A mivilorn is a breed of massive dog-like magical beast native to the plane of Shavarath , the Battleground. They are a favorite war-mount of a number of demons . [1]
Description
Like a cross between a dog and an especially large elephant, a mivilorn has a massive body and a blocky build. A normal specimen is almost 14 feet (4.3 meters) high at the shoulder, 18 feet (5.5 meters) from nose to tail, and more than 8 tons (7,300,000 grams) in weight. Its hide is dark gray and hairless, with a wrinkled and tough appearance, while those in the wild are usually encrusted with mud. While its big feet are like a lion's paws, its great weight means they are incapable of clawing in combat. Nevertheless, their structure makes the mivilorn startlingly agile for its size and weight. [1]
Yet the mivilorn's most distinctive feature is its huge and oversized head, similar to a mastiff's but of the same width as its body. It has prominent loose skin hanging at its jowls, which help it to open its jaws to a shocking degree—7 feet (2.1 meters) from upper to lower jaws and 8 feet (2.4 meters) wide at its maximum—and so swallow multiple smaller creatures whole. In its maw, it has large, jutting and jagged teeth to crush and puncture its victims. Worse, within the jowls are glands that produce a powerful digestive acid, with much of the digestion process taking place within the mouth. This acid drips from the gums and teeth, and leaks out even when the mivilorn has its mouth closed. [1]
Behavior
Wild mivilorns are highly aggressive and spend their time hunting for food, taking prey the size of humans or bigger. They flourish when fending for themselves in this way. [1]
They understand simple commands made in Abyssal , but cannot speak. [1]
Abilities
To pre-digest, a mivilorn can vomit its acid over a distance of 15 feet (4.6 meters) and that much wide, badly burning all those caught in the area. It can do this thrice a day. [1]
A creature of chaos, the mivilorn's bite can overcome the resistance of beings of law, but it is not vulnerable to lawfully aligned weapons itself. It is also resistant to spells . [1]
A mivilorn can see by darkvision and low-light vision and can also track by scent, and generally has alert senses. [1]
Combat
When engaging at a distance, a mivilorn will instinctively charge in and stretch wide its horrible mouth to scoop up its opponent and swallow it whole, all in one shocking assault, if they are not quick enough to evade. Otherwise, it will try to bite and grab hold, and then swallow. It always bites with powerful force. [1]
Either way, it can seize two human-sized creatures at once, or one ogre -sized creature. Both will be chomped, and then trapped in its acid-filled mouth. Thereafter, they are relentlessly masticated and slowly digested. Should the victims somehow survive and succeed in injuring the mivilorn from within its mouth (which is only vulnerable to bludgeoning weapons), it will spit them out. Otherwise, after about 20 seconds, the mivilorn will spit its victim out anyway, just to see if it is still alive. If it is, then it will try to grab and swallow them again. [1]
Ecology
Mivilorns normally wander Shavarath. However, some may be discovered in the depths of Khyber , left behind in the lairs of demon masters that were trapped or slain long ago. [1]
They can be found alone or in herds of six to thirty members. [1]
Usage
Owing to their size, power, and aggression, mivilorns are valued as war mounts, at least by those brave, talented, and reckless enough to dare attempt riding one. They are often used as such by demons, who will subdue them, train them, and force them into their armies, and jealously guard the secret of just how they are able to do so. If not magically controlled, the mivilorn will attack its trainer or rider as soon as they make any failure in the task, to the exclusion of all other enemies. [1]
Such demon war mounts are elite specimens that are fully creatures of chaos. They are inured to the battlefield, and use their attacks and abilities only when directed by their riders. They are dressed in splint mail barding. [1]
Appendix
See Also
External Links
- Mivilorn article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki , a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.