Magma Crawler

The Magma Crawler is probably an artificially bred life form. Its sheer mindless aggressiveness compared to the obvious strategic deployment of the Magma Crawler can lead to no other conclusion than that it is a biological weapon which is very difficult to control. It can safely be assumed that it originated in the breeding pens of what the gnomes call 'those below'. If this is the case, it is bred for war and destruction. It is probably deployed to do maximum damage in underground environments. After a Magma Crawler has been set loose, it is usually abandoned. This explains why wandering specimens can be found almost anywhere underground, usually at the end of a path of destruction. As only male Magma Crawlers have been found, it is assumed that the female creatures are retained for breeding purposes, and to prevent the race from spreading excessively. Given the longevity of the Magma Crawlers, this precautionary measure is not overly effective. Some captured specimens survived for dozens of years without showing significant signs of aging. Considering the threat even a single Magma Crawler poses, it is not unusual for a group of them to cause entire cave systems to collapse. It is not yet known if the Magma Crawlers somehow manage to escape the havoc they wreak or if they perish in it.