Game Master companion / Monster
Running Basilisk
A low reptilian predator watches from the shade, its eyes more threatening than its teeth. The party must decide how closely it dares to look.
Prepare the scene
Scales rasp over the ground. In the darkness beneath a fallen slab, two eyes remain perfectly still.
A low reptilian predator watches from the shade, its eyes more threatening than its teeth. The party must decide how closely it dares to look.
Establish the surroundings, each participant’s position, and what the party can perceive before resolving the encounter. Use the current core rules for surprise and turn order when combat begins.
Run the profile
Use the following source instructions for the encounter’s actions and effects.
Bite
Use: Basic attack · Bite: Might + supplemental d8 Wound (piercing).
Signature abilities
Effect - Signature: Stone Gaze: Action + 2 Mana, one target within 20 feet that can see its eyes; Invoke versus Composure + Tact, success Hinders until its next turn. Repeat exposure can reapply Hinder, never automatically cause permanent petrification. Venom after bite.
Counterplay/relationship
Counterplay/relationship: A target may avert its gaze, avoiding Stone Gaze but taking Disadvantage on attacks against the basilisk until its next turn. Statues can foreshadow the encounter; permanent transformation needs a separate ritual rule.
Present the counterplay
A target may avert its gaze, avoiding Stone Gaze but taking Disadvantage on attacks against the basilisk until its next turn. Statues can foreshadow the encounter; permanent transformation needs a separate ritual rule.
Make the relevant behavior or environmental clues perceptible through the scene so the party can act on them.
Keep the mechanical profile nearby
Affinities: Vitality d6, Might d8, Agility d8, Intellect d6, Tact d6, Spirit d8.
Skill overrides: Evade d6, Block d6, Ward d6.
Resolve 16; Stamina 7; Mana 6. Movement 30 feet.
Player Book idea: Reptilian predator associated with a dangerous gaze.