Kraken

"A kraken dreams of casting its tentacles into the heavens and strangling that which birthed it, and when its dream exceeds its reach, it settles for the occasional passing ship."

- Excerpt from Night of the Kraken Cult, by Malfeore Serrang of Tethyr

Krakens, called lopok by the locathah, were large, ocean-dwelling magical beasts.

Krakens were feared across the known world. They were creatures that dwell in the depths of the ocean and came to the surface to prey upon ships and their crews.

Description
They were akin to squids except larger in size, with a body almost 30 feet (9 meters) long. They had a similar body, with a ring of tentacles surrounding a mouth connected to a conical central body. Two of its ten tentacles were longer than the rest and had deadly barbs. The kraken had very large eyes, and fins protruded from the upper part of its elongated central body.

When younger, krakens resembled a pale squid.

Their massive tentacles could crush the hull of a galleon. The average kraken was about 100 feet in length and weighed about 4,000 pounds.

Personality
Krakens were highly destructive and evil creatures. With their strong tentacles and massive strength, they could pull an entire ship down into the ocean. They often completely wiped tropical islands of all life, and deep beneath the ocean, they had cavernous lairs where they bred human slaves to feed and tend them.

Combat
While the kraken itself was quite powerful, many never saw the creature's body. It hid below the surface of the water, where it could be protected from any attacks by a ship's defenders. The kraken instead sent forth its massive tentacles to catch crewmen and drag them below the water, where the beast could devour the unfortunate souls in one gulp.

Krakens attacked predominantly with their tentacles. They could both constrict opponents and bring them into the reach of the creature's huge jaws. In addition, krakens could also release an enormous cloud of jet-black ink, regenerate severed limbs, and even cast spells.

Ecology
Krakens can speak some languages of surface-dwelling races but most commonly speak Common, Aquan, or a language of their own similar to that of whales.

In the area around Serôs krakens were known to be actively hunted by both storm giants and merrows, keeping their population low.

History
Krakens were supposedly once the rulers of the sea, but eventually the forces of good drove them back, though legends said they would one day rise again.

Notable Krakens

 * Gethshemeth was an ally to the morkoth Arcanum of Olleth that took control of an aberrant artifact called Dreamheart and became enthralled by the Abolethic Sovereignty in 1396 DR.
 * Slarkrethel was an ancient kraken that ruled the Purple Rocks, and headed the Kraken Society as their master.
 * Xisar, a powerful blue-skinned kraken that terrorized the land of Serôs in the late 13-century DR.

Appearances

 * Adventures:
 * Storm King's Thunder
 * Ghosts of Saltmarsh
 * Card Games
 * Spellfire: Master the Magic
 * Novels:
 * Plague of Spells
 * Tangled Webs
 * Video games:
 * Gateway to the Savage Frontier
 * Treasures of the Savage Frontier