175 lines
7.9 KiB
Plaintext
175 lines
7.9 KiB
Plaintext
The Dragon's Bestiary from DRAGON(R) issue #166
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Send your PCs on a fishing trip they'll always remember
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by Tim Malto
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(C)1991 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Not many campaigns take place in a watery environment.
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But a party will occasionally undertake a short voyage by boat,
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simply to get from point A to point B. How does a DM get the PCs'
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feet wet without introducing a tribe of koalinths, some
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seawolves, or something worse? These two creatures can bring the
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PCs into the water in ways they least expect.
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<Giant Archerfish>
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CLIMATE/TERRAIN: [Tropical/large freshwater lakes]
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FREQUENCY: [Uncommon]
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ORGANIZATION: [Solitary]
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ACTIVITY CYCLE: [Day]
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DIET: [Carnivore]
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INTELLIGENCE: [Animal]
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TREASURE TYPE: [Nil]
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ALIGNMENT: [Neutral]
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NO. APPEARING: [90%: 1-3 adults; 10%: 5-20 young]
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ARMOR CLASS: [6]
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MOVEMENT: [Sw 20]
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HIT DICE: [3+3]
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THAC0: [17]
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NO. OF ATTACKS: [1]
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DAMAGE/ATTACKS: [2-8]
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SPECIAL ATTACKS: [Water jet, swallows whole]
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SPECIAL DEFENSES: [Nil]
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MAGIC RESISTANCE: [Nil]
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SIZE: [L (9' long)]
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MORALE: [Steady (11)]
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XP VALUE: [420]
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The giant archerfish is a silvery creature with heavy-looking
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jaws, giving it a squared-off look when seen head on. This is due
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to two powerfully muscled water bladders, one on either side of
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the head. Behind the head, the body narrows quickly to a
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streamlined shape with a powerful tail.
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The water bladders can generate a water jet once per three
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rounds, fired from the fish's mouth, with a range of 30'. Used
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by a full-grown specimen, the jet can knock a human from the deck
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of a ship or out of a ship's rigging. A target is treated as AC 5
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regardless of actual armor class. A free-standing victim is
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knocked backward by the force of the jet; for every 20 lbs. less
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than 200 lbs. he weighs, he is forced back 1', and any victim
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under 200 lbs. must make a dexterity check on 4d6 to remain
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standing (the point is moot for a victim hurled from a ship). If
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the victim is grasping a support or is braced, he must make a
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strength roll on 3d6 to avoid being knocked back. A saving throw
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vs. paralysis must be made to continue grasping any hand-held
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item. An attack roll of 20 indicates that the victim is stunned
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for 1-3 rounds by the force of the jet.
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Once a victim is in the water, he is subject to a bite attack
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similar to a shark's. On a natural roll of 20, the archerfish
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will swallow whole any victim the size of a halfling or gnome. A
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swallowed character can cut his way out if he inflicts enough
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damage to the AC 10 interior of the fish to slay it, but he can
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do so only if he has a dagger or knife in hand. Meanwhile, the
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character suffers 1 hp damage per round due to digestive acids,
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and he has no air to breathe. It should also be noted that, once
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in the water, a victim loses all armor-class bonuses due to
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dexterity unless he is wearing a [ring of free action] or
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similar magical item, and shields cannot be used.
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These fish seldom come together except to spawn. Eggs are
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laid on the sea bottom and fertilized there. Those eggs not
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devoured by other predators hatch in 3-4 weeks. The young remain
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together in a school, ranging from 5-20 individuals, until they
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reach the length of about 3'; then they separate. Young
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archerfish have these statistics: AC 7; MV 18; HD 1+1; THAC0 19;
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#AT 1; Dmg 1-3; SA none effective; SZ 1-3'; XP 35.
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The water jet is usable upon hatching. These fish cruise near
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the surface and track prey by sight, following long enough to
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orient on course and speed. Then they break the surface in a jump
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and squirt their jets to bring down large insects, birds, and
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small water-dwelling animals. The school of young is cooperative
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in this hunting style until the individuals reach adulthood, when
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the victims rarely provide enough food for the entire school
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(hence the break-up). The water jets of young giant archerfish do
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not endanger characters, and they cannot swallow characters
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whole, though they could consume sprites or brownies.
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These fish are not territorial and travel to any place they
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can take down prey. They eat people only if such are available.
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In a pinch, giant archerfish are known to scavenge the bottoms of
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their shallow seas or large lakes.
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Giant archerfish have no interest in treasure, though an
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occasional item may be found in the stomach of a slain fish. They
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themselves are not good to eat, nor do they have any body parts
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known to have practical use (except as bait to catch other fish).
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Nor is there any use for them as components for any known
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spells.
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<Giant Damselfish>
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CLIMATE/TERRAIN: [Tropical and temperate/saltwater
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oceans]
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FREQUENCY: [Uncommon]
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ORGANIZATION: [Solitary]
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ACTIVITY CYCLE: [Night]
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DIET: [Carnivore]
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INTELLIGENCE: [Animal]
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TREASURE TYPE: [Nil]
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ALIGNMENT: [Neutral]
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NO. APPEARING: [1-2]
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ARMOR CLASS: [5]
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MOVEMENT: [Sw 18 (lunge 30)]
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HIT DICE: [2+4]
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THAC0: [17]
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NO. OF ATTACKS: [2]
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DAMAGE/ATTACKS: [1-4/1-4]
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SPECIAL ATTACKS: [Stunning ram]
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SPECIAL DEFENSES: [Nil]
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MAGIC RESISTANCE: [Nil]
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SIZE: [L (7[fra/1/2]')]
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MORALE: [Steady (11)]
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XP VALUE: [120]
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This fish has a bony head and a slim, dull, dun-colored body.
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A specially modified dorsal fin trails a streamer that vaguely
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resembles a humanlike female. The streamer can be folded down
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tightly against the body, leaving a ridge that the fish uses in
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swimming.
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Nocturnal by nature, this fish rises to the surface at night
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to hunt. It deploys its dorsal fin and floats with its head down
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and tail relaxed. Upon hearing the approach of potential prey
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along a shore or in a boat, it wiggles its body and flutters its
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dorsal fin in such a way as to mislead a viewer into thinking
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that a woman, either human or elf, is drowning. (The DM should
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secretly roll intelligence checks on 1d20 for the characters if
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anybody becomes suspicious. Any character who fails his check is
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deceived by the ploy.)
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Once a victim swims within 10-15', the giant damselfish
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lets its "lady" sink convulsively into the water. It then folds
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back the dorsal fin and lunges at its victim with its head. If
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the ram is successful, 1-4 hp damage are done to the victim. The
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fish then makes a second attack roll (at +2 to hit) in the same
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round to do 1-4 hp biting damage. It will subsequently circle and
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ram whenever it sees a chance. Should the fish miss its lunge, it
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cannot bite. A natural roll of 20 on a ram indicates the victim
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is stunned for 1-3 rounds, during which time the fish will
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automatically hit with its ram-and-bite routine twice per round
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(for a total of 4-16 hp damage per round, with no further chance
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of stunning until the victim recovers).
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These fish can be found in any warm, shallow ocean. They are
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fiercely territorial, each staking out an area of one square mile
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near a shipping lane and staying with it until prey no longer
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passes by. They come together only to mate; the male then leaves
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while the female carries the fertilized eggs in her body until
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they hatch. She then gives birth to up to 25 young that swim
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rapidly away to avoid being eaten by their parent. Young giant
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damselfish seem to gain their taste for human and demihuman flesh
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at adulthood, which is when the "damsel" fin is fully developed
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and the "fishing" instinct appears. (Sages speculate that an
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Arch-Mage or higher power was involved in their creation.) Adult
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giant damselfish are also highly aggressive and try to eat any
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creature that comes near them. While this ploy usually ensures a
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hearty meal of other fish, it's usually a disaster if the
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interesting creature is a shark.
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Damselfish do not collect treasure, though an occasional
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valuable item may be found in the stomach of a dead fish. Nor are
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these fish edible, being exceedingly tough and possessing a very
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strong taste. The one reason they are occasionally sought after
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is for their dorsal streamers, which can be used as a component
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in certain illusion/phantasm spells (any that use the fleece
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needed by a [phantasmal force] spell).>
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END FILE
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