Deep Dive - The Seawolf
The Seawolf is an incredibly rare form of lycanthropy, where you appear as some sort of twisted experiment by a wizard. You are part canine and part seal, cutting through the waters like a dolphin and biting onto your enemies like a starving wolf. There are several myths about Seawolves on Earth, though most consider such creatures a good omen. The Tlingit (pronounced Kling kit) people, who call this creature a Gonakadet, believe it will bring tremendous luck and wealth to anyone fortunate enough to see it or hear its soulful howl. The Haida (hey da) people even have a story about how the Wasgo (was go), another name for the Seawolf, has an undersea house that can sometimes rise above the waters.
Of course, Dungeons & Dragons doesn't believe in being blessed or getting wealthy just because you have an underwater seal wolf creature near you. The game believes that you will get eaten if a monster is near you. So maybe sighting one is a blessing not for you but for the Seawolf.
AD&D (1e) - Seawolf (Greater)
Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 4-16
Armor Class: 5
Move: 9”//27”
Hit Dice: 9+2
% in Lair: Nil
Treasure Type: Nil
No. of Attacks: 1 or 2
Damage/Attack: 3-12 or 1-2 and by weapon type
Special Attacks: Nil
Special Defenses: Hit only by silver, cold iron, or +1 or better magic weapons
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low to High
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Size: L (12’-15’ long) or M
Psionic Ability: Nil
Level/XP Value: VI/900 + 12/hp
Monster Manual 2, 1983 TSR Inc. / Greater Seawolf
The Seawolf first appears in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Card Set 3 (1981) and was reprinted in Monster Manual 2 (1983). There are two types you might come across; the Greater Seawolf and the Lesser Seawolf. While both are nasty, shape-changing, wolf-seal monsters, a Greater Seawolf can spell disaster when encountered in the sea while you have a fighting chance against the other. At the end of the day, the most significant difference between the two is one is a lot stronger and bigger. We think you know which one is which.
Seawolves have two forms, though their furry seal form is the most likely. In this form, they have a lupine head but the body of a seal. Fur covers the top part of their form and goes down their neck, their muzzle is filled with canine teeth, but the rest of them is that of a porpoise or seal. Their alternate form is that of a wolfman, similar to the hybrid form of a werewolf. This form is like that of a large man but covered in fur with a large wolf snout and powerful claws.
Becoming a Seawolf doesn't mean you won't need oxygen to survive. A Seawolf can remain underwater for up to 24 minutes, after which it must surface and breathe in that sweet ocean air. That will be way longer than you can hold your breath, so try your hardest to break free when you're dragged below the surface. Even if you manage to escape and get to the surface, you'll probably be far away from your friends as the Seawolf carries you away with its impressive swim speed.
Monster Manual 2, 1983 TSR Inc. / Lesser Seawolf
Seawolves are not kind, benevolent creatures as you might first suspect from the real-world lore we talked about earlier. They are the complete opposite as they are not just evil but quite chaotic in their evilness. Trawling the oceans, they seek out ships and water-based vessels. A Seawolf pack will assume their wolfman form when night falls and sneak onboard. They will proceed to kill whoever is on watch, steal their weapons, and slaughter the remainder of the crew. Since everyone is dead and the Seawolf does not need a ship, the pack will sink it before swimming away. We can only assume that they take a few prisoners, but that's only so they can inflict their curse upon them and swell their ranks.
Suppose you somehow repel the pack of swimming wolves but were bit during the fracas. Don’t fret, for you will not immediately turn into a Seawolf or any lycanthrope. To be inflicted with the curse of lycanthropy, you must have at least 50% of your hit points reduced by the creature biting you. Importantly, this amount of damage can not kill you, so you don't have to worry about your rogue coming back as a zombie Seawolf. Plus, if you aren't human, you're golden! So while you can still die at the hands of a Seawolf, you don't have to worry about becoming one.
Monster Cards Set 3, 1981 TSR Inc.
If you are bitten enough and aren't eaten or killed, you have 2 to 5 days before you turn into a Seawolf, though Wolfsbane has a chance of healing you, along with a 1% chance of killing you. A cure disease spell from a 12th-level cleric can also prevent your transformation. If you fail to stop the disease, get ready to hurl yourself overboard when night comes as you transform into a Seawolf and swim off in search of a pack of fellow Seawolves. Maybe the ones who transformed you are looking for volunteers!
As with most creatures we discuss, we have good and bad news when you inevitably have to fight them. The good news is Lesser Seawolves aren't that hard to kill. They have only two hit dice plus two bonus hit points for an average of about 11 hit points. That's alright, as they don't have any special defenses, unlike other lycanthropes. You hit them with your big pointy stick, and they'll eventually stop moving. Now for the bad news. Greater Seawolves will be harder with their nine-hit dice plus two bonus hit points. They have, on average, about 42 hit points and are entirely immune to weapons unless they are silver, cold iron, or enchanted weapons with at least a +1 bonus.
It's not impossible to kill them, and most adventurers who have raided a few dungeons probably have a weapon that will work on them. We certainly hope you do since they travel in packs of up to 16 and are intent on killing everyone and sinking the ship. It's probably best to never leave the shore and go on a ship, which is our plan.
2e - Seawolf (Lesser)
Climate/Terrain: Saltwater
Frequency: Very rare
Organization: Pack
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Average (8-10)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral Evil
No. Appearing: 3-18
Armor Class: 6 (7)
Movement: 6, Sw 30
Hit Dice: 2 + 2
THAC0: 19
No. of Attacks: 1 or 3
Damage/Attack: 2-8 or 1-2/1-2/1-4
Special Attacks: Nil
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: M (6’-7’)
Morale: Steady (11-12)
XP Value: 120
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1, 1989 TSR Inc.
Appearing in Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1 (1989) and Monstrous Manual (1993), the Seawolf gets their chance to spread terror, destroy ships, and be a general nuisance of maritime activities. They are much like they were in the previous edition, with a penchant for murdering seafarers and being adorable seal-wolf monsters.
In this edition, you should be wary of picking up shipwrecked sailors and marooned islanders. This is because Seawolves have three forms to choose from: a seal form, a hybrid form, and a human form. Yup, now they are just like real lycanthropes, capable of passing themselves off as human before they morph into a horrific monster and bite your head clean off.
Speaking of lycanthrope, let's go ahead and clear the air on that word, as were-creatures are not all lycanthropes. Lycanthropes refer to only humans that can transform into wolves, hence the 'lycan' part of the name. Lycanthrope is not a generic catchall for humans that can transform into different creatures like pop culture might have you believe. The generic word is therianthrope. We say all this not because we are tired of seeing the word lycanthrope used to describe weretigers, wereboars, and others for which it shouldn't be used, though we are tired of that. Instead, it's because we aren't sure if lycanthrope can be utilized for Seawolves. Sure, lycanthrope could work for them, but it feels wrong. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
The Seawolf now has a third form, being their original human form. They use this to disguise themselves, acting the part of a person lost at sea, someone shipwrecked, or simply because they want to sneak into town. Once the Seawolf has gained your trust, or at least have you think they are essentially harmless, they transform and attack, brutally mauling and killing any other creature that would dare sail their seas or take fish from it. We aren't entirely sure why they dislike sailors to the extent they do, but they do.
Monstrous Manual, 1993 TSR Inc.
This might be because they were once sailors themselves. A Seawolf infected these poor souls with lycanthropy, upset they were making a living on the ocean. It's kind of a brutal cycle of angsty ex-sailors attacking current sailors to create more ex-sailors to attack other sailors. And we say angsty because transforming into a Seawolf heightens all of the negative traits humans once had while completely tuning down or removing all the good qualities they might have once had. Seawolves still retain their memories from before their transformation, but it will do nothing to soften their hearts. They may even go back to their old home and kill their old rivals and family just because they can.
This edition gives us additional information on Seawolves and their reproduction. See, you don't have to be brutally mauled by a wolf-seal hybrid to become a Seawolf. If two Seawolves decide to get together in the biblical sense, you could be born into it. It's rare, though, as only about 5% of all Seawolf pups survive into adulthood for the simple reason that Seawolves just don't care about their babies. Once you are born, you are abandoned in the deep blue sea and have to fend for yourself - which is hard since you are a literal human infant during the day and a baby seal at night. Frankly, we find it amazing that even 5% of them survive to adulthood. We’re pretty sure as human adults, we couldn't survive a day swimming out in the ocean, let alone as a human infant.
If a Seawolf and a human get together, which isn't unheard of as packs of Seawolves may morph into their human form and party at a pub on land. If they don’t kill everyone inside, they can produce children. Only a quarter of all their babies will become Seawolves once they reach adulthood, though all of their children will have a strange yearning for the sea and will be quite good swimmers.
If you are wondering how deep you have to swim to escape a Seawolf, you are in luck. In Sea of Fallen Stars (1999), a sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms that looks at life above and below the Inner Sea, we learn that Seawolves have a maximum depth of 1,000 feet. Couple that with the fact that Seawolves can only hold their breath for up to 24 minutes, and you can feel relatively safe beneath the waves… you just have to watch out for weresharks.
Seawolves may not be the most intelligent creatures in the Forgotten Realms. They more than makeup for what they lack in smarts by being the most cunning and relentless pack hunters. Oh, they also live for 200 years, so you better make peace with living below the waves for a very long time if a Seawolf is holding a grudge against you for fishing in their ocean or turns you into one of its kind.
3e - Seawolf
Medium Magical Beast (Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 4d10+8 (30 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares), swim 40 ft.; or 30 ft., swim 20 ft. in hybrid form, or 30 ft. in humanoid form
Armor Class: 17 (+3 Dex, +4 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 14 in seawolf or hybrid form; or 20 (+3 Dex, +4 natural, +2 leather armor, +1 light shield), touch 13, flat-footed 17 in human form
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+6
Attack: Bite +7 melee (1d6+3) in seawolf or hybrid form; or longsword +6 melee (1d8+2/19-20) in human form
Full Attack: Bite +7 melee (1d6+3) in seawolf form, or bite +7 melee (1d6+2) and 2 claws +1 melee (1d4+1) in hybrid form, or longsword +6 melee (1d8+2/19–20) in human form
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Curse
Special Qualities: Change shape, darkvision 60 ft., hold breath, low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +5
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 12
Skills: Bluff +3, Disguise +3, Hide +5, Listen +6, Move Silently +5, Profession (sailor) +4, Spot +6, Swim +10
Feats: Iron Will, Stealthy, Weapon Focus (bite)
Environment: Temperate aquatic
Organization: Solitary, pair, or pack (5–11)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 5–12 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: +2
Stormwrack, 2005 Wizards of the Coast
The last appearance of the Seawolf comes in Stormwrack (2005), a sourcebook all about watery environments, how to survive them, what terrible monsters lurk below, and more. It's a fascinating book, especially for those about to begin aquatic campaigns or have adventures around swamps, marshes, lakes, and other bodies of water.
As for the Seawolf, little changes for them, which is probably a good thing. They are already pretty cool as is, and they remain quite dangerous. Seawolves retain their three forms, using their human guise to trick others, but spend the vast majority of their life in their seal-wolf form. They rarely use their hybrid form but will transform into it when they clamber onboard a ship and begin cutting sailors down for daring to sail the ocean waves.
Despite how murderous they are, they are social creatures. They don't like being alone, and so if there are no other Seawolves for one to find, they will instead stylize themselves as a pirate, raider, or sea-hunter, joining up with others for adventures on the high seas. We presume that once a large enough group follows them, they probably start transforming a few of them into Seawolves, creating the wolf pack they always wanted.
In this edition, their curse is a bit more potent than before. You no longer have to get bitten over and over for half your total hit points. Now you just get bit once and run the chance of being cursed if you can't make a Will save. It seems odd that their curse is based on Will, not Fortitude, like all other were-creatures, but we guess Seawolves are no longer 'technically' were-creatures, but shapechangers. This fact is further cemented since you can break this curse by someone casting break enchantment or remove curse on the victim, even if they have been a Seawolf for years. A normal curse of lycanthropy requires taking belladonna within an hour of being afflicted, having remove disease or heal cast by a 12th level cleric within three days of affliction, or remove curse or break enchantment during a full moon and making a Will save to break the curse. So while it is similar, it is a different type of animal transformation curse.
The last thing we do get is a new tactic for the Seawolves. Some of the Seawolf's pack will hire themselves onto a ship as sailors, while in their human form, of course, and then steer the boat into their pack's territory. Then, at night, they kill whoever is on watch and help their pack kill all onboard and sink the ship. Once they are done with that, they take all the goods and treasures on board and stash the goods away in hidden lairs they have along the coastline. It isn't new since they seem to always be killing sailors, but it is a good use of their past-life skills, allowing them new ways of causing terror.
5e - Seawolf Homebrew
The Seawolf has yet to return to the sea and cause all sorts of mayhem, but that won’t stop us. Below you can find our version of the Seawolf updated to the latest edition of Dungeons & Dragons. If you’d like a PDF of this creature, consider supporting us on Patreon.
Seawolf
The seawolf is a marauder that swims in the cold waters of the ocean, seeking out fishers, sailors, and others that make their living on the waves. They attack water-going vessels at night, climbing onboard, slaughtering the entire crew, and sinking the ship. Few survive such raids, though a handful might be forced to join the seawolf pack.
A seawolf was once a humanoid before it was cursed, transforming it into a part-wolf, part-seal monstrosity. It appears with the head and neck of a wolf, but its shoulders and below are the body of a seal. It has thick brown fur on its lupine features and down its back, but the rest of its body is covered in the soft pelt of a seal, allowing it to swim effortlessly through the water.
Seawolves range in size, with the weakest being only six to seven feet long, while more powerful seawolves can grow as long as twelve to fifteen feet. They often travel in packs, as they are social creatures, with some reports claiming that over twenty have been spotted traveling together. In every pack, the biggest is often the leader as they value strength above all else. If a seawolf is alone or has been cast out of its pack, and not immediately killed, it may disguise itself as human and join a pirate crew, wherein it quickly rises to be its leader.
Changing Shapes. The seawolf is capable of transforming itself, hiding its cursed form as the humanoid it once was in life or turning into a wolf-humanoid hybrid that stands six to seven feet tall. In this hybrid form, it appears similar to that of a werewolf in hybrid form, with lupine features, sharp claws, and a horrific desire for destruction.
Seawolves are known for being quite clever and will disguise themselves as humanoids, tricking passing ships into thinking they are shipwreck or pirate victims.
Seawolf Curse
A humanoid creature can be afflicted with the seawolf curse after being bitten by a seawolf in its true or hybrid form, or if one of its parents is a seawolf. A remove curse spell can rid a seawolf of its curse, but a natural-born seawolf can be freed of the curse only with a wish.
A non-seawolf humanoid hit by an attack that carries the seawolf curse must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + the seawolf’s proficiency bonus + the seawolf’s Constitution modifier) or be cursed. The GM is free to decide that a cursed character places the character under GM control until the curse is removed.
A character who becomes cursed gains the seawolf's type, its shapechanger ability, and any actions or abilities that don't involve equipment. The character is proficient with the seawolf's natural attacks, such as its bite or claws, which deal damage as shown in the seawolf's statistics.
In addition, the character gains a new flaw, overriding any opposing flaw: "I delight in the suffering of others and seek to cause destruction."
Swimming the oceans, the Seawolf is a dangerous raider who specializes in ambushing their prey. Thanks to not needing a ship, they are especially stealthy, creeping up on ships from deep within the waters, tearing holes into ships with their teeth, or clambering onboard and getting their claws and teeth bloodied. They are a ferocious therianthrope, bringing only death in their wake, instead of the good fortune we might’ve hoped for.
If you enjoy our Deep Dive series, consider
supporting us on Patreon and following us on Twitter!
