Whale

Whales are the biggest mammals of the sea and among its cleverest. Ordinary species run from 10-foot calves to blue whales 110 feet long, usually gray-blue in color. Some, like blue and humpbacked whales, strain plankton, shrimp and tiny fish from the water; others, like the sperm whale, hunt big fish, octopi and above all giant squid. All whales share one language pitched too low for human ears, which makes it very hard for land dwellers to learn.

Whales gather in pods bound by strong family loyalty, and their culture is built on intricate songs that carry for miles underwater. They are curious about humanoids and eager to talk with any intelligent being. A whale never lies, though it may keep some things to itself. Toward land folk they are neutral, but toward sea life they act as lawful good guardians, the true lords of the ocean, holding evil sea monsters in check.

Whales seldom start fights, but they become terrible enemies when attacked. Any common whale can smash with its tail for damage equal to half its Hit Dice. Plankton eaters also slap with their flukes: 1d8 at 12-17 HD, 3d8 at 18-24 HD and 5d8 at 24-36 HD. Meat eaters bite instead: 5d4 at 12-17 HD, 1d4x10 at 18-24 HD and 3d4x5 at 24-36 HD. Surface ships can only reach a whale while it is surfaced.

A cow normally bears one calf, with twins in 5% of births. The young stays with its mother five to ten years depending on species, and she may calve again after five years. Every adult in the pod helps guard and teach the calves.

Greedy whalers hunt the animals relentlessly for their valuable bodies, yet whales still tend to be friendly and inquisitive toward seafarers who do not hunt them. A common whale's carcass sells for 100 gp per Hit Die in meat and blubber. Sick whales vomit up ambergris, a reeking yellow lump prized for perfume, worth 1d20x1,000 gp.

These colossal cousins of the sperm whale reach 100 to 400 feet and act as the knights and barons of whale society, defending common whales from monsters and whalers. Each travels with 2d4 common whales. A giant whale bites or crushes for 1d4x10 at 18-25 HD, 2d4x10 at 26-35 HD or 3d4x10 at 36-54 HD, and its tail strikes for half its Hit Dice. Ramming a ship's side counts as a crushing blow that sinks the vessel if it lands. It can also rear half out of the sea and crash down on a ship, driving it under on a 50% chance.

A foe under 20 feet long is swallowed whole on an attack roll that beats the needed number by 4 or more. Air pockets in the stomach let a swallowed victim survive for a time. Seawater weakens the acid, which deals 2 points per round, or 1 with a successful save, and saves against it gain +1. The gullet may hold leftovers of past meals: the odds of finding any given treasure type equal 1% per Hit Die of the whale, in amounts of 1,000-3,000 coins per type, 1d20 gems or 1d4 magic items. Sold for parts, a giant whale fetches 100 gp per Hit Die, plus 2d20x1,000 gp for its ambergris.

The leviathan, 500 to 1,000 feet long, is lord of all whales and their go-between with the gods. Usually only one lives in each ocean. It may sleep for years on the sea floor, ringed by guardian whales, and rises when other whales need it or a deity calls. Its bite deals 3d4x5 at 24-35 HD, 3d4x10 at 36-47 HD and 3d4x15 at 48-72 HD, and its tail hits for half its Hit Dice. An attack roll 4 or more above what it needs lets it swallow anything up to 80 feet long.

Against a fleet it dives deep, rockets upward and leaps half clear of the water, raising a giant wave. Ships within 500 feet save vs. crushing blow, those from 500 to 2,000 feet save vs. normal blow, and any that fail go down at once. Its stomach air pockets can keep victims alive, and may hold whole ships along with treasure: 1% per Hit Die per type, in amounts of 2,000-6,000 coins per type, 5d20 gems or 1d8 magic items. Its body is worth 100 gp per Hit Die, with 4d20x1,000 gp more in ambergris, but anyone who kills a leviathan will face every whale in that ocean coming for revenge. Once a century the leviathans meet in polar seas for six months to confer and mate, each escorted by 2d10 giant whales and 10d10 other whales.

Orcas measure 15-30 feet, black with a bright white belly and individual white patches. They can hold their own against nearly any sea monster and can swallow a man whole. They are not naturally hostile and attack only when provoked or hungry, a 20% chance for any group met; spoken to instead of attacked, they may choose conversation over a meal. The bite deals 4d6 at 9-10 HD and 6d4 at 11-12 HD.

Orcas take both fish and warm-blooded prey and hunt with real cunning. They read the shadows and noises of creatures on ice floes, smash up through the ice to look, and ram small floes apart to dump prey into the water. Everyone on the ice when it is struck must save vs. paralyzation or slip in, to be attacked next round. A bitten victim stays clamped in the jaws, bitten automatically each round, and will drown within 2-4 rounds, while the frigid water numbs away 1 point each of Strength and Dexterity per round; death follows if either score hits 0. A pod can cooperate to bring down prey up to 100 feet long.

Most pods are all adults, but 25% include 1d8 calves (2-5 HD, bite 2d4, swimming rate 15) that adults defend to the death. Though orcas eat other whales, they also protect the whole whale family from monsters that could wipe it out, and they sometimes ally with aquatic elves. Carcass 100 gp per Hit Die; ambergris 1d10x500 gp.

Nicknamed the sea's unicorn, the narwhal lives in cold subarctic waters. Only males grow the spiral horn, 6 to 12 feet long, used for digging shellfish from the bottom and, when provoked, as a lance: 2d12 at 4+4 HD, 6d4 at 5+5 HD and 7d4 at 6+6 HD. Females butt headfirst for 2d4. Narwhals are peaceful, sometimes serving as companions or guards to dolphins, and aquatic elves can train them. Carcass 100 gp per Hit Die; ivory 1d4x10 gp; ambergris 1d10x200 gp.