Giant starfish

Giant starfish or giant sunstar were monstrously sized cousins of the mundane undersea creatures known as starfish.
==Description==
These creatures were largely similar in appearance to mundane starfish, but had ten or twelve rays that radiated from their centers, rather than five. Their bodies could measure anywhere from across, though it was relatively rare to encounter any larger than across and those that reached above those lengths were thought of as mostly rumors.
The underside of their central body and its rays were covered in sticky suckers and if a ray was severed it could regenerate back within a period of one to four months. Their bodies ranged in color from yellow, orange, red, pink, and tan. The hue of this coloration ranged from pale pastels to being quite vibrant.
==Behavior==
The intelligence of these creatures was above that of a mundane starfish, ranging from being semi-intelligent to having a low degree of intelligence.
==Combat==
When attacking sailing vessels a giant starfish would approach and maneuver itself beneath their underside. It would then either attempt to pull as many people overboard, then retreat, or grapple the ship from below for a more involved attack. The latter sometimes broke masts, caused holes in the deck or hull of sailing vessels, and could potentially knock crew overboard with their shaking. Once its prey was grappled, a giant starfish would try to pry open and tear at the hull with its rays in order to search for any creatures inside.
When actively grappling a sailing vessel, a giant starfish would not retreat from their captive ship until at least half of its rays were either disabled or severed. When they finally engaged in this retreat, the starfish would try to carry away a victim in each of its still-functioning rays.
==History==
Around 1492 DR, the parts of the Caverns of Ooze that were altered by Halaster to accomodate his marid prisoner Ichthyglug were inhabited by a number of benign giant starfish.
==Ecology==
These creatures lived solitary lives, actively wandering in search of prey, only interacting with others of their kind during mating season. Those with ten rays never mated with those that had twelve or vice versa and were likely to fight each other.
===Diet===
Giant starfish were carnivorous creatures. They preyed upon a wide variety of giant undersea life that were limited in their mobility, such as giant clams. On rare occasions they would try to tussle with whales, giant octopi, and even krakens. They often preferred preying upon sailing vessels, even if it meant trailing after them for many miles.
===Habitats===
Giant starfish were sighted in large saltwater oceans all across the worlds of Toril, Oerth, and Krynn. Even the inland ocean of interior Faerûn, the Sea of Fallen Stars, in its Lower Depths zone.The "Lower Depths" zone of the Inner Sea referred to depths of roughly beneath the ocean. Beyond the Prime Material, giant starfish could be found in parts of the Domains of Dread.
Large caves and underwater trenches were the typical lairs of giant starfish, with crevices and niches being used to store any extra food or treasure they had. These lairs were rarely approached by other undersea life.
==Rumors & Legends==
On many worlds, it was rumored that a freshwater sub-species could be found in large inland lakes.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Creatures of chaotic neutral alignment
Category:Creatures of neutral alignment
Category:Creatures with low intelligence
Category:Semi-intelligent creatures
Category:Creatures found in seas and oceans
Category:Creatures found in the Domains of Dread
Category:Creatures found on Krynn
Category:Creatures found on Oerth