Naga Hatchling, Elven Forest Water (CR 1)
Tiny Aberration (Aquatic)
Alignment: Always Neutral
Initiative: +1 (Dex); Senses: darkvision 60 ft.
AC: 13 (+2 size, +1 Dex), touch 13, flat-footed 12
Hit Dice: 1d8+2 (6 hp)
Fort -1, Ref +1, Will +3
Speed: Swim 30 ft.
Space: 2 1/2 ft. by 2 1/2 ft.
Base Attack -1; Grapple -9
Attack: head spear +1 melee
Damage: Head spear 2d4 (if attack is successful, the hatchling must spend the following round pulling itself free from the victims flesh)
Special Attacks/Actions: Head spear
Abilities: Str 4, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 5, Wis 12, Cha 13
Special Qualities: -
Feats: Alertness
Skills: Swim +1
Advancement: -
Climate/Terrain: Temperate aquatic
Organization: Nest (50-100)
Treasure/Possessions: None
Source:
Converted
Adult water naga spend the winter hibernating in deep holes dug in the floors of ponds or rivers. They emerge in early spring and, after eating a hearty meal of frogs and fish, mate underwater. The female lays 100-500 eggs in the deepest area of the pond, then covers them with mud. The mud conceals the eggs and keeps them warm until they begin to hatch in mid-spring.
A typical hatchling looks like a footlong black worm with a pointed head and a circle of spikes around its neck. It breathes water with four pair of gills under its chin.
Hatchlings spend the daylight hours resting on the floor of the pond, then rise at night to feed on minnows and decayed plants. When a predator approaches, the hatchling becomes as rigid as stone. The rigid hatchling thrusts itself at the predator like a tiny spear, its neck spines erect. If the predator survives the attack, the hatchling can withdraw and try again. Perhaps a fourth of the hatchling naga survive this stage; the rest are consumed by giant carp and other carnivorous fish.
If you catch a hatchling - they occasionally attach to fishing lines - strip off the neck spikes with a sharp blade. A handful of spikes, when ground to powder and consumed, gives you the effect of a true seeing spell, enabling you to see all things as they actually are.
The hatchlings grow quickly, reaching a length of 10 feet in a matter of weeks. During this time, their neck spikes fall out, and they begin to acquire their characteristic scales (emerald green in reticulated patterns with pale jade green) and red spikes along the length of their spine. They also grow lizardlike legs, a pair at each end. Lungs develop, enabling the adolescent naga to crawl ashore and breathe air. Though it can still breathe water, the naga spends most of its adolescence on land, creeping through the grass for rats and slithering up trees for bluebirds.
Aquatic Subtype
Creatures with the aquatic subtype always have swim speeds and thus can move in water without making Swim checks. An aquatic creature can breathe underwater. It cannot also breathe air unless it has the amphibious special quality.