Wereray

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Wererays are probably the weirdest therianthrope to come out of Ravenloft. As the name suggests, they are shapechangers who are able to transform from their original form into the shape of an oversized, predatory manta ray with the barbed tail of a stingray, or a bizarre humanoid manta ray. This form is described thusly:

From the top, they look much like giant manta rays with mammoth wings of rubbery gray skin. Underneath is the humanoid portion of the beast. The creature has arms and legs, but the legs are seemingly attached to the winged shell by tenuous membranes. The arms are free and can be used to manipulate tools or weapons. The head and the rest of the body are attached to the shell like the legs and cannot separate. The skin of the creature’s head and belly is a sickly, glistening white, while the arms, legs, and sides are the same rubbery gray as the shell. The tail of the thing is long and gray, but ends in a jet black barb. Its eyes are similarly black with two dull slits of yellow for pupils.

Whether trueborn, infected or maledictive, wererays can be distinguished in their human form by their jet-black irises. They are unaffected by silver, and instead a would-be hunter needs to use weapons of seashell or coral to subdue the beasts. Despite their resemblance to manta rays, which are ocean-going filter feeders, their hunting tactics largely mimic those of stingrays; burying themselves in sand, silt or mud, and then whacking anything that gets too close with their tail, which injects a neurotoxin that causes both agonizing pain and paralysis.

In AD&D, they are characterized as dull-witted and stupid, even compared to their wereshark counterparts. Weirdly, their mechanics attribute them a perfectly average Intelligence score of 8-10. Their society largely starts and end at pods of 3d6s wererays living in underwater caves and artificial reefs that they build to sink ships to acquire food and treasure.

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