Chaurus (Skyrim)

The Chaurus is a hostile insect found in.

Overview
"The insectoid Chaurus often fight alongside their Falmer masters. Be sure to improve your resistance to poison with potions or enchantments when you face them. Minor treasure includes a tiny chance of: a few gold, a gem, or a ring."

Chaurus are large, venomous insects that live side-by-side with the Falmer in underground caves and Dwemer ruins. These earwig-like creatures project a stream of poison that drains 3 points of health for 5 seconds. The poison projectile attack has a lingering damage health effect. Using sharp pincers for melee attacks, the Chaurus will repeatedly poison and slash its prey. In groups, the multiple poison attacks stack and can drain health in seconds. It is wise for players of lower levels to avoid Chaurus, as they can kill fairly quickly.

There are three varieties of Chaurus: standard, Chaurus Reaper and Chaurus Hunter. The latter is added by The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard. In certain areas deep underground, Chaurus Reapers grow to be unusually large. These larger Chaurus Reapers are fast in movement but not very agile, yet still may be difficult to kill. Chaurus make a unique clacking sound to communicate, so if this noise is heard be warned, there is a Chaurus ready to strike.

While the Hunter variant's existence in Skyrim is dependant on having Dawnguard installed, it is not limited to spawning in areas exclusive to the DLC. Any area that has any Chaurus spawn may have Hunters spawn instead so long as the Dragonborn is of sufficient level.

Loot
Pods in a Chaurus nest may be harvested for Chaurus Eggs, an ingredient used in Alchemy. A dead Chaurus may provide Chaurus Chitin, a material used to improve Falmer weapons and armor, and occasionally a few Chaurus Eggs. Though a Chaurus Chitin can improve armor, it cannot create any.

Trivia

 * It is possible that when traveling through the western salt marsh, Chaurus may be found alongside or instead of mudcrabs.
 * Chaurus are more vulnerable to Shock than Fire or Frost magic.
 * When entering an underground/indoor area where live Chaurus are present, their presence is indicated by a loud 'chittering' noise.
 * When found in groups, the use of the Kyne's Peace shout may be used to allow lower level players to more easily pick off the Chaurus one by one. Animal Allegiance is also an effective way of dealing with Falmer on higher difficulties as the Chaurus will treat them as hostiles after the shout is used.
 * On higher difficulties (Expert and Master) the Chaurus can be more dangerous than Falmer archers at range due to their poison spit, which cannot be deflected by a shield and does increased damage. When wandering into caverns that could house Chaurus, be sure to bring some anti-venom or poison resist gear - being hit by a Chaurus Reaper on master difficulty can chew away large amounts of health quickly, even at high levels.
 * Being hit by multiple chaurus poison spits can quickly make it hard to outheal the effect with spells.
 * Lower level players may want to avoid swampy areas at night, because Chaurus can be found wandering around there.
 * The Daedric artifact Spellbreaker comes in handy against Chaurus. Their poison spit seems to count as a magical attack as it does no damage when faced with the shield's ward.
 * The Falmer are known to feed their Chaurus human corpses. The Chaurus will sometimes feed on the corpse of the player if they manage to kill him/her.
 * Sometimes at low levels, (around lvl 7), a Chaurus will be replaced by Frostbite Spiders.
 * Often in areas inhabited by Falmer, the player will find a sort of totem made from human shoulder-blades and ribs. Sometimes there will also be a large, black, teardrop shaped insect with three glowing eyes on its front end and a pair of pincers on its back end tied to the center. It is likely that these are chaurus in their larval stage.
 * Chaurus bear a slight resemblance to earwigs.
 * In the first DLC for Skyrim, Dawnguard, Charus are known to take on a new form called a Charus Hunter Fledgling. These creatures resemble giant wasps. When the player gets near their safepod, they will pop out similar to the way gargoyles appear. They use their stingers to attack and are infamous for flying around in circles.
 * In some places inhabited by Falmer, the player will sometimes find the carcasses of giant Charus used for the supports of a Falmer tent.
 * They resemble the Laigreks, from the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II.

Appearances

 * The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
 * The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard