Basilisks

Seven foot long reptilian monsters, basilisks move quickly on their eight legs and have a vicious bite. Their main weapon, however, is the ability to gaze upon their opponents and turn them to stone (party member victims will be permanently destroyed). Basilisks come in two varieties, and you should use your most potent weapons and spells (including incapacitating spells, like stinking cloud and web), as well as casting protection from petrification spells and using summoned or charmed creatures as buffers between your party and the basilisks to minimize their threat.

Keep charmed creatures or summoned monsters in front of your party whenever you suspect Basilisks are nearby to prevent your characters from being turned to stone.

Lesser Basilisk (45 hp, 1,400 xp) - Don't be mislead by the moniker "lesser," as these creatures are among the deadliest you'll meet in the Sword Coast, capable of turning your party into statues in a matter of moments.

Greater Basilisk (78 hp, 7,000 xp) - While these creatures are certainly deadly, they are also the source of the most experience points you'll get for dispatching an opponent. Equipping your party with missile weapons and keeping summoned or charmed creatures between your party and the greater basilisk can earn your party a lot of experience points without incurring a great deal of risk.

A relatively tame Black Bear goes about its business.

Bears

A number of varieties of these native beasts are found throughout the Sword Coast, most of which will leave you alone provided that you don't disturb them by getting too close. Bears are perfect targets to use charm animal spells on, as they are relatively powerful allies. Here's a brief description of the bear types you'll see in the Sword Coast.

This Mountain Bear, on the other hand, is the most fearsome animal you'll encounter in the sword coast region.

Black Bear (25 hp, 175 xp) - Not inherently dangerous unless threatened or otherwise disturbed, black bears are fairly powerful adversaries for starting characters.

Brown Bear (41 hp, 420 xp) - Brown bears are a more vicious and inherently hostile bear.

Cave Bear (50 hp, 650 xp) - An even more vicious bear, cave bears are almost always hostile to adventurers, and are occasionally tamed by xvarts.

Mountain Bear (60 hp, 900 xp) - A monstrous bear, mountain bears are capable of inflicting horrible damage on characters foolish enough to get close. There are rumors of a giant mountain bear guarding a bridge in the sector north of the Gnoll Encampment, in the southwest corner of the Sword Coast.

Carrion Crawlers are only dangerous because of their paralyzing attack

Carrion Crawlers

(22 hp, 420 xp) - A centipede-like scavenger that lurks in subterranean areas, the carrion crawler doesn't have a damaging direct attack, but it does have a potentially devastating paralyzing attack. A carrion crawler can be found in a cave near the Gnoll Stronghold in the southwest corner of the Sword Coast, and there are rumors of carrion crawlers infesting the sewers of Baldur's Gate.

Next: Monsters and Animal Types, continued
 

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