Dolphin

Dolphins come in many shapes and sizes but share a sleek, compact body built for speed, making them some of the strongest swimmers in the sea. All have a tall dorsal fin, two flippers, a strong tail, a blowhole and a mouthful of sharp teeth, and most measure 5-6 feet. The familiar bottle-nosed dolphin is gray with a snout shaped like a bottle; other kinds are patterned in blue and gray. They talk in a complex language of shrill clicks and whistles, some pitched too high for human ears.

Gentle by nature, dolphins usually fight only when threatened, but they always go after sharks unless the sharks outnumber them two to one. A school fights as a disciplined team, following its leader's signals, and is especially ferocious when guarding its young. Sometimes a few dolphins hold off the enemy, giving their lives so the rest can escape.

Lawful good, cheerful and fond of fun, dolphins despise evil. Most roam freely in schools of up to 20, never fighting each other or other dolphin breeds. They love life openly, leaping and spinning in spectacular stunts, toying with objects they find, playing games and trailing ships to entertain the crew.

About one in ten lives in a settled community guarded, depending on climate, by 1d4+1 swordfish (AC 6, MV 24, HD 1+1, 2d6 damage) or 1-3 narwhals (AC 6, MV 21, HD 4+4, 2d12 damage). Finding one community means a 75% chance of 1d4 more within five miles. These communities allow no evil sea creatures in their waters, calling on wandering schools for help if needed, and their territory is always free of sharks and killer whales.

Dolphins watch human affairs with kindly detachment but always help people in trouble, steering them to shore and keeping sharks away. A few loners, called rogues, grow close to particular humans, joining them to swim, fish and play. Dolphins have warned sailors of approaching pirates and of hostile sea creatures, saved many a ship that way, and come to the rescue when vessels were attacked by mermen or sahuagin. Seeing sahuagin as a danger, they sometimes raid their lairs and wreck their eggs.

Dolphins eat only fish. They can stay under for several minutes but must surface regularly, and unlike most mammals they breathe deliberately, so they literally have to remember to do it. A newborn is helped up for its first breath by its mother and a female midwife. Sharks and other big evil sea beasts hunt dolphins eagerly, but strength, speed, intelligence and close-knit organization let the species not just survive but thrive.