Part 8 – Mundane Amphibians and Fish

EOGYRIN

(Eogyrinus palophilus)

Bite 8W+2, Leathery Hide +2, Ambush 5W, Large 5W, Spot Prey 5W, Strong 10W

Distribution: Slon

Habitat: Swamp

In southern Porlaso the swamp-dwelling dinosaurs mingle with a variety of giant carnivorous amphibians which prey upon local fish and invertebrates. Largest of all is the eogyrin, a fifteen foot long crocodile-like creature with smooth, glistening, green skin and a long fin on its back. Although its head is shorter than that of a true crocodile, the eogyrin can still deliver a fearsome bite. They rarely surface from beneath the murky water, except briefly to breathe or to pounce upon an occasional passing surface creature. Living so far south, they have not developed enough experience of humans to show any fear of them.

Image: Eogyrin

Eryop
(Eryops australis)

Bite 2W+2, Leathery Hide +1, Ambush 5W, Large 15, Spot Prey 5W, Strong 2W

Distribution: Slon

Habitat: Swamp

A bulky brown-skinned creature, similar to an eogyrin but only half as long, an eyrop is an aggressive carnivore, but attacks land-based creatures less frequently than its larger counterpart.

Image: Eryop

Diadect
(Diadectes filiphagus)

Bite 8W+2, Leathery Hide +2, Ambush 5W, Large 5W, Spot Prey 5W, Strong 5W

Distribution: Slon

Habitat: Swamp

A warty, greenish-brown lizard-like creature, the diadect looks every bit as dangerous as the other great amphibians of the region, especially given its ten foot length. In reality, it is a peaceful herbivore of low intelligence, although it will bite if provoked.

Image: Diadect

BARRACUDA, GREAT

(Sphyraena barracuda)

Bite 12W+3, Thick Skin +2, Large 8W, Spot Prey 5W, Strong 10W, Swim Fast 12W

Distribution: Marthino and Sshorg Seas

Habitat: Coastal waters

The largest of the species of barracuda, and the only one dangerous to man, these children of Golod pledged their loyalty to Tsankth in return for the right to eat the bodies of his foes. While the young may often be found in shoals, the adults are solitary. They hunt by sight, and are inquisitive enough that they will often approach boats or other strange objects. While some of the peoples of the East Isles hunt the smaller relatives of this fish for food, adult great barracuda are not very edible and are most commonly seen when summoned by followers of Tsankth.

Image: Great Barracuda

DRAGONFISH, GREAT

(Idiacanthus rex)

Bite 8W2+4, Thick Skin +4, Agile 18, Large 2W2, See in Dim Light 18W, Strong 12W2

Distribution: Worldwide

Habitat: Offshore

The natural habitat of these creatures is the lightless depths, but the Waertagi are known to summon them and harness them to their ships, using magic to control them so that they provide an additional means of propulsion during times of low wind. They are great eel-like creatures, fifty feet or so in length, with scaleless, velvety black skin studded with phosphorescent glands. Their mouths are large and filled with an array of needle-like teeth, each nearly a foot in length. A long barbel dangles from the chin like a narrow beard, which only adds to their bizarre appearance. Only the females are used to pull ships; the males are smaller (Strong 5W2, Large and Bite 2W2 each) and of less practical use. As a result, the captive females must return to deep water to breed, and the waertagi are careful to release them from time to time and obtain replacements. Great dragonfishes are exclusively carnivorous, and feed on almost any creature that comes within range.

ELECTRIC EEL

(Electrophorus electricus)

Stun 2W, Dodge Attack 2W, Hunt Prey 5W

Habitat: Rivers

Electric eels are carnivorous freshwater fish up to about six feet in length. They use powerful electrical pulses to stun smaller fish which they can then swallow with their toothless mouth. When alarmed, the eel can also use its discharge defensively, and will successfully repel most predators.

OARFISH

(Regalecus glesne)

Bite 10W+2, Thick Skin +2, Agile 18, Large 10W, Spot Prey 5W, Strong 15W

Distribution: Worldwide

Habitat: Offshore waters

These great fish dwell only in the open seas, far from the shore, where they eat fish, squid and other marine animals. Physically, they somewhat resemble a small sea serpent, but can be distinguished by their pug-faces, blue skin and brilliant scarlet fins. Typically they are twenty five feet or so in length, and possess the abilities described above, but individuals up to twice this size (Large and Bite 2W2 each, Strong 5W2) also exist. Normally dwelling from 50 to 600 feet beneath the waves, they sometimes come to the surface at night, or when magically summoned by mermen. Ysabbau have been known to tame the creatures and use them as beasts of burden.

PIRANHA

Bite 15, Sense Blood 12W, Small 12

Distribution: Fonrit, Errinoru, Kothar

Habitat: Fresh water

Piranhas are large fresh-water fish, about two feet in length, that live in tropical rivers and which normally eat aquatic plants and other fish. They are not so dangerous as is commonly supposed, but can be driven into a feeding frenzy by the taste of blood in the water. A human or large animal which enters piranha-infested water is normally safe unless it is bleeding, but the fish can prove aggresive in defence of their spawning sites, so that one or two piranhas may take small nips from the intruder, causing him to bleed into the water with dire consequences.
Individual piranha are not a serious threat to a human-sized animal, but shoals of dozens of frenzied fish are a different matter. Such shoals should be treated as single opponent for combat purposes, although they may divide their APs between a number of opponents. A shoal would typically have 40 APs and a Bite ability of 15. Only when the entire shoal has been reduced to 0 APs will the creatures have been defeated; until then, feel free to describe more individuals rushing to join the attack as necessary. If an animal or human is overcome by the piranhas, they will reduce his body to a skeleton in a matter of minutes.

PLACODERM, GREAT TIGER

(Dunkleosteus interfector)

Bite 15W2+5, Bony Armour +6, Ambush 2W, Large 18W2, Scent Prey 8W, Strong 18W2

Distribution: Togaro Ocean

Habitat: Coastal waters

Placoderms are armoured, carnivorous fish found in the Togaro Ocean. Many are small, only eight inches or so in length, but a few species are man-sized or larger. Largest of all is the great tiger placoderm, so named for the black stripes on its tan coloured hindbody and tail. At sixty feet or more in length, this monster is perhaps the largest natural predator of the Gloranthan seas, at least above the lightless depths. The great bony armour plates on its head and forebody make it clumsier than a shark, but at the same time mean that it needs fear no natural creature. A hinge separates the armour of the head from that of the body, so that it is more flexible than it appears at first sight, but even so, it does not move rapidly and spends much time near the bottom of shallow seas. Instead of teeth it has wide, shearing plates set into its mouth which can slice through all but the toughest of hides. It survives by eating sharks, small whales and marine reptiles. Unless magically coerced – thankfully an unusual event – it will generally ignore ships, identifying them as largely inedible.

SEAHORSE, GIANT

(Hippocampus caballus)

Dodge Attack 18, Bony Armour +4, Forage 5W, Large 2W, Spot Predator 5W, Strong 8W, Swim Long Distance 10W

Distribution: Worldwide, except the Hudaro and Togaro oceans.

Habitat: Coastal waters

Unlike the hippocampus, the seahorse is a true fish, albeit with a horse-like head and a long prehensile tail. Giant seahorses are large animals, and have been domesticated by both the ludoch and the malasps as beasts of burden. They eat smaller fish, which they are able to suck into their tubular snouts. They are not particularly fast animals, being prized by mermen for their strength and stamina, not their speed, but have thick bony armour beneath their skin that helps defend against attack. After mating, the male seahorse carries the eggs in a brood pouch on his abdomen, from which the young eventually swim.

SHARK, GREAT WHITE

(Carcharadon carcharius)

Bite 18W+4, Tough Skin +5, Large 2W2, Scent Blood 18W, Strong 18W, Swim Fast 15W

Distribution: Rozgali, Sshorg and Marthino Seas, Homeward Ocean

Habitat: Salt water

One of the largest and most dangerous of fish, great white sharks are often twenty five feet or more in length. A great white will attack any living thing that is large enough to make a meal, but will be driven into a violent frenzy by the taste of blood in the water, even at a distance of up to half a mile away. Their most common prey are seals, dolphins and smaller sharks. These sharks attack with repeated lunges, and try to bite great chunks of flesh from their victims, so that they rapidly bleed to death.

Image: Great white shark

Smaller Sharks

Bite 10W+3, Tough Skin +4, Large 12W, Scent Blood 18W, Strong 10W, Swim Fast 15W

Distribution: Worldwide

Habitat: Salt water

While the great white is the largest of their kind, many smaller varieties of shark also exist. Sharks are found in all oceans of Glorantha, although they are more common further south, and those dangerous to humans or mermen include such varieties as the lemon shark, mako shark and hammerhead.

STING RAY

(Dasyatis marthino)

Sting 2W, Ambush 8W, Dodge Attack 18, Hide 10W

Venom: Debilitating, Lethal, Potency 18

Distribution: Sshorg, Dashomo and Togaro seas.

Habitat: Coastal waters

Sting rays are slate-grey tropical fish with a flattened, diamond-shaped body and a whip-like tail. They live on the bottom of shallow seas, and spend much of their time partially concealed beneath sand or silt. When a suitable prey fish passes by, the sting ray erupts from the sand and snaps at it with its jaws. A sharp spine is located near the base of the tail, and can inject venom into a predator which attempts to eat the fish. A fresh water species lives in the rivers and lakes of Errinoru and Kothar, and is essentially identical to its salt water cousin apart from the distinctive black-ringed yellow spots on its brown body. If the sting ray is disturbed, for example by a human swimmer, it can whip its tail about and use the sting defensively. The venom can cause intense pain in the victim, although it only occasionally proves fatal to humans.

Image: Sting ray