[Furniture]

Cazic- ThuLe -

The Faceless One, Cazic-Thule, the God of Fear: he spreads
terror and hopelessness the world over.
Cazic- Thule resides on the Plane of Fear. At the center of that
dark and horrid place, he broods over his growing empire, surrounded
by thousands of dread minions. He is an enormous,
hulking shape - a walking mountain, with a bulbous projection
where a head should be. There is no face, no sign of any sensory
organs (although the dreadful god is preternaturally sensitive). He
has two muscular, outsized arms that can crush giants with a single blow, and two smaller (Gargantuan size), yet still powerful arms
just below them that grasp weapons and/or a shield. Massive,
clawed feet support the bulk.
Cazic-Thule is the master of most iksar, who live in fear and awe
of their god and seek to appease him by terrorizing others. His
worshipers are drawn from all races and all walks of life, though,
and the darkness of their service is spreading across Norrath.
Cazicites indulge in murder, torture, live sacrifice, and unspeakable
rites in the furtherance of their deity's aims.
The god himself does not tread the world, but when he has need
to intervene in terrestrial affairs - or thwart the plans of the other
gods, with whom he is in constant competition - he dispatches
his avatar, a mighty being in its own right (see the Avatar of Fear
entry in this book). Occasionally, armies of heroes breach the
barriers between the planes and dare the perils of the Plane of Fear
on some short mission. Destined for failure, all but a few of these
quests end in doom, especially should the heroes come to the God
of Fear's attention while they walk his home plane.

Combat: 't.
Being a god, Cazic-Thule is nigh invulnerable. His intrinsic
nature grants him very high resistances to all sorts of magical
attack. He often wields artifact weapons that deal large amounts
of damage as well as processing powerful magic effects. Finally, he
has the spell-using abilities of the highest-level shadow knights,
without a mortal's restrictions on the number of skeletal companions
he can summon to his aid. Although his pets are very weak
in comparison to the god, they are useful for distracting opponents
and absorbing attacks that would otherwise reach him.
Cazic- Thule is usually surrounded by other minions of considerable
power, such as his three Gargantuan golems named Dread,
Fright, and Terror. He relies on his divine presence to weaken the
wills of those who dare face him, and on his devastating harm
touch to quickly eliminate the unworthy. While his servants
prevent attackers from surrounding him, the god uses spells and
spell-like abilities to deal damage to and interfere with the
opposition, focusing on the most dangerous-looking combatants,
then wades into combat swinging his massive fists or whatever
deadly weapons of immense magical power he selects from his
divine treasure horde. His use of the Power Attack feat leaves
most of his foes pounded into pulp from the divine strength
behind his blows. He also loves to trample over puny beings that
try to attack him, taking particular delight in using his rampage
ability to crush multiple spellcasters.


Cockatrice -
These aggressive birds look like a cross between a reptile and a
rooster with bat wings. They petrify victims with a touch and then
roost on the resulting statue.
Cockatrices go under several different names depending on
their regional habitation. Such names include "stonegazer,"
"stoneglint," and "petrifier." Each type of cockatrice has a differ-ent plumage and a different range, but they are all similar enough
for the zookeepers of Ak' Anon to classify them as the same
creature. Despite their many similarities, different breeds of
cockatrices fight viciously when placed together, gouging and
clawing each other until one is dead.
Though partial to grains and wild plants, cockatrices are
omnivorous and also eat insects, lizards, and small mammals.
They typically have a limited hunting range and live in flocks,
with the largest male leading the flock.
Cockatrice flocks are fiercely territorial. Areas where cockatrices
have taken roost are obvious from looking at the bodies of
petrified attackers strewn across the landscape. Travelers have an
easier time avoiding them thanks to such grim evidence of their
presence, but since their hunting range is so small, seeing even
one petrified creature means that a traveler is already fairly close
to a cockatrice lair. Unprepared wanderers are advised to leave
the area immediately.
Cockatrices live primarily on Kunark, though some evil races
have begun capturing and exporting them, mainly for use in
underground cockfights between different breeds. Unfortunately,
a number of cockatrices have escaped or been released, and a few
scattered flocks can be found in the Desert of Ro and on the
southern tip of Faydwer in the Dragonscale Hills. Because these
magical beasts have no natural predators in these environments,
their numbers are growing quickly.
Cockatrice plumage is becoming a popular fashion item in
some human cities. As the price rises, more treasure hunters are
willing to take the risk of hunting these dangerous creatures.
Since their presence endangers local ecosystems, even trolls,
ogres, and orc bandits around the Desert of Ro typically let
humans pass if they can show evidence of hunting cockatricesafter
extorting appropriate "hunting fees," naturally. Similarly,
the gnomes on Faydwer are happy to see most anyone in the
mountains with the intent to kill these
pests, especially since cockatrices
interfere with their preferred
testing grounds. Iksar who
appear with a fistful of dead
cockatrices are still unwelcome
as ever, however.