Bulette

Also known as the landshark, the bulette is a terrifying predator that lives only to eat. It is universally shunned, even by other monsters. Fortunately for the rest of the world, the bulette is a solitary animal, although mated pairs (very rare) might share the same territory. Since its appetite is so voracious, each bulette has a large territory that can range up to 30 square miles. Other predators rarely share territory with one, for fear of being eaten. A bulette has no lair, preferring to wander above and below ground; it burrows beneath the soil to rest.

A bulette totally consumes its victims—clothing, weapons, and all. Its powerful stomach acid quickly destroys armor, weapons, and even magic items. It is not above nibbling on chests or sacks of coins either. When it has eaten everything in its territory, a bulette moves on. The sole criterion for a suitable territory is availability of food, so bulettes occasionally locate themselves near human settlements and terrorize the residents.

A bulette attacks anything it regards as edible, choosing the easiest or closest prey first. The only creatures it refuses to eat are elves (and it dislikes the taste of dwarves). When burrowing underground, a landshark relies on its tremorsense ability to detect prey. When it senses something edible (that is, senses movement), it breaks to the surface, crest first, and begins its attack.

The bulette has a foul temperament—stupid, mean, and fearless. The size, strength, and number of its opponents mean nothing.

Leap (Ex): A bulette can jump into the air during combat. This allows it to make four claw attacks instead of two, each with a +15 attack bonus, but it cannot bite.