Bulette

Bulette

Species	beast
No. Appearing	1–2
Behaviour	subsocial
Range	savanna, steppe, veldt
Size	43 in. at shoulder, 12 ft. long
Weight	1,605 lbs.
Intelligence	1
Armour Class	0
Hit Dice	9
Action Points	4
Max. Stride	11
THAC0	15
Hp/Die	d12
Attack Forms	claw/claw & bite
Damage	3–18/3–18 & 4–48
Special Attacks	spinning kick

The bulette is a massive, dangerous beast. Though sleek in form, it possesses immense strength and power, being able to cause tremendous damage when attacking unhindered. It prefers warm climates and open ranges, liking space to move between trees when those are present. Trees do form a part of its diet, but the creature will roam for hundreds of miles between copses.

It digs in heavy soil and will burrow — but due to its plodding size, it cannot emerge from beneath the ground fast enough to surprise its prey. It can swim. When hunting for meat, it prefers large, heavy creatures such as elephants, rhinoceroses and crocodiles. It will eat humanoids only in times of great hunger.

Advantages

The bulette is feared, rightly, for the tremendous power of its snapping jaws and heavy claws. The mouth is a tremenous maw, 31 inches long from the beast's pointed chin to the jaws back joint. The mouth is filled with two rows of heavy incisors. The back and forefeet are like pillars, with claws that are razor-sharp; despite their appearance, the feet are quick. The bulette's shoulders are formed with highly-flexible ball-joints, strengthened by corded tendons as thick as a human's wrist.

Normally, the bulette attacks with its front claws and jaws; but if it's stunned, at the beast's next opportunity it will perform a violent, whirling spinning kick with all four feet, at least two of which will strike against the opponent that first stunned it. The beast will end this attack with a bite, thus getting five attacks in a single round. The attack is so formidable that most creatures will let the beast go its way unhindered.

See Bestiary