Kluzd
CLIMATE/TERRAIN:
Mud flats
Very rare
FREQUENCY:
Solitary
ORGANIZATION:
Night
ACTIVITY CYCLE:
Carnivore
DIET: INTELLIGENCE:
Animal (1)
TREASURE:
Nil
Neutral
ALIGNMENT: NO. APPEARING:
1-2
ARMOR CLASS:
2 (8)
MOVEMENT:
12, burrow 12
HIT DICE:
THAC0: NO. OF ATTACKS: DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 SPECIAL ATTACKS:
Suffocation
Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES:
Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: SIZE:
M (6' long)
MORALE: XP VALUE:
Nil
PSIONICS:
Kluzd are snake-like reptiles that inhabit mudflats and other
muddy areas. They are about ten feet long and two to three feet
in diameter. They can swallow a grown man whole, although this
results in a strange, almost comical, bulge in the center of their
bodies.
Male kluzd have a distinctive turquoise and white coloration
about their head and neck area. Females do not share these
bright colors; their bodies are sandy brown flecked with black
along their entire length. All kluzd have a series of elongated,
feather-like scales around the back of their heads. These flare
out to form a large fan when the creature is angered, a primitive
mechanism to make it appear larger to its animal opponents.
Kluzd have mere animal intelligence. They can communicate
with each other only in a most rudimentary fashion or through
magical or psionic means.
Combat:When a kluzd senses something moving along the sur-
face of its mud-patch, it swims toward the object and attacks
with needle-sharp, barbed teeth. A kluzd can burrow through
mud quickly. It cannot burrow through dry dirt or sand.
A successful attack by the creature inflicts 1d8 points of dam-
age. Also, in each round a kluzd will attempt to grapple, attack-
ing whatever portion of the target is beneath the surface of the
mud-in the case of a man, this is usually a leg. The victim must
save vs. paralyzation or be grappled. Once grappled, the victim
must make a bend bars/lift gates roll each round. If the roll is
failed, the victim is pulled or kept under the surface of the mud
for the entire round. If the roll is successful, the victim doesn't
manage to break free, but does reach the surface of the mud to
take a breath. If the victim rolls below half his normal bend bars/
lift gates number, he breaks free and can flee through the mud
for that entire round.
A victim that is held under the mud must hold his breath; the
character can hold his breath up to 1/6 of his Constitution score
in rounds (rounded up). While attempting to hold his breath be-
yond this time, the character must roll a Constitution check each
round. The first check has no modifiers, but each subsequent
check suffers a -2 cumulative penalty. Once a check is failed,
the character suffocates. The victim is unable to defend himself
with normal weapons or attacks while being held beneath the
mud, although he can employ psionic powers. Once the first vic-
tim dies, the kluzd will swallow it whole, then submerge to the
bottom of the mud and leave any other creatures alone while it
feeds.
Habitat/Society:Most often, the kluzd is well-protected by its
muddy environment; few native predators can submerge them-
selves in the thick muck to hunt them. Kluzd will only leave the
safety of their mud pools when these areas dry out completely.
The creatures are far more vulnerable when forced onto the sur-
face of the mud flat. A kluzd will travel in a straight line away
from its evaporated burrow in search of a new one-those that
don't locate a new mud hole within four days will themselves dry
out and perish.
Ecology:Kluzd mate when their mudflats dry across the sur-
face to become a broken, hard crust. The female lays a clutch of
eggs (1d8 in number) that will hatch and grow to full size in six
weeks. Until the young leave the mud pond, their parents will
protect them. The young do not hunt. Rather the parents attack
creatures that cross the dried surface of the mud flat, dragging
them under to feed their children.