Sea Wyrm

This page is needs images. Help plz.

Sea Wyrms are an obscure branch of the dragon family introduced in the Al-Qadim setting for Dungeons & Dragons during the days of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Resembling a giant snake with the head of a Gold Dragon and a horizontally aligned fish-like fluke at the end of their tail, they appeared in the splatbook "Corsairs of the Great Sea" and were then reprinted in the Monstrous Manual, but have never appeared in any subsequent editions, though they may have inspired the birth of the Sea Serpent "dragons" in Dragon Magazine #345.

They are characterized as fairly lazy and peaceful creatures, rarely inclined to attack unless their territories (a two mile area centered on their lair, though they'll venture up to 30 miles away from it to hunt) are invaded. Inhabiting tropical and subtropical seas, they sometimes venture surprisingly close to shore - in fact, they're capable of breathing air, so they may go so far as to slither onto the shore itself to go for a bit of a sticky beak inland. Especially if there are fruit trees anywhere within sensory range; sea wyrms love fruit, and it's the second staple of their diet (fish being the first). Because of this amphibious nature, a sea wyrm's cavern lair is as likely to be on a remote island as it is to be on the sea floor.

If they are roused to battle, they attack by biting (swallowing smaller creatures whole if they can) and constricting, though adults are also capable of spraying conical jets of soporific gas.

Sea wyrms mate for life, with couples living together permanently; they only produce a single egg per mating, and the hatchling stays with its parents until it's able to forage for itself.

If raised with care and affection from the hatchliong state, sea wyrms make loyal and affectionate pets that will fight to the death to defend their companions. Long valued in this role by such sea peoples as merfolk, tritons and nereids, even some surface dwellers have started to get in on it, attempting to raise sea wyrms to become guards for their ships. Other surface merchants will trade in sea wyrm skins, although they can't actually be turned into magical armor like most dragon hides and this does risk pissing off a lot of sea-dwellers...