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Documentation Area

Document Path: /doc/monsters/giant_octopus

Name:
	Giant Octopus  (Sea Animal)

Stats:
	No. Appearing  : 1-3
	Climate/Terrain: Any salt water
	Frequency      : Rare
	Organization   : Solitary
	Activity Cycle : Night
	Diet           : Carnivore

Description:
	The dreaded 'cuttlefish' are the scourge of ocean-going sailors and
	fishermen. Malicious and cunning, giant octopi have been known to at-
	tack ships, sinking smaller craft and stealing crew members from the
	larger ships.

	Giant octopi change their colour to blend into their surroundings, and
	the range of colours and patterns available to them is extensive, from
	green to deep black, blue speckles and red stripes. Tentacles are often
	disguised as seaweed. Once camouflaged, there is only a 10% chance to
	detect them, and usually it is their eyes that give them away. Normal
	coloration is grey to brown, and their vicious beaks are a deep yellow
	with a bright orange mouth and tongue.

Combat:
	An octopus will readily attack swimmers or small vessels in order to
	eat the crew. Several have been known to cooperate in order to over-
	whelm a larger ship, and any craft seized by those monsters loses way
	and comes to a full stop in three turns.

	A giant octopus generally attacks with six of its eight tentacles,
	using two anchor itself. Each striking tentacles causes damage, but
	unless the member is loosened or severed, it constricts for damage
	every round after striking. If a victim is dragged close enough to the
	beak, the monster can bite too.

	Any victim under 8 feet tall or long can be struck by only one tentacle
	at a time, and the chance that both upper limbs are pinned on a suc-
	cessful strike is 25%, while the chance that both upper limbs are free
	is also 25%. When both upper limbs are held, the victim has no attack;
	if only one limb is held the victim attacks with a -3 penalty to its
	attack roll; if both libs are free (i.e. the tentacle is wrapped around
	the victim's body) then the victim attacks with a -1 penalty to its
	attack roll. Any creature with a strength equal or greater than 18 can
	grasp the tentacle and negate its constriction. This does not free the
	victim, and the octopus will immediately seek to drag the victim to its
	mouth to eat it. To break free, a tentacle must be severed.

	Once three or more tentacles are severed, it is 90% probably that the
	octopus will retreat, ejecting a cloud of black ink 40 feet high by 60
	feet wide by 60 feet long. This ink cloud completely obscures the vi-
	sion of any creature within it. The wounded octopus then camouflages
	itself in its lair or a nearby hiding place. It takes the monster two
	to three months to grow back severed tentacles.

Habitat/Society:
	While octopi cooperate to attack a food source, they live a solitary
	existence, preferring to shelter in warm water of medial to shallow
	depth. Lairs are made in wrecked ships and undersea caves; any treasure
	found there is just an incidential leftover from previous meals. Con-
	summate hunters, these monsters have great patience and cover a very
	small area, waiting for their food to come to them. Mating season comes
	every spring. Like most marine animals, octopi leave their eggs in a
	reef to fend for themselves.

Ecology:
	When prey is scarce, or if it has been wounded, an octopus turns to
	scavenging, eating everything from small crustaceans to seaweeds. Sur-
	vival is paramount with this monster. If prefers to hunt at night, and
	often a man mussing during the late night watch has been grabbed by a
	giant octopus, pulled quickly over the side, and eaten.

	Giant octopi's leathery hide is tough and waterproof, and it is worked
	into fine rain ponchos by sailors lucky enough to catch and kill one.
	Another by-product of these monsters is their ink - they are most often
	hunted for this commodity. Giant octopus ink can be used to pen magical
	scrolls.