Coin Beetles

Coin Beetles are very small insects that behave like hermit crabs, eating the insides of coins and using them as an armored exoskeleton. Coins are the beetles' primary food source, although they have been known to eat other types of non-magical metal objects. They typically gather in groupings of about 15 or fewer in areas with lots of treasure, some collectors are willing to pay top dollar for one of these "Living Coins" as they are often called. Banking institutions though few are very wary of these pests and carefully check each coin deposited, they have found a consistent method for checking these coins and some may offer a service to adventurers passing through to check their coins, for a price of course.

While resting a Coin Beetle looks exactly like a regular coin of any variety, if you want to determine if a coin is a Coin Beetle you must roll an Investigation check contested by the Coin Beetle's stealth, if there are multiple Coin Beetels in the coins being investigated the DC is equal to 30 - # of Beetles (up to 15).

Coin Bettles are attracted to individuals of great greed, though they typically roam dark treasure-filled areas some have separated from the swarm to follow adventurers. Coin Beetles can sense the greed in a person's heart and this is how some decide to follow particularly greedy adventurers, as the greedier ones have more coins to eat.

Since Coin Beetles seek out coins to eat they are often the prey of chest-shaped mimics, and so an area where a mimic has been for a while will be less likely to have Coin Beetles.