A Marsh Hopper were a species of humanoid known for luring unwary travellers to their deaths in swamps.
Description[]
Marsh hoppers stood around one and a half metres tall. They had large heads, with huge, almost sad eyes, and wide mouths, with a pink forked tongue.[1] Their bodies were small in comparison, and covered in green scales. Their arms were long and very dextrous, whilst their legs were shorter and ended in wide, webbed feet.[2]
Marsh hoppers had no special abilities but they are cunning in the extreme. They knew their swamps backwards and would often appear to aid lone adventurers. However, they would really lead them into the lairs of larger monsters such as slime suckers or hydras in return for a few left-over scraps of meat.[2] To quote one publication: "That infernal Marsh Hopper has led you into a section of the marsh seething with carnivorous life."[3]
Marsh hoppers live in small isolated family groups, hidden deep in the swamps well away from larger predators. The nimble creatures often roamed far and wide across the marshland, however, searching for a suitable meal. They usually lived on fish, frogs, and other small creatures, but their cunning minds occasionally brought them a far richer feast![2]
Marsh hoppers, similar to their kokomokoa brethren, were known to be the favoured prey of marsh giants.[4]
They were sometimes known as mud hoppers, and this formed the basis of a common threat by powerful sorceresses: "I will turn you all into Mud Hoppers!"[5]
Origins and Distribution[]
Marsh hoppers dwelt in the swamps of Fire Island and western Allansia[2], such as the estuary of the River Kok.[6]
They were known to be related to the kokomokoa of Allansia's south-eastern jungles.[2] Another potential relative were the fen folk of the Blackmire in Ruddlestone.[7] Although the fen folk had large clawed feet that were more akin to the Kokomokoa, their skin texture and head structure were extremely similar to those of the marsh hoppers.
As with kokomokoa, the scaly skin of the marsh hoppers suggested a possible reptile side to their ancestry that seemed at odds with their otherwise humanoid/amphibian type.[2]
Further Information in Canon[]
More information can be found at:Source[8]
Out of the Pit
(Large) (pg59, pg80#*)
Island of the Lizard King
(para7, para58, para235, para317*, para389)
Warlock Issue 7
(pg14)
Appendix[]
Adventures
Sourcebooks
References[]
- ↑ Island of the Lizard King - 317
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Out of the Pit - 80
- ↑ Island of the Lizard King - 389
- ↑ Out of the Pit - 59
- ↑ Warlock Issue 7 - 14
- ↑ Non-canon
- ↑ Non-canon
- ↑ Complete list of references catalogued by FF Titan Bestiary