trapdoors in various locations similar to a trapdoor spider (hence its name) which are virtually indistinguishable from their surroundings - up to and including office buildings! When it senses nearby prey, it will emerge quickly from its lair, snatch a victim with its jaw, and then pull it back to its lair to devour it, closing the trapdoor.
They are not much larger than humans, but their enormous strength allows them to compensate for this.
Note: The Trapdoor Alligator was invented by R. K. Millholland for the webcomic Something Positive. More on it can be found here.
| ST: 20 | HP: 20 | Speed: 6.00 |
| DX: 12 | Will: 11 | Move: 7 |
| IQ: 4 | Per: 12 | |
| HT: 12 | FP: 12 | SM: 0 |
| Dodge: 9 | Parry: N/A | DR: 3 |
Bite (16): 2d-2 cutting. Reach C.
Grapple (16): Used with its jaw, but doesn't do initial damage.
Traits: No Fine Manipulators; Quadruped; Wild Animal.
Skills: Camouflage-16; Traps-25.
Class: Animal.
Combat Effectiveness Rating: 32 (OR 17 and PR 15).
Notes: Tactics and Trivial Pursuit answers include:
- Their usual tactic is to first use the Evaluate maneuver to figure out how to best attack an unaware victim. After this, it tries to grapple the face of the victim (for -5 to hit). If successful, it tries to pin with its ST of 20. After this, it will drag the victim to its lair to devour it, causing the trapdoor to close again.
- They are able to build near-invisible trapdoors without fine manipulators, which is at -10 ("impossible") to skill.
- They seem to lack the "Cold-Blooded" trait of other reptiles, as they are able to function near the Canadian border in late fall without any problems.