Fire Elemental Beast [Dark Sun]

A fire elemental beast is a large four-legged creature of pure flame. It can be called into any dry place, but needs a small fire as a seed from which to gather the area's heat into a body. It looks like a great, extremely broad-shouldered panther; flickering fire gives the impression of muscles shifting beneath a blazing orange coat. A mane of flame frames its head, its eyes are black hollows like empty sockets, and its face constantly shifts, licking out tongues of fire, though large fiery teeth always show. Its bellow sounds like a hundred fires roaring at once.

It moves smoothly, gracefully and in total silence. At full speed it looks just like a fireball, and when summoned in battle it is often mistaken for one until it stops.

It strikes with two burning paws for 1d8 each and a scorching bite for 2d6, and can split these between two opponents at once. Anything struck risks having clothing, gear or nearby debris catch fire: unless that item saves vs. magical fire at -2, its owner suffers another 1d6. Every 3 rounds it can also exhale flame in a cone 10 feet wide at the base and 30 feet long for 2d8 (2-16), and those caught who save vs. breath weapon take half; a victim hit by the breath suffers a further 2d6 (2-12) from burning.

Ordinary fire does it no harm but pollutes its elemental purity: the beast must save vs. poison or fly into a fury for 1d6 rounds, attacking at +2 but suffering -2 to AC. Magical fires from spells, staves or other items deal only 1 point per die of damage they would normally do. It cannot cross a surface of nonflammable liquid, and spells drawing on water, create water among them, deal 1d8 per caster level, with its saves against them at -2.

On the elemental planes these beasts hunt, run and play in the fields of fire. A beast stranded on the desert world suffers from having to eat ordinary fuel. It can consume wood, cloth or coal but hates them, and the diet slowly dims it until it winks out. Each month it must save vs. poison at a cumulative -2; each failure costs it 1 Hit Die, and when none remain it vanishes. Two weeks or more of pure elemental fire reverses the decline.

The beast does not belong anywhere in the world's natural order, and the elements of the desert world cause it real pain, so it bitterly resents being torn from its home fire fields. Few elemental beasts are harder to master. On arrival it gets a save vs. spell, at -4, to throw off the caster's hold, and if that succeeds it attacks its summoner at once.