Basilisk

Size: 12 to 18 feet long

Weight: 1,600 to 1,800 pounds

COU 30 SGC 1 (a) INT 20 CHA 20 DEX 1 AGI 10 CON 25 STR 30

LP 250 AE - KP - INI 10+1D6 DE 0 SPI 13 TOU 13 MOV 1

Accidental Touch: AT 3 DP see Deadly Touch RE medium

PRO/ENC 13/0

Actions: 1

Advantages/Disadvantages: Immunity to all poisons and diseases, Resistant to Aging

Special Abilities: none

Skills: Body Control 2 (10/10/25), Climbing (no check possible; basilisks cannot climb), Feat of Strength 13 (25/30/30), Intimidation 22 (30/20/20), Perception 7 (1/20/20), Self-Control—(always successful), Stealth 0 (30/20/10), Swimming—(no check possible; basilisks cannot swim), Willpower—(always successful)

Number: 1

Size Category: huge

Type: Supernatural Creature, non-humanoid

Loot: 400 rations (inedible and immediately deadly; see Deadly Touch, below), trophy (scales, 10,000 silverthalers)

Combat Behavior: Basilisks do not fight, but their powers make them horrifying opponents.

Escape: Basilisks do not flee.

Magical Lore (Magical Creatures) or Animal Lore (Monsters)

• QL 1: Basilisks are creatures of the Nameless One. Luckily, few exist.
• QL 2: Every living thing a basilisk looks at turns to stone. If you must see one, you can protect yourself only by using a mirror to look at it from around a corner.
• QL 3+: Even the area surrounding a basilisk is deadly and poisoned. A basilisk dies if someone makes it see itself in a mirror. Looking at a basilisk does not cause an observer to turn to stone.

Special Rules

Petrifying Gaze: Anyone the basilisk looks at turns to stone. This effect has a range of 250 yards and causes the state petrified. Heroes can resist by making a Willpower check with a penalty of 10. If the check succeeds, the hero suffers 3 levels of Paralysis and 2 levels of Confusion instead. Petrified characters cannot be restored—they are dead. The basilisk must spend one action to use its gaze. A basilisk can only affect one target with its petrifying gaze each CR. Cover is no defense against the Petrifying Gaze, unless the target is completely hidden from the basilisk’s sight.

Death Aura

• Heroes within a radius of seven miles of a basilisk suffer 1D6 DP (ignoring PRO) per hour. Natural regeneration is not possible in this spoiled land. Plants wither, water turns stagnant, and small animals die quickly.
• Heroes within a radius of 49 yards of a basilisk suffer 1D2 DP (ignoring PRO) per CR.
• Heroes within a radius of 21 feet of a basilisk suffer 1D3 DP (ignoring PRO) per CR.

Deadly Touch: Heroes touching a basilisk suffer 1D6 DP (ignoring PRO) per CR until they die. The same thing happens if they eat its flesh or touch its blood. This wasting away can only be stopped with curative magic or divine intervention (for example, Balsam or Blessing of Healing), and this requires at least 3 QL to succeed. Basilisk Combat: To kill a basilisk in combat by holding up a mirror, heroes must be within the weapon reach of long. To even attempt to get that near, heroes must make a Self-Control check with a penalty of 7. Heroes can make one such check per day. To present a mirror to the monster, make a successful AT. You can use Brawling as a combat technique (if you are holding the mirror in your hand) or polearms (if you have bound the mirror to a staff). You can attempt other methods (like using a mirrored shield), which of course allows use of a different combat technique. The GM should assign a penalty of up to 6 points to the AT, depending on situation, mirror size, and combat technique. A basilisk that sees its own reflection is petrified and dies immediately.

Publication:
Aventurian Bestiary, page 11