Chimera (Dungeons & Dragons)
Encyclopedia
In the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
roleplaying game, the chimera is a large magical beast
that appears to be an amalgam of several different creatures. A chimera is usually chaotic evil in alignment.
of Greek mythology as found in the Iliad
by Homer
.
(1974), where they were described as being able to gore with a goat's head, tear with lion fangs, and with a dragon's head that can bite or breathe fire.
A relative of both the chimera and the gorgon
, the gorgimera first appeared in the module Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
(1982). The gorgimera next appeared in Monster Manual II (1983).
The chimera is further detailed in Dragon
#94 (February 1985), in "The Ecology of the Chimera," by Ed Greenwood
.
(1977), and Expert Set
(1981 & 1983). The chimera was also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Game
set (1991), the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991), and the Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1994).
The undead chimera appears in the module Saga of the Shadow Lord
(1986).
The chimeric creature template appeared in Monster Manual II (2002), including the chimeric ankheg
as a sample creature.
The maurid advanced chimera appeared in Dungeon
#112 (July 2004), as part of the Maure Castle adventure.
The dungeonbred blue chimera appeared in Dungeonscape
(2007).
The gorgimera returned in Dungeon #151 (October 2007).
. The dragon head can be black, blue, green, red, or white, and has a breath weapon appropriate to the color. They rarely mate; their creation is the result of "a dark mystery better left unexplained", according to the Second Edition Monstrous Manual.
The monster is an omnivore. The goat head will browse on the toughest plants and shrubs and will derive nutrition from the most barren vegetation while the lion and dragon heads can only be satisfied with flesh. The chimera hunts once every three or four days, using its strength and limited intelligence to gain an advantage over those it preys on. Having a voracious appetite, it sometimes roams over territories as large as twenty square miles.
Being chaotic evil in nature, the chimera enjoys preying upon men, elves, dwarves, and halflings. It will even gladly attack other monsters in its search for food. Anyone entering its territory becomes prey, and will be treated accordingly.
The chimera cannot resist attacking groups of travelers or monsters for another reason: its dragon nature craves the treasure that its prey might be carrying. Although it has no earthly use for it, the chimera will gather the coins of its fallen foe into a heap and roost on it like a dragon. Its hoard is nothing like that of a true dragon, however, and consists mainly of copper and silver coins, with perhaps some jewelry and a few magical items.
The chimera fills the role of both omnivore and a top predator in its ecosystem. It is very adaptable. During times when its prey is scarce or non-existent, the chimera can make do with a vegetarian diet.
instead of a goat. Its gorgon head likewise has a gorgon's breath weapon.
The gorgon's head can see into both the Astral and Ethereal planes, and its breath weapon extends therein.
Like its relative the chimera, the gorgimera can also speak a limited form of the language of red dragons.
campaign setting
, the chimera is the heraldic beast of the dragonmarked House Deneith.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
roleplaying game, the chimera is a large magical beast
Magical beast (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, magical beast is a type of creature, or "creature type". Magical beasts are similar to animals in many ways, but usually have a higher intelligence, and possess supernatural or extraordinary abilities....
that appears to be an amalgam of several different creatures. A chimera is usually chaotic evil in alignment.
Publication history
The chimera is based on the chimeraChimera (mythology)
The Chimera or Chimaera was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing female creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of multiple animals: upon the body of a lioness with a tail that ended in a snake's head, the head of a goat arose on her back at the center of her...
of Greek mythology as found in the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
by Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
.
Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)
The chimera was one of the first monsters introduced in the earliest edition of the game, in the Dungeons & Dragons "white box" setDungeons & Dragons (1974)
The original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson was published by TSR, Inc. in 1974. It initially included the original edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...
(1974), where they were described as being able to gore with a goat's head, tear with lion fangs, and with a dragon's head that can bite or breathe fire.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
The chimera appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), where it is described as a three-headed creature that can bite with its lion head, gore with its goat head, and breathe fire with its dragon head.A relative of both the chimera and the gorgon
Gorgon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the gorgon is a magical beast that resembles a bull, covered in dusky metallic scales.-Publication history:...
, the gorgimera first appeared in the module Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1982 for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. The 64-page adventure bears the code "S4" and is set in the World of...
(1982). The gorgimera next appeared in Monster Manual II (1983).
The chimera is further detailed in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#94 (February 1985), in "The Ecology of the Chimera," by Ed Greenwood
Ed Greenwood
Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...
.
Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)
This edition of the D&D game included its own version of the chimera, in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic SetDungeons & Dragons Basic Set
The original Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set boxed set was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1977, and comprised a separate edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, distinct from the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, which was initially published in the same...
(1977), and Expert Set
Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set
The Expert Set is an expansion boxed set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was first published in 1981 as an expansion to the Basic Set.-1981 printing:The D&D Basic Set saw a major revision in 1981 by Tom Moldvay...
(1981 & 1983). The chimera was also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Game
Dungeons & Dragons Game (1991 boxed set)
The New Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons Game is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1991....
set (1991), the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991), and the Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1994).
The undead chimera appears in the module Saga of the Shadow Lord
Saga of the Shadow Lord
Saga of the Shadow Lord is a 1986 adventure module for the Basic Rules of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Plot summary:...
(1986).
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
The chimera and gorgimera appear first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989), and are reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)
The chimera appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).The chimeric creature template appeared in Monster Manual II (2002), including the chimeric ankheg
Ankheg
An ankheg , also spelled anhkheg, is a type of fictional monster in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. An ankheg is described as a monstrous arthropod magical beast. The ahnkheg was created by artist Erol Otus and first appeared in Dragon magazine in 1977...
as a sample creature.
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)
The chimera appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).The maurid advanced chimera appeared in Dungeon
Dungeon (magazine)
Dungeon Adventures, or simply Dungeon, was a magazine targeting consumers of role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons. It was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1986 as a bimonthly periodical. It went monthly in May 2003 and ceased print publication altogether in September 2007 with Issue 150...
#112 (July 2004), as part of the Maure Castle adventure.
The dungeonbred blue chimera appeared in Dungeonscape
Dungeonscape
Dungeonscape is a supplement for the 3.5 edition of Dungeons & Dragons.-Contents:It focuses on the finer points of the dungeon, the medium for adventure and danger in the Dungeons & Dragons game....
(2007).
The gorgimera returned in Dungeon #151 (October 2007).
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
The chimera appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008).Physical description
A chimera has the hindquarters of a goat, the forequarters of a lion, and a set of dragon wings. The beast has three heads: a horned goat, a lioness, and a dragonDragon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature used as adversaries or, less commonly, allies of player characters...
. The dragon head can be black, blue, green, red, or white, and has a breath weapon appropriate to the color. They rarely mate; their creation is the result of "a dark mystery better left unexplained", according to the Second Edition Monstrous Manual.
Society and ecology
The chimera, being a hybrid, combines the preferences of the lion, the goat, and the dragon in its habitat, society and ecology. The dragonish part of its nature gives the chimera a distinct preference for caves as lairs. The dragon and lion parts seem to war with one another, for some chimerae are dragon-like in their preference for solitude, while others live in small prides. Even if they mate, offspring are rare.The monster is an omnivore. The goat head will browse on the toughest plants and shrubs and will derive nutrition from the most barren vegetation while the lion and dragon heads can only be satisfied with flesh. The chimera hunts once every three or four days, using its strength and limited intelligence to gain an advantage over those it preys on. Having a voracious appetite, it sometimes roams over territories as large as twenty square miles.
Being chaotic evil in nature, the chimera enjoys preying upon men, elves, dwarves, and halflings. It will even gladly attack other monsters in its search for food. Anyone entering its territory becomes prey, and will be treated accordingly.
The chimera cannot resist attacking groups of travelers or monsters for another reason: its dragon nature craves the treasure that its prey might be carrying. Although it has no earthly use for it, the chimera will gather the coins of its fallen foe into a heap and roost on it like a dragon. Its hoard is nothing like that of a true dragon, however, and consists mainly of copper and silver coins, with perhaps some jewelry and a few magical items.
The chimera fills the role of both omnivore and a top predator in its ecosystem. It is very adaptable. During times when its prey is scarce or non-existent, the chimera can make do with a vegetarian diet.
Gorgimera
The gorgimera is a variant of the chimera, with the hindquarters (and third head) of a gorgonGorgon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the gorgon is a magical beast that resembles a bull, covered in dusky metallic scales.-Publication history:...
instead of a goat. Its gorgon head likewise has a gorgon's breath weapon.
The gorgon's head can see into both the Astral and Ethereal planes, and its breath weapon extends therein.
Like its relative the chimera, the gorgimera can also speak a limited form of the language of red dragons.
Chimeras in Eberron
In the EberronEberron
Eberron is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, set in a period after a vast destructive war on the continent of Khorvaire...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
, the chimera is the heraldic beast of the dragonmarked House Deneith.