Greater kappa

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Greater kappa
Greater-kappa Colored.jpg
Level 7
Family Reptilian family creatures
Body Type Biped
Classification(s) Living
Area(s) Found Coastal Cliffs
BCS Yes
HP 100
Speed
Attack Attributes
Physical Attacks
Handaxe 107 AS
Defense Attributes
Armor
None (natural) ASG 1N
Defensive Strength (DS)
Melee 27 - 35
Ranged
Bolt 20
Unarmed Defense Factor
UDF 69 - 140
Target Defense (TD)
Bard Base 21
Cleric Base
Empath Base
Paladin Base 21
Ranger Base
Sorcerer Base 21
Wizard Base
Minor Elemental 21
Major Elemental 21
Minor Spiritual 21
Major Spiritual
Minor Mental
Treasure Attributes
Coins Yes
Gems Yes
Magic Items Yes
Boxes Yes
Skin a kappa fin
Other None
The greater kappa moves slowly on land, its bulk more suited to shallow bays and underwater cities.  It stands on short, fleshy legs and observes the world through lidless, bulbous eyes.  Totally black from head to webbed foot, the greater kappa easily blends in with the dark sands of its hunting area and is nearly impossible to see once underwater. The flesh of the greater kappa is very oily and, though a good source of lamp fuel, is not good to eat.

Hunting strategies

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Other information

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Behind the Scenes

Kappas are water monsters from eastern folklore who try to lure their victims into the water and drown them. In mythology they often preyed on horses especially. These were replacements of "sea witches" from the I.C.E. Age, and may reflect a latter day allusion to the Bandur Etrevion story along the same symbolic lines as the leapers. The beach level of the Coastal Cliffs was at least partially based on the fall of Quellburn. The kappas likely correspond to the unknown beings with webbed feet from "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" who drained the blood of the quest seeker's zebra as he slept by a curious pillar on his way to the mountain of Ngranek. (The "underwater cities" is likely a reference to the city of the amphibious "Deep Ones" in "The Shadow over Innsmouth", or even R'lyeh itself, which is notable as Kadaena was called "the Shadow.") The Black Sands in turn would be explained by the warning against doing so by the "lava-gatherers", and the abandoned village with collapsed walls (reflected by the leapers area where the spectral fishermen were originally located) whose people sculpted out of the smooth lava of Ngranek. There is a Lovecraftian premise, with respect to the god of the Deep Ones, of volcanic upheaval causing long drowned horrors to rise to the surface.

References

Near-level creatures - edit
Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 Level 8 Level 9
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