Pelagic Grouper

Many eons beyond counting, before the Ancestor was born, before the Manor was built on the hill, even before the Hamlet was founded and the first settlers came to this distant land, there was a race of people that called this land their home. Little is known about them, and if they were human or some other damnable creature we shall never know. While their name is long lost to time, it is clear that they were great engineers and artists.

Remnants of their civilization can be found littered around the Estate for those who know where to look; from the Ancient Statue of a Great and Mighty Warrior in Courtyard to an Ancient Network of Aqueducts, Sewers and Tunnels under our feet. But the crown jewel of this ancient empire was their city, a vast underground metropolis underneath the very hill where the Manor now stands. Giant pillars and stone circles carved out solid stone, temples and houses, ports and harbors, and even in its ruined state, you can still see the glorious splendor. Ancient pictographic images are carved in stone walls of their temple halls, some of them showing an pyramid-like structure surround by tentacles, hint that they either worship some kind of sea goddess or a great and unnameable power.

However this ruined city is not abandoned for the eerie Pelagics still inhabit these ancient ruins. The only way to describe these hideous creatures from the deep is that they are amphibious fish with arms and legs or half-fish half-human creatures, whose origins are a mystery for us surface dwellers. There is much speculation and theory about these nightmares from the sea; some believe that they are the original inhabitants and builders of that ancient city; others believe that they were a slave race created by the original inhabitants of the city that rebelled against their former masters; some even believe them to be an ancient race that existed before the dawn of man; while still others believe that the city was once inhabited by humans before they were transformed into these cold emotionless terrors of the deep.

The latter theory may hold some truth, as the Pelagics are known to kidnap humans for many nefarious ends, among them to find suitable mates and reproduce viable offspring. There are also the Blood Soaked Pages Torn From A Journal as more evidence to support this theory, for there isn't much need to turn Humans into Pelagics after they are bitten by one.

These fishy terrors are the foot soldiers of the eerie Pelagics. The Pelagic Grouper stalks the caverns and grottoes of their domain in packs, searching for unfortunate sailors and foolhardy adventurers to pick to the bone. These devils from the deep are as swift on land as they are in water, using their crudely made harpoons to pull their prey closer to deliver deep and bloody wounds with their rusty, barnacle-crusted cutlasses salvaged from previous prey, promising an early watery grave for those who dare to enter the salt-soaked caverns and grottoes of the Cove.

Behavior
The Pelagic Grouper is an Eldritch type that appears in the Cove. Most of the enemies in the Cove use trickery to kill the heroes they meet such as stunning, disease and stress. The Pelagic Grouper is one of only two monsters concerned with dealing damage, and they both do it well. In the Grouper's case the position they are in will determine their attacks, either dealing damage to your front ranks with their cutlass or your back ranks with their harpoon.

If they are in the first two positions, they will attack your front row with Seaward Slash which deals considerable damage. And if they are in the last two positions, they will attack your back row with Spearfishing. It does less damage, but it will still be fairly high and in veteran and champion levels it can pull the hero 1 rank forward. It's important to be mindful of where these enemies are, and try to kill or pull any in the back row if you want to keep your formation in place.

Groupers are fast but have very low resistances to everything except bleed. If your heroes are fast or fortunate enough to move before them, use your advantage to stun them or debuff their attack. They should be prioritized only behind Shamans, who can heal or significantly buff them.

Abilities
Apprentice =

Veteran =

Champion =