A cilops, which is a giant centipede with one big angry eye on its head. Copyright 2010 Wizards of the Coast.

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The Lore

The cilops (not to be confused with the cyclops) is the Darker and Sunnier version of Ye Olde Giante Centipede. That means it’s larger, spikier, and has psychic powers. Their name comes from the huge single mammal-like eye they have instead of the more usual compound eyes you find in arthropods.

Unlike other monstrous centipedes, the bite of the cilops is not venomous. The touch of its antennae, however, can psychically paralyze victims or muddle their minds. They can also psychically track victims over short distances - it’s very hard to hide from these things once they caught your scent.

In the wild, cilopses gather in the same places you can find mundane centipedes - any area where there’s a reasonable amount of shade and water. You’re more likely to find them outside of the wild, however, as Templar patrols from every city love to use trained cilopses as both trackers and attack animals.

Some templars or sorcerer-kings are also fond of raising particularly large and vicious specimens and letting them loose on the city to wreak some havoc and terrorize the population into compliance.

The Numbers

Cilopses are Large Natural Beasts. They have Darkvision, some sort of antenna power that varies with the stat block, and the signature power Follow Psychic Trail. This is a minor-action encounter power that lets them choose a creature they can see. Until the end of the encounter that creature grants combat advantage to the cilops, and cannot hide from it.

The combat advantage is pretty useful during a fight, but remember that a skill challenge to run away from a cilops-equipped patrol is also an encounter. Don’t let they catch your scent!

Cilops Creeper

A typical specimen such as one might find in the wild, or accompanying a templar strike force. It’s a Level 5 Skirmisher with 60 HP. It has ground and climb speeds of 7, and Resist 5 Psychic.

All of the creeper’s attacks deal 1d6 extra damage if it has Combat Advantage, which is yet another reason for not letting it track you. Its basic bite damages on a hit and lets the creeper shift 2 squares as an effect. Once per encounter it can use its Paralyzing Antennae against a creature granting combat advantage to it, targetting Fortitude. On a hit this damages, dazes, and immobilizes the target for a turn.

Creepers really want to start tracking a specific PC as soon as the fight starts, and then focus fire on their chosen victim starting with an antennae attack and then proceeding to spam the bite.

Cilops Stalker

A chunky terror weapon, the Stalker is a Level 7 Elite Skirmisher with 154 HP. It’s slower and less agile than the Creeper, with a ground speed of only 6 and no climb speed or psychic resistance. However, it makes up for that in bulk.

The Stalker’s pincers have the same bonus against targets granting CA, and its Sudden Rush maneuver (recharge 5+) is excellent against tight formations. It allows the Stalker to shift its speed and move through enemies space during this shift. Whenever it does so, it makes a melee attack vs. the enemy’s Reflex, dealing heavy damage and knocking prone on a hit.

It can still only Follow Psychic Trail once per encounter, but unlike the Creeper it can use its Reach 2 Dazing Antennae once per round with no targeting restrictions. This does lightning damage equivalent to the bite on a hit, and dazes for a turn.

The Stalker also wants to track and focus on one target, and Sudden Rush lets it reach that target even through the party’s defender front line.

Encounters and Final Impressions

As mentioned above, you’re much more likely to encounter these things being used as trackers and attack animals by templars than to meet them in their natural habitats. If you do meet them in the wild, they’re likely to be accompanied by other varieties of giant bug, or by swarms of smaller ones.

Mechanically, they’re giant centipedes with a bit more character, and I imagine they can get pretty annoying when paired with other teammates that specialize in tying PCs down and preventing them from helping the cilops’ chosen victim.