A Spitting Terror
Spitting Terrors, otherwise known as Bestia Acerbus or the Hounds of Hell are quadrapedal Animal demons.
Lore
Bestia Acerbus
After an especially violent battle, Baal enjoyed celebrating with his brothers by holding a feast of blood, human flesh and other Hellish delights. The Bestia Acerbus are the descendants of doglike creatures that lived by feeding upon the remains of Baal's nightmarish feasts. The variety of vile substances that the creatures consumed, along with their close proximity to the Lord of Destruction, twisted and warped the viscera of these Hounds of Hell.[1] These quadrapedal creatures are scavengers, able to move with insidious agility, and their armored backs are festooned with scales and ridges.[2]
Spitting Terrors are capable of spitting up a variety of caustic fluids and projecting them a considerable distance. Packs of these terrors are especially devastating, as their bile has been known to eat through the strongest of armor and poison the most hearty men.[1] They will move in on their prey that seems weak or crippled.[3]
Great care must be taken when within the lair of these Bestia. Their venom retains its potency for a considerable amount of time and puddles of it may be found everywhere. When killed, the beast's inner toxins eat through the now-dead flesh, leaving a dangerous trap for those foolish enough to tread upon the corpse.[1]
In-game
Spitting Terrors appear in Diablo I. They can expel bile as a projectile, and are also very nimble and very aggressive in close-quarter combat. These nasty critters can be encountered from the middle levels of the catacombs all the way up to Hell itself.
Spitting Terrors will usually fire their acidic bile from afar. These projectiles deal Magic damage on impact. In addition, when a bile-projectile hits the ground it forms a disgusting puddle of acid. For several seconds after landing this puddle will remain 'active' and deal damage if players step upon it. It is best to kill Spitting Terrors from range in order to avoid exposure to their bile attacks. They are relatively weak so killing them should not be a daunting task, although one should be careful fighting in melee against a large group of these aggressive fast hitting foul creatures. Also, Spitting Terrors have one more surprise: upon death, their bodily fluids are spilled, producing another acidic pool that does damage when stepped upon. It's best to wait a few seconds: when the puddle-animation stops, its safe to move on.
All three Unique Spitting Terrors are fast-spitters, which means they spit their magical acid projectiles much faster than other Acid Beasts like a firing machine gun and have mobs with the very same ability, however they do only spit and never attack using their hands to hit unlike the other melee-fighting of this same species.
Variants
Uniques
- Deathspit - Dungeon level 6
- Chaoshowler- Dungeon level 8
- Plaguewrath - Dungeon level 10
References
Variants — Acid Beast • Poison Spitter • Pit Beast • Lava Maw