Barnacle Goose
CR 0
Home plane: Elemental Plane of Water
Alignment: N (Unaligned)
Now here’s a curious conundrum for you. There’s a species of geese on many worlds that isn’t very remarkable outside of its pretty red-white-and-black plumage. Then there’s a species of barnacles, again, very unremarkable outside of its similar coloration. But here’s the thing—since the aforementioned geese migrate to raise their chicks in more southerly lands, many berks up north have never seen a young goose of this species. And so, they came to believe that these geese actually arise from barnacles—and named them such. It didn’t take the graybeards too long to figure out that it is simply impossible for barnacles to turn into geese. However, as we know, just because something is barmy, it doesn’t mean berks will stop believing it.
Now barnacle geese were dismissed as impossible, but at the end of the day everything is possible out there on the planes, and what do you know, strange creatures that resemble birds made of barnacles have been seen in the Bottomless Deep. After a while, they even became quite abundant, yet nobody has tumbled upon their origin still. Some cutters believe they’re the result of a barmy magical experiment, others argue that barnacle geese are just highly specialised and evolved shellfish. Perhaps they simply appeared due to so many sods believing in their existence in the first place? Nonetheless, your average planewalker has no need for such nuances.
What is important to know is that the barnacle goose is a colonial species of barnacles that mimics geese in shape. They have long “necks” and powerful “wings”. This similarity is quite superficial though. Barnacle geese are endemic to the Plane of Water, and unlike actual geese, they can neither fly nor walk on dry land.
COMBAT: Much like an actual goose, a cornered barnacle goose fights back viciously with its beak and wings. However, there are nuances a would-be goose hunter should know. First of all, unlike birds, the barnacle goose has poor eyesight, but being a colonial creature, it can see all around itself. Any of the barnacles in the colony can also bite foes from any part of the “goose” body, so grappling the creature is ill advised. One month after the mating season barnacle geese are the most dangerous time to hunt them—they can slough off their own tiny larvae to pester their foes with a thousand tiny bites.
HABITAT/SOCIETY: Barnacle geese live in colder regions of the Elemental Plane of Water, but can sometimes be seen on the Prime. They travel around in flocks, settling down only to build nests.
ECOLOGY: Barnacle geese are filter-feeders. They extend myriads of sticky cilia that trap tiny food particles from water. They also sometimes use their beaks to tear mussels and snails into small pieces they can digest. Barnacle geese have two sexes—male and hermaphroditic. They breed with each other or reproduce asexually. Barnacle creatures birth hundreds of tiny larvae (called naupliuses) that hide in crevasses on the goose’s body. The parent supplies them with nutrients, until they grow large enough to be deposited onto solid surfaces like stones and driftwood. There they molt and grow as regular barnacles, until the colony becomes large enough to break away and assume its bird-like shape.
CURRENT CHANT: A clique of barnacle ghouls was seen in the Darkened Depths. Their magical abilities seem to extend to barnacle geese, whom they control as beasts of war.
Source: Margarita. Mythwatch: Barnacle geese and goose barnacles are real-life animals, who were actually believed by the people of the Middle Ages to be linked with each other.