Stroan
Created by Ed Greenwood
FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-3
ARMOR CLASS: 5
MOVE: 4"//10""
HIT DICE: 5x5 to 7x7
% IN LAIR: 70%
TREASURE TYPE: F, I, Q
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 plus spines (x4)
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Poison spines
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Darkness spell
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Average to high
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: L
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Stroan are large freshwater creatures
who often dwell in small inland pools or
streams, foraging throughout the surrounding
countryside for food. Omnivorous,
stroan dine with equal voracity
on plants, meat, and carrion of all types,
but are especially fond of elven flesh. For
concealment, stroan usually remain underwater
by day and emerge onto dry
land only at night, but they also possess
the power ot cast Darkness 15' Radius
(centered on themselves) once every
three days. Stroan hate even moderately
bright light (such as that caused by
caused by torches and lanterns) and will seek to
extinguish such a light source.
Stroan are mottled green and brown
(some rare subterranean specimens are
black), and crawl like insects while on
land. In water, they can creep along the
bottom in like manner, or swim by sculling
with their legs.
Their sucking bite does 1-6 points of
damage, but their most feared attack has
given them the nickname "fire-stingers":
Each stroan has four poisoned, barbed
prehensile spines it can manipulate and
thrust with deadly precision. Each spine
does 1-4 points of damage, and injects a
burning poison that does 2-12 points of
damage (save at +2 for half damage).
Stroan suffer only half damage from
cold. They secrete a body slime which
will extinguish flames, granting them
immunity to non-magical, low-heat fire.
They greatly fear oil, however, because it
eats away at their flesh. Oil tossed at a
stroan will do 2-20 points of damage for a
direct hit, and 1-12 for a splash. If the
creature is underwater and the water is
still or has only a weak current, each
flask-worth of oil introduced into the water
will do a maximum of 1-4 points of
damage to a stroan.
Oil poured into water which does not
have a strong current will dissipate fairly
slowly, rising towards the surface and
not readily dispersing into the water. In
the first round, it will be found in a 5-foot-radius
sphere, and will affect a stroan
within that distance from the point of
release; in the second round, the oil expands
to fill a 10-foot-radius sphere; in
the third, a 20-foot-radius sphere; in the
fourth; a 30-foot-radius sphere; and in
the fifth and sixth, a 35-foot radius
sphere, the oil being so diffused at this
point as to do a stroan only half damage
(1-2 points).
Stroan are intelligent and will hoard
treasure to lure sentient prey and to bargain
with powerful foes. Stroan communicate
by a limited form of telepathy,
which they can mask at will. They are
often familiar with the symbols and conventions
of local racial settlements, and
can communicate with adventurers using
images of these. Stroan worshp a
debased for of Eadro (see the DEITIES
&& DEMIGODS Cyclopedia), believing
the god to be a gigantic, inivisible stroan
("The Father of All Stroan") who swims
ceaselessly through bodies of both salt
water and fresh water, watching over
and judging his mortal counterparts.
Stroan often sacrifice elves to him, casting
them away into fast-flowing currents.