Imbul

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The Falx imbul, or rock lizard, is a large, heavy lizard, about 3 feet long (4–5 feet including tail), resembling a pugnacious iguana. Its color ranges from dusty grey to dark brown, and its remarkably thick skin is very similar in texture to rock. When the creature remains immobile, it is very difficult to spot (80% chance of not being noticed).
Its eyes are small and red, and protected by protruding ridges of bone. It has a crest atop its head which normally lies flat along the back of its neck, but which it can erect as a threat display. It has stubby legs, but moves rapidly for all that. Its wide mouth doesn't have teeth, as such; instead, the creature bites and chews its prey with bony ridges.
==Combat==
The imbul's primary attack is its bite. The bone ridges within its mouth are jagged and sharp, and can inflict terrible wounds. In addition, the imbul's saliva is highly toxic. Anyone bitten by the creature suffers an additional 3-18 points of damage (a successful save vs. poison decreases the damage to a flat 2 points). There is no limit to the number of times an imbul can inflict this poison. The imbul itself is totally immune to this poison.
The imbul has another attack form which it uses only as a last resort to save its life. Once per day, the creature can regurgitate its highly toxic digestive fluids and expel them in a cloud of poisonous mist. This cloud takes the form of a cone, originating at the creature's mouth, that is 15 feet long and 6 feet in diameter at its widest point. Any creature that inhales this cloud of mist must save vs. poison or die instantly from heart failure. Holding one's breath is no sure protection against this mist, although it does decrease the damage potential. The toxic liquid can be absorbed through the skin, as with a green dragon's breath weapon, and inflicts 4-24 points of damage (save vs. breath weapon for half damage). Use of this "breath weapon" is highly painful for the imbul, and so it will use it only if the alternative appears to be death. Also, the poison mist causes tissue breakdown in its victim which makes the target inedible for the imbul. Thus the creature will never use this weapon when hunting for food.
In personality, the imbul is a bully, preferring to attack creatures smaller than itself. It will attack larger creatures, but only if it can do so with surprise. If faced with determined opposition, it tries to escape. (This personality trait is reflected in the creature's low morale score.) The only exception to this is in the case of adult imbuls accompanied by young. In this situation, both parents will give their own lives if necessary to protect their offspring; their effective morale score increases to 20.
Imbuls are partially resistant to heat and fire. Attacks based on fire or heat do only half damage. Electrical attacks do normal damage, and cold-based attacks do double damage. Imbuls are totally resistant to acid.
==Habitat/Society==
Imbuls are generally solitary predators. Every spring, however, adult imbuls seek mates. It is the females that perform most of the courtship rituals, and nonlethal fights are common between females contesting for mates. During the mate-seeking period in early spring, female imbuls will challenge anything that moves with a threat display. This involves erecting the head crest, hissing and making mock charges. (Obviously, this cuts down the number of females somewhat, since making a mock charge at a tarrasque has predictable and unpleasant consequences.) Once a pair has mated, they remain bonded until their offspring reach maturity. After impregnation, the female lays 1-4 eggs, which hatch in 60 days. The newborn imbuls are 1/2 HD, with no attacks. They grow rapidly, though, and reach maturity by fall. At this time, the family group splits up and the individuals go their separate ways.
During summer, there is a 50% chance that any encounter with imbuls is with a family group of 2d3+ 1 creatures. Two will be adults, while the others are immature young, 10-80% grown.
==Ecology==
Imbuls are by preference predatory carnivores, hunting other lizards across the hot, flat terrain of Falx. During the winter, imbuls are omnivorous, and will attack each other. If no live game is available, however, the imbuls will feed on the carpet mosses that cover the landscape. They rarely kill these great colony organisms, however, preferring to tear off mouthfuls as they get hungry.
In turn, imbuls are prey for tarrasques and larger lizards.
Category:Creatures
Category:Practical Planetology Creatures