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Let's Read: Volo's Monsters
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<blockquote data-quote="Chaosmancer" data-source="post: 7014385" data-attributes="member: 6801228"><p>I'd never heard of this poem before. Thank you for sharing and when I have time (in ever dwindling supply these days) I'll read it </p><p></p><p></p><p>On to the sea. </p><p></p><p>Slight correction, they get three attacks, with one going to the anatomy, which doesn't help make them much scarier. </p><p></p><p>We of course have the standard aquatic tactic of "I can breathe water and you can't" for grappling, but these guys don't really have the strength to pull it off reliably. We can also of course, give them some equipment, better armor and weapons always helps, but what do you use them for?</p><p></p><p>My first reaction to seeing and reading about these guys was to remember Davy Jone's Crew from the Pirates of the Caribbean. That's who these things are almost perfectly. Then I got some inspiration and checked some books.</p><p></p><p>Swim speed of 30 ft equals the average land speed for a party, overland travel rules for a party have them traveling between 3 and 4 miles per hour without risking exhaustion, for 8 hours. </p><p></p><p>Check the DMs Guide, and you'll see that your average sailing vessels only achieve 2 to 2.5 mph. Galleys and Longboats being 4 and 3 mph respectively. </p><p></p><p>These guys can run down ships. And oh, the damage you can cause to a ship while you're underwater and holding even simple weapons like a pick. </p><p></p><p>So, here's the set up, let's say a Dragon Turtle sinks a ship, and instead of leaving the crew to drown, offers them a deal. Help me plunder more ships, and I'll let you live. It carries the sea spawn in close enough, they dart off to attack the ship, and the Turtle stays back where it is safe from harm. They can attack the hull, clamber up the sides to get to the crew, mess with the rudder, disengage the anchor, everything you can think of to weaken the crew and sink the ship. Turtle comes up to get the treasure and offers the same deal to more of the crew. </p><p></p><p>Maybe eventually the crew gets large enough the turtle helps a particularly talented spawn become captain of his own ship. Perhaps giving him a token that he can use to turn the willing into Sea Spawn while the Turtle isn't around. </p><p></p><p>The key to keeping this crew threatening to higher level players is that they can attack the ship instead of the crew. Imagine a player down in the hold, trying to stab a Shark-Seaspawn as it wrecks the hull and water is gushing into you. Seems fairly dramatic.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Chaosmancer, post: 7014385, member: 6801228"] I'd never heard of this poem before. Thank you for sharing and when I have time (in ever dwindling supply these days) I'll read it On to the sea. Slight correction, they get three attacks, with one going to the anatomy, which doesn't help make them much scarier. We of course have the standard aquatic tactic of "I can breathe water and you can't" for grappling, but these guys don't really have the strength to pull it off reliably. We can also of course, give them some equipment, better armor and weapons always helps, but what do you use them for? My first reaction to seeing and reading about these guys was to remember Davy Jone's Crew from the Pirates of the Caribbean. That's who these things are almost perfectly. Then I got some inspiration and checked some books. Swim speed of 30 ft equals the average land speed for a party, overland travel rules for a party have them traveling between 3 and 4 miles per hour without risking exhaustion, for 8 hours. Check the DMs Guide, and you'll see that your average sailing vessels only achieve 2 to 2.5 mph. Galleys and Longboats being 4 and 3 mph respectively. These guys can run down ships. And oh, the damage you can cause to a ship while you're underwater and holding even simple weapons like a pick. So, here's the set up, let's say a Dragon Turtle sinks a ship, and instead of leaving the crew to drown, offers them a deal. Help me plunder more ships, and I'll let you live. It carries the sea spawn in close enough, they dart off to attack the ship, and the Turtle stays back where it is safe from harm. They can attack the hull, clamber up the sides to get to the crew, mess with the rudder, disengage the anchor, everything you can think of to weaken the crew and sink the ship. Turtle comes up to get the treasure and offers the same deal to more of the crew. Maybe eventually the crew gets large enough the turtle helps a particularly talented spawn become captain of his own ship. Perhaps giving him a token that he can use to turn the willing into Sea Spawn while the Turtle isn't around. The key to keeping this crew threatening to higher level players is that they can attack the ship instead of the crew. Imagine a player down in the hold, trying to stab a Shark-Seaspawn as it wrecks the hull and water is gushing into you. Seems fairly dramatic. [/QUOTE]
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