Razortail
| Razortail | |
|---|---|
 A razortail illustrated by Ron Spencer, Dragon #280. | |
| General information | |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| Type: | Beast |
| First appearance: | "Invaders of the Barrier Peaks", Dragon #280 |
A razortail is a carnivorous creature which originated from the crashed spaceship in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks.
Ecology
Description
"The razortail is a savage, feral predator that lurks in the shallow waters of swamps and bogs. A fullgrown razortail is about 6 feet long. It looks somewhat like a pale-yellow salamander with a finned tail and four long, spindly legs ending in webbed feet. The head is dominated by a many-toothed vertical mouth. Its tail splits into four powerful flukes, each of which ends in a nest of razor-sharp claws. The razortail glows from within with a dull red pulse that seems to match its heartbeat."[1]"
"Razortails’ metabolisms are incredibly high; they must constantly hunt for food in order to fuel their bodies and will eat their own weight in prey each day. Razortails are asexual and generally give birth to a brood of a dozen or so live young once a week. They grow to maturity in less than a week and die of old age after a couple of months. "
Society
Razortaiils display pack behavior, often encountered with a single, larger razortail which is the dominant member of the pack. Like wolves, they hunt together and will circle their prey and take advantage of their natural surroundings.[1]
Abilities
Str 14, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 14[1]
Though it has no visual sensory organs at all, a razortail can sense its surroundings through blindsight.[1]
Due to its natural habitat, and the terraformed valley in which it lives, the razortail is absorbs ambient energy in the valley, and releases it from its mouth in a radiation beam.[1]
When engaged in fighting, the slightest scent of spilled blood drives a razortail into a blood frenzy. It will become frenetic, thrashing at anything near it in a crazed fury, though it is not able to maintain this furor for long and immediately tires, not unlike a crocodile.[1]
History
The razortail was brought to Oerth by spaceship modules which crashed in the Barrier Peaks. There were two modules, though only one was found by adventurers working for the Grand Duke of Geoff (in the events of Expedition to the Barrier Peaks).
The second module crashed nearby in a separate valley, and the automated systems immediately became active, to protect and preserve the alien species the spaceship carried in stasis. "Large machines were built to moderate the weather in the valley and encourage constant rainfall and cloying warmth; other machines were installed to replicate the presence of radioactive ores."[1] Since it was not originally found, the animals and plants thrived there, making a small ecosystem. The razortail is an exception to the other smaller, fairly harmless insects and amphibians which live in the valley. Razortails stick out from the other strange, pallid creatures in the area which are predominantly vegetarian.
Appearances
The only place the razortail was published was in Invaders of the Barrier Peaks, by James Jacobs, which included statblocks as well as the lore of their history and ecology.
See also
See also:
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
- Jacobs, James. "Invaders of the Barrier Peaks". Dragon #280. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Razortail | Monster | Dragon magazine #280 | 93, 94 |