Late condtender for the article on creatures of the Alphatian Sea currently being edited for Threshold, this has come out of a conversation over a quite excellent but not quite right proposed illustration for another beast...
Anthropod
by Cab Davidson
Anthropods are guardians of the deep water of the Alphatian Sea, druids protecting the deep sea vents from any who may threaten them or indeed anything that may enter through them, allies of the great whales in their never ending crusade against a spiritual and existential darkness that would absorb all.
Their upper parts resemble those of fiendish looking humanoids, short but savage, while their lower portions are closer to those of an octopus, with a mass of 8 tentacles in place of legs. Even when fully stretched out they are only around 6 long, more comfortably sitting at around 4 tall. Their whole skin is similar to that of an octopus, allowing them to change colour to blend in spectacularly well in their surroundings. This allows them to surprise any foe on a 1-5 on 1d6, and (quite often) to go entirely un-noticed should they wish. They possess near faultless infravision to a distance of 120, and much of their own language is conducted using subtle changes in colour imperceptible to other creatures of the abyss. They are surprisingly fast, when necessary, and while they normally move no faster than a human walking across the land they may for 1 turn every hour move at 3x that speed, or at a faster 360 per round for up to 1 round in every minute. This is usually used to escape a foe, with a puff of black ink being immediately followed by a rapid escape in any direction, accompanied by an immediate change of colour. When fleeing from combat in such a way it is quite likely that they will be immediately out of sight of their foes, who must make a saving throw vs. wands to even see in which direction they disappeared.
Anthropods are not typically aggressive towards neutral or lawful creatures, but they can be hostile if they are challenged or if the abyss in which they reside is threatened. All anthropods are druids, and can cast cleric and druid spells as a caster of level equal to their hit dice, and they form mixed level groups for specific activities (foraging, defence, exploration, etc.). If forced into combat they use either their magic or wickedly barbed tridents (with which they are considered skilled for the purpose of skewering an enemy, using standard weapon mastery rules). Their settlements are found in great caverns in the depths of the ocean. Scattered settlements of anthropods are found across the Alphatian Sea, with rumours of a great city of anthropods, Octopolis, containing untold riches being spread by less scrupulous kna merchants.