"To those of our august Colleges of Magic who must face such horrors in the flesh, either as the subject of their craft, or more unwontedly as foes in battle, the matter of their origin or place in folklore may seem an utter irrelevance -- particularly when faced with the immediacy of snarling fan and gutting claw. However it must be remembered that in the commandment and destruction of certain uncommon and arcane terrors that knowledge itself is a weapon, and often a vital one. A case in point is the poisoned-eyed Basilisk, and there are many from noble knight to Battle Wizard who have paid the price for ignorance, for to meet a Basilisk gaze is death for all living things be they Man, Elf or monster, and such is its vehemence that even the walking dead and Daemons brought forth from the abyss may be unmade by its venom. Here, as in so many other cases, folklore that may seem no more than empty tales, if anything, carries only an echo of the merest fraction of the monster's true power."
- —From the Prima Monstroum of the Imperial Colleges of Magic.[2b]
A Basilisk[2a]
The Basilisk is a huge, eight-legged reptile of immense toxicity, capable of poisoning their surrounding environments and even killing full-grown men with but a gaze, which prefers to live in warm or underground places. It is a creature born of Chaos, originating in the Great Catastrophe when the power of Chaos first entered the mortal world, and is now well-established in the Old World, if not common.[1a][1b]
Basilisks are widespread in the south, particularly in Estalia,[2c] but also in the land of Tilea, in the mountains of The Vaults and in the caves near the city-state of Luccini.[4a]
Role[]
"We have a cave near Luccini, hey? No one goes there anymore, but you-a can see-a the statues of those who did."
A Basilisk contaminating the surrounding lands with its virulent poisons.
Found in the most treacherous regions of the Known World, from the Bloodspine Mountains of the unknown Southlands to the Grey Mountains that shoulder the Empire, Basilisks are creatures so inimical to life that they poison the very ground they walk upon. They are a living blight that can swiftly reduce an area to ruinous wasteland, decimating crops and slaughtering livestock with venom that suffuses both their body and spirit.[2a]
Despite their might, Basilisks are a reclusive menace, preferring to skulk in the cover of forests and hills, allowing their noxious presence to poison their prey from afar before appearing to feed. Their huge bodies are covered by brightly coloured scales, from the membranous fins upon their heads to the tip of their long tail, a warning of their venomous nature. They prowl about on eight reptilian legs, and move so swiftly they're able to run down and kill even the quickest of prey.[2a]
In dense terrain they rely on their poisonous aura to clear foliage that might otherwise obstruct their charge, whilst their long claws finish off prey weakened by the poison they emit. So powerful is their venom that it infuses the Basilisk's very being so that when brought to bay by hunters and struck, it will corrupt and destroy the blades set against it.[2a]
The most potent weapon in the Basilisk's arsenal is their deadly gaze. Renowned in folklore across the Old World for its lethal nature, the Basilisk's sickly pale eyes are able to focus the destructive potential of their poisonous soul, withering their prey until its skin and flesh slough away. It is the dark renown of the Basilisk's gaze that ensures that when the great Storms of Magic descend and binding scrolls are empowered once again, many a wizard will eagerly seek to call them forth and unleash them upon a hated foe.[2a]
A Basilisk
Some Basilisks' gaze can permanently petrify living creatures rather than poison them to death. The petrifying effect has an approximate range of ten yards. Inside the stone sarcophagus, the victim's flesh is liquefied by the heat generated by the Chaos energies of the creature's sight. This way the Basilisk can feed without effort, licking the liquid contents of the petrified corpse.[1a][1b][5a]
The internal organs and glands of Basilisks are in high demand among wizards and alchemists, so a few, daring adventurers sometimes brave the peril of procuring those items.[3a]
Abilities[]
An Undead Basilisk
A Basilisk is a cold-blooded reptilian creature, whose toxic aura taints anything that draws near, destroying weapons and killing all who approach, its deadly power increasing the longer one is exposed to it. The Basilisk can focus its dark malice upon a single target, its gaze blistering skin and metal, and flaying the target with its tainted power.
The bite of a Basilisk is venomous, and it is said that even the ground that it treads upon is made deadly by its corrupt aura.[3a]
Miniatures[]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 2: Warhammer: Monstrous Arcanum (8th Edition)
- 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 3a: pg. 317
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Corruption (RPG)
- 4a: pg. 76
- 5: Brunner the Bounty Hunter Omnibus (Novel) by C.L. Werner
- 5a: "Beneath the Vaults"