Giant Iguana

It is an ordinary iguana scaled up: eight to ten feet of body and a thin tail of 10 to 15 more. The hide is green and black with loose spots and bars, a jagged crest rises along neck and back, and a large pouch hangs under the chin. Strong talons on its long toes serve for running and climbing, never combat.

Only hunger or a cornered position makes it attack. It can freeze in any posture for hours, not even breathing visibly, and in shady undergrowth foes suffer -3 on surprise rolls. It always picks the smallest creature present.

Its few teeth mean a bite does just 2d4. A natural 20 swallows a man-sized foe whole, and a 19 or 20 suffices for smaller ones such as dwarves and halflings; then it runs. Beyond small animals, it can manage one such meal per week.

A swallowed character must escape within rounds equal to a third of Constitution (round up) or suffocate. Inside, Armor Class matches the hide and space is cramped: edged or pointed weapons under a foot long work normally, with the attack roll deciding whether the arm can move, blunt weapons are useless and anything else deals 1 point per hit.

Striking the tail causes pain but no real damage. Even a severed tail just grows back at a foot per month.

These lone hunters gather only to bask or mate, and such groups rarely start trouble, attacking unprovoked on just a 1 in 6. Even in bright sun a still iguana is easy to miss. They eat every other day, taking insects over mammals and grass over leaves or shrubs. They climb any grippy slope of 60 degrees or less at full speed, and big trees if needed, but cannot leap like small iguanas.

Humanoids relish the tender meat, and some plains folk herd them, though walls barely hold them and they are far riskier than cattle. They rarely accept taming, yet an ingundi rides one easily, flattening the back spines and sitting on them bareback, a seat no soft-skinned rider would enjoy.

The horned iguana bears three two-foot horns. It never attacks with them but can lower them to meet a charge: on a successful attack roll the charger takes 3d6 just before striking, even if the iguana lost initiative, and the iguana makes no other attack that round.

Many other species exist, differing in color, tail length, toe count or independently swiveling eyes, but all share the same game statistics.