Outside of the TV series, they have proved less popular than their Silurian kin, appearing alongside the latter in the 1993 novel Blood Heat, but rarely featuring on their own outside of a few comics and short stories. They have appeared in just a couple of the audios, neither of which feature the Doctor and one of which is part of a larger Silurian plot arc. A mention in a novel that doesn’t feature them directly implies that they are the same as the Deep Ones created by H.P. Lovecraft - although beyond living underwater and being cold-blooded, there doesn’t seem to be much resemblance between the two.
Description and Biology
The Sea Devils are described as a sub-type of Silurian, and inhabited the Earth at the same time, entering the same prolonged stasis to avoid the supposed catastrophe. Quite what it means to say that they’re a variant of their land-dwelling kin isn’t clearly spelled out in the TV series. One of the novels, however, states that they can crossbreed with regular (scholar caste) Silurians, but only to produce sterile offspring. This implies, firstly, that they aren’t the same species, and secondly, that they are nonetheless very closely related.
Sea Devils differ from Silurians in being noticeably taller, having a much longer neck, larger eyes, an elongated frill projecting from the back of their skull and a beak that resembles that of many turtles. If we assume that Silurians are lizards (or members of some related group, such as the “three-eyed” rhynchocephalians) then there has to be some parallel evolution going on here, since turtles and lizards are not that closely related. However, it’s possible that the various “races” of Silurian are the product of deliberate genetic manipulation to create individuals with specific abilities. If this is so, one can imagine that Sea Devils had some turtle genes spliced into their ancestral genomes – and sufficiently many to prevent fertile cross-breeding with the original stock.
Obviously, this is pure speculation, not explicitly supported by anything in the source material, but there is some logic to it as an explanation. Sea Devils, as their name implies, are adapted to aquatic life, and if Silurians wanted to colonise the seas, turtles would have been one of the options for them to copy – although, obviously, there were others, such as plesiosaurs. It’s also worth noting that, since they don’t have a shell, the extent of any turtle DNA in them would primarily be devoted to allowing them to survive underwater for prolonged periods, and their basic biology and anatomy would likely remain close to that of regular Silurians. For instance, if the latter lay eggs, Sea Devils likely do so too, which would require them to have access to some air-filled hatcheries.
Game Attributes
Sea Devils seem to be more physically impressive than land-dwelling Silurians although some of this may come from military training since they seem to be inherently more aggressive and have a culture that places strong reliance on warrior ideals. Being taller than humans, and trained to fight, we can assume that they are likely to be stronger on average, although not to any dramatic extent. Likewise, they seem to be agile, but probably not to the extent of the warrior-caste Silurians, and they are obviously physically fit. Their mental statistics are likely to be on average, much the same as those of humans, just as those of warrior-caste Silurians are.
The Sea Devils are shown as being resistant to bullets in their original appearance, but this is probably due to their armour. Their scaly skin, and possibly heavy ribs and skulls influenced by turtle genes might give them some natural protection as well, but it’s unlikely that this alone would deflect a rifle bullet. In terms of their skills, we can assume that the typical Sea Devil is a basic warrior, albeit with some skills specifically suited to their aquatic environment – with swimming being perhaps the most obvious. We don’t see them using boats, so they may not be as skilled at using those as one might otherwise expect, although larger vehicles are not an issue and, like Silurians, they can control suitable reptiles.
Their warrior code implies a lawful alignment in those systems that have such a thing and, from those that we see, we’re not talking “lawful good”.
Special Abilities
Sea Devils lack the venomous tongue and ‘magic’ third eye of typical Silurians and there is no indication that they induce the atavistic terror in humans that we see the scholar-caste using in the original Silurian story. Instead, of course, they have adaptations to operating underwater.
Sea Devils breathe air, as we’d expect for a reptile, but they are evidently able to stay submerged for a long time. Some turtles are said to be able to hold their breath for up to two hours, although only when they aren’t doing much. Sea Devils may be closer to deep-sea whales in terms of their performance, being able to stay underwater for an hour or so even while reasonably active. Nonetheless, they will certainly need to surface from time to time (and to lay eggs).
They seem to be able to tolerate water at great depth without the need for special equipment, although it’s possible that they’re using something concealed that we’re not aware of. Assuming that it is a natural trait, however, this indicates the ability to survive in both high-pressure environments and cold conditions. The latter fits with the fact that we don’t see cold working against them as it does for land-based Silurians and might even indicate that they are at least partially warm-blooded.
5E - Sea Devil
Medium humanoid, lawful neutral
Armour Class: 16 (heavy mesh armour)
Hit Points: 33 (5d8+10)
Speed: 30 ft.
STR 14 (+2) | DEX 12 (+1) | CON 14 (+2) |
INT 10 (+0) | WIS 10 (+0) | CHA 10 (+0) |
Saving Throws: Strength +4, Constitution +4
Skills: Athletics +4, Intimidation +2, Survival +2
Combat Skills: Ranged Attack +3, Melee Attack +4
Senses: Passive Perception 10
Hold Breath: The Sea Devil can hold its breath for up to 60 minutes.
Challenge: ½ (100 XP)
BRP - Sea Devil
STR 3D6+3 (13-14) | CON 3D6+3 (13-14) | SIZ 2D6+9 (16) |
INT 2D6+6 (13) | POW 3D6 (10-11) | |
DEX 3D6 (10-11) | CHA 3D6 (10-11) | |
Hit Points: 15 | Move: 10 | |
Base SR: 4 | Damage Bonus: +1D4 |
Armour: 8-point light armour and scaly hide
Skills: Swim 70%
Combat Skills: Brawl 50%, Energy Pistol 60%
Hold Breath: A Sea Devil can hold its breath for a number of minutes equal to to its CONx5.
GURPS - Sea Devil
ST 14 | DX 10 | IQ 10 | HT 14 |
Thrust: 1d | Swing: 2d | ||
Speed: 6 | Move: 6 |
Advantages: Amphibious, Breath-Holding-6, Damage Resistance-1, Extended Lifespan-1, Night Vision-1, Pressure Support-1, Speak Underwater
Skills: Animal Handling (marine reptiles)-11, Beam Weapons (energy pistol)/TL8-14, Brawling-13, Submarine (large sub)/TL8-11, Swimming-16
Savage Worlds - Sea Devil
Agility: d6 | Smarts: d6 | Spirit: d8 |
Strength: d8 | Vigour: d10 |
Skills: Athletics d4, Fighting d6, Shooting d8
Powers: Aquatic (Pace 6), Low Light Vision
Pace: 6 Parry: 4 Toughness: 10 (3) Size: 1
STA - Sea Devil
Control: 9 | Fitness: 10 | Presence: 9 |
Daring: 10 | Insight: 8 | Reason: 9 |
Command: 1 | Security: 2 | Science: 0 |
Conn: 1 | Engineering: 0 | Medicine: 0 |
Stress: 12 | Resistance: 2 |
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