Monsters: The Dire Newt

Dire newt- A Dire newt is a hideous, lumbering monster that might stand up to 10' tall if it weren’t always hunched over, dragging its arms along with it. It has long, webbed feet ending in glossy black talons and knotted arms with oversized hands, also webbed between the fingers. A tangle of wiry, seaweed-like hair sprouts from the top of the head and runs down the whole of the monster’s back, reeking of filth.

The creature is twice as long as it is tall, with a lanky neck and crocodilian muzzle and a long tail that lazily drags behind it. A Dire newt has an incredible healing ability, being able to mend broken bones, heal gashes or even re-grow lost limbs in only a day or less. Dire newts haunt deep swampland and stagnant rivers where the water’s flow is minimal. They prefer hot regions to wander in and are often found in the company of bog flies and other blood drinking insects that are attracted by the Dire newt’s foul smell. The Dire newt’s preferred method of attack is to close into melee as fast as it can and pound enemies with its fists, tail lash or bite. It is not so stupid to pass up a weapon or throw a large object if that can even up the odds, though it has poor aim. A Dire newt’s bite and claws are said to be diseased by the filth that coats them. A Dire newt can breathe underwater indefinitely but prefers to fight on land, or at least in shallow water. Its greatest foes are the crocodiles that sometimes inhabit the same regions as they. Such meetings end in bloody battles the Dire newt usually wins.