Void Whale

Void whales are among the biggest living things between the worlds: true mammals shaped like sea whales, but mouthless, with a line of small eyes along the front of the body and a belly freckled with white patches.

They are peaceful unless attacked, except in herding season, when anything nearing the herd is treated as a threat. The weapon of choice is the colossal tail. Though they notice humans, gazer tyrants and other small fry, they go for ships first, ganging up to hammer one vessel to splinters before moving to the next.

When outmatched they turn their eyes into a searchlight: a cone 500 yards long and 400 yards wide at its end, aimed where the whale wishes. Those within save vs. breath weapon or lose their sight for 4-16 rounds, and the whale escapes in the confusion.

Pods hold 2-8 whales; pods of 7-8 include a maximum-hit-point bull who leads the defense. Roughly yearly, depending on the crystal shell, pods merge into herds of 3-30 with 3-6 bulls, and passing ships are attacked. Young males duel with tail slaps, often against nearby ships too, to settle rank and thus mating order, with the oldest bulls first and the strongest youngsters next.

After a six-month pregnancy, calves arrive alive in open void, fiercely guarded from void scavengers and other predators. Its sheer bulk gives each whale a gravity plane and air envelope, though it needs no air itself. Moss and mold carpet their backs and draw grazers: 20% of whales host 3-18 gray or brown void scavengers. Herd mates rub each other's bellies clean but ignore their backs, so small islands of life sprout there; a whale smothered in vines is old or sick, near death and easy prey. Freed or orphaned domestic whales sometimes go feral still carrying ruined howdahs, crops and animals on their backs and flanks.

A void whale never eats; it soaks up light from suns and stars, and its white belly patches channel that energy into its body.

Its skeleton stays intact after death, so liches, vampires and other undead use the bones as ships for slow, patient invasions. Such a hulk has 15 hull points plus any weapons and refits. A starhelm on a living whale panics it, and even a tame one flees trying to scrape the helm off, though undead raiders have helmed skeletal whales as warships.

Foes include void krakens, radiant dragons and many humanlike races. Gazer tyrants and mind reavers hate their glowing eyes; the gazers avoid them, while the reavers send fleets to slaughter pods near their outposts. Rendered flesh yields oil, the main source of greek fire in the void, and lizard men hunt the whales for it, even building a mobile rendering plant towed in pieces by small wasp-hulled starships.

Less advanced void peoples, anything from philosopher-king realms to degenerate common races to raiders, ride void whales for short hops before they can deal regularly with the void merchants. Riders may be humans, dwarves, elves, gnomes or halflings. They keep family pods together; only old lone bulls travel solo, usually scouting.

Nobody cuts the whale. Buildings and weapon mounts are hooked lightly into its thick hide, and farms and livestock are common on its back. A group usually numbers 2-8 whales, each with 10-20 warriors armed with anything from bone-tipped spears to bronze mail and short blades. Each whale carries at most one light catapult, bulls a heavy one, and a captain, shaman or chieftain leads by home custom. They trade with peaceful travelers but distrust starhelms, which madden their mounts.