Name: Vaal
Race: Demonic dragon entity, serpentine-class
Age: 14 months
Occupation: Vaal is barely sentient, although very cunning. He is driven by primal impulses to kill and feed, and while he recognizes group roles within prey with enough understanding to pick off particular members in order to cause party disfunction, he does not grasp the possibility of himself having such a role. He is merely Vaal.
Armor/clothing: He wears no clothing, but his body is covered in thick chitin that can resist incredible temperatures. He was actually born in a pool of magma...
Armament/abilities: He carries no weapons, using his body as a weapon. His claws, jaws, and tail are his primary weapons. His incredibly sharp claws are also an asset, allowing him to gouge into most surfaces and crawl on walls or even the ceiling. He is very fast, able to overtake most bipedal prey with ease. He is equally strong, with enough crushing power in his claws or jaws to turn a human skull into bloody powder, and the muscles of his tail can crush his prey anaconda style. His thick carapace enables him to resist environmental hazards such as extreme levels of heat or cold, and most other corrosive substances. His vision is very good, as is his hearing. Oddly enough, his sense of smell is very limited, a defense mechanism from spending most of his life among acrid fumes of subterranean lava caverns. He is very quick on land, but moves with lightning speed in a liquid (I say liquid because he most often swims in magma).
History: Created by the unholy union of an ancient lava dragon and a pyrophage (fire demon), Vaal was hatched alone in a pool of molten rock miles beneath a vast mountain range. His infant wings were seared off in the boiling hot liquid, but his sturdy lineage protected him from any further injury. Vaal lived in his birth caverns for a few months, until his ravenous appetite and the thirst for killing instilled in him by his demonic heritage exhausted the readily available supply of cave beasts and tunnel wyrms. He began to work his way towards the surface, killing all he encountered, until he reached daylight at the entrance to a large volcano. He left his caves behind and ventured into a thick and expansive rain forest to claim dominion over all he encountered.
Appearance: Vaal is basically a very heavily armored snake-dragon. His body is built with the gracefully streamlined frame of a large panther with an elongated torso. He looks almost crocodilian in standard appearance, his every inch covered in jagged scales, twisted chitin plating, and sweeping demonic horns at his shoulders and elbow/knee joints. He has a thick, long tail very similar to that of a crocodile, but much more flexible in the manner of a largebreed snake. All told, he measures about 16 feet long, with approximately a third of that length being his tail. As large as he is, he is not thickly built, which allows him to twist through tunnels and small areas with ease, the rough edges of his scales perfect for gaining purchase, and the powerful muscles of his neck, torso, and tail enabling him to worm through tight spaces.
Temperament: Vaal is by no means a friendly beast, but prefers to demonstrate his savage ferocity in moderation. He carefully plans his kills, stalking his prey and efficiently hunting it, waiting for the moment of victory before he unleashes his unholy fury upon his doomed adversary. The most ideal encounter for Vaal is when he is fully prepared for the kill after setting up his attack and letting the prey walk right into his grasp, but in an open fight he moves with supernatural speed and primal viciousness. Able to take a solid amount of damage without consequence, Vaal's rage and bloodlust is not something to be trifled with. Vaal does not give up on a kill, and does not forgive or forget. If a battle becomes too much for Vaal to handle, he will retreat quickly and plan his next attack carefully. He can strike from anywhere and at any time, and is truly a deadly adversary. If he loses his prey or must withdraw from the fray, he will pursue his victim to the ends of the earth in a relentless onslaught.
