Bulette
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A bulette or landshark is a large fictional carnivorous magical beast from the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Its original design is based on a figure from various playsets of plastic dinosaurs and other pre-historica animals, though there is no real creature with its shape.
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[edit] Physical description
A bulette mostly resembles a badger or an armadillo. It has about 9 1/2 feet tall at the shoulder and 12 feet long. It has blue to dark brown turtle-like plates and scales that cover most of its body and form a large crest on its back, which it uses to burrow under ground. It walks on all four legs that have large thick claws and has strong beak-like maw.
The name landshark was given to it because when it attacks its crest often breaks the ground. Bulette are swift, bloodthirsty but very unintelligent. They often attack larger and stronger creatures than themselves. They attack by rushing their prey, bursting from the ground and bitting with their giant maw.
[edit] Society
Bulettes prefer temperate climates with loose soil. They love human and halfling flesh and generally dislike elven and dwarven. They lead a solitary life and only mated pairs share their territory. Bulettes spend most of their lives sleeping underground until their hunger overwhelms them, when they continue their eat-sleep cycles.
The true origin of the Bulette has never been revealed, but the various Monster Manuals indicate it is probably the product of a wizard's experiments, crossing an armadillo, shark, and snapping turtle. Like the owlbear, this is one of those rare magically-created beasts that not only survived the process but was capable of starting a new race of creature.
[edit] Variants
- Gholbrorn - Smaller and more intelligent than the standard bulette, these pack hunters prowl underground caverns. (From Dragon Annual #1).
[edit] References
- Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (TSR, 1989).
- Gygax, Gary. "Creature Features." Dragon #1 (TSR, 1976).
[edit] External links
- DnD Creatures description of Bulette.