Sea Spawn

D&D 2024 monster: Sea Spawn. Source: Volo's Guide to Monsters. challenge rating 1, creature type Humanoid, Medium size, speed 20 ft., swim 30 ft. Many of the stories sung as sea shanties and passed on as tales in dockside taverns tell of people lost to the sea-but not merely drowned and gone. These unfortunates are taken by the ocean and live on as sea spawn, haunting the waves like tortured reflections of their former selves. Coral encrusts them. Barnacles cling to their cold skin. Lungs that once filled with air can now breathe in water as well. Tales provide myriad reasons for these strange transformations. "Be wary of falling in love with a sea elf or a merfolk," some say. "Return to port before a storm, no matter how tempting the catch." "Honor the sea gods as they demand, but never promise them your heart." Such cautionary tales disguise the deeper truth: things lurk beneath the waves that strive to claim the hearts and minds of land dwellers. Deep Thralls Krakens, morkoths, sea hags, marids, storm giants, dragon turtles-all of these sea creatures and more can mark mortals as their own and claim them as minions. Such people might become beholden to their master through a bleak bargain, or they might find themselves cursed by such creatures. Once warped into a fishlike form, the person can't leave the sea for long without courting death. They are transformed by the sea and enslaved by powers of the deeps. And the transformation is more than mere fins and tentacles; they come to love their slavery. Poor souls. Anatomical Diversity Sea spawn come in a wide variety of forms. An individual might have a tentacle for an arm, the jaws of a shark, a sea urchin's spines, a whale's fin, octopus eyes, seaweed hair, or any combination of such qualities. Some sea spawn have piscine body parts that provide them with special abilities beyond those of an ordinary humanoid. The Sea Spawn of Purple Rocks Visitors to a string of islands called the Purple Rocks (in the Forgotte...