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Aquatic Creatures

Dolphins

Ages: Storm, Historical.
Distribution: All seas except the Hudaro Ocean, Neliomi Sea, and Keniryan Sea.
Habitat: Coastal waters.

Dolphins are friendly sea mammals. They usually eat fish living near the surface, such as herring and anchovies, but occasionally dive into deeper waters. They live in schools of at least ten, and sometimes several hundred, individuals. They are energetic and exuberant, and often leap into the air, slap the water with their tails and even perform spontaneous acrobatics.

Common Dolphin (Alfinus)
Weapons and Armor: Bite 12^1, Blubber ^1.
Significant Abilities: Acrobatics 18, Cunning 15, Dive 18, Hunt by Sonar 2w, Inquisitive 15, Leap 15, Swim Fast 2w.
Tactics: Dolphins generally do not threaten humans or mermen, and so are dangerous only to fish. Some ludoch train dolphins to fight against malasps and other dangerous aquatic creatures, which they will bite.

Alfinus, or common dolphins, have variable coloration, including streaks of yellow and black down the flanks, with a dark back and white underside. They live throughout the seas, avoiding only colder climes, but prefer to remain at a distance from shore. They are often associated with ludoch, sometimes cooperating on hunts, but are not domesticated.

Alfinus was a child of Tholaina. He and his kin served as scouts in the Sea Gods' struggle against Orlanth.

Porpoise (Deregia)
Phocoena phocoena
Ages: Storm, Historical.
Distribution: Kahar Sea, Rozgali Sea, Solkathi Sea.
Habitat: Coastal waters.
Distinct Abilities: Cunning 2w, Leap 10.

Porpoises live in pods of two to five individuals. They are friendly to the ludoch, and serve those mermen in much the same way that dogs aid humans in hunting and guarding. Unlike dolphins, they rarely leap out of the water. Because they are not children of Tholaina, porpoises are included among the 'false whales.'

The Deregia were originally human beings. They were good and kind, and so all other peoples victimized them terribly during the Gods War. They retreated to an isolated island and lived in peace until it began sinking beneath a raging flood. They prayed to their god Deregos for help, and he turned them all into porpoises. They avoid humans, whom they still distrust.

Hippocampus (Sea Horse)

Hippocampi swim in the seas around Genertela and Vormain, except in the coldest waters. They have the forequarters, head, and forelimbs of horses, but the hindquarters and tails of dolphins. They lack hooves; their two feet end in flexible flippers that aid swimming. They have as wide a range of colors as horses, with the tail having the same color as the remainder of the body.

Hippocampi are peaceful herbivores, and usually graze on seaweed. Many ludoch domesticate them as beasts of burden; noble ludoch often ride "chariots" drawn by pairs of hippocampi. In the wild, hippocampi travel in herds of up to a dozen individuals. They are mammals, and must breath air at least once an hour.

Once Hereva, a triton, sought to bring shame to the rebellious Dry Gods by seducing one of their goddesses. She took the form of a horse to avoid him, but he caught her anyways. The goddess later sent her children to their father, and they were the first hippocampi. Hereva defended them against the crusade of Dababa, the Orca, who was created to cleanse the seas of such False Whales. The race swore allegiance to the sea gods exclusively, but Hereva and Dababa are still angry.

Hippocampus
Weapons and Armor: Blubber and Hide ^2, Tail Slap 12^0.
Significant Abilities: Hear Noise 15, Large 5w, Leap From Water 18, Strong 2w, Swim Fast 2w.
Tactics: Hippocampi usually flee from combat, but will slap at a target with their tail if cornered or the threat appears minor. A particularly enraged hippocampus might bite or kick with its flippers.

Murthoi (Blue Elf)

Also known as blue elves, murthoi are small (four foot long) magenta beings with webbed fingers, long kelp-like hair, and an eel-like tail instead of hind legs. There are three species of true murthoi, plus a smaller related semi-intelligent species known as murthlings. They dry out quickly above water, and so any contact with land creatures is difficult. One species lives in fresh water, primarily in large lakes, although sometimes also in wide rivers and coastal (salt) waters.

Like true elves, murthoi are sentient and mobile plants, and have an instinctive understanding of the great seaweed forests they tend. This Elfsense takes a -5 penalty when used on a land plant instead of a sea plant. Murthoi cooperate with land elves when the two races meet, but such occasions are rare, for murthoi suffocate if taken from the water. Murthoi speak their own tongue, which is very close to the language spoken by land elves.

All species of murthoi have a surprisingly complex society. In two of the species there are four 'sexes,' each of which has different social roles. One of the two saltwater species is hermaphroditic, and uses unknown means to determine the roles of its individual members. Humans find it difficult to tell the different species apart.

The murthoi have grown in Glorantha's seas and shallows since the first land rose. They are the descendants of Murthdrya, Sramake, and Sharthu, the "Stirring Warmth."

Typical Murthoi Plant Tender
Innate Abilities: Dehydrate Easily 15, Elfsense 14, Hide in Cover 18, Nimble 12, Small 12, Speak Aldryami 10, Swim Fast 18, Swim without Trace 14.
Typical Abilities: Close Combat 15, Command Murthlings 17, Dodge Attack 1w, Elfsense 2w, Hide in Cover 1w, Know Local Area 17, Know Local Sealife 13, Know Sea Plants 5w, Murthdrya Tradition Knowledge 17, Murthoi Culture 13, Nimble 18, Ranged Combat 13, Swim without Trace 17, Tend Sea Plants 5w.
Typical Weapons and Armor: Fish-hide Armor ^1, Lancet ^3, Sea-dart ^1.
Tactics: Blue elves attack from cover, darting out to attack and then q uickly darting back. They specialize in healing and avoidance magic, and use these frequently in combat. Their favored weapons are long two-handed lancets made from a bamboo-like water plant and small, spiny darts that they fling at intruders from the safety of the weeds.

Narwhal (Campchurch, Erengus, Sea Unicorn)

Narwhals are mottled gray and white whales about the size horses. The spiral 'horn' projecting through their upper lip easily identifies males and females both. As creatures that regularly travel into the Outer World, they are inherently magical, and have several innate magical abilities that act like spells. Except for those abilities that defend the narwhal itself, all of the magical abilities are focused through the narwhal's horn, and require that it touch the target with its horn to work. Some humans us narwhal horns as magical charms. Narwhals only occasionally travel as far south as Ygg's Islands.

Narwhals, like unicorns, often possess additional magical abilities. A narwhal's Narwhal Law ability works identically to the similar ability possessed by a unicorn (see page 77 of Anaxial's Roster). Sample effects appear below.

In the Storm Age, Dolanala the Great Fish approached Sorza the Monoceros, for she needed help to resist her foes. Sorza stirred the sea with its horn and out from the whirlpool swam Erengus, the Narwhal. With its magic it helped reassert a balance in the sea. Interestingly, the orca do not consider narwhals to be 'false swimmers,' despite their origin.

Narwhal
Weapons and Armor: Blubber ^5, Fencing 15^3.
Significant Abilities: Dive 18, Hunt by Sonar 1w, Inquisitive 15, Large 15w, Leap 15, Strong 10w, Swim Fast 12.
Innate Magical Abilities: Resist Cold 8w, Resist Magic 2w.
Sample Narwhal Effects: Control Waves, Create Whirlpool, Flickering Horn, Heal Narwhal, Neutralize Animist Magic, Neutralize Theist Magic, Summon Undine, Swim Unseen.
Tactics: Narwhals are not violent, and seek to avoid combat unless an opponent is obviously unnatural or chaotic or attacks them first. Although they can fence with their long horns, and often do so playfully amongst themselves, they prefer to engage true foes magically. Often, one narwhal creates a barrier of swirling waves to protect valuable healers or the young. Then, others rush forward and augment their fencing attacks, neutralize any magic used by the opposition, or use their own effects to attack from a distance.

Orca (Dababa, Killer Whale)

Orca, with their distinctive black and white markings, patrol all the seas of the Inner World, but are most common close to Valind's Glacier and in the Neliomi Sea. They will eat almost any large sea-life, such as fish, squid, seals, and dolphins, but normally avoid humans or mermen. A few orca aid the ludoch in warfare, and will attack almost any enemy at which their allies direct them. Orca live in pods of between three and two dozen individuals, including calves.

Dababa is a son of Tholaina, born to protect the seas from Orlanth and to destroy the 'False Swimmers.' He and his sons assaulted Orlanth's forward camp at the Descending Air Pocket and drove the storm gods out of the sea world. He and his sons hunt the False Swimmers through the oceans, to the extent that they have almost completely cleared them from the Neliomi Sea, Dababa's personal home.

Orca
Weapons and Armor: Bite ^3, Blubber ^6.
Significant Abilities: Close Combat 12w, Dive 18, Hunt by Sonar 18, Inquisitive 15, Large 2w2, Leap 15, Strong 15w, Swim Fast 18.
Tactics: Orca are as intelligent as mermen, often learn magic from them, but they have nothing that approximates a culture. Pods hunt cooperatively, with the pod leader adding his fellows' AP to his own. When alone, an orca will bite at its foe's soft parts, and will augment its physical attacks with any magic it knows.

Seals

Hooded seals are a typical species of seal. They have dark gray bodies with black markings, and live in the northern waters of Kahar's Sea. They eat bottom dwelling and shallow water fish, and are less hostile than many seals. The sea-faring Uz of Koromandol sometimes hunt them for meat.

Jarra was a kinsman of the sea god Sarono, and he invaded the land to help his sister. When the Sarono became an inland sea, Jarra developed a close friendship with the sentient beings nearby. He has maintained those ties, and is worshipped by eastern peoples who seek a guide in the oceanic Spirit World.

Leopard Seal (Follun Seal)
Hydrurga leptonyx
Ages: Storm, Darkness, Historical.
Distribution: Keniryan Sea.
Habitat: Coastal waters, pack ice.
Base stats: See Hooded Seal above.
Weapons and Armor: Bite 5w^2, Blubber ^3.
Distinct Abilities: Pounce 15.
Tactics: Like all seals, leopard seals hunt mostly underwater. However, they will leap out at their prey from beneath the water, catching them by surprise. When attacked on land, they flee to water.

Leopard seals hunt fish and smaller seals from the ice floes in the Keniryan Sea. Their name comes from the spotted pattern of their hide. Once a year, they congregate on isolated islands and the edge of Valind's Glacier to mate and to give birth to the young conceived in the previous year. The pups are fluffy, but the adults' ferociousness ensures that few will hunt them.

Leopard seals were originally fully aquatic. They fielded one of the great armies in the Second Submarine War, but were so decimated in the Third that their ancestress Folla turned them into seals so they could escape onto the floating ice. Their range was much greater in the Gods War, but they were exterminated everywhere except in the Keniryan Sea.

Tholaina Seal
Erignathus tholaina
Ages: Storm, Darkness, Historical.
Distribution: Hudaro Ocean, Neliomi Sea, Kahar Sea.
Habitat: Coastal waters, pack ice.
Base stats: See Hooded Seal above.
Innate Magical Abilities: Endure Cold 2w, Resist Magic 18.
Tholaina seals live in the Hudaro and Neliomi Sea along the entire western edge of the Glacier. They have bluish pelts that are especially bright in the pups, and which are highly valued in Loskalm. Fortunately, the Ygg's Islanders consider them sacred and ouori warriors protect their breeding grounds, so approach by hunting bands is difficult.

In the Gods War, the Sea Gods tried to bear children who could invade the land. Most attempts failed, but Tholaina suggested this one, and bore it with the proper parents to ensure success. Although it failed as an invading animal, it did have the powers to survive the Ice Age.

Snagarl (Sea Wolf)

Snagarl are vicious carnivores with the forequarters of wolves and the hindquarters of sharks. Unlike land wolves, they are solitary hunters, although they sometimes hunt in packs of up to four individuals. They display considerable cunning, avoiding clearly superior foes unless desperately hungry. They eat a variety of fish, and swim in most Gloranthan oceans, although they are more common in the east. Snagarl must breathe air at least once per hour.

Snagarl are often tamed by malasps, some groups of which have even have created special breeds. Such breeds specialize in a particular attribute, such as greater strength. The malasps generally use snagarl as hunting or war beasts; where malasps are common, snagarl are far more likely to be encountered with them than on their own.

The snagarl were born in the Darkness when a pack of wolves fought a school of sharks in an atmosphere that was equally wet and dry. The losers agreed to bear the children of the winners, and these animals were the result.

Snagarl
Weapons and Armor: Claw and Bite 18^1, Fur and Tough Hide ^1.
Significant Abilities: Agile 15, Ambush 15, Scent Prey Above Water 2w, Track by Taste 18.
Tactics: Snagarl pounce on their targets from ambush, augmenting their Bite attack with their Ambush ability. They sometimes leap from the water to grab a seal sunning itself on a rock, grabbing the animal in their jaws and dragging them underwater. Note that they cannot use their Scent Prey ability underwater.

Snagarl attack with a bite to the fins, tail, or other exposed parts of an animal, attempting to cripple it so that they can close for the kill. Although they will use their claws in defense, they rarely attack prey or foes with them.