Bulette
Also known as: Land Shark
Huge, vicious burrowing predator that resembles a turtle crossed with an armadillo
OSRIC
| Armor Class | -2/4/6 |
|---|---|
| Hit Dice | 9 |
| Number Encountered | 1d2 |
| Attacks | 3 |
| Damage | 3d6/3d6/4d12 |
| Move | 140-ft; 30-ft burrowing |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| Intelligence | Animal |
| XP | 8/2,000+12/hp |
| Size | Large |
| Frequency | Very rare |
| Lair | Nil |
Bulettes are sometimes called “land sharks” because of their habit of burrowing while the crests of their backs break the surface. Like sharks, they are huge, vicious, and always hungry. They seem to be someone’s experiment gone wrong: a turtle crossed with an armadillo with just a touch of demon thrown in. Their favourite food is horse but they will eat just about anything that moves. The only kind of meat they don’t seem to like is dwarf or elf. They have been know to dig halflings right out of their holes.
Being fearless, a bulette will attack anything that moves on sight. They have been known to attack a armed party to get at the horses. When they attack, they use their vicious bite and their two front claws. They are well armoured, but have two vulnerable spots: under their chests is a soft spot, only AC 6; and a bulette’s eyes are relatively unprotected, with an AC of 4. When cornered or seriously wounded, a bulette will attempt to leap 8-ft vertically and land directly on top of their victim, clawing with all four feet.
Because they are artificially-created animals no one is sure how bulettes reproduce. It seems that a pair will share a territory, but no lair has ever been found. Their plates are highly prized by armourers. They can be easily fashioned into +1 or +2 shields.