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Aquatic creatures: Saltwater vs. Freshwater list, what if one enters the other?
Satyrn
First Post
Heh. Yeah.
My megadungeon had a lake feed by a couple rivers of water and a river of lava. The lava boils off the water, and I figured that would result in the effective destruction of a lot of water in the dungeon, so I needed a source of new water to replenish it. My solution was to place part of the megadungeon underneath the ocean, and create a crack in that ocean floor that pours water into the dungeon. And of course, ocean life would be sucked right in, too.
That's why there a shark in the underground lake.
I've since introduced more rivers flowing into the dungeon. These ones are fresh water, and so are less likely to be shark infested.
Unfortunately for the OP, I haven't gotten around to making my Fresh Water Encounter table significantly different from the Salt Water Encounter table. There only difference is that the chance of encountering a shark has been cut in half on the Fresh Water table, replaced by a greater chance of a land beast (drinking, playing, hunting).
“Australia: come for experiences to last a lifetime...however long or short that may be!”
I mean, Americans would have drained the hazard and gotten rid of them. The Aussies turned them into a tourist attraction.
Bitbrain
Lost in Dark Sun
Reply to OP.
My dad wasn't too pleased with 5e's lack of distinction between salt water and fresh water breathing monsters either, so in his campaign, he houseruled that the monster trait Amphibiousness applies to freshwater, while "Semi-Aquatic" (homebrew trait where you can breath both air and saltwater) applies to saltwater.
So for example, bullywugs would have Amphibiousness, sea elves would have Semi-Aquatic, and sahuagin (which in his setting are based on salmon) would have both traits.
My dad wasn't too pleased with 5e's lack of distinction between salt water and fresh water breathing monsters either, so in his campaign, he houseruled that the monster trait Amphibiousness applies to freshwater, while "Semi-Aquatic" (homebrew trait where you can breath both air and saltwater) applies to saltwater.
So for example, bullywugs would have Amphibiousness, sea elves would have Semi-Aquatic, and sahuagin (which in his setting are based on salmon) would have both traits.
Bitbrain
Lost in Dark Sun
Pretty much. Most of the other players referred to it as "the invasion of the horny fishmen".
My old lizardfolk PC (and the rest of his tribe) knew it as "free lunch day".
Khisanth the Ancient
Explorer
I would probably assume Sea Hags are sufficiently supernatural to not have to care about adapting, since hags are fey.
Merrow might be the same way, because of abyssal mutation; if they can survive in the seas of Demogorgon's abyssal layer, I'm not sure freshwater/saltwater is going to matter much.
I agree that aboleths and chuul shouldn't have to care about it, but I'd say that's more because they're aberrations and don't work off of Earth biology. The skin covering really shouldn't matter, since a water-breather is still going to be taking in the water around it.
I'd say that only beasts and humanoids (and maybe giants, if there are any aquatic giants, and possibly the less supernatural monstrosities and oozes) should have to care about stuff like this. Anything non-living (constructs, undead), of a planar nature (celestials, elementals, fey, fiends), or highly supernatural (aberrations, dragons, most monstrosities etc.) should ignore it.
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