Tannin
Al-Tinnin (in Maridic); Big Salties (in the cant of the City of Glass); Leviathan’s Brood; Aasimon of the Deep; CR 11
Home plane: Prime, but now also live in Elemental Water, Sea of Waste and Abyssal Seas
Alignment: CE, rarely CN or NE
As any sailor worth his salt will tell you, the sea is full of danger—storms, treacherous reefs and, of course, sea monsters. And among those bloods tannin don’t have much reputation for anything. They aren’t nearly as big or as dangerous as krakens, sea serpents or dragon turtles. Tannin look much like 20-feet long crocodiles, except for their legs, which are replaced by powerful fins. Berks who know a thing or two about sea life, might know about ichtyodrakes and often assume those two species are basically the same thing.
But this apparent simplicity is misleading. In truth, tannin are supremely canny creatures, capable of working together and bringing down large foes. Much like kraken and dragons they are ancient and intelligent creatures that can get their flippers on some powerful magic. See, here’s the dark—tannin are the spawn of Leviathan. Not the whale or the elder elemental or whoever else wears this name now, but the original Leviathan, the Elder Evil. This world-shattering monster was formed in the primordial Elemental Chaos way back at the dawn of creation and waged war against the powers. Tannin were not quite its children, but more like extensions of itself, spawned through the pure madness that was its cataclysmic will. It is said that tannin emerged as a response to the first krakens, although that’s perhaps putting a bit too much intention behind it.
Leviathan was ultimately defeated by the gods and sealed away somewhere in the Prime Material Plane, but his progeny was left behind. At first, the tannin were dedicated to locating and freeing him, but this quickly proved to be a daunting task and they lost interest. So now, the sea monsters have scattered around the Multiverse in search of order to destroy and foes to devour. Many nefarious underwater powers such as Umberlee, Olhydra and Panzuriel employ tannin into their service, which is what gave them the ironic nickname “aasimon of the deep”.
COMBAT: Tannin are patient hunters, and vicious killers. They hide in dark or murky waters and use their superior swimming speed to make quick strikes. Tannin’s crocodilian jaws allow them to bite into flesh and tear their victims apart. If their prey escapes, the monsters will track it down for many miles with their keen sense of aquatic smell. On top of that, those beasts can use some basic primal magic. They can unleash a bolt of pure chaos that splits matter apart, creating powerful explosions of pure force. Finally, tannin are immune to any mind-controlling effects due to their chaotic predisposition.
Paradoxically, despite being chaotic beasts, tannin are at their strongest, when fighting larger opponents. Make no mistake, they hate each other most of the time, but when something big appears on the horizon, they instinctively come together to form a surprisingly effective pack. When fighting krakens or other enormous creatures, the tannin prefer to go for the eyes, tentacles and other vulnerable sensory organs and then slowly eat the defenceless victim alive. But when the killing is done, they quickly turn on each other, sometimes even fighting to death for the best bits of the corpse.
It is said, that the first tannin spawned by Leviathan were much larger and had multiple (some say seven) heads. Since they can’t die of old age, those monstrosities might even still be around.
HABITAT/SOCIETY: Tannin are loners, who dislike working with their own kind and hate any other powerful being even more. While they do work for powers, it is usually by coercion or due to aligning interests. Unlike krakens, they don’t even take slaves. Tannin come together spontaneously during hunts, but also while looking for a mate. Mating rituals of these monsters are crude and end in fights just as often as they succeed. Tannin birth live offspring and viciously defend them for the first couple of years, but once they have reached maturity the parent shuns and might even attack them. Despite their intelligence, tannin are driven mostly by instinct and have no interest in building any kind of culture.
ECOLOGY: Tannin stalk the Elemental Water and Lower Planar seas in search of food, never building permanent lairs. They can consume any flesh, but prefer whales (including baleenas, illhveli and other magical ones) and cephalopods. Tannin like the challenge in their hunts and often go for bigger prey. They exert the dominating presence upon the natural world around them, not just by predation, but by their innate magic of elemental chaos. When tannin are present in the area, seas become stormy, and strange cataclysms like tsunamis, temperature drops or rises and waterspouts happen much more often. Merfolk-sharks adaro, who are known to be affected by the weather, become absolutely feral in presence of the tannin.
Source: Margarita. Canonwatch: Tannin are homebrew, based on a creature from the Hebrew Bible and Canaanite mythology.