Behir

Wizards of the Coast, Dragon Magazine.

The serpentine behir crawls along floors and clambers up walls to reach its prey. Its lightning breath can incinerate most creatures, even as more powerful foes are constricted in its coils and eaten alive.
A behir's monstrous form resembles a combination of centipede and crocodile. Its scaled hide ranges from ultramarine to deep blue in color, fading to pale blue on its underside.

Basic Information

Anatomy

A behir's dozen legs allow it to scramble through its lair site with ease. When not climbing, it moves even faster by folding its legs beside its body and slithering like a snake.

Genetics and Reproduction

Mating took place in early spring — females produced between one and four blue-green, leathery eggs, which were buried under dirt or sand. There were conflicting reports about how long it took for their eggs to hatch. Some sources claimed it took eight months for them to hatch. Others insisted that it only took three or four weeks. The young were driven from the den soon after hatching.

Growth Rate & Stages

Hatchlings were about two feet (half a meter) long and did not yet have their full complement of twelve legs. They began life with six or eight legs and grew additional legs as they aged. They grew about eight additional feet per year. Like other reptilian creatures, behirs continued to grow throughout their lifetimes and had to shed their scales periodically. They reached adulthood by ten years.

Ecology and Habitats

Behirs preferred to live in warm, hilly terrain. They made dens in caves—which were often in the side of high cliffs—or hidden thickets. A behir's territory usually encompassed an area of 400 square miles (1,000 square kilometers). They were typically solitary creatures but could be found in mated pairs, but only until their eggs were hatched.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Their primary diet consisted of medium-sized animals, such as boars.
Cavern Predators. Behirs lair in places inaccessible to other creatures, favoring locations where would-be intruders must make a harrowing climb to reach them. Deep pits, high caves in cliff walls, and caverns reached only by narrow, twisting tunnels are prime sites for a behir ambush. A behir's dozen legs allow it to scramble through its lair site with ease. When not climbing, it moves even faster by folding its legs beside its body and slithering like a snake.
Behirs swallow their prey whole, after which they enter a period of dormancy while they digest. While dormant, a behir chooses a hiding place where intruders in its lair might overlook it.

Biological Cycle

Behir were most active during the day. In the winter months, behirs hibernated.

Additional Information

Domestication

Foes of the Dragons. In times long forgotten, giants and dragons engaged in seemingly endless war. Storm giants created the first behirs as weapons against the dragons, and behirs retain a natural hatred for dragonkind.
A behir never makes its lair in an area it knows to be inhabited by a dragon. If a dragon attempts to establish a lair within a few dozen miles of a behir's lair, the behir , is compelled to kill the dragon or drive it off. Only if tlie dragon proves too powerful to fight does a behir back " down, seeking out a new lair site a great distance away.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Harvested Items

• DC 10 Behir Scales

DC 15 Behir Horn 

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Behir's are known to have above-average darkvision due to their cavern living.

Scientific Name

Monstrosity

Lifespan

50 - 60 years

Average Height

25 ft

Average Weight

4,000 lbs

Average Length

40 ft

Average Physique

Beyond Mortals

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Its scaled hide ranges from ultramarine to deep blue in color, fading to pale blue on its underside.