Monstrous Compendium Annual, Volume Four • Mind Lords of the Last Sea
| Climate/Terrain: | The Last Sea |
|---|---|
| Frequency: | Very rare |
| Organization: | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle: | Any |
| Diet: | Carnivore |
| Intelligence: | Animal (1) |
| Treasure: | Nil |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
| No. Appearing: | 1 |
| Armor Class: | 6 |
| Movement: | Sw 3 |
| Hit Dice: | 9 |
| THAC0: | 11 |
| No. of Attacks: | 1 |
| Damage/Attack: | 3-24 |
| Special Attacks: | Paralysis |
| Special Defenses: | See below |
| Magic Resistance: | Nil |
| Size: | H (20’+ long) |
| Morale: | Average (10) |
| XP Value: | 3,000 |
The puddingfish is a gigantic sort of jellyfish found only in Athas’s Last Sea. It looks similar to a traditional jellyfish, only larger and slightly more substantial. Its dome is nearly eight feet across, and its tendrils drag down over 20 feet below it.
The creature is composed of a blue-green substance somewhat similar to that of a gelatinous cube. Due to its coloring, the puddingfish can be difficult to spot floating along in the water, and more than one fishing boat has run aground on a puddingfish’s back. This is usually little more than an annoyance, however, as the creature is unable to lift its tendrils upward at all. As long as no one falls into the water, the occupants of the boat will be fine.
Combat: When a small boat or raft runs into a puddingfish, each passenger near an edge should roll against his Dexterity to avoid falling into the sea. Those people unfortunate enough to end up in the drink next to a puddingfish had better swim away as fast as they can. The puddingfish is deadly when in contact with a victim, but it is slow to move and can be outdistanced by a strong swimmer. Of course, there are very few such people on Athas outside of the valley of the Last Sea.
A character struck by a puddingfish’s stinging tendrils must save vs. paralyzation or be paralyzed (anesthetized) for 4-16 (4d4) rounds. In the water, this can easily prove fatal unless the victim is fortunate enough to have a friend brave enough to haul his poisoned body out of the water. Once a victim has perished, the puddingfish’s snakelike tendrils draw the corpse up into its dome where it is slowly digested over a period of 3-6 (1d4+2) days.
Habitat/Society: Puddingfish are solitary creatures. They are asexual and reproduce by dividing once they have reached a certain critical mass. They are hunted by the lizard men for their hides (which are not poisonous), out of which many useful things such as clothing and sails are made.
Ecology: The dome of a puddingfish is actually its stomach, a place filled with horribly corrosive acids. This material can actually be harvested by foolhardy adventurers willing to risk their lives to obtain such potentially useful materials.
