Sea Serpents

>>52720289
Guardians who only attack if you get too close to their wards, friendly kinds who offer rides if you give them something tasty, and badass summons.

>>52720345

But just big animals, for the most part?

>>52720289
Use prehistoric marine reptiles instead

>>52720411

No.

>>52720289
I like the idea of them being huge-ass snakes rather than limbless dragons.
One type is a gigantic, sea-anaconda, which attacks and constricts ships, whales, or generally anything it finds that it thinks it can eat. Gigantic sea-snakes whose venom is actually just a kind of acid, which burns away wood or metal from the hull. How intelligent they are is up to you.

>>52720407
Yes unless you want them to be intelligent elemental gods.

>>52720289
in 3.5, I use the stats for elasmosaurus and/or dire sharks for basic sea serpents.

more powerful sea serpents are dragons (sea dragons in my setting are serpents)

Lich smuggles undead for an invasion inside migratory sea serpents.

Gnome pirates build a submarine using sea serpent skeleton and some rubber.

Half-sea-serpent half-orc barbarian with 40 str goes out to avenge his mom, ties sea serpents into knots, chaotic evil sea aberration population grows to threatening proportions without sea serpent predation.

Albino sea serpent bit a dwarf's leg off in some flooded mines, now the dwarf is pursuing the serpent across the underseas for revenge.

>>52720601

I was reading about sea serpents lore, and about how the 16th century writer Olaus Magnus insisted that they were only seen before major events like the death of a king. I was thinking about using them like that, only appearing at critical moments.

For example, the PCs are sailing far from land and have an encounter with a sea serpent. This puts the ship's crew on edge: they insist it's a portent. A week later the encounter another ship, bearing news from the mainland. A major revolution has taken place. The crewman are equally divided; some favor the revolutionaries, some the old regime. Others are apolitical. This ratchets up tensions that might lead to fighting among the crew, maybe even a full-blown mutiny. The PCs have to defuse The situation or deal with the consequences.

So the sea serpent would only ever appear in circumstances like this, living foreshadowing to a major political/historical event that has ripple effects throughout the game world. When it appears, the players know shit is right around the corner.

>>52720974
it would be pretty cool if by killing the serpent the PC's could head off the omen it is bringing

>>52720289
You need an island to have a sea serpent and target opponent needs to have an island or said sea serpent can't attack.

>>52720289
Make it possible but fairly difficult to domesticate them. Additionally make them capacious creatures even when domesticated.