Warm Rivers and Lakes

Shoals of piranhas are voracious feeders, capable of stripping the flesh from the bones of large animals with astonishing speed. These fish have garnered a well-earned reputation in regions where they thrive, but while they are native to tropical rivers, many species of piranha are incredibly hearty. Collectors of exotic pets sometimes ship tanks of these carnivorous fish home, and some unscrupulous owners even put the fish to work disposing of unwanted bodies. When the authorities draw near, panicked criminals sometimes dump the fish into nearby rivers, inadvertently unleashing schools in waters woefully unprepared for their ravenous introduction!

Werecrocodiles merge the ruthless determination of a crocodile with the intelligence and adaptability of a humanoid. This fusion creates a maliciously cunning creature with no doubt of its own martial superiority.

Enigmatic lotus leshys are wise guardians of secluded ponds and lakes. They spend most of their time in meditation as lotus flowers, sometimes for decades at a time. Although lotus leshys spend most of their time floating in solitary ref lection, they do not shun the company of other creatures, and take humanoid form whenever they wish to speak. They find discussions of religion and philosophy particularly fascinating, and delight in fresh perspectives. Although they study deities of self-perfection and contemplation extensively, they do not revere such beings.  Lotus leshys speak indirectly rather than providing specific answers. They maintain that contemplation and discussion are far more valuable than concrete answers, whose usefulness is limited to the question at hand. In addition, they believe those who receive direct answers are more likely to blindly accept the words of others rather than thinking for themselves. When confronted with impatience, lotus leshys return to their lotus form rather than engaging further. They avoid combat whenever possible, preferring to calm tempers with their tranquil auras or lull violent creatures to sleep with their soporific pollen.  A typical lotus leshy stands 3 feet tall, and weighs 15 pounds.

Uraeuses are sacred river protectors that harry those who dare threaten their waterways. Far from simply territorial, these flying serpents keep their rivers safe for travelers and local communities as an act of devotion to their mother goddess. When a group of uraeuses is too small to handle a threat, they sometimes seek aid from adventurers whose names are well known along their waters. When not troubled by dangers near their nests, uraeuses often hunt dangerous prey such as river beasts grown to monstrous size. Uraeuses believe in just rule, and become infuriated by attempts to corrupt local leaders. In times of unusual danger, uraeuses may actively travel to a ruler’s side to warn that ruler against those who would lead her into folly.  Uraeuses accept offerings from any who live near or travel their rivers. In exchange, they teach allies how to use the river’s bounty and how to best serve society. Patience, industry, and a willingness to listen to others are among the qualities they seek to instill in those who ask their help. In addition, uraeuses are always vigilant in case a supplicant turns out to be a useful servant for their goddess.  Most uraeuses measure nearly 7 feet in length, have a wingspan of similar size, and weigh about 150 pounds. Despite being a two-headed creature, a uraeus speaks with a single voice that emanates from both heads at once.  
URAEUS ORACLE  
Uraeuses born with a special connection to their deity receive cryptic visions and warnings that allow them to protect their homes and discern others’ true intentions. Uraeus oracles can use augury and divination 1/day and commune 1/week, and they advance by taking levels of the oracle class.

Taniwhas are supernatural aquatic creatures that dwell within tropical lakes and rivers, preferably deep within remote jungles far from areas civilized by humanoids. Taniwhas claim these locations as their own, working to maintain the area’s natural purity and protect it from careless or evil interlopers who would defile the place. They especially hate poachers who hunt the jungles around their aquatic lairs and any who pollute the water.  Although taniwhas are ferocious looking, with their serpentine bodies and crocodilian heads, these river-dwelling creatures are actually quite friendly and often eager to befriend spellcasting creatures. Taniwhas adore magic and take great delight in “tasting” magic from other creatures. A spellcaster who lets a taniwha use its seize magic ability to enjoy the flavor of a stolen spell in this manner often finds that, for the minor cost of enduring the curse for a day, she can secure a lifelong friend.  With their ability to seize magic and their own inborn spell-like abilities and deadly bite attacks, taniwhas are more than capable of defending their lairs from most intruders, yet they prefer to rely upon fear rather than violence in securing their homes. It generally doesn’t take many uses of their fearful memory ability for taniwhas to seed a local populace with the notion that the area around their lairs is a dangerous one to trespass upon. While fear is often regarded as a cruel or negative emotion, to taniwhas it is a preferred alternative to violence in the safekeeping of their homes.  A typical taniwha is 15 feet long and weighs 900 pounds, although rumors abound of much larger specimens.  

When warm, humid nights in the jungle turn into jubilant celebrations, one can be sure that an encantado can be found nearby. These fey live on the fringes of humanoid societies. They are attracted to parties, and change form into attractive humanoids to infiltrate celebrations. Skilled musicians and dancers, encantados blend in to the festivities seamlessly. When encantados shapeshift, their blowholes are still present, so they usually wear hats or wigs, or arrange their hair into elaborate coiffures, to conceal this feature. When in dolphin form, encantados can still manipulate objects with their flippers as if the flippers were hands.  Many encantados are kind creatures who want only to celebrate joy, but others take their inclinations to inf luence others to an extreme, kidnapping the objects of their obsession and taking them away to their river dens. Some suffer from extreme narcissism.  Encantados often take levels in bard or druid, while some cruel encantados become enchanters or mesmerists.

Mokele-mbembes are large, reptilian predators that inhabit the hottest jungles, always close to lakes, rivers, or other large bodies of water. A mokele-mbembe’s long, whiplike tail accounts for half its length.  Although they resemble herbivorous dinosaurs, mokele-mbembes are cunning and territorial predators. They make their lairs in riverside caves, close to their food sources, where they can sun themselves after eating. Natural swimmers, mokele-mbembes have webbed feet, but their long legs enable them to move easily on land as well. They spend much of their time in the water, where they can relax and float or use their long necks to attack while submerged, favoring blind river bends to ambush prey. Mokele-mbembes require large quantities of food daily, and feed on fish, birds, and even large mammals— humanoids included. Hippopotamuses are a favorite prey, and mokele-mbembes attack them on sight. Battles between these two river giants are legendary among local tribes, whose shamans often see portents or prophecies in the outcomes.  An adult mokele-mbembe can grow up to 40 feet in length and weighs almost 10 tons. Males are only slightly longer and heavier than females.

Stranglereeds float motionless in calm lakes and rivers, waiting for prey to approach before lashing out with thick tendrils, grabbing their targets by the throat. Once the stranglereed has secured its prey, it pulls the victim beneath the surface of the water and directs the meal into it’s “mouth,” a submerged circular orifice ringed with gnashing barbs and thorns. Exceptionally voracious, the stranglereed never stops feeding, and in desperate times, the industrious plant can leave the water brief ly in order to hunt on land. These vicious plants may even chase slower prey if it breaks free of their tendrils, but fortunately, a stranglereed can spend only a limited amount of time out of water. Each stranglereed resembles a patch of normal reeds that covers a roughly circular 10-foot-diameter area, while its large, mawed central pod normally hides beneath the water’s surface. A stranglereed weighs 800 pounds.  A stranglereed reproduces by expelling seeds that float on air currents, much like dandelion fluff. Those that land on dry earth soon die or become meals for birds and other small animals, but those that land in water grow into full-sized stranglereed stalks within 1 month. A large body of water can be home to multiple stranglereeds, but only if the food supply can meet their demands.   

Originally from the primal world of the fey, an abaia protects lakes and their surroundings from exploitation, in particular by magic and overfishing. It favors waters with a mystical nature or supernatural properties. An abaia ignores creatures that take only what they need from the lake and otherwise show proper respect to the waters. Those that abuse an abaia’s lake risk capsized boats, floods, torrential rains, and even direct attacks. After sinking a vessel, an abaia searches the wreckage for magical treasure.

Lukwatas slip through dark tropical waters, preying upon all who dare enter their deep jungle rivers and pools, including beasts typically considered apex predators. While scholars say the beasts favor the dark, light doesn’t deter them in their relentless pursuit of prey. Their long, flat bodies are reminiscent of those of dolphins or large fish, but lukwatas’ heads are distinctively eel-like. A lukwata’s unusual ability to disrupt magical effects rises from the strange crystalline growths that line its throat and stomach—crystals that allow the lukwata to gain nutrients from magical items as efficiently as from flesh and blood. These same growths give the lukwata an unusually strong resistance to all manner of magic attacks. Lukwatas hate crocodiles, their chief predatory rivals, and attack them on sight, even if the lukwata has recently fed. Most crocodilians are not large enough to pose a significant threat; however, some accounts exist of lukwatas and dire crocodiles crossing paths. These fights are renowned for inflicting great destruction, with the embattled creatures smashing to bits piers, flotillas, and even dams in their fury. A lukwata is 20 feet long and weighs 4,000 pounds.

Legends claim that the grootslang is a primordial creature as old as the world itself. Such tales state that in those ancient days, the gods—new to the crafting of things— made a terrible mistake in the grootslang’s creation, for they gave it tremendous strength, cunning, and intellect. Upon realizing their mistake, the gods split the grootslang into separate creatures and thus created the first elephants and the first snakes. But one of the original grootslangs escaped, and from this first sire all other grootslangs were born. Scholars debate the veracity of such stories, and have looked to either biological or magical explanations of the creature’s origins, but nevertheless bards and sages alike agree that the grootslang’s fearsome reputation is well deserved. A grootslang’s thick, leathery hide has a metallic sheen and a dull copper color, shot through with thin veins of green. Both males and females grow to a length of 60 feet and stand 20 feet tall. Little differentiation exists between sexes save for a lighter green hue to the female’s hide. Grootslangs can weigh 20 tons and live up to 500 years. All grootslangs covet gems, particularly diamonds, and despite the creatures’ lust for cruelty, victims can often bargain for their freedom by offering a grootslang enough precious gems.