Basilisks¶
With eight legs, a scaled rough hide, and razor-sharp teeth coated in poison, the basilisk is a deadly threat—even aside from their petrifying eye beams. This dreadful creature can fell the mightiest of foes with a look, turning them into an immobilized stone statue who remains thankfully unaware when the basilisk later consumes their petrified form at their leisure.
Raising Young¶
Basilisks typically live in mated pairs and raise small clutches of younglings from the comforts of damp caves. Adults prefer to subsist on berries, fish, fowl, and carrion, resorting to eating their petrified victims only when starving. By contrast, basilisk younglings can eat only petrified victims, and basilisks have been known to travel far from their nest to populated areas in search of prey for their babies.
Dangerous Servitors¶
Crime lords and overminds seek basilisk eggs to hatch, raising and training basilisks as bodyguards and pets. Training is dangerous, and many handlers (and their unscrupulous colleagues) find themselves turned to stone when a basilisk escapes and runs amok.
Some creatures keep basilisks not for their terrifying abilities, but for their immunity to petrification. Medusas commonly keep basilisks as pets, owing to their own limited options for companionship. Both parties benefit from this relationship, as the medusa feeds their own victims to the basilisk and their younglings.
Alchemical Properties¶
Alchemists have discovered a gland in the basilisk's mouth that excretes an oil that reverts stone to flesh, making it easier to digest prey. If enough of the oil is collected, a salve can be created to restore a petrified victim. Unsavory alchemists pay good money to those willing to steal a basilisk youngling from their nest.
Restorative Salve
After a basilisk dies, a character can make a Reason test to claim oil from the basilisk's mouth, which can be used to create a special salve. One dose of salve can be applied to a petrified creature as a main action, and 1 minute after the salve is applied, that creature is no longer petrified.
- ≤11: 1 The character must complete the Find a Cure downtime project in Draw Steel: Heroes to create one dose of salve.
- 12-16: 2 The character creates one dose of salve and can create two more doses by completing the Find a Cure downtime project.
- 17+: 3 The character creates three doses of salve.