Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., Immunities, water requirement 
Saves: Fort +8, Ref -1, Will -2 
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 6, Con 20, Int 5, Wis 5, Cha 6
Skills: Swim +10

Climate/Terrain: Coral Lagoon
Organization: Colony (1d100)
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement: 4-6 HD (medium); 7-10 HD (large)

This bizarre lifeform is a colony critter.  At its most basic form, a coelenite is a single-celled organism that lives in the ocean.  Like its cousin, the coral, the coelenite gathers together with other single-celled coelenites and grows a hard calcite shell.  When enough of these critters band together, they achieve a rudimentary intelligence, even achieving sentience.  In this form, the creature is referred to as a coelenite colony.  The secreted calcite is modified and altered, grown with a purpose until a body is formed from the hard mineral, assuming a humanoid shape, like a coral covered man, although without visible sensory organs, and with a very poor manual dexterity.   Each colony is patterned and colored diversely.  Some are covered with whorled, brain-like patterns.  Others are frilled with fan-like plumage.  Colors range from dull browns to brilliant yellows and reds.

Each colony has a nest that it stuffs with food, mostly decomposing fish.  Colonies are attracted by noise and action.  Swimmers in particular draw its attention.  A coelenite colony has been known to seize a floundering sailor and drag him down to its nest.

Combat
Coelenite colonies are slow but dangerous foes.  Most often they attack other critters in the water, but they have been known to venture aboard ships for brief periods of time.  Their hard and rasping exoskeletons do considerable damage when they go to flailing their arms like clubs.

Immunities: Edged and missile weapons do but a single point of damage to them (plus strength and magic bonuses).  Blunt weapons do 1d2 points of damage (plus strength and magic bonuses).  Coelenites are never allowed saving throws against magical effects.  Spells that affect a single individual or organism are completely useless against the coelenite.  Magic which affects a small area of the colony (such as a magic missile) does only 1 point of damage.  Damage spells that affect 50% of the colony, but not all of the colony (Shocking Grasp, Burning Hands), cause half normal damage.  Area effect spells that encompass the entire critter (a fireball for example) instantly slay the colony.  In addition, without a central, single mind, coelenites are immune to all enchantment/charm and illusion/phantasm spells.  ESP only reveals the presence of life, but no specific thoughts the colony may possess.  When a coelenite's hit points are reduced to 0 or less through combat, the critter does not actually die.  Instead it has suffered sufficient damage to destroy the colony's exoskeleton.  Often the surviving single-cell creatures seep out of the coral to reunite and create a new body elsewhere.

Water Requirement: Because they are essentially a walking coral, the coelenite colony can only remain out of the water for a short time.  At the end of every five rounds, the creature suffers 1d6 points of damage.  Thus, one of the most effective ways to destroy a coelenite colony is to trap it on shore.

Mass Colonies: On rare occasions, when the collection of coelenite colonies exceed fifty in an area, an even higher consciousness is achieved - a mass mind.  The activities of the separate colonies are then directed by a single intelligence.  The mass mind has an intelligence of 10, and is able to conceive and use stratagems for battle.  Communication between the colonies is telepathic, though it only seems a jumble of raw data to any person with the power to eavesdrop.  If 50% of the colonies are destroyed, the mass mind will disintegrate, and each colony will become independent again.  One of the preferred tactics of the mass mind is to attack larger targets and build traps to catch more food.  When large prey moves into position (such as a ship), coelenite colonies are ordered into position around the lagoon and then the shells are abandoned by their single-celled builders.  The actual organism flows back into the sea to grow a new body.  The shells are left behind to form a wall to block the exit or even encase the prey.

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