Rays, also known as sea bats, are native to warm tropical shallow waters. They are broad, flat creatures, with eyes on the upper, dark-colored surface of their body and the mouth and gills on the lighter underbelly. Their pectoral fins are huge, which gives them a batlike appearance, and they use their short tail as a rudder. They feed on mollusks and crustaceans and only rarely attack humans, with the exception of the malevolent ixitxachitl. These long, flat creatures bury themselves in the silt and sand of the sea floor in order to surprise their prey.

Manta Ray

These huge creatures, which weigh as much as 3,000 pounds, bury themselves in the ocean floor waiting for victims to arrive. The manta has a giant maw (10 to 12 feet across) that can totally engulf any creature man-sized or smaller in a single bite. If the manta’s hit roll is 2 or more greater than the number it needed to hit (e.g., rolls a 16 or better when it could hit on a 14), then it has swallowed its prey. Swallowed creatures die at the end of six rounds. Any creature swallowed can attack from inside the ray at -4 with a dagger or a short sword (other weapons require too much space to wield effectively); the ray’s Armor Class remains the same. A manta ray can swallow but one man-sized creature or three size S creatures at once.

If creatures attack its rear, it can use its stinger instead of its bite. If it strikes, the victim suffers 2-20 points of damage and must save versus paralyzation or be stunned for 2-8 rounds.

The manta ray’s stomach may contain treasure.

Pungi Ray

The tropical pungi rays conceal themselves in the sand of the ocean floor with their terrible back spines protruding. Their spines are greenish or brown, resembling plant growth so closely as to be 90% undistinguishable from normal seaweed. Pungi rays are 15 feet across and 6 feet long. Their back spines are in a 3 foot by 4 foot area, with one spine per square foot (12 in total). Any creature stepping on a pungi spine must save versus poison or die instantly. A footstep on a pungi ray equals one attack; if a creature fell on a pungi ray it would suffer 2-8 spinal attacks. If a pungi ray is attacked it will try to swim away.

Sting Ray

These bottom-feeding creatures are found swimming on the ocean floor in shallow water. If any creature steps on one, the ray lashes out with its tail spine, inflicting 1-3 points damage; any creature struck must also save versus poison or be paralyzes for 5-20 turns, suffering points of damage equal to the number of turns of paralysis.

Ixitxachitl

The ixitxachitl (pronounced icks-it-ZACH-it-ul) are an intelligent race of evil manta rays. They have their own language and worship evil powers. These cruel creatures love to hunt marine humanoids and sacrifice or devour any they catch. Communities of 10 to 100 ixitxachitl live in coral reef mazes with a secret entrance. For every 10, there is one ixitxachitl equal to a 2nd level priest. For every 20, there is one equal to a 3rd level priest. For every 50, there is a 2+2 Hit Dice priest with 5th level ability. If there are more than 50, there will be a leader with 4+4 Hit Dice and 8th level cleric ability and two guards with 3+3 Hit Dice and 6th level ability. Spheres include Charm, Divination, Elemental (water), Healing, Necromantic, Protection, and Sun (darkness only). Guards and leaders have treasure type U that can be used without hands. For every 20 encountered there is a 50% chance that one is a vampiric ixitxachitl (double Hit Dice, drains one energy level per hit, and regenerates 3 hit points per round).