Living in dank caverns littered throughout Hazlan is the dreaded basilisk. This reptilian creature is roughly ten feet long on average, measuring
from its snout to the tip of its tail. The tail can get even longer, with one specimen I saw having a tail of over seven feet long. Its skin is often
either the color of burnt umber or a cool, slate grey, decorated in bone-like spikes that cover most of its body, save for its unusually soft underbelly.
The basilisk, on first glance, may closely resemble the so-called “rock reptile” known to dwell within the Amber Wastes. However, what separates
the basilisk from those desert-dwelling creatures are its green eyes, which have been reported by some to glow brightly even in the darkest
corners of the caves in which these beasts live. For a fair number of unfortunate individuals, the green eyes of the basilisk would prove the
last thing they would ever see.
It has eight legs, and yet moves rather slow – the basilisk prefers to ambush its prey, lying in wait for hours, even days at a time. This is because
its gaze, known to be capable of petrifying any living creature and turning them into solid rock, makes it rather easy for them to find food. The
diet of the basilisk is primarily small mammals, other, smaller reptiles, and various birds. It chooses to petrify its food before consuming it, which
suggests that could likely subsist on a diet of nothing but stone if it so chose.
When dealing with the basilisk, it is important that one have a method by which their petrifying gaze can be negated. Outside of Hazlan, I once
encountered a merchant who claimed he had in his possession an amulet that allowed him to step foot on the isle of Demise and stare down the
legendary medusa that allegedly lives there. While I doubt this man was anything more than a purveyor of cheap tricks and chicanery, such an
amulet would doubtless prove useful against these creatures.
Keep in mind, however, that the basilisk has a mouth unlike any other, littered with teeth that are able to chew through stone. Ultimately, the
best thing to do when faced up against a basilisk, in most situations, is to simply run – they will be unable to keep up, and will eventually relent,
once it seems they have lost their prey.