Variant: Greater Legacy Abilities for Coral’s Bite

Table 3–10: Coral’s Bite

————— Personal Costs —————

Wielder Attack Will Save Hit Point

Level Penalty Penalty Loss Abilities

5th — — — +2 trident 6th –1 — 2 Dolphin’s breath 7th — –1 2 Coral armor +1 8th — — — — 9th — –2 2 Coral armor +2 10th — — — — 11th — — — +2 monstrous humanoid bane trident 12th –2 — — Water breathing 13th — — — — 14th — — 2 Coral armor +3 15th — –3 2 — 16th — — — +3 monstrous humanoid bane trident LEGACY RITUALS

Two rituals are required to unlock all the abilities of

Coral’s Bite.

Hero of the Pod: You must defeat in personal combat a hostile creature with the aquatic subtype and a CR equal to your level or higher (maximum

CR 10). Cost: 1,200 gp. Feat Granted: Least Legacy (Coral’s Bite). Embrace of the Sea: You are required to gain at least 1 additional rank in the Knowledge (nature) skill. This rank covers information about creatures with the aquatic subtype, currents, tidal patterns, and underwater plants. You can acquire the rank prior to the level that this ritual is undertaken. Cost: 12,000 gp. Feat Granted: Lesser Legacy (Coral’s Bite). WIELDER REQUIREMENTS

The wielders of Coral’s Bite are primarily fighters or rangers, although any warrior might find this weapon useful in a battle.

Coral’s Bite Wielder Requirements

Speak Language (Aquan) Swim 1 rank

LEGACY ITEM ABILITIES

All the following are legacy item abilities of Coral’s

Bite.

Dolphin’s Breath (Su): Beginning at 6th level, you can go an entire hour without needing to take a breath. However, if you don’t get a breath after that hour elapses, you must hold your breath or begin to drown (see Drowning, page 304 of the Dungeon

Master’s Guide).

Coral Armor (Su): At 7th level, you can command the coral from which Coral’s Bite is formed to envelop you in a protective exoskeleton while you wield the trident. The coral armor does not hinder you in any way, and it grants a +1 natural armor bonus to Armor

Class. The natural armor bonus increases to +2 at 9th level and to +3 at 14th level. Water Breathing (Su): At 12th level and higher, you can breathe water freely, as if constantly under the effect of a water breathing spell. Caster level 10th. ADVENTURE SEED (EL 7)

Coral’s Bite has long been of great significance to the aquatic elves, with the weapon passing to the greatest warrior of each generation. The sahuagin, endur-

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VARIANT: GREATER LEGACY ABILITIES FOR CORAL’S BITE

Coral’s Bite doesn’t possess any greater legacy abilities. However, if a greater legacy were to be founded, the progression might look something like the following:

————— Personal Costs ————— Wielder Attack Will Save Hit Point Level Penalty Penalty Loss Abilities

17th — — — +4 monstrous humanoid bane trident 18th –3 — — Coral armor +4 19th — — — +5 monstrous humanoid bane trident 20th — –4 — Coral armor +5

ing enemies of the aquatic elves, have long feared

Coral’s Bite. To acquire the weapon for her people, a malenti (a sahuagin mutant that perfectly resembles an aquatic elf) infiltrated an aquatic elf community and assassinated the most recent wielder of Coral’s

Bite. The malenti delivered Coral’s Bite to Nekulis, a sahuagin champion. If the PCs commit to recovering the weapon, they have to venture into hostile territory and assault Nekulis’s personal outpost.

There, after defeating the sahuagin fighter and his three companions, the PCs can claim Coral’s Bite.

Nekulis CR 6

Male sahuagin fighter 3 LE Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic) Init +2; Senses blindsense 30 ft. (underwater only), darkvision 60 ft., Listen +7 (+11 underwater), Spot +7 (+11 underwater) Languages Aquan, Elven, Sahuagin, speak with sharks AC 20, touch 12, flat-footed 18 hp 45 (5 HD); Diehard Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +6 Weaknesses freshwater sensitivity, light blindness, water dependent Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), swim 60 ft. Melee Coral’s Bite +12 (1d8+9) and bite +8 (1d4+2) or Melee 2 talons +10 (1d4+5) and bite +8 (1d4+2) or Ranged mwk heavy crossbow +8 (1d10/19–20) Base Atk +5; Grp + 10 Atk Options Improved Sunder, Power Attack Special Actions blood frenzy 1/day, rake 1d4+2 Combat Gear 2 potions of cure moderate wounds Abilities Str 20, Dex 15 Con 16, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 6 SQ speak with sharks Feats Diehard, Endurance, Least Legacy (Coral’s Bite)B ,

Improved SunderB, MultiattackB, Power AttackB Skills Handle Animal +6 (+10 with sharks), Hide +6 (+10 when underwater), Intimidate +6, Listen +7 (+11 underwater), Profession (hunter) +2 (+6 within 50 miles of home), Ride +4, Spot +7 (+11 underwater), Survival +2 (+6 within 50 miles of home), Swim +14 Possessions combat gear plus masterwork studded leather, Coral’s Bite, masterwork heavy crossbow with 20 bolts Speak with Sharks (Ex) Nekulis can communicate telepathically with sharks up to 150 feet away. The communication is limited to fairly simple concepts such as “food,” “danger,” and “enemy.” Nekulis can use the Handle Animal skill to befriend and train sharks. Freshwater Sensitivity (Ex) A sahuagin fully immersed in fresh water must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or become fatigued. Even on a success, it must repeat the save attempt every 10 minutes it remains in fresh water. Water Dependent Nekulis can survive out of the water for 8 hours (after that, refer to the drowning rules on page 304 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). Light Blindness (Ex) Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell) blinds Nekulis for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, he is dazzled while operating in bright light. Rake (Ex) Attack bonus +7, damage 1d4+2. A sahuagin also gains two rake attacks while swimming. Blood Frenzy (Ex) Once per day, when he is damaged in combat, Nekulis can fly into a frenzy in the following round, clawing and biting madly until either he or his opponent is dead. He gains +2 Strength and +2 Constitution, and takes a –2 penalty to AC.

Nekulis cannot end his frenzy voluntarily. Skills Can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check.

Can use the run action while swimming in a straight line.

Sahuagin (3): hp 13, 10, 12 (see page 217 of the

Monster Manual).

Sahuagin Outpost

The sahuagin outpost is an underwater tower carved out of an ocean shelf. It has four levels. A circular opening in the middle of each level allows the sahuagin to swim between floors.

Top Floor

This is a lookout post. Its walls are pieced by arrow slits. Two sahuagin are on guard here; when intruders approach, one alerts the remaining sahuagin while the other snipes at the enemy.

Middle Floor

This floor contains sleeping areas, consisting of beds of seaweed. Sahuagin who are not on guard (including

Nekulis) usually rest here.

Bottom Floor

This level contains the armory, as well as a mechanism for sealing the tower entrances when under attack. As a counterweight rises, four gates drop down to seal off the four entrances to the sublevel. Murder holes in the floor allow defending sahuagin to fire on intruders. The central opening can be covered with a sliding panel.

Sublevel

Four tunnels dug from the ocean shelf lead into this chamber. Coral’s Bite in Eberron

The sahuagin of the Thunder Sea and the Straits of Shargon control passage through those dangerous

waters. Although some tribes are ferocious and can’t be reasoned with, many adopt a pragmatic attitude toward seafaring peoples and operate guide services. Through malenti go-betweens, these sahuagin negotiate trade deals with other races—even aquatic elves. In such a setting, Coral’s Bite is not necessarily an object of fear to sahuagin. In fact, nothing prevents a sahuagin from wielding the trident in any setting, although its monstrous humanoid bane ability is dangerous to the fi sh-people. It might even be the signature weapon of a great sahuagin hero instead of an aquatic elf. To customize Coral’s Bite, its bane ability might instead target animals (such as horrid orca) or magical beasts (such as fi endish squid). On the other hand, many sahuagin revere the dark god known as the Devourer, lord of the violent forces of nature. They take their worship to literal extremes, believing that greater power comes from killing and consuming intelligent enemies. The Devourer’s favored weapon is the trident, and his sahuagin worshipers are intolerant of a nonsahuagin unlocking the power of such a mighty weapon. A character who wields Coral’s

Bite might fi nd herself under repeated attack by religious zealots who want not only to take the trident but also to devour her in punishment for her audacity. Coral’s Bite in Faerûn

A signature item of the aquatic elves who inhabit Faerûnian seas is the trident of serenity (this item is detailed in Races of Faerûn, page 172). This +1 trident also has the ability to suppress rage- and fear-based effects within 15 feet, including sahuagin blood frenzy. To customize Coral’s Bite for an aquatic FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign, you can replace its water breathing legacy ability with a new ability called “serenity” that reproduces the effect of the trident of serenity. Alternatively, slow the coral armor progression or give it no special abilities relating to underwater breathing. This version of the weapon is obviously best suited to aquatic elves rather than air breathers.

Coral’s Bite could also be a weapon of the tritons who inhabit the hidden city at the bottom of the Bay of Dancing Dolphins off the coast of Dambrath (see the Shining South supplement, page 96). They protect their city with illusion magic to keep it from being found by surface dwellers, and their allies the dolphins keep it safe from underwater attack. Should the sahuagin of the bay mount a more organized assault, a champion of the tritons might take up the legacy weapon.