Chimera

Chimera

Chimera

Species	beast
No. Appearing	1
Behaviour	solitary
Range	desert
Size	12 ft. at lion head's shoulder, body 25 ft. long
Weight	12 tons
Intelligence	4
Armour Class	2
Hit Dice	9
Action Points	8
Max. Stride	{{{stride}}}
THAC0	14
Hp/Die	d10+12
Attack Forms	claw/claw, horn/horn, bite/bite
Damage	2–12/2–12, 4–14/4–14, 3–12/4–24
Special Attacks	breath weapon, raking

An immense, terrifying beast, known for its voracious appetite and malevolence. On very rare occasions these beasts have been known to emerge from the desert to wreak havoc on civilizes countrysides. Though not fully conscious of their cruelty or malignant natures, these beasts are known to move methodically from house to house or field to field and set all ablaze, while killing for pleasure and carrying forth horror on all they can reach.

The chimera cannot actually fly, as its wings are insufficient for this purpose. There are legends of chimera that are able to buffet with their wings, but these rumors are unsubstantiated.

Advantages

In battle they are extraordinarily feral for their size, turning and attacking creatures in every direction with claws, horns and teeth. Their three heads, goat, dragon and lion, can attack separately, up to six targets per round. In addition to this, their mere size has the potential to cause 1–12 damage to whomever comes close (see Incidental Damage). Apart from the front claws and the goat's horn, the bite of the dragon will cause 3–12 damage, while the lion's bite will cause 4–24.

Additionally, if the chimera strikes with both its front claws, its back claws will rake for additional damage. If each claw hits a different defender, each defender will take a separate 2–9 points of raking damage; if both the front claws hit the same defender, that defender will take 4–18 damage.

The dragon's head will begin any formidable combat (one where it feels threatened) by unleashing its breath weapon. A rush of fire will cause 13–24 damage to an area of six adjacent hexes, which may be in whatever shape pleases the beast. The range of this breathed fire is up to six hexes (30 ft.) of the chimera. This damage will be halved if a save vs. breath weapon succeeds, and all affected carried equipment must save vs. magical fire afterwards. After breathing, it must wait at least two rounds before employing the breath weapon again, during which time the dragon head will usually bite. The breath weapon can be used up to three times in a 12-hour period.

Origin

Chimeras are related to other multi-headed creatures like Cerberus or the Lernaean Hydra. They are female in gender. They are believed to be the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, huge, flesh-eating monsters dwelling on the outer plane of Tartarus. Chimera may be summoned to the prime material plane or they may find their own way, usually dwelling in deserted areas for years at a time before being discovered. They do not need to eat to survive, but enjoy the taste of meat anyway. Though of unearthly origin, they are mortal and do not possess spirits that return to Tartarus upon their deaths.

See Bestiary