BULETTE

The bulette (or landshark) was thought to be extinct until recently when this horror reappeared. It was the result of a mad wizard's experimental cross breeding of a snapping turtle and armadillo with infusions of demons' ichor. They range temperate climates feeding on horses, men, and most other flesh — although they dislike dwarf and shun elf of any sort. They love halfling and will hungrily dig them from their burrows. The stupid bulette is irascible and always hungry, and they fear nothing, so a bulette will attack a large, powerful party just to eat a horse or two. Sometimes the crest of a burrowing landshark will break the ground — thus the name "landshark." 

When fighting they usually employ their front feet and gaping maw, but when cornered or seriously wounded they can jump up to 8-ft in the air with blinding speed and strike with all four feet (3-18 points damage for each of the rear feet as well).

The shell under the bulette's crest, an area about a foot and one-half square, is only AC 6, and in a fierce fight the monster tends to raise its crest and expose this vulnerable area. Its eyes are armor class 4, but they are relatively small (8" oval).

The bulette is solitary. Only a mated pair will share the same territory. No young have ever been seen, but smaller (as few as 6 hit dice) specimens have been killed. No one is certain how or where the young are born or hatched. Very large bulette have been reported, one being no less than 11 hit dice and over 11-ft tall at the shoulder. 

The great plates behind the bulette's head are highly prized for use in shield making, for a skilled dwarven craftsman can fashion them into a shield of +1 to +3 value.

Description: Typical specimens have blue-brown heads and hind portions, with plates and scales of gray-blue to blue-green. Nails and teeth are dull ivory. The area around the eyes is brown-black, the eyeballs are yellowish, and the pupils of the eyes are dark-green.