Weed Eel

Weed Eel

Species	ray-finned fish
No. Appearing	4–16
Behaviour	colony
Range	wetland
Size	3 ft. 6 in. long
Weight	13 lbs.
Intelligence	0
Armour Class	8
Hit Dice	1
Action Points	5
Max. Stride	8
THAC0	20
Hp/Die	d3
Attack Forms	1: jaws
Damage	1
Special Attacks	surprise on a 1–4; venom

Weed eels, sometimes called swamp eels, are large scaled snake-like fish dwelling in thick reedy areas, including mangrove swamps and rice fields. While mortally dangerous, they are yet an important source of food in some parts of the world. They are able to thrive in fairly cool waters, and may be found in southern temperate climes. During the day they are light green in colour, but may appear blue towards twilight. They are virtually invisible in the dark.

They mate hermaphroditically, spawning in shallow waters. Eggs are laid in "bubble nests" that float to the surface, drifting into deep water far from shore; one such nest may include up to 1,000 eggs. As they hatch, weed eels instinctively swim towards shore, though there is some cannibalistic feeding that takes place as the nest dissipates.

Advantages

Weed eels by surprise, moving very fast, attacking creatures that walk through weeded shoals collecting along the shallows of lakes and slow rivers. During the wet season, rice paddies can particularly dangerous — though whole clans will rush to kill a trapped eel.

Livestock and eel hunters are the most common victims. They're able to deliver a deadly slug of venom, causing 4 damage with the bite and an additional 1 point of damage every two rounds after, until a full 8 hit points are taken. This is enough to kill most humanoids and a good many smaller livestock. They can deliver but one poisonous bite a day.

See Bestiary