Catoblepas

* 5e
* 3e
* 2e
* 1e

A **catoblepas** (pronounced: /kɑːˈtɑːblɛpʌs/ *ka-TAB-le-pus* about this audio file listen or: /kətˈoʊblɛpəs/ *kuht-OH-bleh-puhs* or: /kætoʊˈblɛpʌs/ *kæt-o-BLEP-us* about this audio file listen or: /kætoʊˈblipʌs/ *kæt-o-BLEEP-us* about this audio file listen) was a seeming mix of buffalo, dinosaur, warthog and hippopotamus that lived in swamps or wastelands.

## Description

The aberration had the large body of a buffalo that sat atop squat legs that resembled those of a pachyderm. A catoblepas' head resembled that of a warthog and sat atop an elongated neck that seemed ill-suited for actual support.

It possessed as scent that reeked of death and famine, not dissimilar to swamp gas that filled its favored environment.

## Behavior

A catoblepas spent most of its time wandering around its swampy domain to graze on grass and weed. Whenever the full moon shone, it ventured out further to hunt for meat.

## Combat

Its most feared ability was its deadly gaze. A catoblepas could easily stun prey with it mace-like tail that whipped around at incredible speeds.

## Ecology

Catoblepases were very rarely encountered in the wild. While they roamed in swamps and marshes to begin with, their continued presence in an area cultivated disease cause beneficial flora to wither away and die.

## History

It was believed that the first catoblepases were created by a Netherese archmage.

Legends said that hags raised them like cattle and fed on their milk.

The marsh drovers of the Farsea Marshes were also known to have domesticated whole herds of the beasts.

The flavorful death cheese sold by Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue was made by using catoblepas milk gathered by blind monks. It could be found for sale in the markets of Eagle Peak.

## Appendix

### Appearances

Comics

* *Circle of Fear*

### Further Reading

* Richard Edwards and Chris Elliot (May 1983). “The Ecology of the Catoblepas”. In Kim Mohan ed. *Dragon* #73 (TSR, Inc.), pp. {{#regex:22–23|%(,)(\S)%|$1 $2}}.

### References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Mike Mearls, *et al*. (November 2016). *Volo's Guide to Monsters*. Edited by Jeremy Crawford, *et al*. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 129. ISBN 978-0786966011.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ed Bonny, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Skip Williams, and Steve Winter (September 2002). *Monster Manual II 3rd edition*. (TSR, Inc), p. 41. ISBN 07-8692-873-5.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Doug Stewart (June 1993). *Monstrous Manual*. (TSR, Inc), p. 39. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
4. ↑ Gary Gygax (December 1977). *Monster Manual, 1st edition*. (TSR, Inc), p. 13. ISBN 0-9356-9600-8.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Frank Mentzer (January 1985). “Ay pronunseeAYshun gyd”. In Kim Mohan ed. *Dragon* #93 (TSR, Inc.), p. 25.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dungeons & Dragons FAQ (HTML). Wizards of the Coast. (2003). Archived from the original on 2017-07-09. Retrieved on 2018-05-22.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Thomas M. Costa (September 2002). “The Dragon's Bestiary: The Horrors of Cormyr”. In Jesse Decker ed. *Dragon* #299 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. {{#regex:52–59|%(,)(\S)%|$1 $2}}.
8. ↑ David "Zeb" Cook *et al.* (1989). *Monstrous Compendium Volume One*. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 0-8803-8738-6.
9. ↑ Jeff Grubb, Julia Martin, Steven E. Schend et al (1992). *Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue*. (TSR, Inc), p. 122. ISBN 0-5607-6327-2.