Attack of the Kelp Mummy

I'm disappointed in the lack of aquatic enemies in the 4E MM--water can really make an encounter more dangerous and interesting, and creatures who know how to use it can wreak havoc on an adventuring group that's used to fighting land-based or airborne critters.

I'm rounding out the roster today with my Kelp Mummy. There's also the Giant Octopus from a few weeks ago, and I've got quite the coastal skirmisher waiting in the wings. Let me know what you think.

Comments

[greywulf]

Oddly enough, one of the things I like about the new Monster Manual is the LACK of ecological details. That puts the onus back on me as GM to put the beasties wherever I want - so I can have aquatic Trolls, frostfell Gelatinous Cubes, arboreal Kobolds, or whatever. Just add flavour detail, and you're done without all that painful 3e templating.

That said, there's a lot to be said for having monsters purpose-built for the environment, and I agree that there's not a lot of them specifically suited to just one eco niche. Keep on building, and we'll keep on using 'em :D

Go all aquatic on your players asses! It's all underwater, if you want!

Good post.

[RPG Ike]

You know, you're right. I NEVER look at the environment section of a critter when deciding what the PCs should fight, and when I'm building 3X critters I'm always wishing I could just skip that section. If I don't care, why would the players or other DMs?

I like having something interesting to read about how the creature lives or interacts with its environment, but I think I'll just skip shoehorning any of my critters into "temperate forests" or "subterranean lakes" from now on. :)

Thanks, Greywulf!

[Ishmayl]

That should just give you that much more reason to homebrew your own villains! :) But you're right - I was disappointed in the lack of creatures of the depths. And I do feel that the old ecology sections in MMs were a good thing - if nothing else, for use as inspiration for GMs who aren't all that ecologically-minded.
Good post!

[RPG Ike]

Oh, I agree 100%, but do we really need to be told in the statistics block that the critter lives in the arctic foothills, for example? I think the DM looks for an appropriate challenge for his players first, then (maybe) he looks at whether or not it fits thematically with the adventure area. Maybe. But that wouldn't stop me from using a cool critter, and I'm willing to bet 90% of us DMs will stick a yeti in any snowy area, and maybe even other places, if it suits our purpose. :)

Thanks, Ishmayl.