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| Basilisk Medium Magical Beast |
Abyssal Greater Basilisk Large Outsider (Augmented, Magical Beast, Extraplanar) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Hit Dice: | 6d10+12 (45 hp) | 18d10+90 (189 hp) |
| Initiative: | –1 | –1 |
| Speed: | 20 ft. (4 squares) | 20 ft. (4 squares) |
| Armor Class: | 16 (–1 Dex, +7 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 16 | 17 (–1 Dex, –1 size, +9 natural), touch 8, flat-footed 17 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +6/+8 | +18/+29 |
| Attack: | Bite +8 melee (1d8+3) | Bite +25 melee (2d8+10) |
| Full Attack: | Bite +8 melee (1d8+3) | Bite +25 melee (2d8+10) |
| Space/Reach: | 5 ft./5 ft. | 10 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: | Petrifying gaze | Petrifying gaze, smite good |
| Special Qualities: | Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision | Resistance to cold 10 and fire 10, damage reduction 10/magic, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, spell resistance 23 |
| Saves: | Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +3 | Fort +18, Ref +12, Will +8 |
| Abilities: | Str 15, Dex 8, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 11 | Str 24, Dex 8, Con 21, Int 3, Wis 10, Cha 15 |
| Skills: | Hide +0, Listen +7, Spot +7; racial bonuses | Hide +0, Listen +10, Spot +10; racial bonuses |
| Feats: | Alertness, Blind-Fight, Great Fortitude | Alertness, Blind-Fight, Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Focus (bite) |
| Environment: | Warm deserts | Infinite Layers of the Abyss (or any chaotic and evil outer plane) |
| Organization: | Solitary or colony (3–6) | Solitary or colony (3–6) |
| Challenge Rating: | 5 | 12 |
| Treasure: | None | Standard |
| Alignment: | Always neutral | Always chaotic evil |
| Advancement: | 7–10 HD (Medium); 11–18 HD (Large) | — |
| Level Adjustment: | — | — |
Basilisk • Abyssal Greater Basilisk
The creature looks like a thick-bodied reptile with eight legs. Rows of bony spines jut from its back, and its eyes glow with an eerie, pale green incandescence.
A basilisk is a reptilian monster that petrifies living creatures with a mere gaze. Surviving a fight with a basilisk requires either careful preparation or considerable good fortune.
Basilisks are found in nearly every climate, and often in underground areas as well. They tend to lair in shallow burrows, caves, or other sheltered areas. The entrance to a basilisk lair is sometimes distinguished by lifelike stone statues or carvings, which are actually creatures that ran afoul of the creature’s gaze. Basilisks are omnivorous and able to consume their petrified victims. They make effective guardians, if one has the magical or monetary resources to capture and contain them.
A basilisk usually has a dull brown body with a yellowish underbelly. Some specimens sport a short, curved horn atop the nose. An adult basilisk’s body grows to about 6 feet long, not including its tail, which can reach an additional length of 5 to 7 feet. The creature weighs about 300 pounds.
A basilisk relies on its gaze attack, biting only when opponents come within reach. Though it has eight legs, its slow metabolism renders it relatively sluggish, so it does not expend energy unnecessarily. Intruders who flee a basilisk rather than fight can expect, at best, a halfhearted pursuit.
These creatures tend to spend most of their time lying in wait for prey, which includes small mammals, birds, reptiles, and similar creatures. When not hunting, basilisks are usually sleeping off their latest meal in their lairs. Basilisks sometimes gather in small colonies for mating or for mutual defense in unusually hostile terrain, and a colony will attack intruders in concert.
Petrifying Gaze (Su): Turn to stone permanently, range 30 feet; Fortitude DC 13 negates. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Skills: The basilisk’s dull coloration and its ability to remain motionless for long periods of time grant it a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks in natural settings.
Adventurers are likely to encounter these fiends of the underworld either in their native environment, barren wastelands of the Abyss, or summoned to the employ of some dark sorcerer. Servants of the demon lords make good use of the greater basilisk as guards and escorts.
An abyssal greater basilisk’s natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Petrifying Gaze (Su): Turn to stone permanently, range 30 feet; Fortitude DC 21 negates. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Smite Good (Su): Once per day an abyssal greater basilisk can make a normal melee attack to deal an extra 18 points of damage against a good foe.
Source: Monster Manual (version 3.5), page 23.