Kate Pfeilshiefter. Accessed at her deviantArt here
[One thing that always confused me about D&D was its basilisks. In D&D and other spinoffs of “the world’s most popular roleplaying game”, basilisks are chunky, six legged lizards. This look does have some folkloric basis, but the original version, of a small, crowned snake, never came up. I’m awfully proud of the design of this creature–I feel like it models the multiple insta-kill abilities of the mythological basilisk in a way that’s not totally game-breaking and has precedent elsewhere in the rules.]
Regulus This serpent slides forward smoothly, its head
raised above the ground. A cluster of horns and crests growing from its brow suggests a
crown. Its gazes at you with a self-satisfied expression.
The regulus is a proud and
haughty creature, and its intensely deadly nature justifies its arrogance. Rare
to the point of being almost mythical, tales of the reguli often intermingle
freely with those about basilisks and cockatrices, as all three of the
creatures have abilities that can bring swift death. The regulus, however,
kills with poison and negative energy, not via petrification, and is capable of
wiping out entire villages in its toxic wake. Scholars theorize that the
regulus is a close relative of the larger guivre, and represents poison as its
mighty cousin symbolizes disease.
Reguli hate the company of
their own kind; they are too selfish to ever cooperate and consider each other
rivals to be eliminated. This racial madness is in part responsible for the
rarity of reguli, which reproduce only asexually and very infrequently. It is
also the root cause of their hatred of mirrors, for a regulus’ killer instinct
works too quickly and it can easily target itself with its deadly gaze if it
sees its own reflection. The only creatures a regulus has any care for are
mundane snakes, which it can speak to and control effortlessly. It is not for
nothing that the regulus is called “King of Serpents” and a regulus’ favored
demesne is usually filled to the brim with venomous and constrictor snakes of
all sizes and kinds.
In combat, reguli weave
throughout the battlefield, exposing all enemies to their venomous aura and
killing the survivors with their gaze. If forced into melee, they respond with
their bites, which are relatively weak but carry a debilitating poison. Reguli
do not hesitate to flee if a battle turns against them, and reguli lairs always
have at least one escape route.
Reguli are recounted in the legends of the koorars, where they carve out isolated territories on Zinnzar. The greatest of koorar heroes often display their true power by slaying these beasts.
Shores of Swords 