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Piranhas were small schooling predatory freshwater fish.[14]
Description[]
Piranhas were small fish with black[3] or silver scales[3] and naturally grew up to 1 foot (0.3 meters) in length, with the average being 0 feet and 9 inches (0.23 meters)[3]. They had bulbous bulging eyes and were infamous for their gaping mouths filled with razor-sharp tiny teeth.[5]
Behavior[]
Piranhas were known to travel in schools of five and up to fifty individual fish. They were aggressive and were likely to attack any living creature found in the school's vicinity. Once a single drop of blood was spilled, the entire school swarmed the prey in blinding berserk bloodlust.[14] Once they tasted blood, they attacked everything within 100 feet (30 meters) downstream and 10 feet (3 meters) up. The frenzy lasted between sixty and ninety minutes.[5]
Piranhas' bloodlust was dangerous to their kin as well as their prey. When the prey was able to slay a big portion of the school, the frenzied fish often turned to cannibalism, consuming their own.[8]
A shoal of piranhas could strip all flesh of an animal within mere minutes.[3]
Ecology[]
Piranhas fed mainly on fish but consumed anything living that entered their waters. Similar to sharks, they could smell blood from afar. They had no natural enemies. Piranhas reached reproductive age just a few months after being born and could green all year round, living up to four years.[3]
In the areas where floating eyes could be found, piranhas lived in a symbiotic relationship. Piranhas avoided floating eyes' paralyzing gaze waiting for them to affect bigger prey. Once the prey was immobilized, piranhas swooped in, consuming the creature, while floating eyes were left to gorge on the scraps and remnants.[15]
Chultan piranhas often accompanied aldani, living in symbiosis.[11]
Habitat[]
Piranhas in the Realms could be found in hot sweltering jungle bodies of water, as well as in cold rivers and lakes. Their main food source was creatures that entered the waters only to be attacked by shoals of blood-frenzied tiny fish.[5]
Piranhas were dangerous inhabitants of swamps like Akhlaur Swamp in Halruaa[7] and Lizard Marsh on the Sword Coast.[6]
The members of the Assassins Guild of the Galenas in Damara built their citadel above the river waters infested with hungry piranhas. Citadel's many traps led directly into the perilous waters.[8]
Piranha could be found in the jungles of Chult. In the waters of River Olung, piranhas were hunters and scavengers, consuming dead creatures who died in the water or on the river shores.[10]
In Maztica, piranha swarms were a constant danger in the swamps and jungle rivers.[9]
Species[]
- Cold-water piranhas - species of slammer piranha fund in colder climates.[5]
- Giant piranha - bigger species of piranha that reach up to 3 feet and 8 inches (1.1 meters) long.[3]
- Saltwater piranhas - creatures, magically summoned by the inhabitants of the Sea of Fallen Stars, often as a part of aquatic traps, via animal summoning I spell.[16]
Appendix[]
See Also[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The 2nd edition alignment given in the original source is "Nil", which should be read as Neutral according to this Sage Advice answer by Skip Williams in Dragon Magazine Issue #155: "The nil alignment rating is a holdover from an early draft of the Monstrous Compendium material. Originally, a rating of nil indicated that a creature was not intelligent enough to have an alignment at all. However, the nil rating was dropped during rewriting and should have been replaced with the neutral alignment."
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Richard L. Baker (August 2010). “Sea Demon's Shrine”. Dungeon #181 (Wizards of the Coast) (181)., p. 68.
- ↑ Richard Baker, Joseph D. Carriker, Jr., Jennifer Clarke Wilkes (August 2005). Stormwrack. Edited by John D. Rateliff, John Thompson. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 162–163. ISBN 0-7869-3689-4.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 David "Zeb" Cook, et al. (1989). Monstrous Compendium Volume Two. (TSR, Inc), p. 102. ISBN 0-8803-8753-X.
- ↑ Skip Williams (March 1990). “Sage Advice”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #155 (TSR, Inc.), p. {Template:1.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Jim Bambra et al (1986). Creature Catalogue. (TSR, Inc), pp. 18–19. ISBN 0-88038-315-1.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ossian Studios (June 2018). Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford. Beamdog.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Thomas Reid (October 2004). Shining South. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 126. ISBN 0-7869-3492-1.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson (1987). The Bloodstone Wars. (TSR, Inc), p. 25. ISBN 0-8803-8398-4.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Jeff Grubb and Tim Beach (September 1991). Fires of Zatal. (TSR, Inc), p. 21. ISBN 1-5607-6139-3.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 James Lowder (November 1992). The Ring of Winter. (TSR, Inc), chap. 17. ISBN 978-1560763307.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 James Lowder, Jean Rabe (1993). The Jungles of Chult. (TSR, Inc), p. 6. ISBN 1-5607-6605-0.
- ↑ Jon Pickens ed. (1995). Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two. (TSR, Inc.), p. 123. ISBN 0-7869-0199-3.
- ↑ Jon Pickens ed. (1995). Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two. (TSR, Inc.), p. 122. ISBN 0-7869-0199-3.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Doug Stewart (June 1993). Monstrous Manual. (TSR, Inc), p. 118. ISBN 1-5607-6619-0.
- ↑ Jon Pickens ed. (1995). Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two. (TSR, Inc.), p. 52. ISBN 0-7869-0199-3.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend, Thomas M. Reid (1999). Wyrmskull Throne. (TSR, Inc), p. 28. ISBN 0-7869-1405-X.