Crocodilian

Crocodilians are cousins of the alligator-folk called agrutha, but bigger and fiercer, with adults stretching as much as 15 feet from snout to tail tip. The smaller master caste keeps the long crocodile jaws but has a stubby tail only 2-3 feet long.

A brute crocodilian bites with its long jaws and swings a tail like a sledgehammer. Its natural weapons are so dangerous that it seldom bothers with others, and any it does carry were traded for or taken from someone else, usually something big like a halberd, battle-axe or two-handed sword. While holding a weapon it may add either a bite or a tail strike each round, never both. Brutes have Strength 18/76 to 18/00, and 10% have Strength 19.

Masters cannot hurt anyone with their short tails, so they rely on weapons and on their magic: every one is at least a 5th-level priest of a serpent god of chaos, a jackal-headed lord of the dead, or another evil power.

Brutes are loners, more so than the agrutha, and two that meet will likely fight to settle who is stronger. Some build huts of mud and straw; others simply share the water with local crocodiles and hunt wherever crocodiles do. Plentiful game, crowds of crocodiles or a strong chief can draw them into small tribes living in hut villages, waterside ruins or flooded caverns, and half the time 1-4 giant crocodiles share their territory.

Hot-tempered as they are, brutes talk with humans and demihumans more readily than agrutha do, unless they are very hungry. They are not clever, but they see themselves as the equals of other thinking races and may trade goods or news. Entering their hunting grounds uninvited is a serious mistake.

The masters, as they name themselves, are evil through and through. They delight in killing and eating humans and chuckle gutturally at their own cruelties day and night. They lurk in sewers or secret temples of large cities to work their schemes, usually alone but sometimes in small sects. When five or more gather, one is a high priest with 7th-level spells and the size and fighting ability of a brute. Brutes dislike masters but are easily manipulated by them. Masters enjoy consorting with spirit nagas, jackalweres and mummies, and often keep a crocodile pit (ordinary or giant) deep in the lair for sacrifices. They study history, religion and dark magic, yet never learn any warm-blooded race's spoken tongue, since human speech sounds like bleating sheep to them.

Brutes are meat eaters large enough to bring down nearly any prey and have little to fear. Females lay eggs once a year in the wet season.