Growler

Growlers are shapeless sea creatures that look like small icebergs and drift among real ice near shore. The bulk of the body is spongy and rubbery, but along the back runs a hard, movable cartilage plate (AC 0) fringed with heat-sensing organs. Eyeless, a growler finds prey by warmth out to 100 feet.

In one turn it can reshape itself from a tall, jagged berg into a flat floe. Rising high gives it a 'sail' for the wind; it also swims by drawing water through a valve and expelling it from tiny jets underneath, the same flow passing its gills. It cannot breathe air. Its grasp of wind and tide equals seamanship and navigation proficiency scores of 18, so ships rarely outmaneuver it, and since it never sleeps it is surprised only on a natural 1. Its name comes from the low rumble it makes while hunting and eating. Growlers speak by limited telepathy.

These clever carnivores leave rotting carcasses and shiny 'treasures' on their backs to lure bears, wolves and people; they care nothing for wealth but use it as bait. When something steps aboard, the growler forces air through ducts in its skin in a deafening sonic burst, usable every other round. Everyone within 20 feet must save vs. death magic; failure means 1 round of stunning; success avoids the stun, but all are deafened for 1d4 rounds either way.

It then folds over the stunned victim, pins it to the shell, and sinks just deep enough to drown it (see the rules for holding breath). A pinned creature can try to break free: both sides make Strength checks, the growler's Strength being 18, and the higher successful roll wins. Only dead prey is drawn slowly through the skin into the body; a medium or large body needs 1d4 days to digest, and by then it cannot be resurrected. Metal and gems are left undigested. Blunt weapons deal half damage, though their magical bonuses count in full; other weapons hurt it normally.

Growlers spend their whole lives in arctic seas near land, eating bears, seals, wolves and other shore creatures, about 800 pounds of meat a week. They prefer thinking prey such as frost giants, humans and demihumans because outwitting them is fun, and they may toy with victims, stunning one, swimming off, letting it go and stunning it again. They overturn boats smaller than themselves, eating any swimmers who do not freeze first.

Genderless, they reproduce once a year at the winter solstice by splitting into two identical size H, 20-foot growlers of 5 HD and THAC0 15, otherwise unchanged. They live 30 to 40 years.

Algae, krill and many other small sea creatures live on a growler's submerged flanks. It will cooperate with intelligent evil beings for food, but such pacts are short; considering itself too smart to serve, it eventually tries to eat its partner.