The Slayer's Guide To Lizardfolk.pdf

The

Slayer’s Guide

Lizardfolk

Andrew Kenrick

Contents

Credits

Introduction 2

Lizardfolk Physiology 4

Habitat 7

Editor

Ian Belcher

Cover Art

Anne Stokes

Lizardfolk Society 8

Interior Illustrations

Vitor Ishimura, Tomasz Jedruszek

Methods of Warfare 13

Roleplaying with Lizardfolk 16

Scenario Hooks and Ideas 23

The Boneyard 24

Lizardfolk Reference List 29

License 32

Studio Manager

Ian Barstow

Production Manager

Alexander Fennell

Proof-Reading

Alyson Miller

Additional Text

Steve Mulhern

Open Game Content & Copyright Information

Game Content of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden.

The Slayer's Guide to Lizardfolk is presented under the Open Game and D20 Licences. See page 32 for the text

of the Open Game Licence. All text paragraphs and tables containing game mechanics and statistics derivative of

Open Game Content and the System Reference Document are considered to be Open Game Content. All other

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INTRODUCTION

Introduction

This outlook just has to be wrong. An entire race does

not just suddenly materialise in the campaign world

and very few exist solely to wage war. What are they

doing when the adventurers are not around?

T he most blasphemous of scholars would place

the creation of the world not in the hands of

the gods, but in the hands of nature herself.

In such a creation myth it was not the elves or the

dragons who came ﬁrst, but the reptiles – the dinosaurs,

the crocodiles, the lizards and the lizardfolk. Of

course, such a myth has little basis in truth, but it is

an interesting aside. There is no doubt that the race

of creatures known as lizardfolk, or lizardmen, is an

ancient one indeed. Often overlooked because of their

savagery and animalistic tendencies, the lizardfolk are

as much a part of the history of the world as men,

dwarves and elves.

Lizardfolk:

Ferocious Reptilian

Tribesmen

Each Slayer’s Guide features a single race, in this case

the lizardfolk. Herein you will ﬁnd information on

lizardfolk physiology, habitat and society, giving you a

fundamental understanding of how this race exists and

interacts with the rest of the world. Players can learn

the sort of combat tactics the lizardfolk are likely to

employ against them and Games Masters are presented

with guidelines on how to introduce this race into their

existing campaigns. Finally, a complete lair is featured

to be used as an extended encounter, the basis for a

complete set of scenarios, or simply as an example of

what lizardfolk are capable of.

Lizardfolk appear much as a crocodile would if it were

crossed with a man – scale covered humanoids, six

or seven feet in height, with clawed hands and feet,

powerful jaws ﬁlled with teeth and long, muscular

tails capable of propelling them through water as they

swim or through the air as they jumps. Lizardfolk are

a primitive people, banded into small extended family

groups known as tribes. To lizardfolk the survival and

propagation of their tribe is everything, and all are

prepared to give their lives to ensure this.

After reading the Slayer’s Guide to Lizardfolk , you may

never view this race in quite the same way again.

As a reptilian race, lizardfolk prefer to live in swamps

and marshes throughout the warmer parts of the world.

They often build settlements of dome-like mud huts

deep within swamps, hidden away and guarded against

outsiders who would harm the tribe. Lizardfolk are

unpredictable within their habitat – sometimes dealing

peacefully with outsiders, sometimes attacking them

ferociously. Players travelling through swampland

should be vigilant – their passing will almost certainly

be known to the near-invisible lizardfolk sentries, but

adventurers may never realise that they are being

watched. If provoked into a ﬁght, lizardfolk are a

very dangerous people indeed.

The Slayer’s Guides

This series of supplements, designed for use in all

fantasy-based d20 games systems, takes an exhaustive

look at speciﬁc monster races, detailing their beliefs,

societies and methods of warfare. Typically, these

will be the races all but ignored by Games Masters

and players alike, who view them as little better than

cannon fodder.

INTRODUCTION

I lay there in the undergrowth hoping, praying that they had not seen my comrade or I. We had hidden in the tall

grasses and dank waters since escaping the attack on the caravan two days ago. We had escaped with our lives and

survived these two days through sheer luck, but would not be so fortunate again. Yet we could stay here no more.

We had to place our lives in the hands of luck again.

The merchants had been wary of travelling this way but the swamp road cut the journey in half. They’d simply grown

too greedy, and although there had always been talk of tribes of primitive creatures living out here, travellers rarely

saw any sign of them. Traditionally it was the marshes themselves that were the greatest hazard. As a precaution,

the merchants had hired the wild-man, Bourss, as a scout to evade the worst that nature could throw at us, and myself

and four other guards to defend against that which we could not evade.

They had planned for us to be in the swamp two days at most. On the ﬁrst day we made good progress, but with

nightfall came rain that did not let up until well into the following afternoon. The road slowly became a mire and

in places it was impossible to tell where the road ended and the swamp began. It was difﬁcult making headway and

we faced the prospect of a second night under canvas with little relish. As we tried to make camp for the night on a

patch of raised ground barely large enough for the three caravans, let alone the horses, we became aware of being

watched. We doubled the watches but saw no more.

With the morning light came the promise of a dry day and the end of the swamp. As we broke camp Bourss whispered

that we were being watched again but could do nothing. As the sun emerged for the ﬁrst time in two days, our spirits

lifted and our minds wandered. As if the treacherous sun was a cue for an ambush, nightmarish lizardmen– a good

head taller than any of us and covered from head to foot in thick brown scales – attacked from out of nowhere, falling

upon us with wicked claws and crude hatchets. We fought as best we could, but we were weary. As my companions

were cut down I turned and ﬂed along the road the way we had come. I ran until I could run no more and then slipped

– or rather was pulled – into the swamp. Before I could shout, a rough hand covered my mouth and Bourss motioned

for me to be still. There we hid until the sounds of combat ended and the screams of the injured were silenced. Then

we waited. The sun dipped lower in the sky and we saw and heard no more of the lizardfolk. Yet we remained where

we were, wary of drawing attention to ourselves. The next day came and went, but we saw no sign of our attackers.

We hid amongst the reeds at the edge of the water, wincing whenever we heard movement.

This morning we could wait no more. We had to try to escape from this place before we were bled dry by the insects

and leeches feeding from our tired bodies. We had reached as far as the ambush site and could see that the caravans

remained there still. One had been overturned but the other two appeared untouched. There were no bodies, not even

those of the horses, and I shuddered to think what had befallen them. Then there was movement and three lizardmen

slipped out of the grass and over to the closest of the caravans, examining it with great care.

I lay there in the undergrowth hoping, praying, that they had not seen my comrade or I. I was not so lucky this time.

One of them smelled or spotted me and was on top of me in an instant. Bourss had a crossbow readied and ﬁred at

them as they came, but the bolts bounced off their thick hides. I leapt to my feet and tried to draw my sword but it

was too late. I closed my eyes and waited for the feel of its claws around into my throat. It never came.

I opened my eyes and the three lizards were standing in front of us, their arms behind their backs and their wicked

claws hidden from sight. The one closest to us cocked his head slightly and opened his mouth. I could not move my

gaze from his hungry looking eyes as he spoke in broken Common.

‘We not want to ﬁght, you, hooman .’ It smiled and I almost fainted – its teeth were as long as my ﬁngers. ‘We want

to trade with you.’

The other two lizardfolk nodded enthusiastically in agreement and looked at me expectantly. I was about to open my

mouth and point out that the lizardfolk had eaten the traders two days previously, when Bourss spoke up instead.

‘Greetings mighty lizards! We humble merchants are at your service.’ He sketched a bow to them and glanced askance

at me. ‘Would you be back on their menu?’

Perhaps our luck had held out after all.

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