Wanted: Sea Monster Sighting Reports!

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Sure! And even if the actual leopard seal doesn't fit so well (aren't they restricted to Antarctic waters?), sea stalkers could employ a similar gruesome killing technique.

For that matter, I think I've seen a reference to "dread selkies" on some monster-list from a book or article or netbook. Perhaps Ravenloft's selkies transform into ferocious carnivores like leopard seals, not the usual smaller, fish-eating species in selkie folklore.

[NeoTiamat]

With general permission, I think I'd like to lay claim to Sea Stalkers / Sea Wolves. The idea of vicious, intelligent predators is something I find attractive.

To refurbish the list until Rotipher gives us an official 'Master' list:

Reavers
Remnants
Jolly Rogers
Wererays
Sea stalkers (NeoTiamat)
Weresharks
Kelpies (Deep Shadow)
Undead Mermaids

I'd also add

Sea Spawn
Soul Krakens

I'm not sure if Reavers fall into the 'civilized' category or not. They were lumped with Sahuagin and Kuo-Toa in the 'Deep Kin' article of years gone by, but they're assuredly the most brutal and primitive of the three.

I also recall were-Orcas from some netbook. A general section on aquatic lycanthropes might be a good idea (Sea Stalkers held seperately).

[Undead Cabbage]

My my Sharon, you're at it again. You never do stop now, do you?

Well if it's going to be anything like the Guide to Doppelgangers, I think we can expect something strikingly pinnacle from you Roti. I do enjoy what you're doing: making an accompanying VR guide for every Gazetteer.

I'm afraid I might have to stay out of this one though. Reasons being the usual: school, work, life, and other such things that are the bane of any netbook writer.

Not to mention another project I've embarked upon despite my own interests at heart

Although I must ask: do the Illithid's (otherwise known as Lovecraft in Ravenloft) count as part of it, or are they on hold until Bluetspur?

[Jakob]

Hmmm...
I honestly would like to make something of a monster I really enjoyed, taken from Stormwrack: the Caller from the Deep.
Oh, what about the seawolf in Stormwrack? It occupies more or less the stalker's niche.

For all the seal-lovers: official stats for seals are in Frostburn.

[Isabella]

Sure! And even if the actual leopard seal doesn't fit so well (aren't they restricted to Antarctic waters?), sea stalkers could employ a similar gruesome killing technique.

For that matter, I think I've seen a reference to "dread selkies" on some monster-list from a book or article or netbook. Perhaps Ravenloft's selkies transform into ferocious carnivores like leopard seals, not the usual smaller, fish-eating species in selkie folklore.

Bah, I don't see why a campaign setting that has Markovia right next to Lamordia should worry about ambient water temperatures.

Dread selkies are a good idea if you wanted to keep Sea Stalkers as they were but I'm not sure where they'd hang out. Graben, maybe? Tepest is too far inland.

[Undead Cabbage]

Tepest is too far inland.

You can certainly say that again.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Hey, Cabby's back! Great to see you're still checking up on the forums, Nicholas ... even if you have too much of a real life right now to write and/or draw stuff with the rest of us, this time around.

Although I must ask: do the Illithid's (otherwise known as Lovecraft in Ravenloft) count as part of it, or are they on hold until Bluetspur?

At the very least, illithids will have to wait. There's a lot of places far less alien than Bluetspur that the FoS Surveys will be addressing before that one, and a netbook on illithids (with or without other aberrations in tow) probably ought to wait until we know what the deal is with them in 4E. (Evidently, they won't be in the first MM.) Plus, we'd need someone who knows more about psionics than I do to head up such a project.

So if you see me mention an "illithid netbook" in other posts, it's just me teasing alhoon or other mind-flayer fans, not an actual plan for a book.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Dread selkies are a good idea if you wanted to keep Sea Stalkers as they were but I'm not sure where they'd hang out. Graben, maybe? Tepest is too far inland.

Graben Island is good. So is Liffe, or even Vechor if they're derived from warm-water seal species. Also, some Sea of Sorrows locales would be suitable, not to mention the coastlines.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Oh, what about the seawolf in Stormwrack? It occupies more or less the stalker's niche.

Actually, I think they may be two different authors' conversions of the same 2E-era monster. "Seawolf" is its original name, but I'll leave it up to Mikhail to decide which stat(s) to go with.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

I also recall were-Orcas from some netbook. A general section on aquatic lycanthropes might be a good idea (Sea Stalkers held seperately).

Yes, that's a good topic to lump together. It might even have room for a new lycanthrope phenotype or two, that got tossed around as possibilities early in the NS Gaz project, but were never written up.

[NeoTiamat]

Hmm.... choosing which set of stats to use will be a pain, although creating a third set would probably only add to the confusion. Pity.

Still, the Seawolves (or sea stalkers or were-seals or whatever you want to call them) will be very interesting to write up.

Fun fact: In 2003 a leopard seal actually killed a marine biologist. Think seals aren't dangerous? This is going to be fuuuuuuuun

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Okay, here's what I've combed from various Ravenloft and other 3.5 products, as well as QtR9, that might be suitable for the netbook. I've grouped them loosely for the benefit of folks who don't have access to all the sources, so people can tell what sorts of creatures are available; none of the groupings is fixed, at this stage, though I've suggested some possible chapter-topics below.

Note that this list isn't comprehensive -- I didn't have time to check all my game references or netbook files -- and that creatures nobody takes an interest in could simply be left out. (Even Rudolph Van Richten overlooked a few things in his studies. ) If folks have additional ideas that might fit, feel free to suggest them as well.

I left out the sahuagin, kuo-toa and skum as products of more orderly cultures, and locathah, merfolk, tritons and sea elves because they aren't "monstrous" enough for a monster-book.


Sea stalkers/seawolves: These can share a chapter, if they're not in fact the same species under different names. (NeoTiamat)

Sea spawn: Probably the most interesting marine monster unique to the Ravenloft setting, this can certainly carry a chapter by itself. (DeepShadow/Nathan)

Marine lycanthropes: Ray, shark & orca phenotypes, plus new ones. (Eel?)

Kraken/soul-kraken: The soul-kraken might just be an undead or cursed version of the regular one. (Aboleth could be hinted at here, although a full treatment of them should probably wait for an "aberrations" book.) (Nathan?)

Unnatural beasts: Wight whales ( ), skeletal sharks, aquatic ghost brutes, malasynep (Frostburn), etc. These could be given a (short) chapter of their own, or just a sidebar here and there whenever appropriate. (Malasynep - Jakob?)

Marine undead (generic): Bowlyns, jolly rogers, lacedons, sea zombies, and aquatic remnants could all fit here, plus the mermaids from Death Undaunted and possibly new variants. (Jolly roger - cure)

Marine undead (template): Sea of Sorrows vampire (as per CotN:V), Nocturnal Sea vampire (aka Mystara's "velya"), sea zombie lord, lacedon lord. Sea vampire spawn for the SoS strain could also appear here.

Marine fey: Drownling, dread sirine, kelpie, corrupted nerieds & nixies. (Kelpies - DeepShadow)

Reavers: Nomadic bands and their habits. If they have civilized relatives, we'll leave such settled reavers for another netbook.

Scrags/merrows/vodyanoi (umber hulk version, not Frostburn's): All of these have had at least a brief appearance in Ravenloft modules or domain descriptions, so should rate at least a sidebar, or perhaps share a chapter on big, brute-force undersea thugs.

Will o' sea/blackskate/caller from the deeps: Not related, but they're all extremely weird creatures that might not carry a chapter by themselves, so it might be better to group them together under a "spooky mysteries" theme. (Caller from the deeps - Jakob)

Kopru/morkoth: Creepy, mind-affecting deepwater critters. Perhaps these could be presented in the same chapter, or share a chapter with sea spawn. (Nathan)

Dragon eel/sea drake: Yes, people say dragons don't fit Ravenloft. But these guys might, as they're pretty classic "sea serpent" archetypes. Possibly the dragon turtle could go here, if presented spookily/mysteriously enough; 'Aggie' from Forlorn and the avanc could both rate a mention, as could the Arden Bay sightings of a sea serpent. (DwarfPcFan)

Dread selkies: These could have a short chapter of their own, or could appear alongside sea stalkers or lycanthropes, if the in-character authors don't know the difference. (Isabella)

Langoir (QtR9), giant starfish (Ship of Horrors), hammerclaw (Stormwrack) : A chapter on deadly, vicious sea-beasts would give DMs more ammunition for maritime adventures, as well as giving these guys a place in the netbook. Still, we need more big, dumb, hungry sea monsters ... suggestions, anybody?

Scyllan: Took another look, and this thing could actually work well in Ravenloft, as a rare aquatic fiend ... especially if its reality wrinkle enhances its ability to trap ships.


So, there's the preliminary list, very much subject to change. Depending on the critter, it might require anywhere from a half-page sidebar to a full "Dragon Ecologies"-style natural history description, or perhaps a bit more. Keep that in mind, when you choose: if you're not sure you'll have much time to write, pick something that's big and dumb and quick to describe! Or if you've made something up IYC that might be suitable, e-mail me a synopsis and we'll see about fitting it in ... in fact, Nathan's already done that, for one brand new monster!

[NeoTiamat]

List is big and complex and will take a bit for me to digest, but off the top of my head you could add Dragon Turtles to it.

They're big, mean, hungry, and relatively easy to describe. Good 'classic' sea monsters. You could probably add them in with the sea drakes and dragon eels and title it "Sea Monsters" or some such.

Still going to do Seawolves, so you can write me in for those critters.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Written in, as requested! DeepShadow, too.


I'm not sure if dragon turtles would work as well as snaky-looking sea drakes, to be honest. They certainly qualify as "big and hungry", but they're not actually that creepy when you think about it: IME they're straight-up fantasy creatures, not horror/fantasy creatures.

[NeoTiamat]

Well, Dragon Turtles may not be creepy off-hand, but their habit of capsizing ships by appearing under them is certainly extremely frightning.

Can you imagine something creepier then finding the ship suddenly start shaking beneath you, as the turtle repeatedly tries to surface beneath the ship. Then a sailor falls overboard due to the vicious shaking, and it stops, while the poor man screams piteously as his mates try and get a rope to him, only for a lightning-fast flash of jaws to appear and a few severed limbs and blood is all that remains.

Then the shaking starts again....

Nautical horror adventures are essentially about isolation, being alone on a tiny ship while a whole, vast, hostile world is out there. The sea is not your friend. The big sea monsters, krakens and sea serpents and dragon turtles and what not, challenge that by pointing out that your shelter itself isn't safe. That you're really, truly helpless.

Eh, no then no. I'm working on wolf-headed seals, so who am I to judge?