Komodo Dragon

## Background

The **Komodo dragon** (Varanus komodoensis), also known as the **Komodo monitor**, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of 3 metres (10 ft), and weighing up to 70 kilograms (150 lb).

## Codex Statistics

**Tier:** **9-C**, **Higher** with piercing damage

**Name:** Komodo dragon, Komodo monitor, Varanus komodoensis

**Origin:** The Real Wolrd

**Sex:** Varies (Can be Male or Female)

**Age:** Varies (Usually live up to about 30 years)

**Classification:** Reptile

**Status:** **Active** (Komodo Dragons are listed as vulnerable)

**Alignment:** **Unaligned** (Animals have no real moral compass asides from very primitive ones, thus they fall under no true alignment as they're not inherently evil, good, or neutral)

**Dimensionality:** **3-D**

**Attack Potency:** **Peak Human level** (Komodo Dragons hunt on deer, water buffalo, wild pigs, dogs, and goats. Dr. Brady Barr, a world renowned herpetologist even claims it to be stronger than a crocodile), **Higher** with piercing damage (Komodo Dragons have sharps venomous fangs and sharp claws)

**Durability:** **Peak Human level**

**Striking Strength:** **Peak Human Class**

**Lifting Strength:** **Peak Human** (Komodo Dragons need 5 men in order to overpower them)

**Travel Speed:** **Average Human** (Komodo Dragons are capable of reaching speed of 10 to 13 mph.)

**Combat Speed:** **Average Human**

**Reaction Speed:** **Average Human**

**Stamina:** **High** (Komodo Dragons can swim long distances between islands.)

**Range:** **Extended Melee** (Komodo Dragons are 10 feet tall)

**Intelligence:** **Animalistic**

## Powers and Abilities

**Superhuman Physical Characteristics**, **Enhanced Senses** (Komodo Dragons can see objects as far away as 985 feet They also can smell carrion, or rotting flesh, up to 2.5 miles away. ), **Natural Weaponry**, **Poison Manipulation** and **Paralysis Inducement**(Komodo Dragons have a venomous bite which delivers toxins that stop the blood from clotting and cause muscle contractions and paralysis ), **Stealth Mastery** (Komodo Dragons hunt by sneaking on their prey), **Observation** (Type 1; Any living being or object that is capable of making measurements using any of the five senses influence reality in subtle ways, a phenomenon known as the observer effect)

**Resistance** to **Poison Manipulation** (Komodo Dragons are immune to their venom)

## Other

**Standard Tactics:** The Komodo Dragons' hunting strategy is based on stealth and power. They wll hide away from their opponent before jumping on them and biting them with their venomus fangs

**Weaknesses:** The only areas that aren't reinforced by their chainmail-like hide are around their eyes, nostrils, pineal eye & mouth margins

## References

1. ↑ There are approximately 3000 Komodo dragons remaining in Indonesia, which is only a fraction of its population a mere 50 years ago. They are listed as vulnerable due to habitat destruction from development and natural disasters, loss of large prey (such as deer) from widespread hunting and illegal hunting of the lizards themselves.
2. ↑ There are approximately 3000 Komodo dragons remaining in Indonesia, which is only a fraction of its population a mere 50 years ago. They are listed as vulnerable due to habitat destruction from development and natural disasters, loss of large prey (such as deer) from widespread hunting and illegal hunting of the lizards themselves.
3. ↑ Although the Komodo dragon can briefly reach speeds of 10 to 13 mph (16 to 20 kph), its hunting strategy is based on stealth and power. It can spend hours in one spot along a game trail — waiting for a deer or other sizable and nutritious prey to cross its path — before launching an attack.
4. ↑ Komodo dragons are quadrupeds, meaning that they stand and walk on all four legs. Although these animals are quite large and heavy, they are remarkably agile climbers and can run with a surprising amount of speed. They are also capable swimmers and sometimes swim long distances between islands. Komodo dragons are solitary by nature.
5. ↑ Monitors can see objects as far away as 985 feet (300 meters), so vision does play a role in hunting, especially as their eyes are better at picking up movement than at discerning stationary objects. Their retinas possess only cones, so they may be able to distinguish color but have poor vision in dim light.
6. ↑ The Komodo dragon's sense of smell is its primary food detector. It uses its long, yellow, forked tongue to sample the air. It then moves the forked tip of its tongue to the roof of its mouth, where it makes contact with the Jacobson's organs. These chemical analyzers "smell" prey, such as a deer, by recognizing airborne molecules. If the concentration of molecules present on the left tip of the tongue is greater than that sample from the right, the Komodo dragon knows that the deer is approaching from the left. This system, along with an undulatory walk, in which the head swings from side to side, helps the dragon sense the existence and direction of food. At times, these reptiles can smell carrion, or rotting flesh, up to 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) away.
7. ↑ The venom itself consists of over 600 toxins, a chemical arsenal that rivals those of many snakes. Many of these poisons are familiar and they greatly exacerbate the blood loss caused by the dragon's bite. They cause internal haemorrhaging from leaky blood vessels, prevent blood from clotting and cause muscle contractions and paralysis. Fry calculated that a typical adult dragon would need only 4mg of venom proteins to send a 40kg deer into toxic shock from collapsing blood pressure. A full venom gland packs at least eight times this amount.
8. ↑ Although the Komodo dragon can briefly reach speeds of 10 to 13 mph (16 to 20 kph), its hunting strategy is based on stealth and power. It can spend hours in one spot along a game trail — waiting for a deer or other sizable and nutritious prey to cross its path — before launching an attack.
9. ↑ The Komodo's bite may be deadly, but not to another Komodo dragon. Those wounded while sparring with each other appear to be unaffected by the bacteria and venom. Scientists are searching for antibodies in Komodo dragon blood that may be responsible.

## Battle Records

* Victories
* Losses
* Inconclusive

None.

None.

None.