Krakens are monstrous creatures that live within the sea, posing a threat to all the seafaring races of Eberron. Krakens are extremely long-lived and extremely intelligent, and serve as gods to some of the sahuagin clans across the seas.[3][5]
Description[]
Krakens resemble gigantic squids, with large tentacles emerging from a streamlined body. Kraken have eight tentacles, two which are nearly 60 feet (18 meters) long and covered with barbs, and six that are 30 feet (9.1 meters) long. They have a beak-like mouth beneath their swarms of tentacles.[3]
Krakens are nearly immortal and never stop growing. The average kraken measures 100 feet (30 meters) long. Krakens feast on whales and other large prey in the ocean.[4]
Personality[]
Krakens are highly intelligent, and usually extremely malicious. They take delight in kidnapping humanoids by surprise. They have been known to build giant communities of stolen humanoid slaves in air pockets deep beneath the ocean.[3]
Abilities[]
Krakens use their giant tentacles to grab and crush ships sailing the seas. They use their smaller tentacles to grab unknowing humanoids, dragging them deep beneath the sea. A kraken's tentacle is extremely strong, and can crush a small ship. They move at great speeds, and can use their bodies to ram vessels. Much like a squid, a kraken can jet quickly in the opposite direction, firing off a cloud of ink as it goes.[3]
Krakens also have the ability to control the weather, and will use this to whip up storms to besiege their targets.[3]
Krakens can speak both Aquan and Common, and are telepathic. They can use this telepathy to take partial control of other sea life, using them as minions. They possess darkvision to see beneath the waves.[3][6]
Activities[]
The krakens continue to entreat with the dragons and other elder seafaring races (such as leviathans and sea drakes) as part of the Krakenheart Council. The great races all meet in the Vortex within the Dragonreach.[7]
Sailors have found an increase in kraken activity within the Thunder Sea. A number of ships have fallen to the mighty tentacles of the krakens. Some attribute this increase to the presence of Zlortharkis, a cunning and evil kraken.[5]
History[]
According to the ancient legends of the sahuagin, the krakens have been around for millennia. Their legends speak of a great war between the krakens and the dragons during the Age of Demons, though it is uncertain if the krakens were allies with the fiends of Khyber or independent agents. Over the years, the krakens have survived, and have become god-like beings in the eyes of the sahuagin. Some clans of sahuagin worship these malevolent creatures, while others see the krakens as an affront to their god Shargon and seek to destroy them.[5]
Habitats[]
Krakens rule deep beneath the seas of Eberron. They are known to congregate beneath the Thunder Sea between Khorvaire and Xen'drik, where they can be found beneath the Straits of Shargon and their namesake, Kraken Bay.[8] They can also be found off the coasts of the continent of Argonnessen.[7]
Kraken overlords reside in deep ocean rifts in the Thunder Sea.[9]
Symbology[]
The sigil of House Lyrandar
The kraken is the symbol for House Lyrandar, taken after the firstborn of their house, Lyran, was said to have the blessing of Arawai and used krakens to smite his pirate foes.[10]
Rumors & Legends[]
A small cult within House Lyrandar, the Storm Front, believe that the Firstborn of House Lyrandar did not die and instead became immortal krakens, and that they too can become krakens if they gain enough power. They believe that the immortal kraken lords guide the cult from the depths of the sea through dreams and visions to dominate the oceans.[11]
There might be some truth to this, since House Lyrandar ships have been free from attacks by the increased kraken activity in the Thunder Sea.[5]
Notable Krakens[]
- Zlortharkis is a mighty half-fiend kraken that lives beneath the Thunder Sea. He has organized other kraken and various sahuagin clans to attack vessels bound for the city of Stormreach in Xen'drik.[5]
Appendix[]
External Links[]
- Kraken article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014). Monster Manual (5th Edition). (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 196–197. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mike Mearls (2010). Monster Manual 3. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 122. ISBN 0-7869-5490-6.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual (3.5 edition). (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 162–163. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Template:Cite dragon/334/Ecology of the Kraken
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Keith Baker, Nicolas Logue, James Desborough, C.A. Suleiman (2008). City of Stormreach. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 127. ISBN 0-7869-4803-5.
- ↑ Mike Mearls (2010). Monster Manual 3. (Wizards of the Coast), p. ?. ISBN 0-7869-5490-6.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Keith Baker, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Nicolas Logue, & Amber Scott (2007). Dragons of Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 55. ISBN 0-7869-4154-5.
- ↑ James Wyatt, Keith Baker, Luke Johnson, Steven Brown (2006). Player's Guide to Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 133. ISBN 0-7869-3912-5.
- ↑ Keith Baker, Nicolas Logue, James Desborough, C.A. Suleiman (2008). City of Stormreach. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 139. ISBN 0-7869-4803-5.
- ↑ Keith Baker, Ari Marmell, Michelle Lyons and C.A. Suleiman (2006). Dragonmarked. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 46. ISBN 0-7869-3933-8.
- ↑ Keith Baker, Ari Marmell, Michelle Lyons and C.A. Suleiman (2006). Dragonmarked. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-7869-3933-8.