Suddenly, a giant eel-like creature erupts from the water to attack! Slime flies off its skin and crest as it turns to grab you in its mouth.
Quelzarn are magical water-snakes, much like giant eels, covered in a slimy coating. They have leafy fins just behind their jaws, covering their gills, and their head is topped with a bony crest. A long fin extends from their head crest down the length of the quelzarn. Their eyes almost seem to be those of a human, enlarged to fit their great heads. Quelzarn grow to 30 or 40 feet in length and weigh 3000-4000 lbs.
There is a possibly extinct, or in any event extremely rare, subspecies known as a greater quelzarn. Greater quelzarn have only been found in oceans and the largest inland seas; they are at least 60 feet in length and 16000 lbs, and they have additional abilities.
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Combat Stragegies and Tactics
Quelzarn usually begin their attack with a quick Spring Attack or two, trying to size up their opponents. Once it has sized up its opponents, the quelzarn will attempt to hold one or two of the most dangerous before closing to finish off the fight. Quelzarn will grab and swallow anyone they can. If they become angry at someone or something they swallow, quelzarn will regurgitate them in order to bite them. Quelzarn are fascinated by magic and are sometimes known to hold and capture spellcasters out of curiosity — but not if they are hungry!
Greater quelzarn use basically the same tactics in melee, although they are considerably more crafty. Particularly when dealing with large parties or sea-going craft, greater quelzarn attempt to scout their prey from stealth and set up ambushes as much as possible. When they have allies, they will use those allies to greatest advantage. Greater quelzarn always activate their spell turning ability before entering combat and renew it whenever necessary.
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Organization and Sample Encounters
Quelzarn are solitary creatures, coming together only rarely to mate. Sometimes a quelzarn and some other predator will happen across the same prey; quelzarn are usually happy enough to share, but there can be tremendous battles. Greater quelzarn are an exception to this rule. From time to time, especially when they are hunted, they will form alliances of intelligent sea creatures. They are more than clever enough to set deadly ambushes, and many an elf hunting party has met its fate due to the machinations of a greater quelzarn.
Solitary Quelzarn (EL 6): Perhaps the heros meet a quelzarn randomly, or perhaps it is attracted to their use of magic. But in any case, it is hungry, and a few small humanoids look like a tasty dinner.
Ambush (EL 15-17): A greater quelzarn has organized a group of aquatic monsters to ambush a ship, most likely a hunting party, who are just going to get what they deserve, from the quelzarn’s point of view.
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Ecology and Society
Quelzarn are large, solitary aquatic predators with innate magical abilities and a native sensitivity to spell casting. It is rumored that they were created by mages in the land of the God-Kings as challenging prey for the hunt but that they escaped into the wild and spread throughout the world. Indeed, quelzarn can be found in almost any body of water large enough to sustain a predator of their size, even highly polluted city harbors and bays. Quelzarn have a certain amount of cunning, and they know just when to use their inborn magic to hold a dangerous foe –-- or tasty morsel.
Quelzarn may actually have an additional natural sensitivity to magic, as would befit a created creature. Certainly, they are highly resistant to magical compulsions, but, more importantly, they have a tendency to appear in areas that have seen a great deal of magic use. Quelzarn seem to have an insatiable curiosity about magic and have been known to capture spellcasters (or even apparent spellcasters) alive.
As solitary, traveling creatures, quelzarn do not keep proper lairs; rather, when necessary, they find underwater caves and grottos as temporary homes. These homes are generally left barren and undecorated; quelzarn just do not care for appearances. Most of the time, quelzarn will find homes for their rare matings, which provides a roughly safe area until the young can hatch.
The greater quelzarn is an exceedingly rare, yea, even possibly extinct beast, more formidable in many ways than the ordinary quelzarn. Almost certainly bred for the hunt, greater quelzarn are a clever, challenging, and quite dangerous quarry. They are very intelligent, cunning, and resilient, and, unlike their lesser cousins, they often gather allies around themselves –-- other sea creatures that resent the intrusion of land-dwellers into their territory.
Many sages believe that quelzarn tissues are valuable magical ingredients for various purposes. According to those scholars, the cranial fluid of a quelzarn used as ink can increase the potency of scrolls of
hold spells or even decrease the cost of producing rings of free action. Others believe that wood seasoned in the smoke of quelzarn flesh makes wands that can channel electricity spells at a higher level of power.
Alignment: Quelzarn and greater quelzarn are usually neutral, much like the great animal predators they were possibly designed to emulate.
Treasure: Quelzarn are uninterested in treasure, but they sometimes end up swallowing it along with their food. If a dead quelzarn is opened up, they generally have 10% coins and 10% goods (inorganic material like gems only) in their gut.
Lore
A Knowledge (Arcana) check reveals
Code:
DC Result
19 This is a quelzarn, an intelligent aquatic predator.
24 Quelzarn have the magical ability to freeze
creatures in place while they eat them.
29 Quelzarn are resistant to poison and compulsions.
There is also a larger, smarter variety.
34 These greater quelzarn can reflect spells back at
their casters.
