Bulette
Climate/Terrain:
| Temperate/Any terrain
|
|
Frequency:
| Very rare
|
Organization:
| Solitary
|
Activity Cycle:
| Any
|
Diet:
| Carnivorous
|
Intelligence:
| Animal (1)
|
Treasure:
| Nil
|
Alignment:
| Neutral
|
No. Appearing:
| 1-2
|
Armor Class:
| -2/4/6
|
Movement:
| 14 (3)
|
Hit Dice:
| 9
|
THAC0:
| 11
|
No. of Attacks:
| 3
|
Damage/Attack:
| 4-48/3-18/3-18
|
Special Attacks:
| 8' jump
|
Special Defenses:
| Nil
|
Magic Resistance:
| Nil
|
Size:
| L 9½' tall, 12' long
|
Morale:
| Steady (11)
|
XP Value:
| 4,000
|
Aptly called a landshark, the bulette (pronounced Boo-lay) is a terrifying
predator that lives only to eat. The bulette is universally shunned, even by other
monsters.
It is rumored that the bulette is a cross between an armadillo and a snapping
turtle, but this is only conjecture. The bulette's head and hind portions are
blue-brown, and they are covered with plates and scales ranging from gray-blue
to blue-green. Nails and teeth are dull ivory. The area around the eyes is
brown-black, the eyes are yellowish and the pupils are blue green.
Combat: A bulette will attack anything it regards as edible. The only things that it
refuses to eat are elves, and it dislikes dwarves. The bulette is always
hungry, and is constantly roaming its territory in search of food. When burrowing
underground, the landshark relies on vibrations to detect prey. When it senses
something edible (i.e., senses movement), the bulette breaks to the surface crest
first and begin its attack. The landshark has a temperament akin to the
wolverine -- stupid, mean, and fearless. The size, strength, and numbers of its
opponents mean nothing. The bulette always attacks, choosing as its target the
easiest or closest prey. When attacking, the bulette employs its large jaw and front
feet.
The landshark can jump up to 8 feet with blinding speed, and does this to
escape if cornered or injured. While in the air, the bulette strikes with all four
feet, causing 3d6 points of damage for each of the rear feat as well. The
landshark has two vulnerable areas: the shell under its crest is only AC 6 (but it
is only raised during intense combat), and the region of the bulette's eyes is
AC 4, but this is a small oval area about 8 inches across.
Habitat/Society: Fortunately for the rest of the world, the bulette is a solitary animal,
although mated pairs (very rare) will share the same territory. In addition, other
predators rarely share a territory with a landshark for fear of being eaten.
The bulette has no lair, preferring to wander over its territory, above and
below ground, burrowing down beneath the soil to rest. Since their appetites are so
voracious, each landshark has a large territory that can range up to 30 square
miles.
Bulettes consume their victims, clothing, weapons, and all, and the powerful
acids in the stomach quickly digest the armor, weapons, and magical items of
their victims. They are not above nibbling on chests or sacks of coins either, the
bulette motto being eat first and think later. When everything in the
territory is eaten, the bulette will move on in search of a new territory. The sole
criteria for a suitable territory is the availability of food, so a bulette will
occasionally stake out a new territory near human and halfling territories and
terrorize the residents.
Very little is known of the life cycle of the bulette. They presumably hatch
from eggs, but no young have ever been found, though small landsharks of 6 Hit
Dice have been killed. It may be that the bulette is hatched from very small
eggs, with few young surviving to maturity. Still other sages theorize that the
bulette bears live young. There is also evidence that the bulette, like carp and
sharks, grow larger as they get older, for unusually large landsharks of 11
feet tall and taller have been seen. Certainly no one has ever come upon the
carcass of a bulette that died of old age.
Ecology: The bulette has a devastating effect on the ecosystem of any area it
inhabits. Literally nothing that moves is safe from it -- man, animal, or monster. In
the process of hunting and roaming, the landshark will uproot trees of
considerable size. In hilly and rocky regions, the underground movements of the bulette
can start small landslides. Ogres, trolls, and even some giants all move off in
search of greener and safer pastures when a bulette appears. A bulette can
turn a peaceful farming community into a wasteland in a few short weeks, for no
sane human or demihuman will remain in a region where a bulette has been sighted.
There is only one known benefit to the existence of the bulette: The large
plates behind its head make superb shields, and dwarven smiths can fashion them
into shields of +1 to +3 in value. Some also claim that the soil through which a
bulette has passed becomes imbued with magical, rock-dissolving properties.
Many would argue, however, that these benefits are scarcely worth the price.