Desert Shark
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Sandy, hot deserts |
| Frequency | Rare |
| Organization | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle | Any |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Intelligence | Semi- (2-4) |
| Treasure | None |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| No. Appearing | 1-2 (rarely 1-3) |
| Armor Class | 5 |
| Movement | 6 (below ground 10) |
| Hit Dice | 4 |
| THAC0 | 16 |
| No. of Attacks | 1 |
| Damage/Attack | 2-12 |
| Special Attacks | Surprise attack |
| Special Defenses | Nil |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | Medium (5-7 feet) |
| Morale | Average (8-10) |
| XP Value | 500 |
Description
An entirely different predator than creatures such as the falanx is the desert shark, thought to be descended from insectivore stock. This sandy brown, wrinkled creature is sausage-shaped with a blunt, strong head and powerful shovel-like feet. It swims through the sand rather than burrowing, bursting into underground desert rodent nesting chambers, which it locates using the sensory pits at the end of its nose. It is almost completely hairless and avoids the extremes of temperature by remaining underground for most of the time. When it is at rest it lies just below the surface with only its eyes and nostrils protruding.
Is at such times that the desert shark presents danger to the unwary desert traveller, as in the harsh clime it will not pass up such a meal. The desert shark is 75% likely to surprise such an opponent, bursting from the sand at +1 to attack, using it mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth roughly the same size and shape as that of a shark. The desert shark will not fight to the death though, but bite once or twice and then sink beneath sand. If it is not able to bring the prey item beneath the surface (or a large chunk of that particular prey), it will seek to wait for the creature to bleed to death, a real possibility, then feed at its leisure.
Though generally solitary, desert sharks can be found as mated pairs and more rarely with one younger individual in tow.