Porpoises are the smallest of the toothed whales. It resembles the dolphin, but is smaller—seldom more than six feet (1.8 m) long—and has a blunt muzzle instead of a pointed one. Porpoises have thick bodies, and either one dorsal fin or none. They are warm-blooded and air-breathing, and give birth to live young, which they suckle. Porpoises emit a variety of sounds to communicate with one another. Like other toothed whales, they use echolocation (which is similar in principle to sonar) to avoid obstacles and locate prey.
Porpoises inhabit all oceans except the polar oceans. They are found near shore and in bays, and occasionally swim up rivers. They travel in schools, feeding on fish and shellfish. The female gives birth to one calf. At birth a calf is about three feet (90 cm) long.
Dolphins are a toothed whale that is related to the porpoise. The dolphin has a long, streamlined body; some species have a prominent beak-like snout. The dolphin travels in schools and can swim at a speed of up to 25 mph (40 km/h). After a gestation period of one year, the female gives birth to one young. The young suckles for up to two years.
Dolphins are intelligent, playful animals. They emit a variety of sounds to communicate with other dolphins. Like other toothed whales, they use echolocation (which is similar in principle to sonar) to avoid obstacles and to locate prey.
Bottle-nosed dolphins belong to the same family as killer whales and pilot whales. They, too, live and travel in social groups. Some people call this group a pod, but others call it a school. A school usually has about 12 dolphins. Some schools may combine to form a herd of up to 1,000 dolphins. A bottle-nosed dolphin school is not just a place to live. It’s also a place to learn. Young calves learn by imitating their mothers or other adult dolphins. Calves turn, dive, and surface—right along with the adults.
All toothed whales have teeth, but the teeth of a porpoise are different from those of a dolphin. A dolphin has pointy, cone-shaped teeth. But a porpoise has rounded teeth. A porpoise has a smaller head than a dolphin does. And a porpoise has a rounded snout. Most porpoises also have small dorsal fins. The finless porpoise, as you might guess, has no dorsal fin at all.
Species DescriptionsPorpoises and dolphins both have reputations of friendliness and heroism, as well as great intelligence. Part of the reason for this is that the noble population among cetaceans is higher than that of any other animal. They have an ancient and complex society, prizing the development of the mind above all else, and most have entered into alliances with aquatic elves or merfolk. They hate sharks and sahuaguin with a passion, and will fight either of them to the death in order to protect even members of other species. Noble porpoises and dolphins should only be available as player characters in an aquatic campaign. The GM should also include psionics rules if he allows players to use either species. | Noble Porpoise Species Traits
Noble Dolphin Sub-Species Traits
In all other ways, the noble dolphin shares the same species traits and level progression as the noble porpoise. Both noble porpoises and dolphins use the small cetacean character class if they wish to advance in their natural abilities. Racial FeatsThe following feats are available to a noble porpoise character who meets the prerequisites.
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