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Discussion of aquatic creatures is going on in several threads. James is talking about revising the rules for aquatic creatures (and maybe aquatic adventuring?), and we're also talking about what monsters should go in the Pathfinder Bestiary.
And I was thinking that maybe the majority of the aquatic critters could be pulled out of the main bestiary and given a bestiary of their own. That would free up space for more standard adventuring beasts.
So let's pretend that we're James and crew, and were going make a Aquatic Monsters Revisited book. What creatures need to go into it?
10. Tritons
My least favorite of the non-evil aquatic races, Tritons seem to serve little purpose except to engage in the rather silly act of "riding" hippocampus. I think the Triton could use the most re-imagining. Rather than make them aquatic elf mermen with two fish tails for legs, I would make them the aquatic equivalent of humans, something closer to the Aventi from Stormwrack. Cast them in the role of Atlanteans in Marvel (and DC) comics: lawful, militant, and imperialistic. The Tritons form nations under the waves. Generally thought of as "good" by surface dwellers for their ability to keep sea lanes clear and safe, they are reviled as bigoted tyrants under the waves.
9. Sea Elves
Ditch the name "Aquatic Elves" which is weirdly scientific, and go with the alternative "Sea Elves." They're the surfers, perpetually living in the moment and following the current where it takes them, living in harmony with the sea and their allies the dolphins.
8. Lacedon
In the most treacherous reaches of the sea, there are graveyards of ships. The lacedons -- born of drowned sailors -- haunt these regions like their ghoul cousins haunt necropolis.
7. Koalinth
The tritons exact huge tributes from the sea going nations. The koalinth are the reason why. Savage and vicious, but supremely clever and well organized, the koalinth (aquatic hobgoblins) are pirates who strike from under the sea and send ships into the depths. They are kept in check primarily by the Triton armies, who scour the sea for their strongholds and destroy them.
6. Merrow
Dumb savages beasts, merrow are like sharks but meaner and dumber. Merrow follow vast circular routes, moving from feeding ground to feeding ground. Aquatic elves kill them on sight, and they avoid triton areas. They are frequently recruited by koalinth to provide muscle.
5. Merfolk
Merfolk are an obvious choice, but I'm not sure what to do with them. Something that splits the difference between the wild and carefree Sea Elves and the imperialistic Tritons. Sea farmers and city builders, they diplomacy to avoid falling under the control of the Tritons.
4. Scrag
Scrags make their home in kelp forests and sargassos, hunting in packs to take down large prey such as whales that wander to close to their hiding places. Other species avoid these dangerous waters.
3. Locathah
In the farthest reaches of the seas, locathah live as nomads, following the great schools of cod, halibut and tuna that fill the sea. But where the tritons rule, locathah are slaves, forced to perform menial labor for their triton masters.
2. Kraken
The ancient and mighty kraken control vast regions of the sea, exacting tribute from all who would live in what they know to be their seas. The kraken fills the role of dragon of the sea, ruling through fear and legend, and only occasionally rising up from their homes in the deepest trenches to remind new generations of their terrifying power.
1. Sahuagin
With the Kuo-Toa forever gone thanks to being WOTC's product identity, the Sahuagin are the perfect inheritors to the role of "Deep Ones," dwelling in the darkest pits of the sea, worshipping the kraken and things even more disturbing, and only occasionally rising up to terrorize the coasts.
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I'm running a sea-faring campaign currently. One of the things I hated about Stormwrack was the way that there were basically aquatic versions of elves, humans, and halflings.
So I decided if the humanoid was the basic form of life on land then the merfolk was the basic form of life under the sea.
So I made different tribes of merfolk with different philosophies and physical characteristics.
The Malenti- are elf-like in appearance and demeanor. They are guardians of the sea.
The Eadro- are the most numerous of the merfolk and are city builders. They are the standard merfolk seen in the monster manual.
The Darfellan- resemble killer whales and live a nomadic life as hunters.
The Aventi- most resemble humans in skin-tone and body style and are a noble warrior tribe.
The Sheol- are small, fast merfolk who dwell in small villages and around Eadro cities. They are the best farmers of the merfolk (like halflings).
This made the merfolk a much more interesting race to me. I also made spells from Stormwrack that let them adventure out of the sea a little easier to come by.
A load of cool stuff
Don't forget that we will probably want something suitably evil and Cthuloid to terrorise the deeps with :)
Huh...where did the rest of the posts go?
It appears there are two versions of this thread...why?
Could someone post a link to the other version of this thread? I couldn't find it.
Also, there was a good deal of previous discussion on the Pathfinder Bestiary Debate thread.