Marodin
Image by Sam Wood, © Wizards of the Coast.
[As far as I can tell, the marodin only appeared in Dragon 292, in a Greyhawk gazetteer article. I say “as far as I can tell”, because they have pretty heavy Google camouflage, with their name being one transposed vowel away from the dwarf god Moradin. So it’s possible that they were mentioned without being given stats at some point beyond Dragon 292, but I can’t find the reference.
I actually really like the marodins, as they fit into multiple rare categories: good plant monsters, druidic monsters, and pacifists. Of course, in a game like D&D where combat is the norm, pacifism is somewhat rare, but it’s nice to see a take on a good aligned creature that isn’t the violent xenophobe but they hate the “right” humanoids that is all too frequent in earlier D&D.]
Marodin CR 1 NG Plant This humanoid mass of seaweed has several mismatched eyes at the front of its head. A groove something like a mouth runs along its lower face and down its neck.
Marodins are peaceful creatures composed of animate algae. Their whole body is a sensory organ, and they can detect the faintest ripples in water or changes in salinity. Marodins live in areas permanently below the tidal lines, but may survive in either fresh or salt water. They come ashore primarily to gather wood, bone or other materials with which to make tools, or to seek out rare foods like fruits or nuts. A marodin above water begins to dry out, and becomes desiccated and helpless in little more than an hour.
Marodins are omnivores, but most of their diet comes from plant material. Marodins value peace and tranquility, and rarely if ever start fights. They prefer to move their colonies in order to avoid hostile creatures either above or below the waves. Those of a more war-like aspect are seen as deviant, and are often shunned and exiled from their homes. They carry spears for self-defense, especially against creatures that cannot be negotiated with, but these are primarily fishing tools.
The magical tradition of marodins is heavily slanted towards druidism. Leaders of marodin colonies are almost always druids, and even the youngest marodin possesses some skill with druidic magic. They carve pieces of driftwood and shell with spells as if they were scrolls, and always have a few of these on hand in case of emergencies. Similarly, magical items that are waterproof are the trade goods marodins value most, and gaining these is usually the goal on the rare occasions marodins seek out surface folk.