An unusual hybrid of multiple organisms that can be encountered in ASCII's 1996 Wizardry Side Story IV: Throb of the Demon's Heart (ウィザードリィ・外伝IV・胎魔の鼓動, Uiza-dorii Gaiden IV: Taima no Kodou) Nintendo Super Famicom roleplaying video game. For reasons known only to their bewildered psychiatrists, unethical mages with too much time on their hands have a tendency to take up the loathsome hobby of fusing together different organisms to create strange chimerae. Most of these abominations die moments after being joined, but, with enough determination, a steady supply of unfortunate test subjects, and more than a little luck, the heartless spellcaster may eventually stumble upon a combination of creatures that not only survives the horrific process but remains viable enough to breed true. An unlikely amalgamation of reptile, moth, and centipede, the Chimera Lizard (こどくとかげ, Kodoko Tokage) is one such specimen.

The Chimera Lizard may be revolting to behold, but, it's not particularly dangerous (they are, after all, only Level 2 creatures). Normally, the bizarre monster scampers about in a prone position, but, when threatened, it balances on its reptilian front legs, spreads its insect wings, and holds its undulating centipede tail aloft, high over its head, which is quite an intimidating display of aggression (the mere sight of an enraged, hissing Chimera Lizard is usually enough to make most predators think twice about attempting to make a meal out of the strange creature). However, if that performance doesn't work, the Chimera Lizard is probably in trouble, because it only has 6-12 (2D4+4) hit points and a rather poor Armor Class of 14 (for comparison, a normal, unarmored human adult has an AC of 10. Note that, in classic Dungeons & Dragons rules, which Wizardry is based upon, the larger your AC number is, the easier you are to hit.) If things look particularly desperate, a Chimera Lizard can attempt to summon another of its kind, by secreting pheromones, to join the battle (30% chance of success, and, while there is no limit to the number of times that reinforcements can be solicited in this manner, no single group of creatures can ever exceed nine members total). Adventurers everywhere should also probably thank their deity of choice that the creature only has the back half of the giant centipede's anatomy, and not the front, as such, the monster lacks the arthropod's deadly venomous bite. The writhing beast has found another use for its many-legged tail though, namely wrapping the appendage around its' prey and constricting them with it (1D4 damage), not unlike a python. And, while its fluttering wings aren't nearly powerful enough to carry its heavy body aloft for more than a few moments, the monster does use them to slap at its opponents (1D3 damage). Oddly enough, while it could presumably do so, the Chimera Lizard never defends itself by biting or raking with its claws.

This Chimera Lizard figurine was modeled, completely from scratch, over a period of four days and finished with acrylic paint. The wing stripes are hand-made decals (decoupage), and my blood pressure went up 3D10 points while applying them. Due to the unusual anatomy, this project was kind of tricky to physically handle as I modeled and painted it. The centipede tail/legs, insect wings, and lizard toes are all relatively thin and delicate, tend to get in the way when you're working on another area, and make it hard to even find a place to grip the figure securely while you're messing around with it (I ultimately ended up impaling the Chimera Lizard's chest on a sewing needle so that I could use it as a temporary handle while I painted the figure and affixed decals). Internal wire armatures would probably have saved me a lot of grief and frustration. In the game, the creature comes in four different color schemes (which is just for variety's sake, none of them are tougher or weaker than the other); I chose what I thought was the most drab hue arrangement, because I felt it was the most realistic. I could imagine something like this crawling around in the leaf litter of a forest.