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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 7861338" data-attributes="member: 3285">Sea serpents are a staple of fantasy monsters so it's curious that they are not more prominent in Dungeons & Dragons. Research reveals the sea monster has always been in D&D, but it's taken a curious path that diverges significantly from the serpentine creature we associate with the name.[ATTACH=full]116107[/ATTACH]ThangorodrimTo discover the origins of the sea serpent and why its origin has been so muddled in D&D, we have to go back in time to when co-creator Gary Gygax outlined a series of GRAYTE WORMES in the postal  "Diplomacy" fanzine Thangorodrim, published by the International Federation of Wargamers, Thangorodrim vol 1, no 9 (Aug, 1970), <a href="https://archive.org/details/thangorodrim_vol_1_9-1970-08-14" target="_blank">where the mottled dragon first appears</a>:This series of dragons would become the chromatic monsters of D&D lore. Of note is that this description describes the purple worm as a dragon and that it lives on islands. That's the first hint that its origins will wildly diverge from its original conception.ChainmailChainmail reiterates that dragons come in different colors, but also mentions the purple or mottled dragon, which is still flightless and has a venomous sting:It's not until Original Dungeons & Dragons that the purple worm and mottled worm diverge.Original Dungeons & DragonsOD&D's Monsters & Treasure booklet transforms the purple worm transforms from a dragon to...well, a worm. To be fair, there is nothing in the description to indicate it is an actual worm -- it may well have been a result of artist interpretation -- but the picture makes it  clear that it is an actual worm:Of note is the first appearance of a sea monster in the entry immediately after. That entry also makes a parallel in size and function of the sea monster to a purple worm:For one edition, sea monsters had their own entry. It wouldn't last.Advanced Dungeons & DragonsBy the time Advanced Dungeons & Dragons debuted, two aspects were formalized that would remove the sea monster from D&D parlance. The purple worm was now undeniably a worm with no legs or anything else that could mistake it for a dragon. The sea monster was nowhere to be found, but an addendum at the end of the purple worm description provides a clue:It seems the sea serpent, like its purple dragon cousin, was gradually changed into a mottled shadow of its original self -- from terror of the high seas to a muck-dwelling predator. UPDATE: Updated: Pemeteron pointed out that the Cook/Marsh Expert set featured a Lesser Sea Serpent, AC9: Creature Catalogue features the Lesser and Greater versions as per Azzy, and Ralif Redhammer found a version under "Snake, Giant, Sea" in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. The sea serpent wouldn't reappear until the D&D <a href="https://amzn.to/2DjvefO" target="_blank">3.0 Fiend Folio</a> as a Sea Drake.</blockquote>

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