Dangerous Journeys was a short-lived universal role-playing game co-authored by Gary Gygax and published by GDW in the early nineties. It enjoyed a very brief life before a lawsuit by TSR prompted GWD to pull the plug on the entire line. One DJ supplement that actually saw the light of day was the Mythus Bestiary (1992) by Gary Gygax, Dave Newton, and Michele Newton. A few years later Tom Harrison, aka Blusponge, converted several monsters from the Mythus Bestiary into the SAGA system, a nifty card-based game engine developed by TSR and used for the Marvel Super Heroes and Dragonlance Fifth Age role-playing games. Tom's SAGA conversion page is long gone, but this 3e D&D conversion is based on Tom's original DJ-to-SAGA conversion page.
This is an enormous, writhing centipede, big as a dog, its shiny armored carapace colored steel grey.
Always N Medium vermin
Init -1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft.; Listen +1, Spot +1
AC 18, touch 9, flat-footed 18
(-1 Dex, +9 natural)
hp 11 (2 HD)
Fort +1, Ref -1, Will +4
Spd 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 30 ft.
Melee bite +1 (1d4 plus poison)
Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft
Base Atk +1; Grp +1
Atk Options poison (DC 12, 1d4 Dex/1d4 Dex)
Abilities Str 11, Dex 8, Con 12, Int —, Wis 12, Cha 2
SQ vermin traits
Environment underground
Organization solitary or colony (2–5)
Treasure none
Advancement 3–4 HD (Medium), 5–6 HD (Large)
Tremorsense (Ex) A steelback can detect and pinpoint any creature or object within 60 feet in contact with the ground.
Poison (Ex) Injury, Fortitude DC 12, initial and secondary damage 1d4 Dex. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Steelbacks are a subterranean species of enormous centipedes, growing up to a length of around 6 feet. Their name is derived from their dull gray color and their unusually tough carapace.
Like most centipedes, steelbacks may have as many as 170 pairs of legs. The first two legs behind the head, however, have barbed claws and are used for fighting, not walking. A gland in the head fills these claws with a rather painful, incapacitating venom.