Unleash terror at your table by harnessing the petrifying potential of this legendary beast.
The Basilisk. A violent, monstrous lizard that can turn you to stone with a glare. While fun at first glance, this monster betrayed us. The first time using it turned into a panic, when we realized how immediately and irreversibly deadly they can be against a fledgling party of adventurers. “Wait, petrified? Like, for good?” Not only that, but they come across like a beast to just plop in front of the party for slaying. But wait! Turns out there’s plenty of lore and real-world inspiration we can use to turn these scaly brutes into battles to remember.
In this episode, we run through inspiration and frameworks to create a compact horror adventure around the Basilisk.
In Archives of the Ancients, we discuss what could inspire our adventure. First, we turn to the animal kingdom. Since a lot of legends claimed that the basilisk was snake-like, we dive into cobras to see what they can offer. Then we check out some of the absolutely ridiculous legends about basilisks, involving the capital punishment of roosters, mirror suits, and more. We finish off by briefly discussing Stoneman Disease to see if that can inform our adventure at all.
Then we roll along to Lamashtu’s Breeding Pit. Here we fold all of the previously discussed inspirations into our simple story structure to lay out a concept, followed by our horror guide to layer it with tension and details, both downloadable at Resources — Hook & Chance. In the end, we have an adventure outline we’d be excited to run, where the party has to contend with superstitions, con artists, basilisk broods, and unexpected abilities.
As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.
Alex R., Steve A., Sigma, Kuraidoscope, Skyler E., Deadman, Ninja Duckie, PseuArt, Blackthorne, First Law, Peacockdreams, DM Thunderbum, Marley R., Timewarp, Dangerous Marmalade, Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Adlerious, Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., DM Natske, Heavyarms, Leprecan, and Will H-P.