| Climate/Terrain: | Subtropical and tropical/Saltwater swamps and rivers |
|---|---|
| Frequency: | Very rare to common |
| Organization: | None |
| Activity Cycle: | Day |
| Diet: | Carnivore |
| Intelligence: | Animal (1) |
| Treasure: | Nil |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| No. Appearing: | 1-2 |
| Armor Class: | 4 |
| Movement: | Sw 18 |
| Hit Dice: | 14 |
| THAC0: | 7 |
| No. of Attacks: | 1 (bite) |
| Damage/Attack: | 7-28 |
| Special Attacks: | Swallow whole |
| Special Defenses: | Nil |
| Magic Resistance: | Nil |
| Size: | G (60') |
| Morale: | Steady (11) |
| XP Value: | 8,000 |
Of the seven sea serpents Heuvelmans describes, the Marine saurian is the only one that is definitely a reptile. Generally, it looks like a giant crocodile about 60' long, with either flippers instead of legs or legs with webbed feet. The eyes are prominent, and, in some cases, its tail may end in a fishlike fin. Its grayish or reddish brown skin looks smooth, but scales still remain in some places, forming rings around the body and creating a slight dorsal crest. It is found all over the tropics, and prefers the open sea to the coast.
Given the varying descriptions, more than one species of animal could be involved here. Those with flippers could well be mosasaurs (detailed in MC3) though they could just as easily be plesiosaurs (short-necked plesiosaurs, such as the Kronosaurus from Australian waters) that should have the same general stats. The web-footed crocs could be surviving Thalattosuchians, or sea crocodiles from the Mesozoic Era. They would differ from the standard giant crocodile in the following ways: NO. APPEARING: 1-2; no land movement, SW 18; HD 14; THAC0 7; #ATT: 1 (bite); DAMAGE/ATTACK: 7-28; SPECIAL ATTACKS: Swallow whole; SIZE G (60'); XP VALUE: 8,000.
by Gregory W. Detwiler