Merrenoloth

Merrenoloths, also known as marraenoloths, charonadaemons, and the in-between were the highest ranking of the lesser yugoloths and in charge of piloting the boats that sailed the River Styx. The skeletal servitors of Charon were the most specialized among the daemons, loyal only to their boats and the incredible amounts of money needed to afford their services.

Description
Merrenoloths appeared as pale, nearly skeletal humanoids that stood tall and wore rotted, hooded robes and burial wraps. Their eyes glowed red, especially when they became angered.

Personality
Charonadaemons were grim and pitiless, possessing more cunning and malice than Charon himself. Merrenoloths held a mercenary mentality and a neutral outlook in their dealings, possibly more than any other yugoloth. They realized their inability to function without a ship and always attempted to stay near the one they had attached themselves to.

Abilities
Merrenoloths did not excel in combat, as they were limited to trying to bite at foes with their bony fangs or smack them with their oars. They did however, possess supernatural control of any ship they were hired to captain, being able to command them by simply naming their destination. They could manipulate the winds around their ships to not only speed up travel, and prevent others from boarding them, but also increase the level of comfort of paying passengers. The ship would not sink if the hull was breached and could be magically restored by the merrenoloth. Their crafts could be piloted not only in fiendish waters but also in the Ethereal and Astral planes if they so chose.

They could innately cause the effects of the charm person, control water, control weather, darkness, detect magic, dispel magic, and gust of wind spells. When angered, their gaze could cause intense fear in their opponents. After this they normally summoned a small group of hydroloths or less commonly a second merrenoloth, to fight for them. All merrenoloths were in constant telepathic contact with each other and when in conversation used telepathy to communicate.

Combat
Although not weak, merrenoloths tried to avoid combat whenever possible, only caring about the safety of their ship. Their contracts normally went out of their way to specify that they had no obligation to do battle.

Society
Merrenoloths charged either 10 pp, two gems worth at least 50 gp each, or a magic item worth at least 100 gp per passenger, in advance. They never carried cargo. They almost never got lost on the treacherous course of the river, but were known to sometimes lead their passengers to traps laid out by a third paying party. It was advisable to increase the payment to a merrenoloth to avoid such an inconvenience.

Despite attempts from other fiends to use them as spies, merrenoloths had no interest in participating in the Blood War. Only their activity as boatmen concerned them.