Bolla
Bollas are vicious, intelligent, slothful, gluttonous serpentine monstrosities created by Runelords Ivarinna and Krune near the end of Thassilon.1
Appearance
Bollas resemble huge serpents covered in dull red fur and four vestigial limbs that do not touch the ground. Their silvery compound eyes grant them exceptional vision and make it impossible to know where they are looking or whether they are asleep or not, but are particularly fragile. The tongues of young bollas are forked like that of normal snakes, while those of old ones might split multiple times. A typical bolla is 30 feet long and weighs two tons.1
History
Bollas were first designed by Runelord Ivarinna and later developed by her successor Krune. They were bred from the monstrous serpents native to Haruka and infused with the essence of fiends, linnorms, and creatures of storm and sky. Since Krune was too lazy to breed them over time (instead of just conjuring minions when needed), bollas were never perfected and rarely deployed. The bollas that survived Earthfall went into hiding during the Age of Darkness.1
Ecology
Developed as living war machines that can be deactivated when not in use, bollas can hibernate for many years at once and spend most of their time doing so. They see most other creatures as food but are usually too lazy to rouse themselves and hunt. An awakened bolla is ravenous and willing to attack anything, but prefers to target intelligent foes.1
Bollas are intelligent enough to spend hours stalking and analysing prey before fighting, or to strike deals with creatures too tough to defeat on their own. In battle, they quickly dispatch weak foes so they can concentrate their efforts on strong ones. A blind bolla will lash out at everything else in a desperate frenzy.1
Bollas usually attack other bollas on sight except when mating. They lay clutches of eggs in isolated caves or canyons, and the first bolla to hatch eats its siblings. A bolla's natural lifespan reaches thousands of years if not killed.1
As a bolla hibernates, it sheds its skin, heals its wounds, regenerates lost body parts, and strengthens as it feeds upon its fiendish essence. When a bolla eats intelligent creatures, it feeds on the prey's ephemeral spiritual residue, which slows its own growth.1
Kulshedras
When a bolla has gone so long without eating intelligent prey that its tongue has split into nine forks, it metamorphoses into a kulshedra, a larger fiendish bolla that no longer hibernates. Craftier than bollas, kulshedras spend their time plotting how to wreak as much havoc as possible, and prefer indirect methods.1
Society
Bollas are always irascible and never loyal. During the time of Thassilon, they were unleashed into enemy camps to wreak havoc before being retrieved by their handlers, who relied on magic items to pacify them. According to some rumours, there are isolated communities that feed criminals or unlucky travellers to bollas so they will not become kulshedras.1
References
External links
- Bolla (real-world mythological creature) on Wikipedia