Delphinid

Everything about a delphinid comes in threes: three dorsal fins around its thick middle, a three-finned tail, three eyes spaced around a blunt head and a mouth of three hinged jaws. Its skin shifts color to match the swirling flame-sea, rippling with streamers and whorls. To catch a crew's eye a school turns plain gray, black or white. Dead ones fade to pale gray.

Its teeth are too small to matter, so it rams, once every two rounds, for 1d6. Anything lighter than the delphinid must pass a Dexterity check or be bowled over. They fight only to defend themselves or friends, but they improvise clever tactics and learn tricks easily.

Delphinids live only in the flame-sea's currents, usually riding with them. They cannot match starhelm speed, so only ships at rest or at tactical speed meet them. A school has no leader; each member has its own personality, and the group follows whoever has the idea of the moment.

They romp with sailors, diving into a ship's gravity and out again with perfect control. They have carried overboard crew back to the deck and sometimes give joyrides, and the sight of a school cheers a weary crew. Any aggression or attempt to dominate one makes the whole school vanish. They like elves, humans, gnomes, halflings, wanderkin and other merry folk, avoid gazer tyrants, mind reavers, web-eel slavers, lizard men and other bullies, and ignore dwarves and the void's merchant and mercenary races.

They somehow feed on the flame-sea itself but adore sailors' treats, especially fruit, rare aboard a starship. One calf is born live and raised by both parents until it can defend itself; then the family scatters, as pairs do not stay together. Web-eel slavers relish the sweet flesh, but most good and neutral human sailors think killing one is bad luck.