a }K{GN # al
The ecology of rhe
basilisk
by Ed Greenwood
From an untitled tome in the liblarv of
Sulphon of Waterdeep, signed "Rhaphode,
Sage of Sages": (.{D&D'. game notations
and other contments added bt the author
appear in italic inside palenreses.)
Know, O sage, thar a creature often
asked about is the dreaded basiisk, rvhose
gaze turns one to stone It behooves a sage
to wax wise and eloquent abour rhis beast,
tr therein lies he seeds ol much respecr for'
vourself and vour learning
The basilisk is a large, reptilian brure
rhat is both sow and stupid. It is leared for
its infamous gaze, which can at will turn
ceatures (including both fish and fon,l) who
meet ic to stone. So much anv half-wit can
tell you, but mark well the words that fol-
low, for here is set down all rhar is known of
he truth about the gaze ol rhe basilisk.
Precisely how the creature's gaze works is
a mystery; most learned observers agree
that the creature's,eyes emit a radiation that
ifabsorbed by the eyes olother creatures
or even itself, ifits gaze is reflected back -
upon it
- causes an inexplicable chemical
change in the bloodstream, altering iving
llesh to stone. (Sroned .reaures are imme-
diately paralyzed, unable to speak, see, or
feel They will become unconscious rom
lack of air at the end o 1 round, but unti]
then are capable of mental i e , psionic
-
tnd some magical - activtv. Any spdl or
Jevice supplying air, or removing the need
lor it, such as a necklace o1 adaptation, will
allcw continued mental activ,ity, with a
cumulative (intelligence score *l % per turn)
chance of insanity due to helplessness and
total isolation )
Cothing, accoutremenrs, and the like
carried or worn by victims are not affected,
despite some wild tales to the contrary.
Beings who through natural ability or the
use of magic are in gaseous form are also
apParently immune to the effects of the
basilisk's gaze. (The use of invulnerabtity
poric;ns allows a saving throw vs. petri[ica-
tiot at,2. Any rings or cloaks of protection
bcing worn add their bonus to the saving
throw )
A basilisk has rwo rranslucenr eyelids,
sorewhat like the membranes covering the
cvcs ol a frog, that can at will cover each ol
Its cves: an upper eyelid, which drops from
abor c. and when thus closed overlaps an
inner, lower eyelid, which rises from beow
thc cve With the upper and lower eyelids
covering the eves, a basiisk can sec up to 15
man-lengrhs awav (9" in AD&D scale) in
normal light, much as men do Each eye's
lids operate independenty of each other,
and are controlled by the creature; it need
not blink at all, il no irriranrs ger inro irs
eves.
When the upper eyelid (only) is drawn
back, a basilisk's eve sees up to 1B man-
lengths away (1 1 " in scale) on the prime
material plane, with the benehs olboth
ultravision and infiavision Or, bv concen-
tration, it can scan the astral plane, seeing
up to 12 man-lengths disranr(7" in scale),
or the ethereal plane, seeing up to 1B man-
lengths away. A basilisk cannot see on more
than one plane at once, but unless they are
actualJy fighting or hunting in one parricu-
lar plane, basilisks tend to Ilick their gazes
from plane to plane every minute (every
round, and thus remain aware of their
surroundings in all three planes.
When its inner, lower eyelid is also drawn
back and both eyeids can be raised and
-
lowered again in less than five seconds
basiisk's gaze petrifies all who meer the
- a
stare of one of its eyes on the prime material
plane, slays all who meet its stare on the
astral plane, and turns ethereal creatures
who meet its gaze into inanimace, insensible
"ethereal stone." Note that a basilisk's eyes
are on opposite sides ofits head, and thus it
commands a very wide field of vision (a
260-degree arc), and can conceivably stone
creatures to either side of it
in the same minute. - two, in total
- Fortunately for those who encounter it,
the basilisk is not particularly energetic or
cunning, and it simpy will not comprehend
the properties of a mirror or other reflective
device if such is maneuveed into position,
and will readilv "stone" itself if such pre-
cautor.ls are successfully applied.
Petritied creatures cannot be eaten by
basilisks, and they will therefore strike with
their petrifying gaze only at creatures who
by size or aggressive behavior seem threat-
ening to them. Petrified victims are subject
to all of the effects that stone normally
suffers (These effects include chipping,
liost damage and other weathering, attacks
from a horn of blasting, etc., and these may
well destroy the unfortunate individual.
Contrarv to some fireside yarns, stoned
people who are chipped or shattered do not
bleed Petrification does not otherwise slay
creatures, who are held in a sor ofsus-
pended animation, or "stone sleep." Pro-
tective devices retained bv a petri!ed victim
a cube of frost resistance,
-will continue to function.) for exantp)e -
Basilisks eat all types of smal creatures
(including both fow and fish), carrion aird
some berries. They cannot eat or physically
attack creatures not on the prime material
plane, and apparently only use their gaze
attacks in a defensive manner with respect
to creatures thereon. It should be noted
here that some sages dispute this point.
Further research, dangerous though it is,
wil be necessary to remove all doubt as to
the powers of the basilisk on the astral and
ethereal panes, and possible prey it may
seek from those planes.
Basiisks instinctively avoid looking
directly at other basilisks, and they never
deiberately use their stoning gaze on one
another They can recognize fellow basilisks
by both sight and smell, and although their
sense of smell is not noticeably keen with
respect to hunting down other creatures, it
is suflciently acute to distinguish between
individual basilisks; i.e., mate and young
are readily discerned from strangers.
Any basilisks encountered will be solitary
hunters, a mated but hunting pair, a nesting
pair, or a pair with grown but immature
young still sharing a lair. Such young often
accompany their parents for up to three
seasons, until they are ready to mate,
whereupon they leave their parents and
each other to seek out heir own mates.
Basilisks mate for life, and by instinct breed
every four summers usually' in water,
-
DRAGoN 27

which heps to support their slow, heavy
bodies. One or two days after mating, the
female ays a cluster of greenish-white eggs
(from 1-B), each about the size of a man's
fist Basilisk eggs have soft, warm, stretchy
surfaces, and they withstand crowding or
even gentle handling and tumbling without
harm; they cannot break the way a duck's
or hen's eggs will shatter in similar circum-
stances A basilisk parent often picks up an
egg in its mouth to carry it, drops it in a
new location or to defend itself, or rolls eggs
about with its snout
- al without doing the
eggs any damage. After laying its eggs, a
basilisk mother covers them in cool sand or
half-buries them in cool, wer mud. The eggs
are almost always (95% chance) fertile, and
if they survive the nesting period of four to
six weeks (31-50 days), they will hatch into
miniature basilisks, 4 to 9 inches long, who
h rll gaze powers at birth. During the
nebrrng period, the parents do not eat, al
the while growing more and more irritable
and fanatical in the defense of their nesr and
its surroundings. Hatchlings grow quite
rapidly, reaching man-size in length (from
nose to base of tai) in 4 to 6 months after
they are born. During this growth period,
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28 JnNuRRy rsa
-.-
. ,.-
- .
their parents hunt intensively with them
and for them
Like other reprilian crearures, basilisks
are cod-blooded, Thev derive much of their
energy from the heat ofthe sun, and spend
much time sunning rhemselves on rocks or
heights to gather this heat (They'wi also
often creep up to campfires at night for the
same reason.) Bur unlike most reptiles,
basilisks can tolerate a fairl,wide range of
temperature, and can also store heat effi-
cienty in rheir coiled digestir.e organs; rhus,
they remain active on \4,arm or mild nights,
even in earlv spring or late autumn. (Basi-
lisks who live deep underground always
have ready access to volcanic heat if
these subterranean creatures are kept - and
from
this heat source for any longer than a day,
they will grou' slugeish and ultimatelv per-
ish w,ithin another three da1's,) Like their
smaller kin among the lizard popuarion,
basilisks can regrow ost limbs and rails
within 1 to 4 months, provided thet'have an
above-average supply of food during this
Because of its fearsome petrifving power
(which. ir should be nored. is permanenr:
affected creatures are not freed br. irs
tr
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"wearing off'), the basiisk has ong been a
source of fascination and magical povr'er to
men Mages and alchemists have found two
parts ofa basiisk eye particuarlv useful:
the internal pupil, lens, and fluid ofits eve
uhich are used as ingredients in potions,
spell inks, and the making of items (suci as
eyes ol petrificaion) concerned with petrify-
ing creatures; and the inner membrane or
eyelid of the creature, used likewise in
magic concerned with protection against
pcn-ification, Other parts of the basilisk are
souretimes tied for such purposes, but with
little or dubious success. An intact eye
might bring as much as 1,000 gp from an
: Ihemist; parts of it, such as the eyelid or
t,ir,c1, up to 400 gp each. Prices varv with
demand, of course, as with all rarities, and
have been knorvn to reach ten times these
amounts,
Various individuals have attempted to use
basilisks as guardians, usualll,chained in a
particular location, and fcd bv hooded
attendants, or ed about bv rhem u,ith a
collar and several chains, This ractic can be
effective, but eventualll, fais more ofren
than not simpll, because of the naure of the
beast and its porvers Basilisks arc srupid,
lazr,, and often asleep Ifrhev feel secure
thev are not inrelligent enough ro remain
-
constant)' r'igilanr if no obr'ous threat is
- then they u'ill not ook about and
afoot
repeatedlv scan al three planes, and ar such
times thev may be slain or hooded from the
rear u,ithour great danger ro rhe intrude or
interloper thev are supposed to be guarding
agarnst.
And er.'en if a basilisk guard is successful
in its stoning attack, the victim is impossibe
to interrogate (or rescue, if rhe n'rong per-
son is petrified by accident), and difficult to
move out of the wa;,
- except bv rhe use of
expensive spels and magic irems If more
than one basilisk guard is used in the same
general area, they inevirablv stone each other
when ticked bv cunning intruders, and
stan'ing or beating the beasts does not
improve their drowsv indolence or lack of
alertness Thev are simph' too stupid to be
trained t'here ro go or not go. or to distin-
guish between acceptable victims and per-
sons rtho are nor ro be petrified Despite all
this, intact basilisk eegs usuallr. bring up ro
500 gp each. and a mniarure voung one is
u'orth as much as 700 gp. \'{arure, less
tractable specimens usuallv carrv a price of
45i) to 500 gp
'Ihe effcctive petrifving range of a basi-
isk's gaze seems to be a function of hoi,r'
keen the evesight of its r jctim isl although
this tends to be onr' up to about 5 man-
lengths rlisrant (3 " in scale), cases have been
reported of uizalds errpoving wizard et,e
spells being stoned br, basilisk guardians,
and persons emploving crvstal balls, eyes of
the cagle and simila devjces being petrified
at great distances.
,{t present (rhe time ol Rhaphode}'s
v'riting is unknou'n),lirtle else is knor.r,n of
the naturc of a basilisk's gaze . The lorerosr
authoritv on the subject s rtider,believed
to be the sage Krammoch, of Baldur"s Gate