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The Ecology of the Giant Sea Horse (unpublished AD&D 2E version)
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 8105654" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">Giant sea horses can be ridden in several different manners. The easiest, of course, is to sit up on its neck, above the dorsal fin, and direct its movement with hand-strokes upon the sides of its head and pressure from your legs. Others prefer saddles and harness, just as if the creature were a land-dwelling horse. This method is often employed with war mounts, so extra weapons may be hooked to the creature's harness. Whichever method is used, it is important not to obstruct the natural movement of the dorsal fin, for it is with this fin that the sea horse derives most of its speed.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">However, my comments above about its use in warfare notwithstanding, the giant sea horse is generally a gentle beast and will not engage in battle unless necessary for self-defense or specifically trained to do so. Most giant sea horses used by marine races are used only as beasts of burden, trained to grasp large objects in their tails in order to transport them from place to place. The giant sea horse is an invaluable aid when relocating to a new permanent settlement. Several of them can be used in conjunction to lift objects heavier than themselves.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">Contrary to many surface-dwellers' beliefs,<strong>[5]</strong> the sea horse, giant or otherwise, is not a vegetarian. It eats crustaceans of all types, small fish, and larvae of all kinds. In some instances, they have been known to eat their own young. When feeding, the sea horse opens the trap-door-like flap at the end of its long snout and sucks the food in. When it snaps at its prey, a loud snapping sound can be heard from quite a distance away. This is the smacking of its flap being closed; the sea horse has no teeth. For this reason, its meals must naturally consist of creatures able to fit into its snout. The giant sea horse will also suck up algae and small plants, being omnivorous in nature.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">Sea horses tend to be rather passive in their hunting. Rather than go chasing after food, they prefer to remain motionless among the weeds or coral and wait for their meals to swim by. They are very aware of their surroundings, having eyes that can move independently of each other. Each eye can look forward, backward, up, or down, so sea horses very seldom let a potential meal get by them from lack of awareness.<strong>[6]</strong></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">Giant sea horses are hunted by other, larger fish while alive and devoured by crabs and other scavengers when dead. Sahuagin consider giant sea horse flesh to be a particular delicacy. They prefer to catch them in the open, though, and so do not raise giant sea horses as you might raise cattle or sheep.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">One sea creature that does not eat the giant sea horse is the sea anemone. For some reason, the sea horse is immune to the paralysis and poison effects of the sea anemone's tentacles and can often be found using one of these creatures as a perch. By anchoring itself with its tail to a giant sea anemone, the sea horse is provided extra protection while it sleeps, for while its eyes are open as it sleeps (like other fish, it has no eyelids), it is generally unaware of its surroundings while slumbering.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">Perhaps one of the most unusual aspects of the giant sea horse is its method of reproduction. A male and female ready to breed approach each other and entwine their tails together, performing an elaborate circular dance in the water. This dance can go on for hours, often days. Finally, the female deposits her eggs into a pouch on the male's abdomen, where they are immediately fertilized and buried in layers of tissue. At that point, the female swims away, her job completed, and the male takes care of the eggs from then on. As far as I know, this the only animal species in which the male gets pregnant, not the female.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">Once the eggs are implanted, the male seals up his pouch so that no water touches them. The pouch expands during the male's pregnancy (what else can you call it?) as the eggs grow in size, until he is almost twice his normal size. At this point, the male sea horse is at his most vulnerable, for he can hardly carry the weight of his own body around and spends almost all of his time on the ocean's floor.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">After about 45 days, the babies are ready to hatch. Much like many bird species, the baby sea horse has an "egg tooth" at the end of its snout to help break open the egg. Aware of the hatching of his offspring, the father sea horse opens his pouch and assists in the birthing process by pressing his pouch against rocks, shells, or coral, forcing the newborns out. Unfortunately for the male, the birth can last for several days.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">A typical giant sea horse brood consists of from 150 to 200 babies, each of which is the size of a standard sea horse (in fact, it is difficult, even for one of my mother's race, to tell the difference between a full-grown sea horse and a baby giant sea horse). Once all of the babies vacate the male's pouch, the slit is sealed up and the father swims off. The babies are left to fend for themselves. Not all survive, many falling prey to other marine creatures. They grow quickly, reaching full size after about 5 months, a point perhaps half of them will live to see.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">Obviously, it can be a nuisance to have your favored giant sea horse war mount get pregnant and many marine warriors take steps to prevent this. The male sea horse instinctively seals his pouch whenever objects (usually eggs, of course) are placed in it, so sometimes small pebbles are put into a war mount's pouch. He will then seal his pouch and as long as it remains sealed he will not begin any mating dances with females, mistakenly believing he is already pregnant. This has always struck me as a cruel practice and I am not alone in my belief. Many warriors prefer the obvious alternative of having more than one male war mount or sticking with female giant sea horses.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(84, 172, 210)">An extremely useful creature, the giant sea horse is of value even after death. Its exoskeleton can be cut and formed into simple armor. Because of the difficulty of shaping the exoskeleton, such armor usually consists of individual pieces strapped on to the arms, legs, and torso. Much more common is the construction of shields from the giant sea horse's armored plates.<strong>[7]</strong> I've also heard tales of the magical uses of sea horses, but being more of a warrior type I can't verify such talk.<strong>[8]</strong></span></p><p></p><p><strong>NOTES</strong></p><p>5. Including the "Sea Horse, Giant" entry in <em>Monstrous Compendium, Volume 2</em>, which lists the creature as a herbivore.</p><p></p><p>6. Their visual acuity includes 120-foot infravision and the ability to only be surprised on a roll of "1" on a 10-sided die.</p><p></p><p>7. Armor made from a giant sea horse exoskeleton provides an armor class of 7 to the wearer. Shields made are the same as any shield, granting a -1 to AC. Note these tend to dry out and become brittle over time when removed from water and so are usually only crafted by intelligent marine species. However, most marine humanoid species disdain the use of armor due to the decrease in maneuverability that goes along with it and so sea horse armor tends to be very rare. Shields, however, are not uncommon.</p><p></p><p>8. There are many real-world superstitions about sea horses. For one, the ashes of a sea horse, when mixed with oil and vinegar, is said to be a cure for baldness. Pulverized sea horses are supposed to be useful in making love potions (this might stem from the days-long courtship rites that sea horses go through before mating), as well as being able to cure everything from leprosy to the common cold. DMs are encouraged to incorporate any or all of these beliefs into their game worlds; after all, in an AD&D world, perhaps these are more than just superstition.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 8105654, member: 508"] [COLOR=rgb(84, 172, 210)]Giant sea horses can be ridden in several different manners. The easiest, of course, is to sit up on its neck, above the dorsal fin, and direct its movement with hand-strokes upon the sides of its head and pressure from your legs. Others prefer saddles and harness, just as if the creature were a land-dwelling horse. This method is often employed with war mounts, so extra weapons may be hooked to the creature's harness. Whichever method is used, it is important not to obstruct the natural movement of the dorsal fin, for it is with this fin that the sea horse derives most of its speed. However, my comments above about its use in warfare notwithstanding, the giant sea horse is generally a gentle beast and will not engage in battle unless necessary for self-defense or specifically trained to do so. Most giant sea horses used by marine races are used only as beasts of burden, trained to grasp large objects in their tails in order to transport them from place to place. The giant sea horse is an invaluable aid when relocating to a new permanent settlement. Several of them can be used in conjunction to lift objects heavier than themselves. Contrary to many surface-dwellers' beliefs,[b][5][/b] the sea horse, giant or otherwise, is not a vegetarian. It eats crustaceans of all types, small fish, and larvae of all kinds. In some instances, they have been known to eat their own young. When feeding, the sea horse opens the trap-door-like flap at the end of its long snout and sucks the food in. When it snaps at its prey, a loud snapping sound can be heard from quite a distance away. This is the smacking of its flap being closed; the sea horse has no teeth. For this reason, its meals must naturally consist of creatures able to fit into its snout. The giant sea horse will also suck up algae and small plants, being omnivorous in nature. Sea horses tend to be rather passive in their hunting. Rather than go chasing after food, they prefer to remain motionless among the weeds or coral and wait for their meals to swim by. They are very aware of their surroundings, having eyes that can move independently of each other. Each eye can look forward, backward, up, or down, so sea horses very seldom let a potential meal get by them from lack of awareness.[b][6][/b] Giant sea horses are hunted by other, larger fish while alive and devoured by crabs and other scavengers when dead. Sahuagin consider giant sea horse flesh to be a particular delicacy. They prefer to catch them in the open, though, and so do not raise giant sea horses as you might raise cattle or sheep. One sea creature that does not eat the giant sea horse is the sea anemone. For some reason, the sea horse is immune to the paralysis and poison effects of the sea anemone's tentacles and can often be found using one of these creatures as a perch. By anchoring itself with its tail to a giant sea anemone, the sea horse is provided extra protection while it sleeps, for while its eyes are open as it sleeps (like other fish, it has no eyelids), it is generally unaware of its surroundings while slumbering. Perhaps one of the most unusual aspects of the giant sea horse is its method of reproduction. A male and female ready to breed approach each other and entwine their tails together, performing an elaborate circular dance in the water. This dance can go on for hours, often days. Finally, the female deposits her eggs into a pouch on the male's abdomen, where they are immediately fertilized and buried in layers of tissue. At that point, the female swims away, her job completed, and the male takes care of the eggs from then on. As far as I know, this the only animal species in which the male gets pregnant, not the female. Once the eggs are implanted, the male seals up his pouch so that no water touches them. The pouch expands during the male's pregnancy (what else can you call it?) as the eggs grow in size, until he is almost twice his normal size. At this point, the male sea horse is at his most vulnerable, for he can hardly carry the weight of his own body around and spends almost all of his time on the ocean's floor. After about 45 days, the babies are ready to hatch. Much like many bird species, the baby sea horse has an "egg tooth" at the end of its snout to help break open the egg. Aware of the hatching of his offspring, the father sea horse opens his pouch and assists in the birthing process by pressing his pouch against rocks, shells, or coral, forcing the newborns out. Unfortunately for the male, the birth can last for several days. A typical giant sea horse brood consists of from 150 to 200 babies, each of which is the size of a standard sea horse (in fact, it is difficult, even for one of my mother's race, to tell the difference between a full-grown sea horse and a baby giant sea horse). Once all of the babies vacate the male's pouch, the slit is sealed up and the father swims off. The babies are left to fend for themselves. Not all survive, many falling prey to other marine creatures. They grow quickly, reaching full size after about 5 months, a point perhaps half of them will live to see. Obviously, it can be a nuisance to have your favored giant sea horse war mount get pregnant and many marine warriors take steps to prevent this. The male sea horse instinctively seals his pouch whenever objects (usually eggs, of course) are placed in it, so sometimes small pebbles are put into a war mount's pouch. He will then seal his pouch and as long as it remains sealed he will not begin any mating dances with females, mistakenly believing he is already pregnant. This has always struck me as a cruel practice and I am not alone in my belief. Many warriors prefer the obvious alternative of having more than one male war mount or sticking with female giant sea horses. An extremely useful creature, the giant sea horse is of value even after death. Its exoskeleton can be cut and formed into simple armor. Because of the difficulty of shaping the exoskeleton, such armor usually consists of individual pieces strapped on to the arms, legs, and torso. Much more common is the construction of shields from the giant sea horse's armored plates.[b][7][/b] I've also heard tales of the magical uses of sea horses, but being more of a warrior type I can't verify such talk.[b][8][/b][/COLOR] [b]NOTES[/b] 5. Including the "Sea Horse, Giant" entry in [I]Monstrous Compendium, Volume 2[/I], which lists the creature as a herbivore. 6. Their visual acuity includes 120-foot infravision and the ability to only be surprised on a roll of "1" on a 10-sided die. 7. Armor made from a giant sea horse exoskeleton provides an armor class of 7 to the wearer. Shields made are the same as any shield, granting a -1 to AC. Note these tend to dry out and become brittle over time when removed from water and so are usually only crafted by intelligent marine species. However, most marine humanoid species disdain the use of armor due to the decrease in maneuverability that goes along with it and so sea horse armor tends to be very rare. Shields, however, are not uncommon. 8. There are many real-world superstitions about sea horses. For one, the ashes of a sea horse, when mixed with oil and vinegar, is said to be a cure for baldness. Pulverized sea horses are supposed to be useful in making love potions (this might stem from the days-long courtship rites that sea horses go through before mating), as well as being able to cure everything from leprosy to the common cold. DMs are encouraged to incorporate any or all of these beliefs into their game worlds; after all, in an AD&D world, perhaps these are more than just superstition. [/QUOTE]
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