Converting monsters from Dragon magazine

[freyar]

Sure!

 

[Cleon]

Sure!

Updating Many-Humped Sea Serpent Working Draft.

So that just leaves a couple of descriptions and a brace of backgrounds.

Oh, and a weight - assuming we decide to give it one.

 

[freyar]

Hmmm. The purple worm is the same length and 40,000 lb., but I think it may be a bit smaller in cross section. On the other hand, the many-humped has air sacs, so maybe it's less dense. Want to go with 40,000-50,000 lb?

A many-humped sea serpent is a type of primitive whale. It has a single pair of flippers and a small fin near its head and a double-lobed tail. Along its back, stretching the length of the body, is a regular set of large humps, which are believed to be hydrostatic organs that provide stability as well as a reserve of air for long dives.

 

[Cleon]

Hmmm. The purple worm is the same length and 40,000 lb., but I think it may be a bit smaller in cross section. On the other hand, the many-humped has air sacs, so maybe it's less dense. Want to go with 40,000-50,000 lb?

Free-swimming aquatic animals normally have the same density as water, otherwise they waste energy to prevent themselves sinking down (if heavier) or floating up (if lighter).

A Purple Worm averages 5 feet in diameter and 80 feet in length according to the SRD. If it's a simple cylinder, that'd work out as 1570 cubic feet, or roughly 25 pounds per cubic feet at its listed weight of 40,000 pounds. That seems too low density. If the worm tapers a bit at one end or another it'll have less volume and therefore have to a higher density. For example, if only the first 20 feet (the "business end") was a uniform cylinder and the remaining 60 feet (the "tail end") tapered evenly to a point and so has the volume of a cone, its total volume would be halved, making it 50 pounds a cubic feet.

That was getting a bit beside the point though - which is the Many-Humped ought to have a respectable weight.

I was thinking around 40 tons would be acceptable, which'd make it around 6 feet in diameter (assuming it's as dense as water and its 80 foot length approximates to 40% cylinder and 60% cone),

For comparison, that works out as two-fifth the weight of our Merhorse conversion if it were scaled up to the same length. It also means its body proportions are twice as thick as our Titanoboa "giant boa constrictor" conversion (which was 80 feet long and 10 tons).

A many-humped sea serpent is a type of primitive whale. It has a single pair of flippers and a small fin near its head and a double-lobed tail. Along its back, stretching the length of the body, is a regular set of large humps, which are believed to be hydrostatic organs that provide stability as well as a reserve of air for long dives.

That rather mixed up the "description" and "background" portions of the fluff.

I'm not feeling desperately creative at the moment. (Partly because one of my blinkin' cats woke me up three times last night.)

If you're lucky I'll post a draft for some fluff later on.

 

[freyar]

So are we ok with 40 tons? That's fine by me.

See, I think of the descriptive parts of that suggested background as too detailed for the actual description, which should be a rather short thing.
A long serpent-like creature with a row of humps running down the back. Or some such. But, then again, I'm pretty lousy at this sort of writing.

I can sympathize with the cat issue. Since one of ours passed last year, the remaining one often wants company starting quite early in the morning.

 

[Cleon]

So are we ok with 40 tons? That's fine by me.

Seems we're agreed on 40 tons then.

See, I think of the descriptive parts of that suggested background as too detailed for the actual description, which should be a rather short thing.
A long serpent-like creature with a row of humps running down the back. Or some such. But, then again, I'm pretty lousy at this sort of writing.

I can sympathize with the cat issue. Since one of ours passed last year, the remaining one often wants company starting quite early in the morning.

I still haven't been feeling inspired enough to do a description. Better luck tomorrow!

We certainly don't need anything that elaborate. So far we've been keeping the background & descriptions for these sea monsters fairly simple.

 

[Cleon]

I still haven't been feeling inspired enough to do a description. Better luck tomorrow!

We certainly don't need anything that elaborate. So far we've been keeping the background & descriptions for these sea monsters fairly simple.

Well we're a few days past the "tomorrow" in question, so I'll have a go...

A creature resembling a thick-bodied serpent as long as a galley, with a row of evenly-spaced humps down its back. The beast has dark rubbery skin contrasted by a bright white underbelly. Its head resembles that of a calf or hornless ox, while its tail is like a whale or porpoise's, with twin horizontal flukes.

Despite its resemblance to a snake, a many-humped sea serpent is actually an elongated species of whale. Its skin is rubbery, not scaly, and is usually smooth, although it may show patches of roughness if it has suffered injuries or parasitic infestations. Some specimens have one or two white stripes on the sides of their necks. Many-humpeds prefer to live in warmer water at the boundary where shallow seas descend into the deep ocean.

Many-humped sea serpents average about 80 feet long and 40 tons in weight, but can grow to 120 feet in length.

Many-Finned
Longer than many ships, this serpentine creature has a body covered in segmented bony armour, with a dozen or so spikes along either side of its body. A serrated ridge runs down its entire spine, from a small cowlike head at the front, to a narrow triple-lobed tail at the back. Its jointed armor and oddly-shaped tail give it a resemblance to a lobster. The creature has a pair of flippers at the base of its short, slim neck.

Many-finned sea serpents are another serpentine whale like the many humped. They favor warmer waters than many-humped sea serpents so are only found in the tropics. A many-finned is leathery brown with patches of dirty yellow, which in some circumstances may combine to give it a greenish-grey appearance.

Many-finned sea serpents average about 70 feet long and 40 tons in weight, but can grow to 100 feet in length.

 

[Cleon]

Hold on a second, where's the Many-Finned's armour class gone to?

I added it several updates ago, but it seems to have disappeared.

Re-updating Many-Humped Sea Serpent Working Draft.

 

[freyar]

Hey, that looks good!

 

[Cleon]

Hey, that looks good!

Ta!

Updating Many-Humped Sea Serpent Working Draft.

I guess that's it for these two.

Still game for the Con-rit?