Basilisk (Race)

The Basilisk is a reptilian anthromorph and one of the sentient races of Mareth. Basilisks can be found in the High Mountain.

Despised by lizard and bird races for their proclivity for egg stealing, the basilisks chose to ally themselves with the demons of the High Mountain out of desperation. Within a generation the demons successfully increased the power of their paralysing stare, whilst forcing them into becoming an entirely male race. They are hence forced to breed with other egg bearing races, most notably the harpies, to stave off extinction. They are triply useful to the demons in their current state: they provide a fearsome reputation for the High Mountains, they can literally petrify interlopers to provide amusing statues, and they keep the hostile harpy population down.

Basilisk NPCs

• Benoit - A blind basilisk, who escaped the High Mountain and opened a store at the Bizarre Bazaar.
• Unnamed basilisk(s) - Will attack you on sight if you explore the High Mountain.
• Basilisk eggs - A player with a Basilisk Womb and a vagina can be impregnated by Benoit and occasionally other basilisks (although you'd rather try to avoid that) and lay fertilized eggs. The eggs are taken care of by Benoit and supposedly they'll eventually hatch giving the race a new hope of survival. It is also possible under certaincircumstances to be impregnated with eggs fetilized by other basilisks. Benoit will take care of those eggs too and treat them as his own but he will warn you against dealing with his wild brethren.

Becoming a Basilisk

It is not possible to transform into a basilisk. However, if you have a vagina, you can gain a basilisk womb allowing you to interbreed with basilisks.

Advantages and disadvantages to having a basilisk womb

• A basilisk womb will give you the opportunity to save the species. This supposedly counts as a noble task in itself although it doesn't influence any other aspects of the game.
• With a basilisk womb you also gain the Oviposition perk.
• With a basilisik womb you risk being raped and impregnated by wild basilisks in the High Mountain. There are indications that this may lead to a Bad End if it happens too many times but there is no record of this actually happening.

Benoit's Description

"We were a proud race once," sighs Benoit. "A noble race, who carried our 'eads 'igh, and..." the blind basilisk bursts into throaty laughter, which eventually subsides into a coughing fit. You watch, bemused. "Hahaha! Aha. Sorry. No, we were always a race of egg-thieving bastards. The lizans," he flicks his snout in the general direction of the bonfire with disdain, "absolutely 'ate us. Zey drove us to live in ze mountains, far away from zeir precious clutches, to live like savages. 'Ze family with ze evil eye over it', zat's what zey call us. Eh... in basilisk it's more snappy." Benoit pauses, running his fingers over the counter ruminatively. "But it wasn't so bad, up zair. We kept ze harpies under control, and we collected scrap, sold it to zose who were brave enough to trade blindfolded. We've always been good at zat. Zen ze demons came to ze mountains." He shrugs. "What were we going to do? Go down and throw ourselves on the mercy of the races 'oo despise us? Ze demons offered to set us high in zeir service, augment our natural abilities if we agreed to help zem. I suppose zey did, at zat." Benoit scratches a long groove in his counter, trembling with anger. "By making us all male zey made sure we are always fixated on finding egg bearers, on keeping ze harpies down, and bringing scrap and statues to zem so zey don't do anysing worse to us. We are just a brainless natural defence to zem now, in zeir mountain hideaways. Don't go up ze mountain or ze evil basilisks will get you! Bastards. Bastards." Benoit finishes mutilating the wood in front of him and sighs. "But zat is by ze by. Are you going to buy sumsing or not?"