Reptilian Guardian with a Petrifying Gaze
Habitat: Mountain, Underdark; Treasure: Any
Basilisks are ponderous predators with eight clawed legs, crystalline spines, and mighty jaws. Rather than chasing prey, they use their supernatural gaze to turn creatures to stone and then consume these victims at their leisure. While basilisks are most comfortable in subterranean lairs, many are captured and kept by unscrupulous folk seeking guardians for their treasures.
The remains of Petrified creatures litter the area where a basilisk hunts. These might be mundane creatures or more unusual beings that had dire encounters with a basilisk. Roll on or choose a result from the Petrified Basilisk Victims table to inspire the statues that might appear in a basilisk’s hunting grounds. There is a 50 percent chance that any of these statues are missing limbs or broken into pieces.
| 1d8 |
A Basilisk Used Its Gaze to Petrify ... |
|---|---|
| 1 |
An adventurer with an ornate key hanging around their neck. |
| 2 |
Animals like bats, bears, deer, or goats. |
| 3 |
A climber clinging to a stalactite. |
| 4 |
Itself using a large mirror or shiny surface. |
| 5 |
A mimic disguised as a chest full of treasure. |
| 6 |
A monster such as an umber hulk or a troglodyte. |
| 7 |
Someone caught in a comic pose or making a regrettable face. |
| 8 |
A victim now being used as a nest for insects or other vermin. |
Rule 4: No one carves statues of frightened warriors. If you see one, keep your eyes closed and your ears open.
—X the Mystic’s Rules of Dungeon Survival
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) Piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) Poison damage.
Petrifying Gaze (Recharge 4–6). Constitution Saving Throw: DC 12, each creature in a 30-foot Cone. If the basilisk sees its reflection in the Cone, the basilisk must make this save. First Failure: The target has the Restrained condition and repeats the save at the end of its next turn if it is still Restrained, ending the effect on itself on a success. Second Failure: The target has the Petrified condition instead of the Restrained condition.
