Last update 22nd May 2001

Mystical Animals Of The Sea in Piracy!

Spending their lives at sea, the sailors of the time attributed mystic powers to almost all the creatures of the ocean, from the fish to whales, birds & mythic creatures.

Beasts of the Sea

Fish

parrot fish

Sharks - Sailors of the sea have a deep respect for sharks, and a dread fear of them. tiger shark 6m lomg 1000kg the most prolific man killer

great white 6m long, 1200kg

lemon shark

manta rays only in deepocean east of islands 5m long, 1350kg

Dolphins - bottle nose length 2.3-3.9m

common dolphin 1.7-2.4m swim at speeds upto 45km/hr

Whales

killer whale swims at speeds upto 55km/hr 9m long 9000kg

sperm whale 20m 50000kg

Squid

Sea Birds

Gulls

Albatross

frigate bird

osprey

brown pelican 1.4m long 3.5kg

gannett 1m long, 3.5kg

Mythic Creatures

Mermaids Extending back to the earliest recordings of civilisation with the Sumerians, mermaids have always been around to tempt sailors. For the purpose of Piracy!, mermaids are either male or female. Their purpose is to lure sailors off of their ship and into the water where the mermaid will have power over them. Obviously male mermaids will tempt female sailors and vica versa. You can assume for the purposes of the game that any crew member tempted into the sea is gone forever, lured to an underwater paradise from which they never want to leave. A captain tempted into the sea has a chance of escape dependant on their luck score.

Sirens Sirens are a form of ocean spirit that feed upon humans. They use the power of mind control to lure sailors overboard and into the ocean, where they will hopefully drown. The siren will then feed upon the corpse. There is no hope of rescue for a captain tempted into the sea unless his crew can capture him before he drowns.

Sea Serpents While sailors may be used to the common sea snake upto a metre or so in length, very few have ever seen a sea serpent proper. These enormous beasts are also sometimes confused with sea dragons. They are very rare creatures, and inhabit some of the inlets of the northen shores of South America. They can be huge, growing longer than a ship. While it is not possible for them generally to crush a ship as a kraken might, they can crush longboats and small sailing vessels. In the water they are very fast creatures, as they are on land also, but unless they are in shallow water where they can ground their body, they are unable to make swift strikes at land targets from the ocean. They will prefer instead to slither quietly onto a ships deck for purchase before striking at any unwary sailors. A meal of 2 sailors is enough to satisfy a serpent and if it can successfully grab two it will disapear without a trace. If the ship fails to move to a new location the seprent will return a week or so later to seek more food. Serpents will not take up residence near a settlement. Like all snakes, the sea serpent does not recover well from wounds, and any wounds over 25% of hitpoints will most likely lead to the final death of the serpent in several months due to infection.

Giant Squid & Kraken Cruising the deeper waters of the Caribbean is the ultimate terror for sailors of the 18th century - the giant squid & the Kraken. Both animals are related, though the Kraken is a form of octopus. The giant squid has a cruising speed of 40km/hr with bursts upto 55km/hr. The Kraken is a slower animal, generally cruising at 20km/hr with bursts upto 45km/hr.

The giant squid is a surface feeder, generally chashing schools of larger fish, sharks, whales and rays. It has 10 tentacles, 2 longer than the others with large adhesive pads at the ends and no other sucker pads. These are usually coiled nearer the animals head, where they will lash out and latch onto prey, and drag it nearer to the other 8 tentacles which do most of the handling. Anything caught will be chewed to pieces by the squids very hard beak. Generally once caught prey has no chance at all, as squid generally never let go. Giant squid may attack ships, especially if the crew are foolish enough to be standing around looking over the edge observing the squid. It will generally shoot a long tentacle straight at a sailor, drag them overboard, and then disappear into the depths for a meal. It may do this many times until it has eaten 6 or so sailors, or it appears there are no more sailors near the rails. The squid will not climb up onto the ship as a Kraken might. Instead it will attach one long tentacle to the ships hull for purchase, and then lay patiently for a sailor to come in sight, and the other long tentacle will strike. Sailors more than 5 or 6 feet from the rails will be safe, as the squid is unable to focus in air very far at all. Helmsmen and men in the rigging will always be safe. Giant squid will not attempt to crush a ship or bite through the hull. The best way to fight a giant squid is to shoot upon it from the gun ports.

The Kraken is usually a bottom dweller, though it will often swim to the surface to bask in the sun. It will also happily drag itself out of the water for a short period of time. The Kraken has a bulky body with 8 long prehensile tentacles. It will attack a ship day or night without any special formalities, simply coiling several tentacles on one part of the ship and dragging its body deckside. This may cause a vessel to tilt with the weight. Once on board it will send tentacles after any sailors it can see. Only those in the hold or in the rigging are safe. Fortunately for the crew, the Kraken can only concentrate on one or two enemies at a time, and a spread of sailors around it will generally cause it some fear as it can't see all its quarry and what it's doing. Firearms will do minimum damage to a Kraken, slashing weapons normal damage. The best way to severely wound a Kraken is a grenade, burning oil or chain or shrapnel shot from a cannon. Unless lucky, a Kraken will flee only once it takes 50% damage or it is on fire from oil. Fleeing Kraken will drop whatever they may have captured so far.