These things can be seriously transition cube-esque with their touch attack, as they can get one off before you've noticed them and claritied if they are near an entrance.
A bit of a nerf on the range or an addition of a will save against stunning would stop them being such a pain for invis exploring especially. They are simple enough to avoid if you see them ahead (you can actually get past with a certain L1 spell) but close to a transition they are a killer because of the range on that stun.
I have literally -never- seen then close enough to a transition to be a problem. I think their range is plenty fine as is.
I wouldn't worry about the range so much, but for me any attack that has no save on it is harsh imo.
It basically touch attacks (which obviously isn't hard) and thats it, good night if anything with good melee damage is about (which is likely given where they spawn). A will/fort save, even if it was hard to get (DC 18 maybe?) would be a little more balanced to me.
Buff up before you travel, tbh.
Well, yeah, that'll work Cruzel [sarcasm off] :P. The only reliable defence against that touch attack is Clarity, which is a L3 spell that has a duration of one round/caster level. Even extended on a L7 PC who has those L4 slots, it would only last 84 seconds.
Bad luck spawn positions, mob combat or luring can still lead to the occasional, deadly-annoying "oh crap a musk creep... *stun*".
Looking at the DnD stats for it, it's mind affecting ability only has a 10 foot range and has a Fort save to avoid, plus it's immobile. My suggestion would be both a Fort save vs Poison and the change to a cone, not a bolt attack if it's doable.
The description actually sounds so cool, it would be brilliant to see them adjusted to fit. Made immobile, range reduced to Short, and given a couple of Musk Creeper Zombies (maybe Medium size, shambler skin) defenders.
Given there are no saves and the only buff that defends you from it is Clarity, which has a very short duration, buffs are largely useless.
This is particularly true because of the long length of the stun, which seems to be about 1-2 turns (one minute or so RL)?
As Egon suggested a fort save v's poison, maybe at DC18 or DC20 would be nicely dangerous, but give you a chance to avoid it. That way Cruzel's suggestion of buffs (endurance) would help.
Clarity has a duration of 5 rounds, +1 round/caster level.
Cone? Why not just a range equivalent to the short range of some spells such as cloud of bewilderment, grease, slow, ice dagger etc.?