Giant Carp

Plump and golden, this fish is a goldfish relative grown huge. Some breeds wear scales bright as little mirrors, while others have scales so thin they resemble yellowish skin. A broad dorsal fin rides the middle of its back, and a powerful tail with a wide fin drives it forward. Its paired side and belly fins are often tattered or missing from rooting among sharp rocks for food.

Normally harmless, giant carp reportedly rise against small boats and swimmers now and then, and some have startled fishermen by taking an ordinary hook. Feeding carp attack anything that bothers them, and spawning females are especially irritable.

The bite of its curved teeth deals 2-20 (2d10) damage. A bite of 12 or more lets it swallow the target, if small enough: dog-sized at 8 HD, a big dog or colt at 9, a small man at 10, a normal man at 11, and a small ogre or oni at 12. The victim takes the bite damage, then 1 point per round from digestive juices, with a cumulative 5% chance each round of suffocating.

A swallowed victim with an edged weapon can cut his way out without penalty. Friends outside can hack at the fish at -2 to hit, since they must keep striking the same spot, and any thrust or stab they make has a 20% chance to strike the victim instead. Once the carp loses half its hit points to these efforts, the victim breaks free.

Giant carp have no lair. They scavenge the muddy beds of freshwater lakes and rivers, rarely straying far from where they hatched. A spawning female releases thousands of eggs, few of which are ever fertilized. They reach breeding age somewhere from 10 to 20 and live around 50 years.

They eat rotting matter from the muck, fish eggs and fish, plus plankton, crabs, snakes, frogs, weeds, and worms. Many peoples prize them as food; one fish can feed a village for a good while, so fishermen mount dedicated hunts despite the risk, and the meat is eaten fresh or smoked.

In the eastern lands the golden carp symbolizes wealth, and its refusal to abandon its home water symbolizes perseverance. Rich nobles keep them in temple courtyard pools, believing the fish guard their fortunes. Some primitive tribes link carp with egg-laying birds like ravens and peacocks through shared ties to prophecy, and claim that in certain seasons the carp grow wings and breathe air. No flying carp has ever been confirmed.