Slayer's Guide to Lizardfolk, The

The 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 that came first, but the reptiles – the dinosaurs, the crocodiles, the lizards and the lizardfolk. Of course, such a myth has little basis in the truth of things, 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 people are as much a part of the history of the world as men, dwarves and elves.

Lizardfolk appear much as a crocodile would if it were crossed with a man – a scale covered humanoid 6 or 7 foot in height, with clawed hands and feet, powerful jaws filled with teeth and a long muscular tail capable of propelling it through water as it swims or through the air as it 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 all, and all are prepared to give their lives to ensure this.

As a reptilian race, lizardfolk prefer to live in the warmer parts of the world, in swamps and marshes throughout such climates. 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. Characters traveling through swampland should be ever vigilant – their passing will almost certainly be known to the near invisible lizardfolk sentries but they may never realize that they were being watched. If provoked into a fight, lizardfolk are a very dangerous people indeed.

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.

This outlook just has to be wrong. An entire race does not just suddenly materialize in the campaign world, and very few exist solely to wage war. What are they doing when the player characters are not around?

Each Slayer’s Guide features a single race, in this case the lizardfolk. You will find a colossal amount of information on lizardfolk physiology, habitat and society, giving you a fundamental level of understanding on 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 either an extended encounter, the basis for a complete set of scenarios, or just an example of what the lizardfolk are capable of.

After reading the Slayer’s Guide to Lizardfolk, you may never view this race in quite the same way again.