Chimera

Nobody knows how chimerae came to be, and those who dig into the question rarely like what they find. The creature has a huge tawny lion's front half, a big black goat's hindquarters, and dark brown dragon wings. Three heads rise from its shoulders. The goat head is jet black with long ochre horns and glowing amber eyes; the lion head has green eyes and a brown mane; the dragon head is orange-scaled with black eyes. A chimera speaks a crude version of the red dragons' vile tongue, but it rarely bothers to talk with anything weaker than itself.

A chimera likes to surprise its prey, often diving from above. Each round it can make six attacks: two foreclaws, two goat horns, and bites from the lion and dragon heads. Instead of biting, the dragon head may spit a 5-yard jet of fire for 3d8 (3-24) damage, halved by a save vs. breath weapon, and the chimera always uses its fire when foes are in reach. Multiple chimerae coordinate their attacks. Each part of the beast has its own armor class: the dragon's flank is AC 2, the lion's front AC 5, and the goat's rear AC 6.

The chimera mixes the habits of all three of its parts. Its dragon side makes it favor caves for lairs. The dragon and lion natures seem to clash, since some chimerae live alone as dragons do while others form small prides. Even mated pairs seldom produce young.

It eats both plants and meat. The goat head can live on the scrubbiest, toughest growth, but the lion and dragon heads crave flesh. It hunts at intervals of 3 or 4 days, relying on brute strength and low cunning, and its hunger can drive it to roam a territory up to 20 square miles. A chaotic evil creature, it especially enjoys killing men, elves, dwarves and halflings, will happily attack other monsters, and treats any trespasser as food.

Its draconic greed gives it another reason to attack travelers: it wants what they carry. It has no use for treasure, yet piles its victims' coins into a heap and roosts on them. Such a hoard is a poor imitation of a real dragon's, mostly copper and silver coins, maybe a few trinkets of jewelry, and a magical item or two.

As both grazer and top predator, the chimera adapts easily, and when game runs short it can get by on plants alone.

This cousin combines a gorgon's hindquarters, a lion's forequarters, and a red dragon's body and wings, with a head from each. It claws, bites with the lion and dragon heads, and butts with the gorgon head. Either the dragon or gorgon head may use a breath weapon in place of its normal attack, and the gorgimera always breathes when enemies are within 10 feet. The dragon's fire works like a chimera's. Twice a day the gorgon head can exhale a petrifying cone 3 feet long, widening from 1 foot at the base to 3 feet at the far end; a save vs. petrification avoids it. Its sight pierces both the Ethereal and the Astral, and its petrifying breath carries into those planes too. Gorgimerae also speak a broken form of the red dragon tongue.