Water Fiends
Those that live near the rivers, lakes and marshes of the Shadowlands do not
worry so much about the woodland trolls or tree dwelling goblins. Their fears
are of the dripping denizens that rise from the waters. There are a number of
creatures that live (or unlive) on the banks and beneath the surface. There is
also the dreaded Nagas. Lets list the first of these and then we will get to the
scaled-ones.
Energies from the Abyss often taint waterways creating new breeds of undead.
Will O’Wisps are the spirits of those who have drown. Cheated of a noble death
they hate the living. They fight with magic only and as spirits cannot be harmed
by base physical damage. They will fight individually or, if many of them
drowned together, as a pack. The Drowned Dead are water-logged zombies who died
much the same way as Will O’Wisp but in tainted waters. The evil charged the
body and awoke them as zombies.
The vodniks are the true fiends of the waters but they also have the duty of
guarding the souls of people who drowned in the river. No one knows if the
vodnik is a single creature draped in body parts or a composite of many corpses.
It lives and hunts the waters. Its shambling form usually has extra or limbs
hanging from it or other lumpy protrusions of flesh where a body part has been
attached. It is said to have hidden one of its ribs in the marshes and it cannot
be entirely destroyed unless that rib is broken.
The Kelpie are possibly one of the fay, these creatures often more troublesome
than dangerous. They will beg for treasure from those they encounter. If they
are refused they will curse the person and attack them. If they are given
something good they have been known to give the person a river rock containing a
number of boons.
The Merro creatures obviously are relatives somehow of the Water Fay and the
Sprites, yet for some reason, their hatred of humans is absolute. They are
exceptional swordfighters and usually wield very deadly blades.
The Naga are aquatic humanoids that can appear sprite or human-like. Near
nothing is known of know of their culture for they have not been seen in
centuries. It was thought until today that they were extinct. In the days of
old, the marsh folk feared the Naga, as they often raided villages, stole the
young, and then disappeared back into the waters with them. It was said they
offered up these stolen children to some great serpent deity. The race has two
skills that make them very dangerous foes. The first is their mesmeric powers
and the second is the poisons they can spit in combat.