Sea Spawn, Master

The master sea spawn is one of the most horrid creatures to lurk beneath the oceans of the Demiplane of Dread. They infiltrate coastal villages with their disgusting spawn and then use them to take control of the minds they come into contact with.

The master is a large humanoid with great black claws that match its dark, pupilless eyes. A series of thick fins runs down the length of its head and spine. These are almost always covered with wafting fungus, weeds, or scraps of torn flesh. The rest of the body is covered with sickly green scales and sheathed in a toxic mucus. The webbed hands and feet are oversized to help with swimming. The creature's viciousness is evident from the double rows of sharp, jagged teeth that jut from the master's tremendous jaws.

Sea spawn masters speak no known language, but are able to telepathically communicate with their sluglike spawn and the creatures they control without regard for such things.

Combat: Sea spawn masters cannot leave the water. If forced to do so, they will asphyxiate in 10+1d6 rounds. In the meantime, of course, the creature will try to escape or kill whatever is keeping it from the sea. This means characters who want to deal with the thing will have to travel beneath the murky sea, incurring all the usual penalties and problems thereof.

When confronted. the master usually uses its telepathic abilities to summon help from fishes and other creatures of the depths. This functions as a monster summoning IV spell but applies only to aquatic creatures. Each monster summoned arrives 1d4 rounds later. The spawn master may use this ability twice per day.

Though the spawn prefers to let others fight its battles. it is not completely helpless. Its jagged claws cause 1d6 points of damage per hit, and its frightening maw of jagged teeth inflicts 1d10 points. Those bitten by the creature may also contract a rotting disease that infects a wound and keeps it from healing. Anytime a character takes damage from the thing's bite, he must make a saving throw vs. poison. Should he fail, the bite's damage is permanent until healed by a cure disease spell.

The skin and scales of sea spawn masters are notoriously slimy and covered with bits of rotting flesh. This functions as an oil of slipperiness, making it nearly impossible to grab or otherwise hold the beast. Webs, nets, and other devices are equally ineffectual. The beast often uses this advantage to slip in and out of fishermen's nets and steal their catch. Many a confused fisherman has been puzzled by the slimy residue that is the only prize of a onceheavy haul.

Habitat/Society: By day, the sea spawn master lurks in shallow caves, reefs, or thick tangles of seaweed near the target of its latest attack. Here it spends most of the day in a sort of trance, coordinating the movements of its less intelligent minions.

The lair of the thing is usually littered with bones, scraps of clothing, and a few coppers and other artifacts, but little else. There is a very small chance that the thing has feasted on more powerful folk, however, so the lair has a 20% chance of containing treasure type W as well as J.

Ecology: Sea spawn masters are born from minions that somehow escape back into the sea. The survival rate for these tiny, vicious things isn't high, so there is only a 1% chance that they will survive long enough to develop into masters.

The spawn matures similarly to a tadpole. As it grows larger on a diet of fish and the like, tiny legs and arms grow and elongate. Over a period of twelve months, the minion rapidly develops into a full-grown spawn master. Four months into this change, the spawn develops its telepathic powers and can summon other creatures to protect it. The slippery coating of scum and rot is well developed by the time the thing reaches maturity.

Once a master, the spawn survives on a diet of fish and other sea creatures. But seafood is poor fare for this horror of the deep. The taste of human flesh drives it to seek a seashore community to provide it with bloody fodder.