Dragon	-	Monsters	-	Dragon #151
Appearance	Abilities	Habitat and diet	-	Society
Footnotes	-	-	-	Bibliography

From the Complete Bestiary of the
Reaches of Kara-Tur,  of which one copy
survives in the city of Waterdeep:

The Kappa
Appearance
Certainly, one of the most bizarre and
dangerous of local beasts is the kappa,
whose appearance is like that of a tiny,
ugly boy with a distended stomach and
slippery skin. Often thought to be a type
of monkey because of its stance and posture while moving, the kappa is an amphibian with magical powers. An upright
kappa stands, on the average, 2? tall,
though a few larger ones have been seen.
Female kappa are generally 6? shorter
than males. Both females and males have
pot bellies, each with a pouch in the abdomen similar to that of a kangaroo. Their
feet look like those of a snapping turtle,
having three webbed toes, and their hands
are webbed and clawed. Indeed, most
kappa are known to have hard shells like
those of small turtles  1, and almost all
kappa have scaled bodies, though occasionally they have been seen with smooth
skin. Their skin is very tough and is normally green, often with yellow tinges, and
is clammy, slimy, and cold to the touch
because they are cold-blooded. A few are
able to change the color of their skin to
match their surroundings in the same
manner as a chameleon, adjusting to almost any color to enable them to hide or
stalk successfully 2.

Clothing irritates their, skin, and they
never wear garments, finding them silly
and pointless. They have a thick layer of
fat under their skin for both buoyancy
and warmth, and some kappa have a small
amount of body hair. They smell vaguely
fishlike. Their boyish heads are fairly
chubby and flat.

On the top of each kappa?s head is a
saucerlike depression filled with water
from the kappa?s home body of water. This
water is the source of that kappa?s
strength. The kappa will lose vitality and
other abilities in proportion to any amount
of this water spilled from the bowl in its
head, and it will die within minutes if all
the water is lost and the kappa is unable to
replenish this vital fluid with fresh water
from any source (though ?home? water is
preferred).

Around this bowl, most kappa have hair
that is usually cut short, though some
scholarly or artistic kappa wear it long.
Kappa have large eyes with humanlike
tear ducts, and though most have large
beaks, some have long noses instead. All
kappa are able to breathe comfortably
underwater or in air; however, they have
only lungs and do not have gills, taking the
water in through their mouths. Their
lungs filter oxygen out of the water.
There are two types of kappa: the common kappa, which is bad enough, and the
vampiric kappa, whose bite drains vitality.
The vampiric kappa is usually a solitary
creature, preying upon all who fall within
its grasp (even other kappa).

Common kappa weigh, on average,
approximately 20 lbs. Vampiric kappa
usually weigh slightly more. Huge kappa
have been known to stand 5? tall and
weigh up to 150 lbs.; these are believed to
have once been experimental subjects of a
wu jen 3.

Abilities
Kappa are extremely strong despite their
small size, and some have been known to
wreck bridges, hurl rocks, and tear flesh
from their opponents with their clawed
hands. Kappa prefer not to use weapons,
but they can throw daggers and darts if
given the chance.

Kappa have lithe, supple bodies and are
fluid movers, allowing them to climb and
swim with great ease and grace. This
grace, combined with their thick skin,
makes them difficult to strike in hand-tohand combat, adding to the dangers of
fighting them in close quarters.

Additionally, each community of kappa
has developed its own style of martial arts,
and the kappa have become masters of
their own styles. Often, these styles are
based upon basic wrestling techniques in
which the kappa are highly skilled. Kappa
martial-arts styles usually contain many
grappling moves and maneuvers designed
to throw their opponents off balance.

All kappa regenerate wounds that they
have received; even their limbs can regrow quickly. Kappa may reconnect severed limbs if they are able to spend time
undisturbed to allow their regenerative
and recuperative powers to work. They
are reputed to be masters of  koppo, which
is the knowledge of bone structures and
the art of setting or breaking bones. This
art may well be included in the martial
combat styles of some kappa  4.

Vampiric kappa differ from their common brethren in a number of ways. They
are not undead, but they are more powerful and deadly than their kin. Their eyes
are blood red but dead looking, giving
little indication of emotion or intent. Their
skin is more like hide, being tougher and
more resilient than that of normal kappa.
They are as strong and powerful as the
other types of kappa, but they are more
agile and much hardier. This difference in
physique and stamina allows vampiric
kappa to move nearly as quickly as a human on dry land and gives them excellent
endurance. Vampiric kappa are slightly
more intelligent than normal kappa; this
difference in mental power only worsens
the naturally crafty and malicious attitude
that kappa seem to harbor. 

In addition to normal attacks, vampiric
kappa also attack their prey by biting.
Once this kappa has successfully bitten its
victim, it will lock its jaws and not release
until the victim is dead or the kappa is
forced to disengage. This bite causes both
physical damage and a loss of strength,
and may also inflict a dreadful disease that
drains strength. This disease lasts approximately six days before killing its carrier.


Folktales tell of spell-casting kappa, but
nothing else is known of such matters.5

Habitat and Diet

Kappa most often live in rivers but also
inhabit deep streams, lakes, and large
ponds?almost any suitably large body of
fresh water. Kappa die from extended
exposure to saltwater, being unable to
tolerate it for longer than a few hours?.
Often making their lairs around rocky
outcrops and bridges, they use these areas
as solid, defensible bases from which to
scavenge. On occasion, these lairs may
contain magical items and treasures such
as gold and jewelry, all gained from the
demise of their victims. In fact, kappa are
a major cause of drownings in fresh water
in Kara-Tur, as they delight in dragging
unsuspecting human and animal victims
into their waterways. Kappa can see perfectly underwater, having strong transparent protective coverings over their eyes.

All kappa consider themselves gourmets 
They normally live on fish, but they are
especially fond of cucumbers and melons
such as cantaloupes, muskmelons, and the
like. Some kappa have a special taste for
fruits such as oranges or grapes, but some
hate sweet fruits with a passion. (No one
has yet tried to feed pickles to a kappa.)
They are also very fond of horse, cow, and
human flesh. Their normal method of 
eating slain animals is to suck out the
entrails of their victims. Kappa have been
known to indulge in  sake (rice wine) or
plum brandy; such beverages have been
used to bribe even the destructive kappa
into temporary truces.

Society
A group of kappa usually has two to six
members, though larger groups do exist.
What little society kappa share works
much as an extended family whose members are bound to one another by social
obligations more than by blood. These
bonds, however, do not interfere with
each kappa?s independent, ruthless, and
predatory behavior. (Vampiric kappa almost never live in groups, preferring
solitude or living with a mate only.)

Courting among kappa is initiated by the
females, who chase their chosen males
vigorously until the former?s advances are
accepted. Once established, partnerships
are usually permanent. Males outnumber
females, though only by a small margin,
and the females are equal to the males in
their abilities, strengths, and aggressive
natures. Young are hatched from tiny eggs
that are kept hidden within the pouches of
their parents (males, however, sometimes
eat the eggs they carry).

Kappa are believed to have a lifespan
similar to humans, although they develop
their skills and abilities at a younger age in
comparison to humans 8. The most obvious
example is that their babies can walk and
talk at hatching and very quickly learn to
swim well.

Almost all kappa have, even from a very
early age, full literacy in their own language and usually in those tongues spoken
commonly in their lands. They are able to
speak, read, and write with great eloquence in ?kappanese,? although they are
somewhat less capable in other languages.
The script of the kappa is very spindly and
spiral; it is not aesthetically pleasing but
rather is disturbing to the human eye and
difficult to read by nonkappa.

As a race; kappa are inventive and
clever within their own lifestyle, but they
are no more intelligent than human beings, often exhibiting lesser intelligence.,
As with any intelligent creature, there are
exceptions to this, and a few intelligent
(even brilliant) kappa have been discovered. These kappa use brain-power to
manipulate others to achieve their goals.

Kappa are self-centered and selfmotivated to the exclusion of the opinions
and ideals of others. One unexpected
aspect of their personalities comes to light
when they are in trouble or somehow
compromised. They fawn on the people
who have cornered them, and nothing is
too much trouble for a kappa in this situation. Rumors exist of captured, grateful, or
indebted kappa teaching some or all of
their skills to whomever controlled them.
All kappa thoroughly enjoy the pain and
discomfort of others and are great practical jokers, especially if the joke ends in 
disaster for their victims. Kappa sometimes assault lone travelers for no reason
other than to cause them misery, greeting
the victim with great formality just before
the attack. This malicious streak stems
from a kappa?s complete and utter disregard for anyone or anything else.

Travelers and local inhabitants attempt
to appease kappa by throwing food into
kappa waters. Village folk write the names
of their family members on these gifts so
the kappa know who should not be attacked. Another way to pass the lair of a
kappa without being attacked is to offer to
wrestle the kappa for the right of passage.
As all kappa are skilled wrestlers, they will
often agree to this. However, if a kappa
defeats his opponent, he will almost always drag the victim into his lair to be
eaten at his leisure.

Kappa are extremely polite, even to their
prey, but they make their intentions well
known. If treated with great respect, a
kappa might be swayed from slaying and
eating its victim, but it will certainly demand immediate payment of money or
valuable belongings in return for sparing
the victim?s life. 

Given to such exhibitions of extreme
behavior, all kappa regard odd and seemingly meaningless acts as perfectly normal.
To a human being, a kappa?s lifestyle
would appear random, thoughtless, and
devoid of almost anything other than selfgratification. This is perfectly true, and
kappa not only admit to this but take pride
in it. Their rarity is, perhaps, their only
blessing.

Footnotes
1. About 10% of all common kappa lack
shells, having a base armor class of 3. Such
kappa are always solitary, being bullied by
other kappa.

2. Assume that 5% of all kappa have this
chameleon power, which gives them a 75%
chance to hide in natural terrain.

3. Assume that there is a 5% chance that
a particular kappa is a huge one; double its
hit dice, movement rates, damage (giving it
a strength of 19 with huge claws), and
height (4-5?). These huge kappa are always
solitary and extremely rare. Huge vampiric kappa are, as one would imagine,
incredibly dangerous; these specimens
drain two strength points per round that
they can bite.

4. The special maneuvers Crushing Blow
and Eagle Claw come to mind here.

5. Spell-casting ability exists in approximately  10%  of all male kappa. Each may
cast as many spells per day as a wu jen
with as many levels as the kappa has hit
dice. For example, a vampiric kappa would
be able to cast four first-, three second-,
two third-, and one fourth-level wu jen
spells. These spells need not be chosen at
the beginning of a day, nor do they have to
be learned from a scroll or book, since
they come from the kappa?s elemental
sympathy with water. A kappa may cast 
spells only within one mile of his own
waterway. Spells should be chosen as
needed. If a kappa has lost any water from
the bowl in his head, his spells? durations
and effects are reduced by the same degree as the amount of water lost. Spellcasting kappa may choose any spell listed
as ?Water? or ?All? from page 73 of the
Oriental Adventures tome.

6. Nonvampiric kappa lose 1-4 hp per
turn they are immersed in saltwater;
vampiric kappa lose only 1 hp per turn.
Furthermore, if the water in the bowl on
their heads is filled with saltwater, they
gain no special strength, though they can
still  regenerate wounds and do not lose 2
hp per round, as per  Oriental Adventures,
page 124.

<couldn't find #6>

7. If six individuals are indicated by a die
roll, allow a 50% chance that there are
another 1-6 individuals present. If another
six is rolled, allow another 50% chance for
1-6 more kappa, and so forth. 

<couldn't find #7>

8. Common kappa typically live to an age
of 100 years, and vampiric ones live to
130. From birth, kappa gain 1 HD per year
until they reach adulthood.

Bibliography
Dorson, Richard M.  Folk Legends of Japan.
    Rutland, Vt.: Charles Tuttle, n/d.

Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Kappa. Rutland,
    Vt.: Charles Tuttle, n/d.