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The bulette (or landshark) was thought to be extinct until
recently when this horror reappeared. It was the result of a mad wizard's
experimental cross breeding of a snapping turtle and armadillo with infusions of
demons' ichor. They range temperate climates feeding on horses, men, and
most other flesh — although they dislike dwarf and shun elf of any sort.
They love halfling and will hungrily dig them from their burrows. The
stupid bulette will attack a large, powerful party just to eat a horse or
two. Sometimes the crest of a burrowing landshark will break the ground
— thus the name "landshark." When fighting they usually employ
their front feet and gaping maw, but when cornered or seriously wounded they can
jump up to two-and-a-half meters in the air with blinding speed and strike with
all four feet. Potential victims must an Average check vs. Agility or
suffer 72 points of damage. The shell under the bulette's crest, an area
about 0.15 square meters, has an AV of only (2), and in a fiefce fight the
monster tends to raise its crest and expose the vulnerable area. It's eyes
are AV (3), but they are relatively small (20 cm oval).
The bulette is solitary. Only a mated pair will share
the same territory. No young have ever been seen, but smaller specimens
have been killed. No one is certain how or where the young are born or
hatched. Very large bulette have been reported, one being no less than 3.5
meters tall at the shoulder. The great plates behind the bulette's head
are highly prized for use in shield making, for a skilled dwarven craftsman can
fashion them into a shield of AV (2½) to AV (3½).
Description: Typical specimens have blue-brown
heads and hind portions, with plates and scales of gray-blue to blue-green
Nails and teeth are dull ivory. The area around the eyes is brown-black,
the eyeballs are yellowish, and the pupils are dark-green.
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