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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cleon" data-source="post: 8541492" data-attributes="member: 57383">The statblock looks fine and matches the Enworld <a href="https://enworld.org/index.php?posts/8505685" target="_blank">Boalisk</a>.As for the description…Hmm, most of that isn't from the original monster (the AD&D version makes no mention of their colour, origins, being mistaken for basilisks, of using their gaze to digest prey.While the latter is tempting (and I like the idea of external digestion), the boalisk's gaze turns its victims to dust like a mummy, which doesn't sound very digestible.Furthermore, if I remember my AD&D lore correctly*, regular Basilisks aren't able to eat creatures they petrify. They use their deadly gaze for "defense" but only use their jaws against prey.*After checking, I was thinking of Ed Greenwood's "The Ecology of the Basilisk" in Dragon #81 (January 1981) which says:So I'd think Boalisks are the same and rely on their fangs and coils for feeding.How about:DescriptionA boalisk is a serpentine monster almost indistinguishable from a large constrictor snake apart from its possession of a deadly gaze attack. These creatures are about 25 feet long and live in any tropical habitat that will support a constrictor snake of its size, such as a jungle, swamp or savannah. Deadly Eyes. A boalisk has a gaze attack rivaling the lethality of their near-namesake the basilisk. Rather than petrification, victims of its eyes slowly decompose until they're nothing but dry dust. This supernatural curse has symptoms indistinguishable from the deadly touch of an undead mummy. A boalisk cannot digest flesh that's rotting away to dust, so uses fangs and coils to catch food like a regular python. Its gaze attack is reserved for enemies; the boalisk can activate and deactivate its eyes at will. Unlike basilisks, boalisks cannot be harmed by reflecting their gaze with a mirror. A boalisk's eyes are covered by transparent scales that protect them from many attacks that affect the eyes. Called brille, these membranes are actually permanently fused clear eyelids, so a boalisk has its eyes closed but can still see. These organs are valued by wizards and alchemists as they can be enchanted into eye cusps that provide similar protection to their wearer. Ordinary snakes also possess brille and are immune to a boalisk's gaze attack. Social Serpents. A curious trait of boalisks is they sometimes congregate with their fellow serpents, either other boalisks, normal or giant constrictor snakes, or a combination of animals. Such groups are still very small, containing no more than three boalisks and a similar number of constrictor snakes. A single boalisk accompanied by one or two normal constrictor snakes is far more common. Some scholars theorize that the "normal constrictor snakes" are actually juvenile boalisks and these monsters don't acquire their deadly gaze until adulthood, so the young might travel with their elders for protection.EDIT: I'd be fine removing the last sentence since it's entirely of my own invention, i.e.: Social Serpents. A curious trait of boalisks is they sometimes congregate with their fellow serpents, either other boalisks, normal or giant constrictor snakes, or a combination of animals. Such groups are still very small, containing no more than three boalisks and a similar number of constrictor snakes. A single boalisk accompanied by one or two normal constrictor snakes is far more common.</blockquote>

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