Kraken

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Kraken
A kraken attacks a ship on the high seas.
(Creature)

Krakens are huge, squid-like aquatic beasts.12

Appearance

A typical kraken's body can be up to 100 feet in length and weighs 4,000 pounds. In appearance, the body of a kraken resembles that of a giant squid, with a ring of tentacles surrounding a mouth connected to a central body. Two of its tentacles are longer than the rest and bear deadly hooked barbs. A kraken has very large eyes and fins that jut from the upper part of its body.2

Ecology

Krakens dwell in deep oceanic places, such as trenches, sunken ruins, or features located near thermal vents. Their lairs often contain hoarded treasures, especially scrolls and spellbooks, sources of ancient knowledge, and rare materials native to the deep ocean.1

They have been known to attack boats and even some of the world's largest ships. Despite their simplistic appearance, they actually possess advanced intellects and even speak Thalassic,1 or a language of their own similar to that of a whale.2

On Golarion

Zhanagorr, elder kraken patron of Wanshou.

In Rova 4700 AR, the eyeless bodies of thirteen krakens washed up on the Isle of Kortos.3 There have been reports that a mighty kraken sometimes hunts near the whirlpool of Devil's Drain between Dragon's Rib of the Ironbound Islands and the Linnorm Kingdom of Southmoor.4

The Tian Xian nation of Wanshou came under the control of the kraken Zhanagorr when he quelled a devastating typhoon that hit its shores shortly after the fall of Lung Wa, naming rulership of Wanshou and its people as his price for doing so.5

In the Great Beyond

Large numbers of krakens are native to the dark depths of the Plane of Water, where they have long been in conflict with the native brine dragons for dominance of the plane. Despite their intelligence and power, the krakens' lack of organization has allowed the dragons to expel them from the depths as their own power and holdings grew, forcing the krakens into the plane's lighter waters. This has forced many krakens to enter into begrudging alliances with other races, often installing themselves as advisors to faydhaan6 and sedacthy7 rulers. While the krakens find such alliances demeaning, they hope to forge the disparate genie and sedacthy nations into stable empires once again, preferably ones heavily reliant on kraken support.8

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Logan Bonner, et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 214. Paizo Inc., 2019
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Paizo Inc., et al. “Monsters A to Z” in Bestiary, 184. Paizo Inc., 2009
  3. Erik Mona & Jason Bulmahn. Gazetteer, 21. Paizo Inc., 2008
  4. Matthew Goodall, et al. “The Linnorm Kingdoms” in Lands of the Linnorm Kings, 23. Paizo Inc., 2011
  5. James Jacobs, et al. “Regions of the Dragon Empires” in Dragon Empires Gazetteer, 42. Paizo Inc., 2011
  6. Paizo referred to faydhaans as marids until the publication of Rage of Elements. See Rage of Elements pg. 3 and Pathfinder Core Preview pg. 2.
  7. Template:Cite canon change
  8. John Compton, et al. Plane of Water” in Planes of Power, 42. Paizo Inc., 2016