Aboleth

Aboleth

Size: 20 ft
Weight: 6,500 lbs

Strength: Far beyond human limits, but average for their size
Agility: Average
Health: Very good
Intelligence: Superhuman
Willpower: Very good

Skills: Extremely knowledgeable in most fields, including information thought lost to time

Typically, creatures with innately mutagenic properties are known for these properties first and foremost, such as with lycanthropes. We have something of an exception here. While the mere touch of an aboleth can cause an undesirable and long-term transformation, their psionic abilities are much more fearful.

-Elric Hartson, monster researcher

An aboleth is a massive, vaguely piscine monster. Bearing three red red eyes aligned in a single column over a fanged maw, four lashing tentacles, and slimy skin, it is monstrous indeed! They are thankfully rare, residing almost solely in subterranean lakes and waterways deep below the planet's surface. While primarily aquatic, they can survive on land, though they move very slowly out of water. They are hermaphroditic, and effectively immortal, dying only to accident and injury. Frightfully, an aboleth's offspring inherits much knowledge from their parents at birth, making each individual a repository of ancient knowledge.

An aboleth produces two types of transformative substance. Firstly, it constantly secretes greasy cloud when underwater. It is short-lived, and rarely extends more than five to ten feet from its body. Mere physical contact with it, however, causes exposed creatures to gain the ability to breathe underwater, but lose the ability to breathe out of it. This effect lasts three to four hours, but the duration is refreshed by further exposure.

More frightening, the aboleth's tentacles secrete a mutagenic slime. Any creature touched by it finds their skin rapidly transformed, losing hair, scales, or any other covering as it is transformed into a transparent membrane over the course of one to five minutes. In addition to being unsightly, this membrane rapidly dries and cracks unless moisturized with fresh water.

An aboleth's most potent ability is its natural psionic power, with which it can create illusions of almost any nature within its vicinity. With greater effort, it can even supplant an intelligent creature's will with its own, effectively enslaving them utterly. This mental domination is absolute, but will break should the victim be more than a mile removed from their slimy master. Due to this ability, an aboleth usually has a host of devoted slaves, often comprised of amphibious humanoids.

Seafoam Moss

Seafoam Moss

This crusty white moss grows in coastal regions, typically on the side of cliffs, in places exposed to both sea and air. Nothing naturally eats it, as it's overwhelmingly salty, not to mention toxic, but it possesses magical properties valued by alchemists.

If ingested raw, seafoam moss functions as a potent hallucinogen. Prolonged use causes potentially fatal brain damage. Along with its unpleasant taste, this makes it unpopular for recreational use.

Brineblood:

An incredibly easy to brew potion, requiring nothing more than boiling seafoam moss in fresh water, Brineblood is a very popular potion in regions where seafoam moss grows. Brineblood possesses none of the toxic or hallucinogenic properties of its components.

The effects of Brineblood last for one to three hours, depending on how it was prepared. The user gains the ability to hold their breath four times as long as usual, their eyes develop a waterproof membrane, and their fingers and toes become webbed.

If additional doses of Brineblood are taken before the first wears off, the duration is reset and then doubled, but there is a roughly 50% chance of suffering an overdose. In the case of an overdose, the user suffers from hallucinations and mild brain damage, typically in the form of partial memory loss. In addition, the effects become permanent. The also undergo other changes. They have a 50% chance of developing gills (in which case there's another 50% chance of losing use of their lungs,) accompanied by another change:

Side-effect:

01-25	The user's eyes grow large, dark, and highly sensitive to light. They can see in near total darkness, but bright light (like a sunny day) is nearly blinding.
26-35	The user develops the ability of sonar when underwater. There is a 50% chance they lose the ability to speak normally, and a 50% chance of developing a bulbous protrusion on their forehead.
36-50	The user develops shining, piscine scales. There is a 50% chance they become dependent on water, dehydrating dangerously after two hours out of water.
51-60	The user grows stinging tentacles along their arms, back, or scalp (even chance of any of these.)
61-70	The user develops the ability to store and discharge electricity from their body.
71-80	The user develops bioluminescent markings over several parts of their body. There is a 50% chance they have control over it.
81-90	The user develops suction cup-like suckers on their hands and feet.
91-100	Roll twice

Sharktooth Pellet:

I've long considered alchemy to be a science lost on the aquatic races. After all, they could hardly craft the needed metal and glass instruments needed, and the idea of pouring liquids underwater was laughable. Combine that with the difficulty of even recording one's findings in writing, and I'd assumed that alchemy was purely the domain of land-dwellers. Seems I was mistaken.

-Elric Hartson, monster researcher

While more limited in application, the aquatic races such as the merfolk have found their own uses for the magical potential of seafoam moss. By wrapping a certain quantity of moss in certain seaweeds and leaving the result out to dry, firm, waterproof pellets are created. Upon ingestion, the consumer is granted a pointed, sharklike snout, accompanied by a maw filled with numerous razor-sharp teeth. In addition to a dangerous bite, they also gain a shark's powerful senses. These effects last for an hour.

When ingested by any fish-like race, these pellets are surprisingly safe, and no side-effects are known. When used by any other creature, however, there is a very strong chance of the magic going awry.

01-35	No transformation occurs, but the consumer is crippled by intense nausea for an hour.
36-90	The transformation occurs as normal, but there is a 10% chance the effect is permanent.
91-100	The consumer is permanently transformed into a sharklike hybrid, gaining the above toothy maw, along with gills, a dorsal fin, and a sturdy, flippered tail. Any body covering such as hair is lost, replaced by rough skin. There is a 50% chance the consumer retains the ability to breathe air.