Slirdu

The slird is a strange arboreal creature found only in the forests of the remote islands off the southeast coast of Middle-earth. Most live in colonies of 2-40 individuals on the isle of Vulm Shryac. Green or green with red stripes, slirdu are four or five-armed invertebrates that resemble both squids and starfish. They are distantly related to both creatures and have adapted to life on land by developing true lungs and a sophisticated network or extremely thick, tough, well-insulated nerves that serve as a quasi skeleton. Each of the slird's prehensile appendages joins with a trunk that resembles a squid's body and houses the beast's two eyes and beak-like mouth. An opening just below the mouth connects with an ink sack.

Slirdu reside in nests near the tops of trees and move through the forest with alarming speed by grasping tree-limbs with their powerful arms. True carnivores, they hunt mammals, birds, and reptiles and consume about twenty pounds of meat a day. A slird catches its prey by enveloping it with one or more arms. Each arm is equipped with a patch of suction-like pads that immobilize most victims. In addition, the slird can spray its prey with a slightly toxic (2nd lvl) ink that stuns (RR failure 01 -50), blinds (RR failure 51 -75), or knocks out (RR failure 76+) the victim. The creature occasionally uses this thick, greenish liquid to cover its retreat, precisely spraying an area as wide as 20' at ranges of up to 100'.

Slirdu are not particularly intelligent, since their rudimentary brain is essentially a massive nerve root/brain stem. Instead, they are more akin to well-honed killing organisms.