Deepstalker

Deepstalkers, called tezpadam by the dwarves, are small lizardlike creatures found throughout the Deep Roads and underground caverns. They are vicious predators of the dark that carve small tunnels through the stone in search of prey, usually nugs.Codex entry: Deepstalker
== Background ==
== Appearance ==
Scaled like a lizard but with the head and frightful maw of a worm, the deepstalker is able to curl up into a ball that will be indistinguishable from the stone around it.
== Behavior ==
Deepstalkers hunt in packs, generally by burrowing underground and then striking when their prey is in their midst. Another common way is to camouflage themselves and when the bait is close to launch a surprise attack.Dragon Age: Origins: Prima Official Game Guide, p. 146Dragon Age: The Calling, Chapter 10, pp. 230-231 They run and jump at their victims, attacking with razor claws and lamprey-like mouths full of serrated teeth. If they encounter a group, deepstalkers do not attack unless they have a major numerical advantage, but instead they wait until someone from the group is separated. Although a single deepstalker poses little threat to any experienced explorer, packs can be quite lethal.
Deepstalkers are sometimes domesticated.Tame deepstalkers may be encountered in Carta Hideout.
The deepstalker walks and leaps on two powerful hind legs and uses the extended tail to stay balanced. Some of them are capable of spitting either acid or paralytic poison from venom glands.Dragon Age (tabletop RPG), Game Master's Guide, set 2, p. 24
== Tales ==
Many dwarven tales for children involve deepstalkers. They are intended to instruct the young dwarves or simply make them laugh.
=== How the Deepstalker Came to Be ===
=== Veata Tezpadam! ===
Veata tezpadam translates to "Stop, deepstalker!" in the common tongue.
== Locations ==
=== Dragon Age: Origins ===
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=== Dragon Age: Inquisition ===
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: Deep Roads (requires The Descent)
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== Abilities & Skills ==
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:Vulnerability: Cold
:Vulnerability: Electricity
== Notable loot ==
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== Variations ==
Stalkers come in several types. Spitters have venom glands and can spit secretions that slow or injure their prey. Jumpers hurl themselves at their targets, knocking them down and making the kill easier. The most common variety scares and distracts its prey, allowing the rest of the pack to close in.
:Deepstalker - the basic critter variant
:Deepstalker runner
:Deepstalker leader - a medium lieutenant variant
:Deepstalker matriarch - a boss variant
:Sand stalker
:Sand stalker spitter
:Sand stalker leader
== Codex entries ==
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== Note texts ==
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== Trivia ==
* They are described as "A serpentine creature with a long and wormlike neck that ended in a maw full of sharp teeth" and as having a carapace where they would fold their limbs and long neck.
== See also ==
:Fauna and flora
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== Gallery ==
Deepstalker DAI.png|A deepstalker in Dragon Age: Inquisition
== References ==
Category:Creatures
Category:Dragon Age: The Calling creatures
Category:Dragon Age Journeys creatures
Category:Dragon Age: Origins creatures
Category:The Stone Prisoner creatures
Category:A Tale of Orzammar creatures
Category:Dragon Age (tabletop RPG) creatures
Category:Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening creatures
Category:The Golems of Amgarrak creatures
Category:Witch Hunt creatures
Category:Dragon Age II creatures
Category:Legacy creatures
Category:Dragon Age: Inquisition creatures
Category:The Descent creatures
Category:Trespasser creatures
Category:Deepstalkers