The Aboleth is a loathsome amphibious creature that lives in subterranean caves and lakes. It despises most land-dwelling creatures and seeks to enslave intelligent surface beings. It is as cruel as it is intelligent.
 

Type: Monster

Setting: Ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits: An Aboleth resembles a plump fish, its body is blue-green with grey splotches, and its pink-tan underbelly conceals a toothless, rubbery mouth. Three slit-like eyes, purple-red in colour and protected by bony ridges, are set one atop the other in the front of its head. Four pulsating blue-black orifices line the bottom of its body and secrete grey slime that smells like rancid grease. Four leathery tentacles, each 3 metres in length, grow from its head. An Aboleth uses its tail to propel itself through the water and its tentacles to drag itself along dry land.

Height: 6 metres

Weight: 350 lbs

Mobility: Fins

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: An Aboleth brood consists of a parent and one to three offspring. Though the offspring are as large and as strong as the parent, they defer to the parent in all matters and obey it implicitly. Aboleth have both male and female sexual organs. A mature Aboleth reproduces once every five years by concealing itself in a cavern or other remote area, then laying a single egg and covering it in slime. The parent Aboleth guards the egg while the embryo grows and develops, a process that takes about five years. A newborn Aboleth takes about 10 years to mature.

INT: 3D6, WIS: 3D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: D6, MR: 4D6, HPs: 8D8, AC: 4, Thac0: 13

Abilities: 
The Aboleth attacks with its tentacles for D6 points of damage each. If a victim struck by a tentacle fails a saving throw vs. spell, the victim’s skin transforms into a clear, slimy membrane in D4+1 rounds. If this occurs, the victim must keep the membrane damp with cool water or suffer D12 points of damage each turn. Cure disease cast upon the victim before the membrane completely forms stops the transformation. Otherwise, cure serious wounds will cause the membrane to revert to normal skin. Because its sluggish movement makes attacks difficult, the Aboleth attempts to lure victims close by creating realistic illusions at will, complete with audible, olfactory, and other sensory components. The Aboleth can attempt to enslave creatures within 30 feet; it can make three attempts per day, one creature per attempt. If the victim fails a saving throw vs. spell, he follows all of the Aboleth’s telepathic commands, although the victim will not fight on the Aboleth’s behalf. The enslavement can be negated by remove curse, dispel magic, the death of the enslaving Aboleth, or, if the victim is separated from the Aboleth by more than a mile, a new saving throw (one attempt per day.)

When underwater, an Aboleth surrounds itself with a mucous cloud 30 centimetres thick. A victim in contact with the cloud and inhaling the mucus must roll a successful saving throw vs. poison or lose the ability to breathe air. The victim is then able to breathe water, as if having consumed a potion of water breathing, for 1-3 hours. This ability may be renewed by additional contact with the mucous cloud. An affected victim attempting to breathe air will suffocate in 2D6 rounds. Wine or soap dissolves the mucus.

The Aboleth spends most of its time searching for slaves, preferably human ones. It is rumoured that the Aboleth use their slaves to construct huge underwater cities, though none have ever been found. The Aboleth are rumoured to know ancient, horrible secrets that predate the existence of man, but these rumours are also unsubstantiated. There is no doubt that Aboleth retain a staggering amount of knowledge. An offspring acquires all of its parent’s knowledge at birth, and a mature Aboleth acquires the knowledge of any intelligent being it consumes.

An Aboleth’s treasure consists of items taken from its slaves. The items are buried in caverns under a layer of slime resembling gray mud, recognizable by the distinctive rancid grease odour.

Feeding Habits: Omnivore

Lifespan: 350 years

Ahuizotl are dog-like, with hands capable of manipulation and an additional hand on its tail. They are feared due to their liking for human flesh, especially nails, eyes, and teeth. They live in or near the water and use the hand on the end of their tail to snatch their prey.

Type: Aquatic Canine Monster

Setting: Any with a large body of water

Era: Any

Physical Traits: Black rubbery skin. An extra hand on its tail. Gills.

Height: 5 metres

Weight: 190 lbs

Mobility: Legs

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Sexual, egg

INT: D6, WIS: D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: D6, MR: 3D6, HPs: 7D8, AC: 2, Thac0: 7

Abilities: 
1) Swim; at MR x4.

2) Gills; breathe underwater as naturally as above water.

3) Resist the effects of high water pressure; up to 100 metres per CON underwater, without worry of such ailments as burst eardrums, damage to blood vessels, and the bends.

Feeding Habits: Carnivore

Lifespan: 80 years

This is a water breathing version of the beholder, and dwells only at great depths, floating slowly about, stalking prey.

Type: Monster

Setting: Ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits: They have two crab-like pincers which inflict 2D4 points of damage each, and a wide mouth full of sharp teeth that does D6 points of damage.

Height: 1 metre

Weight: 90 lbs

Mobility: Telekinesis

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Eyes have male and female reproductive organs, so they can self-fertilize. They give birth to 3-6 live young out of their mouths only once in its life. The womb is below the back of the tongue. When it gives birth the parent observes its young and decides which look most like itself. The others are eaten by the ravenous parent, along with the discarded womb, and the surviving young are forced from the parent’s lair within the hour to fend for themselves.

INT: 3D6, WIS: 3D6, STR: D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: D6, MR: 4D6, HPs: 10D8, AC: 5, Thac0: 11

Abilities: 
The primary weapons of the eyes of the deep, are their eyes. The creatures large central eye emits a cone of blinding light 1.5 metres wide at its start, 9 metres long, and 6 metres wide at its base. Those in the cone must save vs. poison or be stunned for 2D4 rounds. The eye of the deep also has two smaller eyes on long stalks, and uses both to create illusion. Acting independently, the small eyes are able to cast hold person and hold monster spells respectively. The eye of the deep has an Armour Class of 5 everywhere, including its eyes and eye stalks. If its eyestalks are severed they will grow back in about a week.

Feeding Habits: Omnivore

Lifespan: 100 years

Giant crabs are a peculiar mutations of normal saltwater crabs.

Type: Monster

Setting: Ocean, beach

Era: Any

Physical Traits: Giant crabs look just like regular crabs except for their enormous size. They come in a variety of colours, such as reds, browns, and greys. They have eyes set on stalks, which enable them to see around corners and onto ledges. Their bodies are covered by a large, chitinous shell. Crabs are distinguished by their scuttling, sideways mode of locomotion.

Height: 3 metres

Weight: 200 lbs

Mobility: Legs

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: The crab exists only on the most basic instinctive level, and is interested solely in survival. Crabs mate in the autumn and males attempt to mate with as many females as they can. Females bury their eggs in the sand. The eggs hatch the following spring; few hatchlings survive to reach maturity.

INT: D6, WIS: D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: D6, MR: 3D6, HPs: 3D8, AC: 3, Thac0: 17

Abilities: 
Always hungry, crabs prefer to sneak up upon their prey (-3 penalty to opponent’s surprise roll) and catch it in their pincers, dismembering and eating it. A successful attack by the pincers causes 2D4 points of damage. Once they have caught something edible, they stop to eat it, unless they are attacked. If a crab finds its meal in question, it attempts to scuttle off with the prize, perhaps to its den.

The giant crab lives on the shoreline, searching beaches for food and venturing into the water in search of fish and other aquatic life. It is well adapted to this sort of life, since it is able to breathe both air and water. Giant crabs frequently feed on large dead fish and other carrion washed up on the shore. They operate equally well on land and in the water. Giant crabs sometimes burrow into the sand during the day, emerging only at dusk and dawn to feed. At these times the beach is alive not only with the giant crabs, but with their tiny cousins as well. The giants may also hunt during the day and night.

Feeding Habits: Nature has forced the giant crabs to become flexible eaters, always willing to try new food sources. The giant crab performs a useful ecological function in keeping the seashores free of large carrion that would otherwise rot.

Lifespan: 50 years

Giant crayfish are peculiar mutations of regular freshwater crayfish.

Type: Monster

Setting: Ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits: The crayfish is essentially a freshwater lobster. It has a similar multi-plated shell, numerous legs, eyes set on stalks, and two wicked pincers. The giant crayfish is muddy brown or sand coloured, depending upon the colour of the river bottom it inhabits. Some say that the giant crayfish, like the lobster, keeps growing as it gets older; certain sages even argue that the giant crayfish is really the same species as the ordinary crayfish, merely an extremely old specimen.

Height: 3 metres

Weight: 190 lbs

Mobility: Segments

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: As per Giant Crab

INT: D6, WIS: D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: D6, MR: 3D6, HPs: 4D8 +4, AC: 4, Thac0: 15

Abilities: 
Like the crab, the crayfish prefers to ambush its prey (-2 penalty to opponent’s surprise roll). It sits quietly on the river bottom, waiting, and then rushes forth to seize its food in its pincers. The giant crayfish does not normally represent a danger to adventurers, since it inhabits only deep rivers and spends all of its time on the river bottom. It would therefore only attack adventurers who were swimming along the river bottom, and then only if they came within its range. An attack by a giant crayfish’s pincers inflicts 2D6 points of damage. The crayfish prefers to drag its catch back to its watery lair and eat in peace. Its shell is very tough, giving the creature AC 4.

The giant crayfish inhabits only wide and deep rivers, and feeds almost exclusively upon bottom-dwelling fish. Due to its great size, it can easily prey on such fish as sturgeon, carp, and large eels. It is voracious and spends most of its time hunting. On the whole it rarely crosses paths with adventurers, but it does compete with river fishermen.

Feeding Habits: Omnivore

Lifespan: 50 years

Portuguese men-o-war are giant jellyfish that float in warm sea waters, trailing their deadly tentacles below. They most often float at or just below the surface of the ocean, and often wash up on beaches during storms. Some types are nearly transparent; it is 90% probable that these will be undetected unless the creature encountering them is able to detect invisible objects. The Portuguese man-o-war is a drifting hazard with no perceptible intelligent control of its movements except an instinctive reaction to avoid pain.

Type: Monster

Setting: Tropical Ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits: Each Portuguese man-o-war has D4 x10 tentacles which are each 3 metres long. Each tentacle requires but a single hit point to sever, but this does not damage the creature. Only hits on the creature’s body will kill it. Severed tentacles regenerate in several days.

Height: 2 metres

Weight: 20 lbs

Mobility: Drifting

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Sexual

INT: 1, WIS: 1, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: D6, MR: 1, HPs: D8, AC: 9, Thac0: 19

Abilities: 
Any creature touching the tentacles takes damage from their poison and must make a successful saving throw vs. paralyzation or be paralyzed for several hours. Paralyzed creatures will be drawn up by the tentacles and devoured in 3D4 turns.

Adult Portuguese men-o-war are solitary drifters, borne on warm ocean tides, though chance may well bring them together in larger numbers. They are most common in tropical shallows, and are rarely found deeper than light can easily penetrate (about 9 metres). Occasionally storms wash Portuguese men-0-war up onto beaches, where their tentacles become partially buried in the sand and hard to see. This might result in a nasty surprise for a creature walking barefoot on the sand or digging by hand. Of course, scavengers like small crabs and sea birds make short work of the beached jellyfish.

Certain types of small fishes seem to be immune to the paralytic poison and take refuge from larger predators among the tentacles, effectively luring such predators to the man-o-war.

Feeding Habits: Carnivore

Lifespan: 30 years

The dreaded “cuttlefish” are the scourge of ocean-going sailors and fishermen. Malicious and cunning, giant octopi have been known to attack ships, sinking smaller craft and stealing crew members from the larger ships.

Type: Monster

Setting: Ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits: Giant octopi change their colour to blend into their surroundings, and the range of colours and patterns available to them is extensive, from green to deep black, blue speckles and red stripes. Tentacles are often disguised as seaweed. Once camouflaged, there is only a 10% chance to detect them, and usually it is their eyes that give them away. Normal coloration is grey to brown, and their vicious beaks are a deep yellow with a bright orange mouth and tongue.

Height: 3 metres

Weight: 70 lbs

Mobility: Tentacles

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Mating season comes every spring. Like most marine animals, octopi leave their eggs in a reef to fend for themselves.

INT: D6, WIS: D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: D6, MR: 3D6, HPs: 8D8, AC: 7, Thac0: 13

Abilities: 
An octopus will readily attack swimmers or small vessels in order to eat the crew. Several have been known to cooperate in order to overwhelm a larger ship, and any craft seized by these monsters loses way and comes to a full stop in three turns. A giant octopus generally attacks with six of its eight tentacles, using two to anchor itself. Each striking tentacle causes D4 points of damage, but unless the member is loosened or severed, it constricts for 2D4 points of damage every round after striking. If a victim is dragged close enough to the beak, the monster can bite for 2D6 points of damage. Any victim under 8 feet tall or long can be struck by only one tentacle at a time, and the chance that both upper limbs are pinned on a successful strike is 25%, while the chance that both upper limbs are free is also 25%. When both upper limbs are held, the victim has no attack; if only one limb is held the victim attacks with a -3 penalty to its attack roll; if both limbs are free (i.e., the tentacle is wrapped around the victim’s body) then the victim attacks with a -1 penalty to its attack roll. Tentacles grip with a Strength of 20. Any creature with a Strength equal to or greater than 20 can grasp the tentacle and negate its constriction. This does not free the victim, and the octopus will immediately seek to drag the victim to its mouth to eat it. To break free, a tentacle must be severed; this requires 8 points of damage.

Once three or more tentacles are severed, it is 90% probable that the octopus will retreat, ejecting a cloud of black ink 12 metres high by 18 metres wide by 18 metres long. This ink cloud completely obscures the vision of any creature within it. The wounded octopus then camouflages itself in its lair or a nearby hiding place. It takes the monster two to three months to grow back severed tentacles.

While octopi cooperate to attack a food source, they live a solitary existence, preferring to shelter in warm water of medial to shallow depth. Lairs are made in wrecked ships and undersea caves; any treasure found there is just an incidental leftover from previous meals. Consummate hunters, these monsters have great patience and cover a very small area, waiting for their food to come to them.

Feeding Habits: When prey is scarce, or if it has been wounded, an octopus turns to scavenging, eating everything from small crustaceans to seaweeds. Survival is paramount with this monster. It prefers to hunt at night, and often a man missing during the late night watch has been grabbed by a giant octopus, pulled quickly over the side, and eaten.

Lifespan: 40 years

Giant sea horses are simply a huge species of the more common sea horse. They have the characteristic horse-like heads and tapering tails of all sea horses. Sea horses can be found in any marine setting except the coldest arctic depths. They prefer tropical to subtropical depths as these provide the greatest variety of foods.

Type: Monster

Setting: Ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits: A sea horse can normally attack only with a head butt, but a sea horse trained by aquatic elves as a steed can also use its long, curling tail to constrict and restrain enemies. The sea horse must be ridden in order to properly obey the command to constrict and then must make a successful attack roll. A captured opponent can free itself with a successful open doors roll, with a -1 penalty. The tail of a giant sea horse is so long that it can attack the same opponent that the head butts, or the one its rider is attacking, without penalty. The length of the tail also constricts the entire body of any creature man-sized or smaller, making spellcasting or melee fighting impossible for constricted creatures. The constriction causes no damage, but the sea horse can still choose to butt the helpless victim if so desired. Note that underwater combat is three-dimensional and sea horses instinctively use this advantage against creatures that are obviously out of their environment, like men. Sea horse riders take great pains to develop this instinct in their mounts and take advantage of their sea horses’ ability to move vertically as well as forward and back and from side to side.

Height: 3 metres

Weight: 80 lbs

Mobility: Segments

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Fortunately for the species, sea horses mate all the time and like most fish they grow very rapidly. There is little chance of sending the sea horse population to extinction.

INT: 2D6, WIS: 2D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: D6, MR: 5D6, HPs: 2D8, AC: 7, Thac0: 17

Abilities: 
All sea horses have 36 metre infravision and acute senses; it is a foolish rider who fails to take notice of his sea horse mount’s warnings.

In their natural environment, sea horses congregate in schools, feeding off small plankton and seaweed. They have school leaders and follow the prevailing currents. They are generally shy and avoid contact except with other sea horses.

Feeding Habits: Herbivore

Lifespan: 70 years

Sharks are perhaps the most aggressive eating machines found in the murky deeps.

Type: Monster

Setting: Ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits: Sharks are large, finned, voracious carnivores that inhabit all known oceans and seas.

Height: 15 metres

Weight: 190 lbs

Mobility: Segments

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Egg

INT: 1, WIS: 1, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: 1, MR: 4D6, HPs: 10D8, AC: 5, Thac0: 11

Abilities: 
Sharks sense pressure changes underwater, most often caused by noises from other creatures. Thrashing about in the water always attracts sharks, since usually only wounded fish behave like that. Sharks can sense these motions from up to a mile away and once one shark discovers prey, more are soon to follow. Sharks also attack mercilessly at the scent of blood, which they can likewise detect at distances of a mile or more. When a number of sharks gather around a bleeding victim, the scent of the blood and the thrill of the kill send all sharks into a feeding frenzy. Nothing escapes from such an attack, not even some sharks. Sharks eat anything living, even each other, during a feeding frenzy. Since sharks move up, take a bite of flesh, and retreat very quickly, up to ten normal-sized sharks can attack a man-sized opponent in the water every round.

Giant Sharks are capable of swallowing most creatures whole on an attack roll that is 4 or more above the minimum number to hit. Swallowed creatures suffer 20 points of damage for every round they remain inside the shark. A creature trapped within can attack the beast from within, but with a cumulative -1 penalty to damage per round (i.e.. the first round attack has a -1 penalty, the second round attack has a -2 penalty, etc.). The victim must take the shark to 0 points or less before the shark’s digestive juices finish their work.

Sharks have only two natural weaknesses. The first one is that their internal organs are only poorly protected by a thick, flexible layer of gristle instead of a hard skeleton. Some creatures, such as dolphins, take advantage of this by ramming sharks from the side. Because of their highly intelligent nature, dolphins are the only true enemies of sharks. They are the only known species that actively hunts down and kills these otherwise greatly feared and respected monsters.

Sharks are also forced to continuously move through the water in order to force sufficient volumes of oxygen-rich water past their primitive gills. Therefore, a shark that is held immobile for 2-5 hours will die of suffocation. Common spells useful against sharks are hold monster, paralyzation attacks and poisons, and all normal damage causing spells (subject to underwater casting limitations, of course).

Feeding Habits: Sharks are pure eating and killing machines, evolving quite naturally into superior predators, and then remaining unchanged for millions of years. They are primarily scavengers, preying on the sick and wounded, but attack fresh meat if tempted to do so. They are very territorial and solitary.

Lifespan: 60 years

Giant turtles are simply huge varieties of the normal species encountered daily in the wild. They resemble their common counterparts in every respect except for size.

Type: Monster

Setting: Ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits: A turtle is characterized by its bony outer shell. The lower portion of the shell is known as the plastron, while the upper shell is referred to as the carapace. It is into this shell that a turtle withdraws its legs and head when threatened. Some turtles are incapable of completely shielding their limbs in this way, and plaster their legs very close to the shell for protection. They are slow-moving and thus would rather withdraw into their shells when faced with an enemy, rather than either fight or flee. However, when harmed or persistently molested, the strong, quick bite of a giant turtle is a deadly weapon indeed.

Height: 15 metres

Weight: 190 lbs

Mobility: Segments

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Egg

INT: 1, WIS: 1, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: 1, MR: 4D6, HPs: 15D8, AC: 2, Thac0: 5

Abilities: 
The tearing bite of giant sea turtle causes 4D4 points of damage to the unlucky victim. If one surfaces beneath a small craft, there is a possibility of upsetting the vessel. There is a 90% chance for a rowboat but only 10% for a longship. Adjust this base chance for other sea-going vessels according to the size and stability of the craft.

The head and flippers of giant sea turtles are Armour Class 5, while the shell is AC 2. If the turtle withdraws its head and flippers into its shell either for defence or while resting, all attacks are considered to be directed against the shell.

Feeding Habits: Giant turtles eat whatever is available in their environment, from living plants to all types of insects, small mammals, and fish of all kinds. They prefer fresh green plants and live worms, as turtles do not enjoy feeding on carrion or rotting vegetation. Naturally, such foods are fair game if the turtle is in danger of starvation.

Lifespan: 150 years

The hippocampus is the most prized of the marine steeds, a creature that combines features of a horse and a fish.

Type: Monster

Setting: Ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits: The hippocampus has the head, forelegs, and torso of a horse. The equine section is covered with short hair. The mane is made of long, flexible fins. The front hooves are replaced by webbed fins that fold up as the leg moves forward, then fan out as the leg strokes back. Past the rib cage the body becomes fish-like. The tail tapers 14 feet into a wide horizontal fin. A dorsal fin is located on the rump. Coloration is that of seawater. Typical colours include ivory, pale green, pale blue, aqua, deep blue, and deep green.

Height: 15 metres

Weight: 90 lbs

Mobility: Segments

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Wild hippocampi roam in herds of 2D4. These are usually a stallion, D4 mares, and the rest young hippocampi of either sex. Hippocampus mares lay a single, large egg. After six months, the egg hatches a single foal. Twins are extremely rare (1% chance). The foals grow quickly in two years. The yearlings are physically the equals of the adults. Hippocampian tales speak of a “Great Herd” of hundreds or thousands of hippocampi that roams the uncharted reaches of the far seas. No non-hippocampi have ever seen this spectacle.

INT: 2D6, WIS: 2D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: 2D6, MR: 4D6, HPs: 4D8, AC: 5, Thac0: 17

Abilities: 
Hippocampi are usually peaceful creatures. They do not attack unless cornered or if another hippocampus or an ally is threatened. They are fast enough to out-swim most anything that would want to attack them. The hippocampus attacks with a strong bite. It suddenly extends its head, chomps down with a crushing bite, and then releases. Hippocampi do not hold onto their opponents. Hippocampi also butt their heads against targets. Such attacks may stun an opponent or break his bones. Their firm, powerfully muscled bodies provide a strong protection against attack. The blood coagulates quickly on exposure to water, thus minimizing blood loss that could both debilitate the hippocampus and attract sharks.

Hippocampi are the prized steeds of the sea. They can be found in deep waters anywhere, in freshwater lakes and oceans. They are able to breathe fresh and salt water with equal ease. They can also breathe air but require frequent gulps of water to keep from drying out. They are unable to move out of water. Despite their radically different environments, horses and hippocampi are very similar. They have approximately the same sizes, life spans, and personalities, although hippocampi are blessed with much higher intelligence.

Hippocampi may be “domesticated” by water-breathing humanoids. In truth, the intelligent hippocampi cooperate with the humanoids. The hippocampi provide their services as steeds and allies while the humanoids provide protection. The benevolent hippocampi may assist surface dwellers who are visiting the aquatic world, whether voluntarily or by accident. Many a shipwrecked sailor has been saved from drowning by a passing hippocampus. Hippocampi are good judges of character; they will not assist an evil being or anyone who acts in a hostile manner toward them. Sometimes a hippocampus’s offer of a ride can be more trouble than it is worth. Young hippocampi often forget that most surface dwellers breathe air, not water. Hippocampi do not accumulate treasure. Most spurn even ornamental gifts such as collars or leg bands. They simply have no use for these gewgaws. They do appreciate delicacies, however, in the forms of tasty foods not available in the water.

Feeding Habits: Hippocampi are herbivores. They normally graze on seaweed and other soft vegetation. If their usual fodder is unavailable, their strong teeth can chew up mollusks and coral.

Lifespan: 75 years

Hydra ("water serpent") is the name of the Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology. They usually live alone in swamps, and are generally the most dangerous predator in the area they inhabit.

Type: Monster

Setting: Any swamp lands

Era: Any

Physical Traits: The Hydra is a reptilian magical beast with 4 +D8 heads. It is an especially deadly monster, since every time a head is severed, two new ones grow in its place.

Height: 9 metres

Weight: 350 kgs

Mobility: Legs

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Sexual, egg

INT: 2D6, WIS: 2D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 2D6, CHA: D6, MR: 3D6, HPs: 12D8 with each head having the equivalent of 25% of the total amount of HPs, AC: 5, Thac0: 15

Abilities: 
All heads must be severed before the Hydra dies. In combat a Hydra can attack with all of its heads against either a single foe or multiple targets, biting for 2D6 damage each.

Feeding Habits: Carnivore

Lifespan: 200 years

Kraken are legendary sea monsters of giant proportions said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway and Iceland. The Old Icelandic saga Örvar-Odds saga referenced the massive heather-backed sea-monsters of the Greenland Sea named Hafgufa and Lyngbakr that fed on whales, ships and men. After returning from Iceland, the anonymous author of the Old Norwegian scientific work Konungs skuggsjá described in detail the physical characteristics and feeding behaviour of these two beasts and suggested the pair may possibly be the same animal, regarded by the Norse as the Kraken.

Type: Monster

Setting: Any ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits: Its body is similar to that of a squid, with a ring of tentacles surrounding a mouth connected to a conical central body. Two of its 10 tentacles are longer than the rest, and bear deadly barbs. The kraken has very large eyes, and fins protrude from the upper part of its elongated central body. Krakens are highly destructive and evil creatures. With their strong tentacles and massive strength, they can pull an entire ship down into the ocean.

Height: It is akin to a squid the size of a house. It is almost 24 metres long and 18 metres tall and wide.

Weight: 650 kgs

Mobility: Tentacles

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Egg

INT: 3D6, WIS: 3D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: D6, MR: 5D6, HPs: 20D8, AC: 5, Thac0: 5

Abilities: 
1) Krakens attack predominantly with their tentacles. They can both constrict opponents, and bring them into the reaches of the creature's huge jaws.

2) In addition Krakens can also release an enormous cloud of jet-black ink. It also regenerates severed limbs.

Feeding Habits: Carnivore

Lifespan: 250 years

The leviathan is an almost unimaginably immense sea monster, 150 metres long. Under normal conditions, only one leviathan dwells in each ocean. The leviathan is not always active. It may hibernate for years on the ocean floor.

Type: Monster

Setting: Any ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits: Leviathans are awesome foes with a variety of attacks. Their bite damage is 3D4×10 points, and the tail can deliver a crushing blow that causes damage equal to half the whale’s Hit Points. On an attack roll that is 4 or more greater than it needs to hit, a leviathan is capable of swallowing a target up to 24 metres long. When attacking a mass of surface vessels, the leviathan creates a powerful wave by swimming deep, rushing to the surface, and leaping halfway out of the water. The resulting wave causes every ship within 150 metres to roll a saving throw vs. crushing blow and every ship within 150 to 600 metres to roll a saving throw vs. normal blow. Ships that fail a saving throw immediately sink. The stomach of a leviathan contains air pockets that are capable of sustaining a victim until he escapes or is digested. The stomach may also contain undigested possessions of previous meals or even sea vessels.

Height: 150 metres

Weight: 750 kgs

Mobility: Tentacles

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Once each century, leviathans gather in arctic waters to confer and to mate. This gathering lasts six months.

INT: 3D6, WIS: 3D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: D6, MR: 5D6, HPs: 20D8, AC: 5, Thac0: 5

Abilities: 
1) Krakens attack predominantly with their tentacles. They can both constrict opponents, and bring them into the reaches of the creature's huge jaws.

2) In addition Krakens can also release an enormous cloud of jet-black ink. It also regenerates severed limbs.

Feeding Habits: Carnivore

Lifespan: 250 years

Scylla is a massive beast, part sea serpent and part hydra.

Type: Monster

Setting: Any ocean

Era: Any

Physical Traits:  A massive snaking body is tipped with an octopus head, with four eyes in a radial pattern around it's body, and a mouth covered with 'tentacles'. These eight tentacles are tipped with dragon heads of their own, which are independent but mentally linked to the whole, a collective hivemind. Usually they work together, sometimes they don't. In any case, the space between the ring of tentacles and heads is a massive lamprey maw ringed with a thousand teeth. Typically the smaller hands grab their victim and proceed to shovel them into the ever-hungry maw within their centre. While aquatic, a Scylla is capable of existing on land, though it is slow, plodding, and quite unhappy about being dry. It will seek water as soon as possible, snaking over the ground. Prone to attacking ships, they usually come from below, allowing their heads to surface and soften the target. Few realize the 8 dragons they fight are really one, until its too late and the water below suddenly swallows them in a whirlpool of fangs and blood.

Height: 20 metre diametre

Weight: 175 kgs

Mobility: Swim

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Egg

INT: 2D6, WIS: 2D6, STR: 7D6, DEX: 2D6, CON: 4D6, CHA: 2D6, MR: 5, HPs: 30D8, AC: 1, Thac0: 15

Abilities: 
Each of the eight heads has it's own breath weapon which it can employ as a standard action at will.A Scylla is immune to its own breath weapons.
1st: 24 metre line of acid, 6D6 acid damage.
2nd: Gooey blob which works as a tanglefoot bag.
3rd: 12 metre cone of cold, 6D6 cold damage.
4th: As Grease caused by an ice slick.
5th: Ray of Dessication, dealing 6D4 damage.
6th: Ranged touch attack out to 24 metres which poisons for D8 Dex. When the target hits Dex 0, they are petrified in salt crystals.
7th: 12 metre cone of superheated steam, save vs falling prone from the force.
8th: As Fog Cloud.

Feeding Habits: Carnivore

Lifespan: 350 years