Basilisk

I have haunted the tombs of the ages, I have flown on the pinions of fear Where the smoke-belching Erebus rages; Where the jokulls loom snow-clad and drear: And in realms where the sun of the desert consumes What it never can cheer.

— H. P. Lovecraft

The legendary king of serpentdom, this snake-like organism has an ornate crest, a ribbed scaly body, and an evil fanged face.

The Basilisk is the embodiment of venom. The stream from which the Basilisk quenches its thirst is contaminated and poisoned for many yards downstream. Fumes rising from its lair are deadly to birds flying overhead. A human bitten by a Basilisk dies instantly, features twisted and blackened. No antidote to its venom is known.

Touching either the corpse of an animal bitten by a

Basilisk or a Basilisk’s fresh spoor may fatally infect the unwary. Basilisk blood is highly poisonous.

Ratsegg (1969) reports a case in which a man on horseback speared a Basilisk. Venom traveled up the spear with lightning speed, splitting and blackening the shaft as it went. The rider was poisoned, dying within two seconds, after which the venom traveled through the saddle and killed the horse on which the spearman sat.

Comparative height chart

The breath of the monster is also deadly, and may kill anyone approaching too closely. This organism can even kill with its glance. By staring fixedly at a victim for at least 1.4 seconds, it projects a deleterious enzyme into the victim’s metabolism. Meeb (1986) correlated 287 cases of Basilisk death-by-glance and discovered that 202 of the victims died within two seconds. Only trained preternaturalists should deal with Basilisks.

Habitat : desolate wilderness—even lush lands become blasted and barren after a Basilisk arrives.

Distribution : anywhere.

Life and Habits : eats carrion and everything poisonous. Nux vomica plant beans (the source of strychnine) are avidly devoured by this organism, which also prizes scorpion stingers, adder heads, and toadskins.

We know nothing of Basilisk reproduction. Possibly this solitary creature is not a true animal, but a preternatural construct. The Cockatrice, for instance, similar to the Basilisk in many ways, is sexless and normally must be specially created.

Distinguishing Basilisks:

• Butterfly-Dragons are partially insectoid, and have no feathers.

• Serpent People are wingless.

Powerful Poison Even though a Basilisk›s range may be restricted, the monster›s contamination inexorably works into the local water table and becomes of great consequence, polluting the nearby river for miles downstream.

Foul Immediately deadlyPoisonous River