Monster: Dragon Ray
Game/Product: Rifts/Underseas (World Book Seven)
Origin: They came from another world... The idea's origin seems pretty clear. Combine the concept of a dragon with the manta ray, a real world animal that has "wings", and you have a fantastical beast that can gracefully swim through Rift-Earth's oceans.
Fear Level: "9 when attacking or angry". Good enough for me. Of course, they're described as mostly friendly to humans, so in their relaxed state, they would be a wonder to behold. If you're a fish, squid or crustacean, the Fear Level is doubled.
Danger Level: Though the goodies are community-minded, love to tell tall tales, and can even join adventurer parties, there ARE some evil Dragon Rays who worm themselves into villages with deceit. If you think you're safe by staying out of the water, you're wrong. Not only can they expertly jump out of the water to attack your craft, but they're essentially amphibian and spend almost half their time on land. They're all powerful psionics, and use their powers in lieu of hands. Some learn magic. So pretty dangerous if they want to be.
Famous examples: None that I can think of, but traditional dragon lore can be applied, just change your setting to a fishing village (Smaug from The Hobbit would therefore by an any easy comparison to make, but Earthsea's dragons might also serve as examples).
I wonder if: I should integrate them into my Torg Eternity game? Rifts and Torg have a lot in common, and Dragon Rays might easily fit Aysle, or come from a Wonder upkept by the Living Land. Both realms have plenty of coastal areas.
Comments
That stat block has me SMH about how much criticism some editions of D&D take for having overly complex monster stats, while Rifts is already such a muddled mess of a game it can get away with that kind of thing with nary a peep from its fans. The folks who aren't already playing Rifts are never going to at this point, and the ones who do just expect this sort of thing. Even Savage Rifts isn't likely to change that.