Bulette
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dungeons & Dragons creature | |
|---|---|
| Bulette | |
| Alignment | |
| Type | Magical beast |
| Source books | |
| First appearance | |
| Image | Wizards.com image |
| Stats | OGL stats |
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.
Contents |
[edit] Ecology
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.
The name landshark was given to the bulette because when attacking, its crest often breaks the ground. Bulette are swift and bloodthirsty, but very unintelligent. They often attack larger and stronger creatures than themselves. They attack by rushing their prey, bursting from the ground and biting with their giant maw.
[edit] Environment
Bulettes prefer temperate climates with loose soil.
[edit] Typical physical characteristics
A bulette mostly resembles a shark or an armadillo. It is 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.
[edit] Alignment
As they have animal intelligence, Bulettes are always neutral.
[edit] Society
Bulettes 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.
[edit] Variants
- Gholbrorn - Smaller and more intelligent than the standard bulette, these pack hunters prowl underground caverns (from Dragon Annual #1).
- Karnathi bulette - from the Eberron supplement Five Nations, this is a smaler and weaker species of bulette that has a disease-transmitting bite.
[edit] Creative origins
It is among the original monsters in Dungeons & Dragons and features in the earliest editions of Monster Manual, and was inspired--much like the owl bear and the rust monster--by a Hong Kong-made plastic toy purchased by Gary Gygax for use as miniature in a Chainmail game.[1] The name "Bulette" seems to be derived from "Bullet," appropriate for their shape. There has been speculation that the creature was inspired by the Chevy Chase "Land Shark" skit on Saturday Night Live.
[edit] References
- Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (TSR, 1989).
- Gygax, Gary. "Creature Features." Dragon #1 (TSR, 1976).
- Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977).
- Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).
- Monstrous Manual (1993)
- D&D Miniatures: Giants of Legend set #67 (2004)
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Greenwood, Ed. "Ecology of the Rust Monster." Dragon #88 (TSR, 1984). Later re-printed in the Ecology of the Rust Monster article in issue #346.
[edit] External links
- DnD Creatures description of Bulette.
