Gnasher Lizard

This 10-foot long stone-colored lizard has a large, wide gaping maw filled with double rows of dagger-like teeth. Its head is large and flat and sports a ridge of hardened bone that runs the length of its head before tapering off near the middle of its back. Its four legs end in large, flat clawed feet.

Gnasher Lizard (CR 8)

Large Magical Beast
Alignment: Neutral
Initiative: +7
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, Low-Light Vision, Scent; Perception +16

Speed: 30 feet
Space: 10 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 21, touch 12, flat-footed 18 (+3 Dex, +9 natural, -1 size)
Hit Points: 105 (10d10+50)
Saving Throws: Fort +12, Ref +8, Will +4

Offense

Melee: bite +17 (2d10+10 plus Grab)
Reach: 5 feet

Special Attacks: Swallow Whole (1d8+7 plus 1d8 acid damage, AC 14, 10 hp), vorpal bite

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
24 (+7)	16 (+3)	20 (+5)	2 (-4)	12 (+1)	10 (+0)

Base Attack Bonus: +10
CMB +18 (+22 Grapple)
CMD 31 (35 vs. Trip)

Feats: Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Perception), Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (bite)

Skills: Perception +16, Stealth +11

• Racial Modifiers: +4 Perception, +4 Stealth

Languages:

Special Abilities

Vorpal Bite (Ex)

If the gnasher lizard rolls a natural 20 on its attack roll, and subsequently confirms the critical hit, it severs the head of its opponent. This attack is effective on creatures up to one size larger than the gnasher lizard.

Ecology

Environment: Temperate Forests or Mountains
Organization: solitary or pair
Treasure: none


The gnasher is a deadly predator that often roams up to 3 miles from its lair in search of prey. Though its appearance lends to the façade of being a slow moving lizard, it is in fact, rather graceful and quick. Those that make the mistake of assuming the gnasher is slow-moving rarely live to tell others of their mistake.

Gnasher lizards make their lairs in stony areas, typically forest clearings or mountain terrain, usually near (within several hundred feet if possible) a water source. They are carnivorous creatures and highly territorial, even attacking their own kind if one gnasher lizard intrudes upon the territory of another. Gnashers are solitary creatures and only come together to mate (during the spring or early summer months). Mating season is the only time more than one of these creatures is encountered together, and once the mating ritual is ended, each goes its own way. The female lays a clutch of 1d4+2 eggs which hatch within 3 months. Young reach maturity within 8 months and are left to their own devices.

A gnasher lizard is typically 10 feet long but can grow to a length of 20 feet or more. A typical gnasher weighs about 1,000 pounds. Though most are stone gray, some variants encountered have been colored greenish-brown or black. Its long fang-like teeth are razor-sharp and it uses these to tear its prey into pieces.

Gnasher lizards typically attack from ambush, using their surroundings to conceal themselves and springing out at the last second to catch their opponents by surprise. Gnashers attack any creature that wanders into their territory, including those larger than themselves, relying on their vorpal bite to quickly dispatch such creatures.

When it swallows a foe, a gnasher lizard typically holds it in its stomach for several rounds before regurgitating it into its mouth, snapping down on it with its razor-sharp teeth and then swallowing it again.

Copyright Notice Author Scott Greene.