Hook horror A hook horror ( also known as a vulture beak , hacker , cave dweller ) is a large bipedal subterranean aberration that looks like a vulture - like humanoid with bony hooks in place of hands . It is an invertebrate arthropod . Description . A hook horror stands about nine feet ( 2 . 7m ) tall and weighs around 400 pounds ( 181kg ) , with a head like a vulture , a neck of crested feathers , and the body of a beetle , whose mottled gray , chitinous exoskeleton is extremely thick and dense and covered with sharp studs . The exoskeleton can be removed from a hook horror and transformed into tough armor . Instead of hands , paws or claws , its front limbs end in 12 inch ( 30cm ) razor - sharp , blade - like gray metallic hooks , surrounded by red feathers . These hooks are the hook horror ' s primary method of combat . Its legs are similar to those of a bird , and its head is shaped like that of a vulture , including the hooked beak . Its eyes are multifaceted like that of an insect . Combat . Hook horrors prefer to ambush their prey from above . They will work together as a group , and if necessary , retreat using their ability to climb . In a fight , a hook horror will use its clawed arms to trip its opponents . History . It is thought that the hook horror is distantly related to the cockroach , despite its bird - like qualities . Ecology . Hook horrors like to live as families ( no more than a dozen ) in subterranean caverns , led by the eldest male , and catch their food by hunting these areas . They sleep around half of the time , moving sluggishly when not under threat , meaning that they can survive on relatively little food for their size . Despite this , when food is scarce , hook horrors will migrate to another subterranean area . There exist a small number of hook horror colonies that are able to cultivate their own food . Only when they are desperately hungry will hook horrors turn to foods such as phycomid s , shrieker s , violet fungi and zygom s to stay alive , and although this food is poisonous to most humanoids , a gland in the hook horror ' s abdomen produces a special enzyme that renders it immune to such effects . Hook horrors reproduce by laying eggs in a closely guarded central location . The eggs look like rocks , 3 inches ( 8cm ) in diameter and they are spread amongst actual rocks in the horrors ' cavern , for camouflage . They will hatch after six months , producing a 1 ' ( 30cm ) tall hook horror baby . After a year , it will reach 5 ' ( 1 . 5m ) in height , and will reach its full size after 17 years . It remains with its parents for the first year of life , spends the second becoming more and more independent , before finally no longer needing its parents by the third year . It will seek out a mate of its own from the age of six . The hook horror is especially susceptible to diseases and parasites . They have a life expectancy of less than forty years . Hook horrors have their own language , communicating in a series of clicks and clacks made with their own exoskeletons , but they can also speak Undercommon . In their own language , communication is soft and gentle when " speaking " about friendship , but loud and frenzied when discussing food . Hook horrors do not see well at all , but their hearing is extremely acute , said in " Exile " to be the keenest of all the creatures in the Underdark . Additionally , they have a keen sense of smell . In a cave , hook horrors can produce a high - pitched sound that cannot be heard by most other creatures . It enables them to use echolocation , much like the sonar of a bat , to " see " nearby objects and environments without the need for light . Hook horrors are sensitive to bright light . They are omnivorous but they prefer the meat of whatever creatures they can catch . They will resort to fungi or lichens if they cannot obtain meat . It is rumored that they particularly enjoy eating drow . Hook horrors must molt to shed their hard exoskeletons after growth occurs . During a period of two days , the old exoskeleton drops off in flakes , and a new one is forming underneath the whole time . For a period of a few days after the old exoskeleton has been completely shed , the hook horror ' s new one is soft and it is much more susceptible to damage . Where possible , hook horrors will collect and eat silver or electrum items . These pass through their digestive systems , and remain unchanged , although with a slight odor , when deposited . Appendix . Discrepancy . The " Ecology of the Hook Horror " article appearing in Dragon magazine issue 131 states that " hook horrors are herbivores " but this is contradicted by the Monster Manual II which states that " hook horrors are omnivores " . The more recent source , Monster Manual II , is taken as canon .