Appearance:

There are fools who think that upon spotting a Salwar that they are seeing naught but an overlarge walrus.  This illusion is dispelled when one comes close enough to see the beast’s eyes, which speak of both malicious intelligence, and unfathomed madness.  As large as little over four yards in length, and as much as five tons, they are much larger then their more common predecessor.  In place of the formidable tusks, the salwar is armed with a maw filled with fangs that would give a shark pause. 

Origin

There are powers on Neyathis who are wholly hostile to humanity and the other younger races, for it was their world alone before their coming.  The deities of the younger gods seized the world and seeded it with their children and the older gods, much like the older peoples, were pushed into the vast wildernesses of the world.

One of these gods created the Salwar to inflict his vengeance on Humanity, though his power has long since waned.  From time to time his fury erupts and he spends some of his remaining energy to bring woe to the interloping Young races.  When these spells hit him, one of his acts is to activate the Compulsion within the Salwar.  Under the Compulsion, the Salwar awaken their full intellect and form mobs to attack human ships and settlements.

Normally, they are a threat only to whales, seals and those few stalwart souls who venture into the chill seas of the south. When Winter extends its chill hand to the warmer latitudes, the range of the Salwar expands and they begin to threaten the sea-lanes of the more civilized lands, especially those of Stoneholt.

Combat

As mentioned before, the Salwar have a deadly bite, and will use their great size to crush opponents.  Their tough hide allied with thick layers of blubber serve as excellent protection against weapons.  They are sufficiently strong to launch themselves many feet into the air, possibly onto the decks of ships. Low draught ships like galleys are especially vulnerable to Salwar attacks, as these beasts can throw themselves aboard with ease and sudden violence.  Under the Compulsion, with their increased intellect they will form crude plans to attack and are capable of simple but cunning ruses. Commonly, they will quietly tail a ship and when the opportunity arises - often the dead of night - will all launch themselves onto the deck and attempt to devour the crew and/or capsize the ship with their great bulk.

The Salwar under the Compulsion have other ruses they use to trap the unwary.  One is overpowering a small vessel - boarding it and demasting it with a powerful tailswipe and then diving overboard and keeping close.  When rescuers or looters come close and board the vessel, several Salwar will attack the boarding party.  During the distraction, other Salwar will board the ‘rescuer’ ship from the opposite side to the rescue effort.

As they normally prey upon whales, they have excellent knowledge of their habits and so will occasionally herd whales to impede the movement of a larger ship, slowing it down long enough for a massive mob of Salwar to arrive and attack.

There are reports of Salwar which have been especially gifted with intelligence and magical talents which pose an even more dire threat, but these have not been confirmed.  Magically endowed Salwar would likely have some control over local weather, stopping winds and/or summoning thick fog to conceal their approach.

Countermeasures
Ships which frequent areas where these are common will seed their decks with oversized caltrops or other contrivances to injure boarding Salwar. Downward pointed spears mounted to the hull are also used to discourage attacks.  For similar reasons, most ships will carry ‘Salwar Spears’ - 8’ spears with 4’ blades and a short crosspiece.  These long-bladed weapons are designed to pierce the tough hide and thick blubber and are not generally equipped with sharpened edges. Ballista are also common weapons used, though special bolts with very small points and no flights are used.

Societies which live in areas frequented by these creatures will often have dangerous, but necessary, salwar hunts and will also pay bounties on these fell beasts. Usually the lower-jaw is all that is needed to make the claim.

Value

Salwar hide makes a great tough leather, and the ample supplies of blubber an excellent fuel..To some the blubber is a usable food source.  Their shark-like teeth are used as luck charms against bad luck at seas, and to manufacture arrowheads and similar small blades.  Their meat is tough, but edible, though rarely is a full carcass brought back on a hunt.

Campaign Use/Plot Ideas

The Salwar are intended as a dangerous sea-monster, halfway between natural, real-world predators, and powerful, fantastic predators such as dragons.  They are heavy-hitting ambush hunters and will make the regions they inhabit decidedly hazardous to travellers. 

The beasts could occasionally be ‘domesticated’ by marine races, though when the Compulsion strikes, this may be problematic.  Merman lancers riding on the backs of Salwar war-beasts would be a formidable foe indeed. They also make excellent guardians for important aquatic sites.

They would be much in demand for societies which employ bloodsports, and a villain could have a Salwar pit in which to drop heros to their destruction.  Of course to keep thing confortable for the beasts, they would be useing numerous Iceman’s Lanterns to maintain correct temperature.

Salwar could be a summoned beast used by Aquatic nature-priests or other Water-oriented priesthoods.  In this case, their origin could be omitted.

Were-Salwar/Berserkers

A human or other being capable of transforming into such a terrible form would be threat indeed.  Obviously the individual in question would already be physically imposing, and when triggered to transform would be a terrifying visage.

Plots

You’re gonna need a bigger boat

A fishing village is being terrorized by a mob of Salwar. The creatures have not yet attacked the settlement, but they have taken several small fishing vessels.  No one survived the attacks, and only a few shredded remains were found.  PCs may be contacted to help in a ‘shark hunt’ and be greatly surprised by what they find instead.

The Salwar are inspired by a similar beast, encountered by Conan..

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