Blight Belcher

From Malevolent & Benign and suitable for all 1E games... Art by Claudio Pozas.

BLIGHT BELCHER

SIZE: Large (20 ft. long)
MOVE: 30 ft., swimming 120 ft.
ARMOR CLASS: 5
HIT DICE: 6
ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE: 1-4, 1-4, 1-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Belch
SPECIAL DEFENSES: None
MAGIC RESISTANCE: None
RARITY: Rare
NO. ENCOUNTERED: 2-5
LAIR PROBABILITY: 5%
TREASURE: None
INTELLIGENCE: Animal
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
LEVEL/X.P.: 4 / 230 + 6/hp

General information: Blight belchers are equally at home on land, in salt water, or in fresh water. Their powerful tails help them maneuver in the water, while their short stocky legs allow them to move through sand, soil, and mud. Though typically found in salt water, blight belchers enjoy bathing on beaches, rolling in mudflats, swimming up inlets, and hunting in fresh water as well. Blight belcher jaunts on land eventually lead to water, lest their scales dry out.

Blight belchers are typically docile unless they are hungry or other creatures threaten their territory. Besides attacking with bite and claws, blight belchers also unleash a noxious gas once per day that works equally well underwater or on the surface. The gas cloud is 10 feet in diameter. If a blight belcher uses its breath weapon underwater, it rises up to the surface and engulfs all within a 10-foot radius directly above the blight belcher. This causes small boats to capsize, as the water that was holding the boat is displaced by the gas. Any creature failing a save versus breath weapon falls to the ground retching and gagging, unable to act for 2-5 rounds. During this period they receive no shield or dexterity bonus and may be attacked at +4.

Young blight belchers can be trained to serve as mounts. The advantages of a blight belcher mount are threefold; they can be goaded into using their breath weapons against foes (25% chance for non-war-trained belchers); they can move on land as well as in the water; and they make excellent trackers due to their acute sense of smell, which is equal to that of a hunting dog. If encountered in their lair, there is a 10% chance that there will be 2-8 eggs or young blight belchers of 25% to 50% maturity. The eggs are worth 50 gp each, and young belchers can be sold on the market for 200 gp each. An adult trained for riding typically sells for 400 gp, while one trained for war sells at 800 gp.

Physical description: These 20-foot long amphibious  beasts look like a giant cross between a salamander and an alligator. They have green-brown scales, short, stocky legs, and muscular tails.