Editing Asrai (D&D) (section)

===Habitat/Society===
Most asrai wander in fresh waters and travel in schools like fish. They are highly intelligent but very fearful of larger creatures, and so they can almost never be persuaded to talk. When they do speak, it is usually to insult the larger creatures.

To avoid sunlight they live far beneath the sea during the day and come up to feed only at night. Fresh-water asrai must have shadowy lairs under banks, logs, or in caves to hide from the sun. Ocean-living asrai keep giant flying fish as mounts, using them as others might use horses. The giant flying fish are INT animal, AC 8, HD 1-1, MV sw 24, and #AT Nil.

The small water spirits live exactly nine years; they have ½ Hit Die as young, and a number of Hit Dice equal to half their age after a year. When they die, the asrai dissolve into water that later spontaneously forms 1d4+1 new asray equal in all respects to their mother.

Asrai leaders are the school pilots, guiding the tribe’s yearly navigation from warmer to cooler waters after the summer’s feeding season. Pilots are respected, and competition to become an apprentice to the clan’s pilot can be intense. The most skilled pilots can lead the school skillfully enough to swim in a ship’s shadow during the day; at night the whole clan attempts to seduce the sailors on watch into abandoning their posts. The asrai consider this especially amusing if it results in a shipwreck.

The few tribes of asrai in Arborea are protective nature spirits watching over springs, streams, rivers, lakes, and seas. They are fiercely watchful of the territory in their custody, and quick to punish any wrongdoer who infringes on the pure waters. These gurdian asrai can speak the languages of oreads, dryads, and other nature spirits, in order to coordinate punishments. They also use bows of springy willow strung with braided waters; these poor weapons have a range of 2/4/8 yards, but the arrows are smeared with fish gut, which cause disease unless the victim makes a saving throw versus poison.