Sharg

Physically, the sharg looks like a cross between a giant shark and a squid. Its skin is dull black, failing to glisten even under the brightest lights, and its dark eyes are near invisible against it. It has four long tentacles, each lined with sharp, teethlike ridges.

The sharg strikes quickly from beneath the steaming surface of the Blackjaw River in New Giustenal. It is especially attracted to the movement of barges along the surface of the water.

The sharg makes no verbal sounds, and it doesn't have any capacity for intelligent communication.

Combat: The sharg must feed constantly, and it is slowly depleting the Blackjaw River of fish and other sea creatures. It likes to attack the fishing barges that travel the river, seeking to add a few dray to its diet.

In the confines of the river, the sharg attacks in one of two ways. It can simply come up under victims and attack with its powerful bite (5d4 points of damage), or is 20 feet long. A successful tentacle hit causes 1d8 it can use its four tentacles to grab prey. Each tentacle points of damage and indicates that the sharg has grabbed its victim. Now the victim suffers squeezing damage of 2d8 points per round until released. A successful bend bars roll is needed to break free, or the tentacle can be hacked off. It takes 15 hit points of damage to sever a tentacle, and to specifically target a tentacle requires an attack roll against Armor Class 2.

Once a victim is grabbed, the sharg begins to drag its prey toward its crushing, teeth-filled jaws. A Strength check made at -4 allows a victim to struggle and delay the bite. A failure indicates that the victim has been shoved into the sharg's mouth.

In the confined passages east and west of New Giustenal, the sharg sometimes uses a different tactic. It lets a barge pass by, waiting beneath the surface until the craft has moved on. Then it reaches up along the cavern walls with two tentacles, searching for firm purchase. Once its two tentacles are braced (one on each side of the passage), it lifts its great body out of the water. It can remain in this position for 1d4 rounds. During this time, it can strike with its two remaining tentacles and employ its terrible bite at the same time. If the barge hasn't moved too far away, the sharg will drop down upon it when it can no longer maintain its grip on the walls. It crashes into the barge, causing 3d10 points of crushing damage to the barge and anyone who fails to get out of the way in time (Dexterity -3 check).

If the beast takes more than 40 points of damage, it retreats to its island lair to recover from its wounds.

Habitat/Society: The sharg is not native to Athas. It was brought to the world by Dregoth, who hopes to use it in his coming war against the surface world. He placed it in the Blackjaw River which runs through New Giustenal in order to study its habits and abilities. It has established a lair on one of the small islands in the river, using a cave beneath the surface of the water as its home. Though the fishermen have made repeated requests for help, the templars have been ordered to leave the sharg alone.

There is a 50% chance that the sharg is in its lair at any given time. If it is in its lair, it becomes aware of intruders on its island unless they are taking very great pains to be silent. If it notices the intruders, the sharg will slip from its lair and circle the island, waiting for a chance to grab a victim or two. It can even reach up out of the water to snag prey. In desperate times, or when its hunger overwhelms it, the sharg can crawl onto the shore. It uses its tentacles to propel itself. It can't stay out of the water for long (no more than five rounds), but it can emerge for short periods-just long enough to chase down a fleeing victim or make a surprise snatch of prey along the shore.

On its own world, the sharg lives in tropical climates, inhabiting fresh water rivers. Dregoth came across this one during one of his many expeditions through the planes. The audacity it showed in attacking him earned his respect and admiration. He incapacitated the beast and brought it back to Athas. It needed water to survive, so Dregoth dumped it into the Blackjaw River. He hopes to eventually train the creature, but like many of his projects it has fallen by the wayside until it again catches his interest.

Until then, the sharg remains a threat to all who travel on or near the Blackjaw River. The templars charged with transporting the dead to the cave east of New Giustenal have learned to scare the sharg away using light spells. The sharg's eyes don't adjust to rapid changes of light, so the brightness of a light spell causes it no small amount of discomfort. There is a 75% chance that the sudden brightness will cause the sharg to flee. However, 25% of the time the sharg will fly into a great rage and fight with a +2 to attack rolls for 1d6 rounds.

Ecology: Unknown to the dray of New Giustenal, the Blackjaw is only a small section of a vast underground river that runs for scores of miles in either direction. Within its dark depths are myriad creatures which the sharg feeds upon. It can eat almost any type of meat. While it enjoys fish and other sea creatures, it has developed a fondness for dray. When a barge passes overhead, the sharg swims out to intercept it. It has learned that a barge holds dray, and if it can tip over or destroy a barge, it can feast on the draconic creatures.