Ray, Manta
- Armor Class
- 6 [13]
- Hit Dice
- 9
- Attacks
- Bite or Tail (1d6+2)
- Special
- poison, paralysis, swallow, surprise, drowning
- Move
- Swim 27
- HDE/XP
- 9/1,100
Description
Rays are fish with cartilaginous skeletal structures related to the sharks. They have flattened bodies and swim as if flying.
Manta Rays live in warm ocean waters. Average adults have a wingspan of around 30 feet, with mouths of around one-fourth of that width. Creatures man-sized or smaller can be swallowed whole on any roll 2 or more points higher than that needed to score a hit, and creatures swallowed suffer 1d8 points of damage per round thereafter. Those swallowed may only attack with small cutting or stabbing weapons that were already in hand before the victim was swallowed, and if the manta ray fails a morale check it may regurgitate the victim. The manta ray's tail spine is not significantly poisonous, and is generally only used to attack when the creature flees.
A manta ray's treasure consists of items such as coins or gems that it cannot digest, and is held in its stomach. Normally it is necessary to kill a manta ray in order to take its treasure, but if it is compelled to regurgitate a meal (as described above) the treasure will be regurgitated as well. If magic items are indicated in a treasure, remove any that could be digested or otherwise damaged in the manta ray's stomach.
Pungi Rays are found in shallow tropical waters, and are not as large as manta rays, having a wingspan of around 15 feet. They conceal themselves under the sand with their dorsal spines exposed and wait for victims to step on them. The spines appear to be plant matter, and on 1-5 on 1d6 (treated as a surprise roll) they will not be recognized as dangerous. Any creature stepping on the spiny area, a patch about 3 feet wide and 4 feet long in the center of the pungi ray's back, must make a saving throw against poison or die. Characters in armored boots receive a bonus of +2 on the saving throw, while those in heavy non-armored boots or shoes receive a bonus of +1. If attacked the pungi ray will attempt to flee immediately.
A Sting Ray (or "Stingray") is a type of ray found in shallow tropical waters. They are normally peaceful, being bottom feeders, but if disturbed they may attack with their stinger. As they lie close to the bottom and often cover themselves with sand, they may not be seen (surprising on a roll of 1-4 on 1d6) thus increasing the danger. If the sting ray's attack hits, the victim must make a saving throw against poison or become paralyzed for 5d4 turns. While this does not kill the victim directly, should they fall into the water, drowning is a likely outcome.
See Also
Other creatures grouped under Ray: Ray, Pungi, Ray, Sting.
Source note: This creature is converted from The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign – Omnibus Edition, 1st Edition Release 4, © 2010–2025 Chris Gonnerman, R. Kevin Smoot, James Lemon, Matt Sluis, and Contributors. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide textual material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; this page adapts that creature to White Box.