Algaenoid

Even seaweed is getting a new lease on life.

— Dwarven Adventurer

Algaenoids are psychic algae, collective creatures consisting of anything between tens to hundreds of individuals. As they grow in size, so too does their psychic abilities grow in power, though they remain simple creatures of low intelligence and driven by instinct. Like so many thing in the world, the Algaenoids owe their existance to the End Of All Things, when the gods died and the skies burned. Something, somewhere, triggered something among random lakes and oceans, awakening the psychic existance of algae and seaweed inside them.
A god died and its scream echoed inside the water, or a ship of mindflayers went down there, rent asunder by catastrophic damage... No matter their origin, Algaenoid are spread across Ithekshem.

Description

Algaenoids are tangled blobs of seaweed and algaea, ranging in size from dog to titan, depending on where they are found. Various shades of green and brown are lumped together into a large ududlating mass, though recently born Algaenoids have displayed streaks of otherworld colour. As a general rule, those found in lakes or swamps tend to be smaller, while Algaenoids born on ocean waves can grow to rival whales and warships in size. Only seperated from their genesis by a handful of decades, Alganoids have an uneasy proto-sentience, working more on instinct than any real intelligence. They drift along the ways, propelling themselves forward when needed by crude telekinetic paddling, with little in the way of goals beyond feeding on the sunlight.

by http://www.tribalartasia.com/

The powers of the Algaenoid, no matter its side, are crude and they have flimsy control over them. At all times, the Algaenoids many minds broadcast their thoughts to anyone who comes within range, a constant and incoherent babble of wordless voices. The same is true for any other power they develop, with their telekinesis often causing random bursts of force in the water around them.
Despite their incaution, Algaenoids are not hostile creatures, and will leave trespassers alone unless attacked. At most, they display a simple curiosity to new flavors of thought, and will seek out unfamiliar minds to swim near them and sample their thoughts. Though distracting, it isn't harmful.

When pressed, the Algaeanoid will raise their telepathic voice from a babble into a scream, one that can lance through a creature's mind and cause serious damage as the brain ruptures and their mind cracks. While these attacks focus on their aggressor, an injured Algaenoid can scream to anyone nearby; seriously wounded Algaenoids are usually surrounded by dead fish, accidental victims of its wounded fury.

In The World

Algaenoids have been blasted across the world during the End of All Things and now live in lakes, seas, even swamps or marshes. Where there is algae or seaweed, there is could be Algaenoids, and in many places where there aren't. Passive creatures, Algaenoids have little role to play in the world of Ithekshem, though some posit that they are just at the first stage of this new form of life, and may yet grow into greater things. For now, they are content to swim in their waters and taste every new mind or thought that enters their range.
To others, the Algaenoids are distracting nuisances, interesting diversions, or easy prey. To thought-eating monsters, the Algaenoids are raw meals, of simple minds that rarely makes them a favored meal, but to a starved mind-devouring predator, a godsend. To spellcasters and engineers, the Algaenoids have their occasional uses, but haven't yet seen widespread use and are largely left to their own devices. Aquatic races sometimes cultivate them as a shield between them and the surface. Others try to cull the psychic algaea, as their presence can be distracting.

by http://www.tribalartasia.com/

The Blob

The largest Algaenoid ever spawned. The Blob is uncommon in that, for its size, it inhabits a lake and not the ocean. It now covers the entire lake and with such size, its power has grown dangerously - it has the ability to rend minds into nothingness if properly focused. Fortunately for everyone nearby, it is rarely properly focused.
The lake where the Blob lives is a singular, unbroken field of algae now. All other life have been choked or talked to death, save for some bottom-feeders and mindless lake-vermin.

Bloodmoss

An Algaenoid from the Sea of Exsanguination, awoken by the dying god whose blood created the bloody sea. When gods still had their full power, such ichor had potent powers and the Bloodmoss was there to drink from it like a leech. Though its powers have diminished along with all things divine, it is still a terror.
Unlike other Algaenoids, the Bloodmoss is not passive. It is a tangled brier of spike-filled algae and venomous, choking sea-weed that has developed a taste for terrified thoughts. Though it cannot eat them, it seem to relish the fear.

Bleep

Bleep is a tiny Algaenoid, no larger than a cat, who has left its swamp-home behind to travel with a team of adventurers. It is carried in a water-filled vat, but occasionally exits the home to play or 'help' its friends. Though its psychic abilities have evolved and Bleep tries its very best to be helpful, it is debatable how well it does.

Uses In The World

Eating Algaenoid raw means hearing the thing scream all the way into your gullet, and even as it dissolves. It is an experience few care to replicate, especially when combined with powerful hallucinations. Some daredevils catch and dry the Algaenoid, then eat the dried seaweed as narcotic snacks, or grind it to a powder that can be smoked to much the same effect.
These material components can be used in spells and rituals with mental components, from telepathy to hallucinated spirit quests, though it is a relatively low tier component.

by Miguel Eins