Horrible Frog Monster

A terrible monster of considerable size and ferocity.  I can't say this frog beast is a dragon replacement - but it isn't not a dragon replacement.  I intend to use it as a 'Thousand Towers' monster (aka ASE), and it's what's dwells in the lower hull of my "Red Demon" map.

Caecilian Tyrant attacks

Caecilian Tyrant 

No Enc. 1/(1-4)

Movement: (40')/20' Swim

Armorclass: 5

Hit Dice: 10 HD*

Attacks:1

Damage: 1D8 + Poison/ Special

Save: F 8

Morale:8

Hoard Class:XXI

XP: 3100

Caecilian Spawn

No Enc. 8-18

Movement: (10')/20' Swim

Armorclass: 9

Hit Dice: 1/2

Attacks:1

Damage: 1D2 + Poison

Save: F 0

Morale:12

Hoard Class: Nil

XP:6

The Caecilian Tyrant is a feared alpha predator of the vile fens that feeds indiscriminately on anything smaller than it. Frog-like giants, Tyrants range up to 14' long and can be as wide as 8'. Varying wildly in pattern from the bright color of tree frogs to dull browns, Tyrants shamble on four legs most of the time, and rear up on their back legs only to make aggressive displays. Caecilian Tyrants are fairly quick, and swim well, but they are amphibious ambush hunters and will lay in large pools or mud pits with clusters of their large eyes on the surface. Tyrants are covered in thick scales, this, combined with their poisonous attack, means Tyrants are unused to prey that injures them and will often flee back to their lair if wounded.

Generally Tyrants prefer to lair in dark sheltered places, and their large size means that simple burrows in the swamp mud are insufficient. Because they cannot make their own lairs, Tyrants most often hole up in ruins, and so remain fairly rare, with a single Tyrant, or rarely a small family group, guarding a hunting range of tens of miles centered on the lair.  If they are encountered in their lair, the Tyrant is far less likely to flee and will have a morale of 11.  Caecilian Tyrants are not especially intelligent, having only the limited reasoning of a hunting beast with only a real understanding of how to hunt and live in the wild swamp.

Posion Barb – Tyrants have a mouth full of wicked teeth as long as a human forearm set in shark like rows, but they do not use them in battle. Instead of biting, Tyrants use their frog-like tongues, 12' long and capable of striking into the second row of melee. The tongue is tipped with a jagged bone barb covered in a virulent venom. If struck, a victim must save of die as well as taking 1D8 points of damage from the wound and the deadly poison coursing through it.

Devour – On a natural 20 a Tyrant will not only strike with its barb but wrap its victim in its tongue and drag them into its huge maw. The victim will devoured the next round and slain, but will be able to make a Strength check to break free from the tongue is lieu of an attack prior to being devoured.

Boiling Spawn – Caecilian Tyrants are hermaphroditic and almost universally have natal young encysted on their back. Normally these young emerge in small numbers once every few weeks and, if not devoured by their parent, wander off to grow slowly into new tyrants. When a Tyrant is slain a strange chemical process occurs, within 1-2 turns of death, as the Tyrant's body cools all the young remotely able to survive tear themselves free all at once and launch into a wild frenzy of cannibalism and violence. These creatures are individually weak, but 2D6+6 of them appear unexpectedly and all share the adult Tyrant's deadly poison.