Werecrocodile

Werecrocodiles, also known as Sebek-spawn, were lycanthropes whose animal form was that of a crocodile. Werecrocodiles might also assume a hybrid form with the head of a crocodile and the body of a muscular human. They were powerful hunters and were feared throughout many lands.

Description
In their humanoid forms, werecrocodiles biologically indistinguishable from non-lycanthropes. Typically, they were humans of Mulhorandi or Chessentan ethnicity. They were often tall and thin, with a narrow face, sharp features, a long nose and chin, and a noticeable overbite.

Originally, werecrocodiles could only assume the forms of either humans or massive crocodiles, but at some point, they gained the ability to assume a hybrid form resembling a humanoid crocodile. They only gained the ability to shapeshift once they reached puberty.

Combat
In human form, werecrocodiles were considerable strong and often used a khopesh sword. In crocodile form, they relied on their sharp teeth, powerful jaws, and lashing tails as weapons. They preferred to grab opponents in their jaws and hold them underwater.

Werecrocodiles liked to ambush their prey, either by getting close in their humanoid form, or by lying in wait submerged under water. They often toyed with their opponents' sympathies in order to lower their guard, such as by pretending to be weak or grief-stricken. A favorite maneuver was to use their great strength to grab a target while in humanoid form, drag them into the water, and change form to hold and drown the victim.

Werecrocodiles also possessed the ability to summon a small number of mundane crocodiles which would obediently aid them in battle.

Ecology
They preferred to live in swamps or flooded plains. While they generally avoided areas with large humanoid populations, some werecrocodile families were known to take up residence in the sewers of large cities such as Soorenar and Skuld.

Like true crocodiles, werecrocodiles consumed anything that they could catch, including mostly fish and mammals who lived near their homes. However, their two favorite foods were the flesh of humans and the flesh of wererats. They had a particular taste for human flesh, and found its allure difficult to resist. They had no natural predators.

Reproduction
As a rule, werecrocodiles only mated amongst each other, and birthed live young lycanthropes. Alternatively, anyone bitten by a werecrocodile ran the risk of contracting their form of lycanthropy and transforming into a werecrocodile at the next full moon. The more grievous the bite, the more likely the victim was to contract the condition.

Society
Werecrocodiles lived in small family groups usually led by their mother, or else they lived alone. Those who lived near rivers or swamps made their homes in crude mud huts and had few possessions or treasures. They would spend most of their day hunting in crocodile form, then return home and assume human form to sleep during the night.

Werecrocodiles had no particular enmity for humans, they simply found their flesh too tasty to resist, and were also very territorial. At the same time, they were aware that humans had the greatest potential to harm them, and they consequently tempered their hunting and territoriality with caution. Werecrocodiles avoided conflict with large groups of humans, instead picking off lone individuals or small bands that they felt confident of overpowering. They would often lure their victims into traps or disguise themselves as humans in states of intense feigned grief in order to get the advantage in their ambush.

Language
They generally spoke Common and traditionally spoke the Mulhorandi language as well. They could also communicate with mundane crocodiles.

Religion
Their patron god was Sebek, the crocodile-headed minor Mulhorandi deity, and some werecrocodiles served him as clerics.

History
Werecrocodiles originated in the land of Mulhorand, where they were created as servitors by Sebek and served in that role for an unknown period of time. They eventually came to be quite numerous in Sekras, a city on the River of Swords that was the center of Sebek's worship. Their presence prompted paladins in service to the God-Kings Osiris and Horus-Re to destroy the city in the. As a result, they mostly moved on to Chessenta&mdash;where they became well entrenched in the Adderswamp. &mdash;although some continued to infest the ruins of Sekras. By the mid-to-late 14 century DR, there were more werecrocodiles in Chessenta than in Mulhorand.

In the, a family of werecrocodiles took up residence in the sewers of Soorenar and preyed on poor tradesfolk and peasants, trusting that the city's ruling nobility would not even notice the disappearances.