Morkoth

Morkoths were known as wraiths of the deep, a cruel and evil race of aquatic predators with hypnotic powers.

Description
Early descriptions of morkoths were vague and suggested they were humanoid, but as these mysterious creatures got involved in the affairs of other races, a more accurate picture emerged. Most morkoths had a wide mouth with many sharp teeth visible even when the mouth was closed. A few had beaks like a squid,  which was one reason why some descriptions were inconsistent. Adding to the confusion, they had legs like a lobster protruding from their midsection and eight octopus-like tentacles making up the lower half of their body. Down the center of their back was a dorsal fin and they had large, bulging eyes.

Young adult morkoths were about 6 ft (1.8 m) long,  but older specimens could grow larger. Their skin was black with patches of luminescence that glowed faintly in the deep gloom.

Personality
Morkoths were generally solitary and viewed most other races with disdain, suspicion, or complete indifference. They valued almost nothing except food. Treasure and magic items held no fascination for the morkoth, they were only useful as bait for luring in their next meal or as bargaining chips. They were known to strike deals with other evil races, helping a cause in exchange for a slave or two, which, because of the morkoth's ravenous appetite, were likely consumed in a short time. Morkoths reveled in subterfuge and were likely to betray lesser allies the moment it was greatly advantageous for them to do so. Kraken were an exception: morkoths would offer to assist them in exchange for a food-slave now and then.

Combat
Morkoth's only offensive weapon was their bite, either with a mouth full of sharp teeth or a wicked beak. They relied heavily on their ability to hypnotize their prey into entering their lair where they could be killed without much fuss and eaten. The lair played an important role in the morkoth's tactics. It was a central chamber with six tunnels spiraling generally outward, intersecting in seemingly random ways, forming a labyrinth of confusing passages. This maze acted like a hypnotic pattern, and allowed the morkoth to greatly extend the range of its hypnotic power. Any creature that passed within 20 ft (6.1 m) of a tunnel opening was subject to an assault on their willpower. If they failed to resist, the victim swam through the labyrinth directly to the central chamber where they were likely to be eaten alive. Some reports indicated that once the victim was in the maze the morkoth tried to charm them into submission before the effects of the hypnotic labyrinth wore off.

There was no limit on how many creatures a morkoth could hypnotize, but being clever and cautious, a morkoth would usually only attempt to lure in one creature at a time. In particular, if a school of possible prey passed by, a morkoth would choose the one bringing up the rear in the hopes of luring it away without any of its companions being alerted.

Outside of its lair, the range of a morkoth's hypnosis was 20 ft (6.1 m).

In addition, morkoths had an innate magic repellant that had a good chance of reflecting any spell, spell-like ability, or magic item effect back upon its caster. This ability could be temporarily suppressed by a successful dispel magic cast upon the morkoth.

Society
Morkoths were reclusive and did not often congregate. They where not known to worship any gods. They would occasionally serve kraken for rewards of food and only take sides in a conflict if they were being directly affected by the fighting. Some magic-using morkoths formed an isolationist group known as the Four Arcana of Humbar but were drawn into the Fifth Serôs War when kraken allies of Vaequiis the Dark attacked and they suffered heavy losses in &minus;780 DR.