Modern Bestiary: Agipen, the Six-Legged Dragon-Dog

As some readers of the blog may know, I have recently moved to Italy for a period. It's been quite the change, but I've been getting along, and there's plenty I've found here to provide me inspiration. Including this:

WHAT IN OBLIVION IS THAT!?

This, as I quickly learned, was the logo of the Italian AGIP/ENI oil corporation, one of the most ubiquitous symbols of Italian industry. If I had ever watched Formula One, I would have been familiar.

This post gives a thorough history of the logo, and I do recommend reading. But I'm more interested in its inspiration, and what I can make with it.

There are a few interpretations of the creature that come up. First, that it's inspired by the Tarantasio, a lake dragon of Italian folk tradition, but there doesn't seem to be too much support for that. Another I'm more partial toward, that the creature is a sort of modern centaur. The four wheels of a car plus the two legs of its driver form the six legs, fire-breath for the combustive nature of the vehicle, the combination of a lion's tail, dog's body and dragon's spiky back signaling power.

All of that is great. I could drop a monster like that into most any fantasy setting, likely best as a unique or local beast, and it would click.

But I think there's more to get out of it. Oil isn't something I associate with any other D&D monster, even though adventurers use oil a lot. Does it eat oil? Spit it out? Sweat it? Milk its young with oil? Does it bathe in the stuff?

And on top of all that, if this creature is meant to represent a car, then your players should absolutely be able to ride it.

I crowd-sourced the name to the OSR Pit forum, which you should absolutely check out if you're not already on there, and went with PapaJoe's suggestion. The creature's name is the Agipen (plural Agipeni).

The Agipen

Agipen: HD 8; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2*claw 1d8, bite 2d10 ; Sav 11; Spec spits flaming oil on 10'x20' area, 1d6+1 damage per round for 3 rounds; ML 10; AL L.

The Agipen is a rare magical beast, originally created by a mad wizard who sold his creation as a curiosity. The Agipen appears to be a great dog, but on closer inspection, possesses six legs, the tail of a lion and a rocky, scaled back. It is larger than any horse, standing over eight feet tall and twelve feet long.

They seek deserts and flat plains, where they sniff out natural deposits of ground oil and make their dens there. They bathe and raise young in oil and tar, which is suffused into their bodies. From this arises their immense body heat, and the constant scent of tar which sticks to them and anybody who spends time near them or their lair.

They are ordinarily peaceable creatures, and though they can easily kill men by accident when trampling upon them, the beasts may be readily tamed with regular feeding and care. Their pack instincts are so strong that they have been known to adopt useful humans into their families, and can grow protective of their masters.

A properly saddled Agipen can hold up to four human-sized riders, one at the base of its neck giving directions, the rest as passengers on its back. They are immensely fast and maneuverable, but tire quickly, and in addition to rations of meat appropriate for a creature weighing nearly three tons, require a full barrel of lamp oil to sustain themselves on days of substantial exertion.