Crocodile

Among the ugliest and most feared hunters of warm lands, the crocodile has a long, low body on four short but powerful legs, a heavy tail, and a long jaw lined with sharp, cone-shaped teeth made for pulling prey underwater and ripping it apart. Hatchlings may be a foot long; most adults run 8 to 15 feet and some grow bigger, and many sages believe they never stop growing. The thick, horny hide matches murky water, and the eyes and nostrils sit so that only they show above the surface, letting a motionless crocodile pass for a floating log.

Crocodiles are always hungry and will attack anything that seems edible, people included. They wait in ambush, imposing a -2 penalty on opponents' surprise rolls, and feel the slightest disturbance in the water. Some glide silently to the bank to snatch a person and haul him under. The bite deals 2d4 points of damage and the tail lash 1d12; on land the tail can also knock foes off balance. Several crocodiles may fight over one catch and tear it to pieces. Only cold slows them: below 40 degrees F they drop to 50% of normal movement.

Crocodiles may gather in large numbers, but they neither socialize nor hunt cooperatively. When a tempting meal appears, a crowd erupts into a feeding frenzy. They hunt nearly every day, mostly in water, taking fish, birds, small mammals, people and the occasional careless lion, and a hungry one may overturn a boat to see what spills out. Prey is often dragged back to a hidden lair before being eaten. Rumors say some now live in the sewers of tropical cities, feeding on garbage and carrion.

They mate yearly. The female buries about 60 eggs in sand and, unusually for a reptile, guards them against predators, then digs them out at hatching time. After that the young fend for themselves, and very few reach adulthood.

Few water creatures compete with the crocodile, the dragon turtle being a rare exception, and most land predators avoid it too. Its one real enemy is humankind, which kills it for the hide, which tans into a handsome, glossy leather, and to protect riverside villages.

Much rarer than the ordinary kind, giant crocodiles reach 21 to 30 feet and also grow until they die. They favor salt water or prehistoric lands and prey on sharks, small whales and small craft like fishing boats. Their favored method is ramming a boat to capsize it and crushing it open with their jaws; sometimes one simply devours the fishermen's catch and swims away, leaving the crew unharmed.