Fimmir

Description

A fimmir is a large, bipedal reptile with a flat-faced, oversized head and a long, thick tail that ends in a bony club. A single, large eye sits directly in the center of its face, just above its toothy mouth. Potent weapons, the fimmir's strong arms end in sharply clawed hands. Sometimes called a "fallen dragon," the fimmer has a dark, green hide covering its body.

Combat

When hunting, three fimmir will stalk their prey, usually with one fimmir chasing a potential target into the path of the other two, creating a roughly triangular trap. Once the target is brought down, the fimmir will bring the corpse to the rest of the group for equal sharing.

Each fimmir can emit a 30-foot long stream of acid once per day, doing 6d4 damage to any creature the stream touches. A save vs. breath weapon is allowed for half damage. In addition, the gaze of the fimmir’s single eye creates an anti-magic cone 100’ long and 30' in diameter at its base. Any mage within the gaze of a fimmir loses all magical abilities, and any magical items temporarily lose their bonuses.

A fimmir attacks with two front claws and a bite with its crushing jaws. Instead of using its claw/claw/bite attacks, a fimmer can deliver a tail bash that does 2d10 damage and has the effects of a power word, stun spell. Fimmir are immune to any wizard or priest spell associated with elemental earth, and they are immune to all types of acid.

Habitat/Society

Fimmir live in small, egalitarian compounds, usually the remains of buildings built by other creatures, such as a ruin or an abandoned city. Fimmir are capable of building structures of their own, but they prefer to take over those that others have already built; the fimmir will perform any necessary repairs or remodeling themselves.

Males and females bond for life, sharing a loyalty with the rest of the group. Mating occurs in the late summer, and after a twelve-day gestation period, the female lays a clutch of twelve eggs. The entire group shares in the incubating and rearing of the young. Once the hatchlings reach 8 years of age, an initiation ceremony is performed, the hunting down and killing of any creature of similar or greater size or intelligence. Each hatchling must successfully complete this ritual, or it will be ostracized from the group.

Any wealth gained by one member of the group is shared equally among the group.

Ecology

Fimmir are unnatural creatures that were created as the result of ancient, magical experimentation. The first fimmir were born from the corrupted eggs of metallic dragons. Born of strong will, the first fimmir defied their creator and joined his enemies against him. Given the chance, the fimmir would prefer to lead a peaceful existence apart from all other living creatures (except those they hunt for food).

Each fimmir lives about 70-80 years and grows more dangerous as it ages, gaining a higher metabolism and a stronger constitution as it approaches 70 years. (For every 10 years of life, add 1 hit die to represent this aging effect). However, once the creature's age is approximately 70 years, its metabolism begins to function erratically, and sudden death is not uncommon. Once a fimmir dies, its highly acidic blood begins to dissolve the creature. After 10 minutes, the corpse of the fimmir is totally destroyed.