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Water Lion is an unusual and mysterious deity who wanders the planes for reasons unknown, although there are many theories about his purpose. He has only a small and dispersed following among the aquatic races, mostly loners and hunters.

Water Lion (PDF Version)
(Seeker of the Lost, Sekolah’s Bane, Sharkslayer)
Lesser Power of the Planes, N(G)

Portfolio:                 Unknown Portfolio
Aliases:                     None
Domain Name:           Unknown/Wanders
Superior:                   None
Allies:                       Deep Sashelas, Eadro, Istishia, Nobanion, Persana, Surminare, Syranita, Trishina
Foes:                           Sekolah
Symbol:                     Sea lion’s head
Wor. Align.:              LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN

Wandering the many aquatic lands of the planes is the mysterious Water Lion (WA-ter LIE-on). He sends his avatars to the oceans of numerous Prime Material worlds with unknown purpose, seemingly on some never-ending quest. He is a loner, with a number of allies, but few friends, and only rarely does he share his thoughts with others.

In the myths of many aquatic races, Water Lion is a ceaseless seeker, constantly on the move, searching for something lost. The object of his search varies with the teller; sometimes he is looking for a lost child or a lost king, while other times he is searching for a missing divine friend. Among the sea elves and the selkies in particular, this lost deity is said to be the mysterious Stillsong, and scholars of divine matters believe this to be more likely accurate than the other variations. Regardless, his myths often involve a variety of great adventures, companions, and foes before he moves on to somewhere else to continue his search. Heroes that appear prominently in a culture’s mythic tales are his temporary companions, while the primary foes of the tale-teller’s race figure prominently as opposition, although sahuagin and sharks always have at least a minor antagonistic role if they are not the primary foe. In a small number of tales, he and Sekolah were originally friends, but the Plunderer betrayed Water Lion after being entrusted with the care of Water Lion’s eventual mythic quest. Such stories are more common among the locathah than any other race, and are never found among the stories told by sea elves. Finally, he is widely cited as the creator or archetype of the ferocious sea lions, and myths sometimes ascribe their hatred of sharks to his influence.

The true object of Water Lion’s search is unknown, but it is widely accepted that he searches for Stillsong. How he came to know the Singing Sphere and why he is unable to find him now is unknown, but sages often connect it to each deity’s elemental nature. A recent theory put forward supposes that Water Lion spent a great deal of time with Stillsong in a previous, watery incarnation of the Singing Sphere. Further, the theory supposes that Water Lion may have been undergoing a similar metamorphosis, and became “stuck” in the water element phase, possibly due to the depredations of Sekolah, and has forgotten how to continue his transformation, or perhaps has found water to be his preferred element. This theory is as-yet unproven, for Water Lion refuses to answer any questions on the matter.

Nominally, Water Lion is a member of Deep Sashelas’s asathalfinare, although he has little to do with the regular operation of the alliance. He neither offers nor takes counsel from the other members most of the time, and rarely participates in their meetings. This is not to say he ignores the alliance; he just has no interest in debate and discussion, preferring to act as he sees fit. However, in times of danger, he is a stalwart ally, fighting ferociously against the enemies that threaten the alliance and their mortal followers; few evil aquatic creatures have the courage to stand before Water Lion in his full fury. Like Syranita, he can call upon outside aid through his friendship with Nobanion, although this has rarely been necessary.

Water Lion is a very active deity, and his avatars are always wandering some sea or another. On these trips, he is generally quite playful despite his ceaseless questing; he greatly enjoys playing in the waves, swimming with cetaceans, and teasing various creatures in mostly harmless ways. However, in his playing, he can sometimes forget his true power, especially when he roars for the pleasure of it. Music and song enchants him, and he is often drawn to those with bardic talents, sensing them up to a mile away. Should a bard grace him with a performance, Water Lion may reward them with a pearl or some bit of treasure recovered from the sea floor. Unfortunately, Water Lion is also sometimes afflicted with black melancholy over his lost friend and the never-ending quest he is on; at such times, he is virtually unapproachable and has been known to ferociously drive off offenders. Only cetaceans, sea elves, and paladins may approach him in these moods, and then only if they do so in utter silence.

Water Lion’s Avatar (Ranger 27, Mage 20, Cleric 20)
Water Lion takes the form of an enormous sea lion composed entirely of viscous, briny water, contained in a plasma membrane. This membrane normally glitters like sun-dappled water, even in the dark depths, but he can make himself virtually invisible within the water if he wishes. His eyes are as dark as the deepest aquatic abyss. He draws his spells from the schools of abjuration, elemental water, and enchantment/charm, as well as the spheres of all, animal, combat, elemental (save fire), healing, plant, sun, travelers, and weather.

AC 2; MV Sw 24; HP 177; THAC0 −6; #AT 3
Dmg 1d10+6/1d10+6/2d12 (claw/claw/bite)
MR 20%; SZ H (15 feet long)
Str 18/00, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 17, Wis 18, Cha 18
Spells P: 11/11/10/9/7/5/2, W: 5/5/5/5/5/4/3/3/2
Saves PPDM 2; RSW 5; PP 4; BW 4; Sp 6

Special Att/Def: Water Lion favors physical combat with those who challenge him, attacking with his two great paws and a ferocious bite. He mauls any creature successfully struck with both of his paws in the same round; in this state, creatures must make a successful Open Doors roll to break free, and they lose any remaining actions they had in that round. Further, Water Lion gains a +4 to his subsequent bite attacks until the victim escapes or is released.

Three times per day, Water Lion can unleash a tremendous roar affecting all those creatures able to hear him within 60 feet. Victims must make a saving throw versus spell to avoid the detrimental effects; those who fail are deafened for 2d10 rounds and, if they are a spellcaster, lose 2d4 memorized spell levels, and are confused for 2 rounds. Twice per day he can cast shout and shatter, and once per day he can cast power word, stun.

Water Lion is immune to all elemental water spells and affects, but makes saves versus elemental fire attacks with a −2 penalty. He is immune to all illusion/phantasm spells, as well as mind-affecting and emotion-affecting spells and psionics. When in his dark melancholic moods, Water Lion’s tears act as a potion of extra-healing if gathered in a vessel within one hour of being shed; imbibers must make a saving throw versus spell or suffer melancholia for 2d4 hours. In addition, any creatures drinking such a potion are 50% likely to be affected by a dream spell next time they sleep.

Other Manifestations
Only rarely does Water Lion send manifestations besides his avatars. He has been known to imbue a follower with the ability to unleash a shout once per day for up to a week at a time, but more commonly his disembodied roar (as described above) is unleashed at foes of a hard-pressed follower.

Water Lion communicates with his followers in only two known ways. Followers on important quests may feel a slight mental tug, guiding them in the direction of their goal, or in the direction of something that will aid their search. Such a feeling is brief, and will only happen once per quest; it does not return if ignored or cannot be acted upon at the time. When a follower has no particularly important quest at any given time, Water Lion may send a vague and cryptic dream that contains basic details of a mission the Sharkslayer wishes them to accomplish.

Water Lion is served by sea lions, dolphins, water elementals, water genasi, incarnates of courage, and feline water animentals, and no others. He shows neither favor nor disfavor through discoveries, although his followers hold that finding the object of a search is considered a favorable sign.

The Church
Clergy:                      Clerics, specialty priests, crusaders, rangers
Clergy’s Align.:      LG, NG, CG, LN, N, CN
Turn Undead:           C: Yes, SP: No, Cru: No, R: No
Cmnd. Undead:         C: No, SP: No, Cru: No: R: No

All clerics, specialty priests, and crusaders of Water Lion receive religion (asathalfinare) as bonus nonweapon proficiencies.

Among those represented by the asathalfinare, Water Lion is seen as an enigmatic and mostly beneficial force; while respected and well regarded, these feelings are tinged with mild nervous fear. His followers are seen as moody loners; they are great allies in the struggles against the evil creatures of the deep, but difficult to approach and quick to anger. Most good or neutral aquatic creatures like having Water Lion’s faith living nearby, but not actually a part of their community.

The faithful of Water Lion never build temples. They worship Sekolah’s Bane in the open expanses of the ocean that he swims, away from settlements and other sentient creatures. Occasionally a community that has benefited from the actions of a member of Water Lion’s clergy will build a temple or shrine as thanks to their savior, but these inevitably fall into disuse as Water Lion’s clergy refuse to worship within them, and take no action to bring the community into the fold. Only his crusaders ever build structures, and these are simply chapter houses to house them when not actively pursuing battle.

Novices of Water Lion are called Lost Children. Full priests of Sekolah’s Bane are called Seekers. Water Lion’s clergy has no fixed hierarchy, with the priesthood consisting of individual full priests and no more than two novices each. As such, each priest is known by a unique title they’ve taken for themselves (or given to them by nearby communities). Specialty priests are known as sharkstalkers. Males (69%) are drawn to Water Lion’s service much more often than females (31%). Rangers (45%) and specialty priests (40%) dominate the priesthood, with crusaders (15%) making up the remainder. Sea elves (45%) and tritons (30%) are significantly more common among the clergy, with the remainder comprised of merfolk (10%), locathah (4%), shalarin (4%), cetaceans (3%), sirines and selkies (2%), koalinths and other aquatic races (1%), and surface dwellers (1%). Malenti may only be rangers in Water Lion’s service, and are limited to 7th level.

Dogma: The missing and lost are oft forgotten; search for them and remember their plights. Wander the oceans and help those in need, but not for rewards or compensation. Protect the peaceful races of the sea against the depredations of sharks and sahuagin. Extract retribution from Sekolah’s spawn that have rampaged unchecked.

Day-to-Day Activities: Water Lion’s clergy spends much of their time wandering the aquatic wilderness, keeping primarily to themselves. Some are on personal quests, be it hunting sahuagin or other intelligent evil creatures of the deeps, or searching for missing members of a community, or some other sort of mission.

Important Ceremonies/Holy Days: The priesthood of Water Lion observe no regular religious occasions and hold no regular services. They believe their actions channel and represent their faith. Some priests may make short, informal observances on days significant to their faith, and communities that owe a debt to Water Lion’s faithful may observe an anniversary, but such events are only of personal or local importance.

Major Centers of Worship: The faithful of Sekolah’s Bane neither recognize holy sites nor establish temples. The chapter houses of his crusaders are not recognized as holy sites by any members of the faith, instead seeing them simply as domiciles.

Affiliated Orders: All of Water Lion’s few crusaders are members of autonomous orders of martial priests who seek to stand against sahuagin depredations. These orders are collectively known as the Roaring Waves of Water Lion, and can be found either in large sea elven, triton, or merfolk cities, or on the frontiers of such lands that border sahuagin territory. They do not hold allegiance to local kings, lords, or other governing bodies, but will join in on defensive struggles against external, evil forces. Otherwise they keep to themselves, avoiding local politics and internal struggles.

On occasion, a small group of rangers and specialty priests band together for mutual defense or strength; while many are long-lasting, they are still informal and impermanent. Such groups rarely number more than ten.

Priestly Vestments: There is no formal attire worn by the priesthood, as they hold no ceremonies. The Roaring Waves all use equipment appropriate to their race, but stick strictly to a uniform set of items to better represent their nature. The holy symbol is the broken tooth of a large shark, such as a great white or a megalodon. If no such teeth are available, fossilized or not, then a carved representation suffices.

Adventuring Garb: Water Lion’s clergy tends to favor arms and armor used by the society they come from. They tend to eschew any armor that impedes their agility, unless it is especially effective against shark attacks. As wanderers, they carry their possessions with them, and tend to travel light.

Specialty Priests (Sharkstalkers)
Requirements:          Strength 11, Dexterity 12, Wisdom 11
Prime Req.:                Strength, Wisdom
Alignment:                LG, NG, CG
Weapons:                   Any piercing (wholly type P) melee weapons, net, aquatic crossbow
Armor:                       Any aquatic armor (sea elven shell, sea elven scale, eel leather, etc.), no shields
Major Spheres:         All, animal, combat, divination, elemental (water), guardian, healing, protection, travelers
Minor Spheres:         Charm, creation, necromantic, plant
Magical Items:         As clerics and warriors
Req. Profs:                Tracking
Bonus Profs:             Endurance

• While most sharkstalkers are sea elves or mermen, almost any sentient aquatic race other than sahuagin and malenti may be called to his service.
• Sharkstalkers are not allowed to multiclass.
• Sharkstalkers gain a +1 bonus to hit sharks, sahuagin, shark-kin, and known malenti.
• At 3rd level, sharkstalkers can cast detect Sekolah’s spawn (as the 1st-level priest spell) once per day.
• At 5th level, sharkstalkers can cast bloodwater (as the 2nd-level priest spell) or lion’s claws (as the 3rd-level priest spell) once per day.
• At 7th level, sharkstalkers can shapechange as a druid into sea lion form twice per day.
• At 9th level, sharkstalkers can cast lion’s roar (as the 4th-level priest spell) or locate creature (as the 4th-level wizard spells) once per day. The locate creature ability is not restricted by running water as the standard spell is.
• At 12th-level, sharkstalkers can cast find the path (as the 6th-level priest spell) once per day.
• At 15th level, sharkstalkers may summon 3d4 sea lions or 1d6 water animental felines once per week. These creatures will serve the priest unquestioningly for one hour, even engaging in combat if the priest desires.

Water Lion Spells
In addition to the spells listed below, priests of the Sharkslayer can cast the 2nd-level priest spell lionheart, detailed in Powers and Pantheons in the entry for Nobanion, At the DM’s option, priests of the Sharkslayer have access to the undersea priest spells detailed in Sea of Fallen Stars that fall within their normal sphere access.

1st Level
Detect Sekolah’s Spawn (Pr 1; Divination)
Sphere:                    Divination
Range:                     0
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 1 turn
Casting Time:          1 rd.
Area of Effect:         10 ft. × 90 ft.
Saving Throw:        None

When the detect Sekolah’s spawn spell is cast, the priest detects living sahuagin, dead sahuagin, malenti, sharks, shark-kin, and spilled blood from any such creatures, even if these are invisible, shapechanged, concealed by illusions, and so on, in a path 10 feet wide and up to 90 feet long, in the direction he or she is facing. The approximate number of listed creatures in the area of effect can also be determined within 10%. The caster also has a 5% chance per level to determine the type and gender of creatures detected, to a maximum chance of 75%. The caster can turn, scanning a 60° arc per round. The spell is blocked by solid stone at least 1 foot thick, solid metal at least 1 inch thick, or solid wood or coral at least 1 yard thick.

The material component for this spell is the priest’s holy symbol.

2nd Level
Bloodwater (Pr 2; Enchantment/Charm, Evocation)
Sphere:                    Charm
Range:                     10 yds. + 10 yds./level
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 1 rd. + 1 rd./level
Casting Time:          5
Area of Effect:         20-ft.-radius globe
Saving Throw:        Neg.

This spell summons an expanding field of blood that permeates the water in the area of effect. Any creatures such as sharks and sahuagin that are prone to blood frenzy must make immediate saving throws vs. spell. If the saving throw is failed, the affected creature must make a Morale check at −6 below normal Morale; if failed, the creature enters blood frenzy and attacks the nearest creature, not the nearest foe. Those affected do not notice other foes beyond the scope of the spell effect, and continue to attack those within the spell’s effects until the duration ends. This spell automatically sends piranha into frenzy, but sharks and sahuagin—the most common targets of this spell—have a small chance of resisting.

Any creatures that succumbed to blood frenzy gain an additional Morale check at −2 to break free of the frenzy the round after the spell ends. Those who fail here continue in frenzy until the most powerful creature within an affected group shakes off the effects of the spell.

The material component of this spell is a drop blood, which must be pricked or cut from a finger, etc.

4th Level
Lion’s Roar (Pr 4; Evocation)
Sphere:                    Animal
Range:                     0
Components:           V, M
Duration:                 Instantaneous
Casting Time:          1
Area of Effect:         10 × 30 ft. cone
Saving Throw:        Special

When a lion’s roar spell is cast, the priest unleashes a tremendously loud roar in a cone shape radiating from his mouth to a point 30 feet away. Any creature within this area is deafened for 2d6 rounds, suffers 2d6 points of damage, and if a spellcaster, loses one randomly selected memorized spell. A successful saving throw vs. spell negates the deafness, reduces the damage by half, and prevents the memorized spell loss. Any exposed brittle or crystal substance subject to sonic vibrations is shattered by a lion’s roar, while those brittle objects in the possession of a creature receive the creature’s saving throw. Deafened creatures suffer a −1 penalty to surprise rolls, and those that cast spells with verbal components are 20% likely to miscast them.

The lion’s roar spell cannot penetrate the 2nd-level priest spell, silence, 15′ radius. The material component for this spell is the priest’s holy symbol.

 

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