Characters from the Cosmic Horror fishing game, DREDGE.

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Main Characters

The Fisherman

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2023_05_08.png

The Player Character of the game. An angler who came to the archipelago after seeing a want ad, yet is more than he appears.

Deadpan Snarker: The descriptions of certain books after reading them, give a little insight into his personality. Since he mostly goes over how practical the book is to his life as a fisherman, he can sometimes get pretty scornful if it doesn't seem very useful to his needs.
[After reading "The Relaxed Mind"] Biggest load of rubbish I've ever read. It goes on and on about breathing exercises and controlling your heart rate. As if that could help me.
Heroic Sacrifice: In the good ending, he destroys the Tome of the Deep by tossing it back into the ocean, thus ending the Fog and saving the Marrow Archipelago, despite knowing that the Leviathan will devour him as punishment for starting the whole mess to begin with.
Hidden Depths: While he does have responses when interacting with NPCs, you get a bit more insight on his personality based on what he thinks of the books you can read for permanent passive bonuses. You get the sense of someone who's gained a lot of experience working with the fishing equipment needed for his job, tends to be a little reckless with how he uses his ship's engine, has an interest in bargaining techniques and the psychology behind being more effective at it, and apparently holds contempt for simple "relaxation techniques" as noted above. The Fish Encyclopedia entries are also implied to be written by him and he can get surprisingly creative and flowery when trying to describe Aberrations.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: All his memories of the Tome of the Deep, including his ability to perceive the thing, have been split off into The Collector, below.
Pet the Dog: While the sidequests provide multiple examples, a literal one is possible via befriending a starving dog at the abandoned resort at Stellar Basin by feeding him fish. After bringing the dog to the lone researcher at the Old Fortress, you can either leave it with as she's eager to adopt a dog since she's become lonely, or you can keep him yourself. It's probably more practical to not have him use up inventory space and let her have him, plus it makes the Researcher happy too.
Tomato in the Mirror: He's the source of the Fog and all the other eldritch weirdness in the Archipelago, but has no idea.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He's the one who opened the mysterious casket dredged from the depths, accidentally unleashing the fog and all sorts of other supernatural nautical terror along the once thriving archipelago.

The Collector

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2023_05_08_1.png

A scholar of the strange. There's something... odd... about him.

Beard of Evil: Definitely shady with a pretty thick beard. Same as the Fisherman's.
Big Bad: The one working to free the God of the Deep so that he may bring back his and the Fisherman's wife.
Enemy Within: The Collector only exists in the mirror. He IS the Fisherman - at least, the part of him that cares about his lost love and the arcane secrets he's found.
Necromantic: His ultimate goal is to bring his deceased wife back to life. In the "Bad Ending", he succeeds but immediately dooms Greater Marrow and presumably the rest of the world.
Scary Shiny Glasses: His round glasses always manage to obscure his eyes and give him a cold look. A perceptive eye will notice that they're identical to the pair that the Fisherman has nearby in the opening of the game.
Tome of Eldritch Lore: What the red book with silver ribbons - the Tome of the Deep - is implied to be, given by the Fisherman's reactions to it whenever the book is mentioned or something read from it by the Collector. It is a Tome of Eldritch Lore, given how the silver ribbons react as if trying to cling to the fisherman when you choose to throw it back into the ocean in the Good Ending.
Tragic Villain: He never would have existed if the Fisherman hadn't incidentally discovered and opened the coffin that contained the Tome of the Deep leading to his own wife's death. As a split personality of the Fisherman, all he really wants is to bring his wife back no matter the cost.
Walking Spoiler: By virtue of actually BEING The Fisherman.

The Marrows

Greater Marrow

The Mayor

The first person the Fisherman meets upon waking up on the dock. He hires the Fisherman to supply his town with food and loans him a boat to get him started.

Ambiguous Situation: How much he really knows about the Fog, and how much he lets himself get involved in otherworldly matters, is left ambiguous.
Mr. Exposition: You can ask him for some information on each of the four other regions outside of The Marrows. After meeting the Collector for the first time, he can also be asked about Blackstone Isle where said Collector resides.
Reasonable Authority Figure: The terms of the loan he offers the Fisherman are actually quite generous - it's possible to pay off the new boat completely in only a few days.

The Fishmonger

An old man who keeps the local fish market.

Evil Is Not a Toy: Downplayed, but he learns his lesson the one time he eats an aberrant fish, and his near death experience convinces him to never attempt it again.
The Insomniac: Implied. His shop is open at all hours, day and night.
Nightmare Fetishist: Has a strong interest in the mutated fish that can be found in the local area and contracts the Fisherman to bring him some samples.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After receiving a mutated fish per his request, he will close up the shop and refuse to answer his door for at least a day. This is the only time in the story that he is unavailable.
The Pig-Pen: Due to his line of work, he stinks, and is constantly surrounded by flies.

The Shipwright

A hardy woman responsible for constructing and maintaining the gear needed for your fishing trips.

Gameplay and Story Segregation: Her dialogue makes it clear she is overwhelmed by just how many boat captains in Greater and Little Marrow are in need of her services. However, your boat is the only (real) one encountered around either Marrow.
Wrench Wench: Can be counted on to repair any damage to your ship. While the starting gear she offers is somewhat subpar, better gear will be available for purchase as you progress through the game and get more Research done.

The Lighthouse Keeper

An old woman who maintains the Greater Marrow Lighthouse.

Big Good: Serving as a Foil to the Collector, she knows enough about the arcane events going on around her to guide the player to the game's good (or at least better) ending.

The Last Fisherman

The fisherman before you, who disappeared one night in the fog.

And There Was Much Rejoicing: The Mayor certainly doesn't mind his disappearance, claiming that he was incompetent at his job and frequently damaged his ship, so much that The Shipwright often ran out of lumber making repairs.
Uncertain Doom: As stated before, he simply left one day and never came back. You can find a shipwreck by the shores of a deserted island stated to eerily resemble the same boat that the Mayor lent to you which doesn't bode well for said previous Fisherman. Nothing inside the wreck really spells out what happens though the lack of drawers and floorboards imply that someone had carefully picked it clean at some point in time.

Little Marrow

The Trader

An older gentleman who runs a pawn shop in Little Marrow.

Ambiguous Situation: An optional side quest has him mentioning he "acquired" one of the bits you're seeking, quotes included. What this means, exactly, is never explained.
Shop Fodder: He's the one who buys those bits of rusted chain, old doubloons, and jewelry you can dredge up from the deep.

The Dockworker

A resident of Little Marrow who frequently receives mysterious packages. He enjoys talking to ship captains.

Body Horror: His consumption of aberrant fish eventually turns him into an eldritch zombie-like husk with pitch-black eyes that can only gurgle and stare at the sea with a look of absolute terror. The same black ooze seeping out of the packages he receives also starts to drip from his ears and his clothes are now stained with the same muck as well.
Evil Is Not a Toy: He eats a large aberrant fish, and undergoes an absolutely horrific transformation.
Nightmare Fetishist: He has a keen interest in aberrant fish, with several other characters sending him samples.
Videogame Cruelty Potential: What the secret quest involving a second mysterious package amounts to. Unlike the first one given to you by the Mayor where you get paid and the Dockworker apparently is fine afterwards, delivering the second package nets you no reward and turns him into a zombie-like thing in the process.

The Grieving Father

A Little Marrow Resident who's son was lost to sea years ago.

Outliving One's Offspring: As he talks about it to the Fisherman, he starts suffering grief-fueled tremors despite trying to maintain his composure. He requests that you use your Dredging equipment to retrieve his son's specially engraved bronze belt buckle for him.

The Old Mayor

The former mayor of Little Marrow, who mysteriously disappeared after suddenly going mad. He can be found at the various Makeshift docks.

Go Mad from the Revelation: He witnessed the discovery of the Tome of the Deep and the evil forces it unleashed, and it drove him insane.
Madness Mantra: Often repeats the phrase "Throw it back!" in a despearate, pleading tone.
Small Role, Big Impact: He's easy to miss, but meeting him is required to unlock the good ending.

The Painter

Added in update, this aging artist is eager to redecorate the Fisherman's ship whether it be adjusting his ship's bunt, mounting a new flag, or painting the roof and hull. However, his current selection of flags and painting color palettes is somewhat meager. To alleviate this, new flag designs can be dredged around the archipelago while newly added Aberrant forms of crabs can be brought to him so he can make new paint colors from them.

Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Doesn't comment much on the completely unnatural forms of Aberrant crabs, content to simply grind them into materials for new colors to paint with.

Gale Cliffs

Ingfell

The Resident

A woman living at Ingfell with her pet dog. Offers some history on the pirates and smugglers that once resided deeper in the cliffs.

Foreign Queasine: Asks the Fisherman to provide an "Aged" Conger Eel... which is a rotting Conger Eel. Try to give it to her too fresh and she explains that she can't just "age" them herself because her dog always manages to eat them once she brings them home.
Mr. Exposition: Her primary role is to tell stories of the Gale Cliffs' past. Smugglers and pirates used to leave there and there also used to be an old whaler named Magran who had seemingly lost his mind before vanishing under mysterious circumstances.

The Retired Whaler

A former whaler who used to build explosives to help dismantle whale carcasses. He's the older brother of the Hermit.

Sibling Rivalry: Years ago, he had a falling out with his brother over the matter of their parent's inheritance. This resulted in the Hermit stealing their Family Crest and fleeing for the town at the cliffs with his wife. He admits that he still resents his brother. That said, he accepts his apology regardless when he returns with the crest. He lets the Hermit use his old workshop as his new home.

The Hermit

An old man living alone in the ruins of the settlement by the cliffs. He's the younger brother of the Whaler.

Must Make Amends: Hasn't spoken to his brother, the Retired Whaler, in decades, after they had a falling out leading to the Hermit stealing their Family Crest and leaving Ingfell. He regrets the whole thing deeply, but lost the crest when the town collapsed, and doesn't want to come home empty-handed. If you find the crest for him, he and his brother bury the hatchet and reunite.
Sole Survivor: The last remaining resident after most of the land collapsed into the water due to the giant Serpent.

Stellar Basin

Old Fortress

The Researcher

A biologist of the Northern Biological Research Society. She's been tasked with researching the ecology at Stellar Basin

Labcoat of Science and Medicine: Specifically a biologist though she has some mechanical ingenuity as well, seeing as how she provides the custom-designed Sampling Device allowing you to catch fish in the abyssal depths. While it's pointedly noted to be "ineffective" and inferior to what can be acquired through further Research, it's perfectly serviceable for providing the samples that she requests.
Reassigned to Antarctica: Believes this was done to her, seeing as the game is set in the 1940s and few people were willing to take a woman scientist seriously.
Smart People Wear Glasses: She was researching the ecology at the Stellar Basin before her lab was attacked by giant tentacles, forcing her to flee and set up a new lab on a nearby island. Later, she builds a device capable of temporarily pacifying the giant monster deep below the center of the Stellar Basin.

The Dog

A hungry-looking dog found on the abandoned beach resort at Stellar Basin.

From Stray to Pet: He's found all by his lonesome at the ruined beach resort unsuccessfully trying to catch fish. His skinny build suggests he's been living like this for a decent while. If you manage to befriend him by feeding him fish, you can take him back to the Researcher who will welcome the company since she's grown lonely during her solo research.
No-Sell: For some reason, unlike other items in your inventory, which also includes other quest characters, it is impossible for the dog to be lost overboard either via being manually discarded nor taking damage to your ship and losing an inventory slot. He's effectively invincible.
Vomit Discretion Shot: After he gets adopted as a pet, he suddenly vomits up a Sapphire Ring.

Twisted Strand

Camp

The Airman

The last surviving soldier of a platoon that crash landed in the Twisted Strand and established a campsite at the giant tree in the center.

Archenemy: He considers the Mindsuckers his after they killed off his fellow soldiers one by one years ago. His quest chain revolves around returning the favor.
An Arm and a Leg: His left arm is clearly missing when the Fisherman first meets him. How he lost it isn't explained.
Audible Sharpness: His character portrait depicts him nonchalantly carving a spear using his bowie knife and the sounds heard while interacting with him suggest that he is in fact doing that while talking to you.
Death from Above: The first thing you need to recover for him is a mortar from his shot-down plane, which he later uses to rain explosive death on any Mindsucker you bait into his traps.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Manages to permanently kill the eldritch Mindsuckers via traps, explosive mortar shots, and the help of the Fisherman.
Gadgeteer Genius: Somehow managed to install three elaborate mechanical traps for the Mindsuckers in decently deep water despite having only one arm, barely any resources, and no visible boat himself.
I Choose to Stay: Finishing his quest makes him realize he has come to see the Twisted Strand as his home, so he decides to stay a bit longer. In game terms this turns him into your best source of mixed bait.
Improbable Aiming Skills: His mortar shots hit dead center every time despite the thing definitely not being in optimal condition and there being no indications of the Airman pre-sighting the weapon prior to firing it in anger.
Manly Facial Hair: Has an impressive, bushy moustache befitting an adventurer or soldier of the 1940's time period.
Sole Survivor: There had been other members of his platoon at the campsite but the dangers of the Twisted Strand and especially the Mindsuckers picked them off one-by-one until only the Airman remains by the time the Fisherman discovers the campsite.
Tragic Keepsake: Hangs the dog tags of his fallen comrades on said giant tree. He hasn't recovered all of them and requests that the fisherman try to find the rest, rewarding him with a Research Part for each one he's given.

Devil's Spine

Ancient Temple

The Fanatic

A worshiper of an unknown faith at the Devil's Spine.

Body Horror: Close examination of his character portrait shows that his right arm has scales.
Evil Mentor: He's searching for a successor for his Doomsday Cult and he thinks you're the one. He may be right. Also, talking to him reveals that he's had previous disciples who failed in some way, hinted to be the various Hooded Figures you can find across the map.
Self-Immolation: The "rite of purification" has him cremate himself in the Fathomless Flames found in the shrines across the Devil's Spine.

The Pale Reach

The Expedition

A group of explorers who were commissioned to survey the Pale Reach during one of its sporadic appearances.

And I Must Scream: The Captain, Navigator, Boatswain, and First Officer are trapped in large blocks of ice while still alive, and have been for approximately 100 years! Mercifully, you can put them out of their misery.
I Cannot Self-Terminate: Given that they’re frozen solid in blocks of ice, they need you to end their suffering.

Others

Wanderers

The Traveling Merchant

A cheerful merchant and explorer who conveniently provides useful services at each of the major locations at the four corners of the map.

The Cameo: She appears in Dave the Diver as part of the DREDGE collaboration DLC, having taken an interest in the Blue Hole following the strange red fog causing aberrated fish to appear and offers to buy your entire stock of the strange fish after a work day since they'll go bad the following day.
Genre Savvy: Sharp enough to see how dangerous things have become but has the wisdom to not push her luck any further than she has to. Good thing too all things considered.
Intrepid Merchant: She sets up shop at all of the major locations surrounding the Marrows, regardless of how obviously risky that may be. She actually considers herself an adventurer first while her merchant work is more of a hobby.
Jack of All Trades: On top of being a merchant and experienced seafarer, she can also repair and upgrade your boat.
Mood Motif: A different song plays at every pontoon she rests at but they're all performed by a single accordion. They're all somewhat dour and rugged sounding, but they're considerably more lively than the rest of the music which fits the sea-faring Merchant's upbeat personality despite the current harrowing situation that the archipelago is dealing with.
Ms. Exposition: She has different information on every area she operates in.
Plucky Girl: Aware of the frightening oddities haunting the seas but doesn't let it ruin her mood. It gets played with though, as she's usually anchored outside of the danger zone of whatever horrible beast haunts the area, and she jokingly admits that she'd go insane if she dwells on the weirdness too much. The one time she strayed a bit inside the Twisted Strand, she noticed that the trees were moving and immediately turned her boat around and left the swamp without investigating further.
Wrench Wench: Conveniently just as reliable as the Shipwright back at Greater Marrow.

The Builder

A carpenter at Greater Marrow who desires to leave town and build a house on Steel Point, an island north of The Marrows.

Dark and Troubled Past: Implied. Her dialogue suggests she had been living in Greater Marrow since before the incident that unleashed the fog twenty years ago, and witnessed the gradual decay of the community since.
Peninsula of Power Leveling: Steel Point is right next to a group of Dredging points. While this simplifies the process of gathering materials for the Builder's house, it also makes Steel Point a wonderful spot for grinding for materials to upgrade the boat since you can Save and Quit at Steel Point to make the Dredge spots respawn. That you can sometimes Dredge up Research Parts helps as well.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Her only motivation is to escape from Greater Marrow and set up her own house on an otherwise uninhabited islet.

The Courier

An unseen man tasked with delivering an ominous package to the Dockworker until a harrowing encounter with a colossal beast drove him to anchor his ship at a nearby island for the time being.

The Voice: His portrait is simply the door to his ship's cabin. Apparently, he's too scared to even show his face through the porthole though he'll drop items through the door slot if you cooperate with him.
What Happened to the Mouse?: If you agree to deliver the package for him, he'll state that he'll try to return to town as soon as he's certain that it's safe. Return to where he was anchored and he'll be already be gone with no indication anywhere of whether or not he succeeded.

The Castaway

A decrepit-looking man cast overboard when a strong wave struck his ship. Since then, he's been marooned north of The Marrows and hasn't seen another ship in two weeks.

Nothing but Skin and Bones: The poor guy looks almost skeletal after being lost at sea for two weeks.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Not him but rather his ship and crew. As he points out, no one's really been sailing around for the past couple weeks except for the Fisherman. Successfully completing his quest will have him mention that he hopes to regroup with his crew the next time they stop by Little Marrow but we don't learn whether or not he succeeds in this. With the way the seas are lately, who knows what actually became of his missing ship and crew?

Hooded Figures

Four "men" in different locations clad in robes of varying colors. Each one will demand that the Fisherman provide specific fish for them to eat.

Ambiguously Evil: While they are certainly sinister, it is unknown if they are associated with the Deep or not.
Ambiguously Human: Their robes hide their faces entirely as well as most of their body but their unnerving mannerisms and deathly pale skin are rather suspect.
The Cameo: They appear in Dave the Diver as part of the DREDGE collaboration DLC with their ravenous appetites following the eerie red fog appearing over the Blue Hole, where they visit Bancho Sushi and are the only ones willing to eat and pay for the aberrated fish dishes since none of the regular customers want to eat them.
Foreshadowing: The Ingfell Resident will speak of a whaler named Magran who had seemingly lost his mind and vanished after finding mysterious texts that detailed how the secret of immortality lies in the consumption of certain fish. The Hooded Figures incessant hunger for certain fish and the useful books they carry give them an eerie resemblance to the subject of her story.
Hades Shaded: In contrast to the other Hooded Figures, the gold robed one has very dark, nearly pitch-black skin, described as looking "withered".
Horror Hunger: They each demand three varieties of a specific type of fish, sometimes including aberrations, but that isn't the horrible part. The horrible part is they eviscerate the fish and extract a specific organ to eat, such as the heart, and toss the rest. It's grotesque enough that in one instance, the Fisherman chooses to leave instead of observing any further.
Timed Mission: Until an update patched this out, it's not made immediately clear but the moment you talk to them, adding a pursuit to your list, an invisible timer activates. Take too long to complete their tasks and they'll keel over die. This means you lose access to their helpful book rewards unless you either reload a save before talking to them or start a New Game from scratch.

The Photographer

Added in an update, she is a lone photographer stationed on a small island south of Greater Marrow. In exchange for finding her spare lenses she dropped in Stellar Basin, she will give you a camera allowing you to take photos of your own.

Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
- She sailed through a gap between two islands near Stellar Basin and accidentally hit some coral. She heard something afterwards, prompting her to escape to relatively safer waters. Probably a good idea but she later realized afterwards that her some of her supplies fell off the deck of the boat during all that.
- She's found again in the Pale Reach trying to photograph the narwhal that stalks the area. After having the Fisherman lure it with some fish, she sees how aggressive it is and immediately decides to pack up and leave.

"J" Unmarked Spoilers!

Julia

"Throw me back."

The Fisherman's deceased wife, who was killed after the Tome of the Deep was taken from a dredged casket and the Leviathan killed everyone present save for the Fisherman.

Back from the Dead: In the Bad Ending, the ritual is a success and she rises from the sea alive, but for how long is never stated due to the God of the Deep laying the region to ruin.
The Lost Lenore: For the Fisherman and the Collector, the latter of which manipulates the former to gather the relics in order to bring her back to life.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Inverted; she's the only character in the game with a known name.
Walking Spoiler: Her true identity and death is the catalyst for the main plot, which is hinted by most of the scattered messages found around the ocean written by her.

Monsters

In General

Monsters From the Deep

A myriad of monsters that has begun to terrorize the Archipelago that DREDGE takes place in. Their arrival is heralded by a thick mist that appears at night, although some are powerful enough to still be threats during the day.

Always Chaotic Evil: Not one non-destructive monster in the game sans the Leviathan, and even then it is not from the God of the Deep and thus not beholden to the same rules as them.
Arc Villain: The Serpent for Gale Cliffs, the Basin Creature for the Stellar Basin, the Mind Suckers for the Twisted Strand and the Unseen Mother for the Devil's Spine.
Dark Is Evil: Much more active and malicious at night when the Mist rolls in.
Eldritch Abomination: Are a result of the Tome of the Deep being unearthed and its Master beginning to awaken.
The Heavy: They drive much of the immediate conflict of the game, though the Big Bad title belongs to the Collector, himself a servant of the Greater-Scope Villain.
Invincible Villain: Sans the Mind Suckers, at best these monsters can be temporarily avoided.
Sea Monster: Most of them are variations of water related monsters from typical myth, such as piranhas, serpents, squids, and sharks.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: In the present day of the story, the inhabitants of the islands they terrorized have more or less adjusted to their presence and continued on with their lives. The Marrows, however, approaches Town with a Dark Secret levels with this, never quite acknowledging their existence as something out of the ordinary.
Your Mind Makes It Real: Paranoia levels increasing to a certain point can cause some of these monsters to manifest directly.

Multiple Locations

Aberrant Fish

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dredge_abberant.png

From left to right: A Cleft Mouth Shark, Defaced Skate, and Voideye Aberrant

Fish affected by the mysterious happenings in the area, mutated into new, horrifying forms...

Adaptational Badass: In the Dave the Diver + DREDGE DLC, the aberrant fish are fully-modelled and most of them are out for Dave's blood. The Gazing Shark for example shows its Life Drain ability described in the Encyclopedia for the first time.
And I Must Scream: Some of the aberrants have mutations that have taken on a life of their own, with the poor fish becoming prisoners of their own twisted bodies.
Animalistic Abomination: Fish that are broadly recognizable as their original species, but mutated into horrible new forms that shouldn't be able to exist.
Body Horror: Any fish that undergoes these kinds of body changes in Real Life would be in horrific agony, and more than a few of the aberrants' descriptions indicate that they are.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: Several story lines show the nasty effects of eating these altered fish, from nausea to Body Horror. In-game, you can sell these fish for a bonus to any merchant with no consequences.
Harmless Enemy: Though they are signs of encroaching Cosmic Horror, they can ultimately do nothing of consequence to the main character.
An Ice Person: The Pale Grasper, the aberrant version of the colossal squid, is described as having icy hands that spread hoarfrost over anything they touch.
If You Thought That Was Bad...: Horrifying as these fish are, they are nothing compared to the actual harmful monsters that come into play. And compared to the God of the Deep...
Mascot Mook: The Sallow Sailfish has the honor of its sickly visage being on the game's cover art.
More Teeth than the Osmond Family: A common mutation is to develop a huge unnatural maw of jagged teeth, often overlapping with Glasgow Grin with the skin around their mouths appearing torn or rotted away. The Bursting Anglerfish doubles up on this with Nested Mouths.

Miasma

Panic-inducing mist that appears at night.

Weakened by the Light: Inverted! When your lights are on the misasma is an aggressive, shifting red that will envelop your boat and drive you into a panic. But when the lights are out, miasma becomes a dull grey and immediately ceases any hostile activity.
Hell Is That Noise: A good way to tell when one's nearby is if you start to hear discordant, echoing noises relevant to ships: Things like distant ship horns, metallic clangs, and shifting machinery. Upon drawing their aggression, you'll start to hear ominous whispering as your Panic meter builds rapidly.

Tentacles

Giant tentacles that will attack you at night when your panic is high enough.

Combat Tentacles: Ones bigger than your boat by a large, large margin. When one rises from the water, you have a short window to get out of the way before they swing down to smash you.

Phantom Shark

Falling asleep out on the water? Don't worry, this'll wake you right up...

A shark that will attack you on open water when your panic is high enough.

Bioluminescence Is Cool: Its mouth and eyes glow an eerie blue.
Lightning Bruiser: Its attack consists of it appearing a short distance away and charging you at immense speed, leaving you only a couple of seconds to either get out of the way or activate Banish.

Crows

A flock of red-eyed crows that appears in the daytime when your panic is high enough.

Bandit Mook: The only enemy to not deal damage, opting instead to steal your hard-earned fish.
Creepy Crows: When your panic is high enough they appear to circle your boat, cawing ominously and stealing your fish.

Waterspout

Normally mundane weather phenomenon at the Gale Cliffs, these towers of wind and water take on a malicious intelligence when your panic is high enough, and can appear anywhere on the map.

Do Not Touch the Funnel Cloud: Justified as you're controlling a huge iron ship. Amusingly, there's a random chance of catching a fish if you collide with it. That said, they get pretty malevolent at high panic. Get hit by this "Aberrant" Waterspouts and you instead have a chance of catching an Aberration instead of regular fish.
Light Is Not Good: Similar to agitated Miasmas, the Aberrant Waterspouts glow in an ominous oily-looking red fashion.

Mimic Crab

Giant crabs that mimic various items of interest on the shore.

Chest Monster: They lure you in by looking like something interesting, complete with the usual sparkling interact prompt, then attack when you get close. There's four of them scattered throughout the map: one near the Gale Cliffs disguised as a wrecked ship, one east of the Twisted Strand disgused as another wrecked ship, one on the outer shore of Stellar Basin disguised as an obelisk, and one south of the Twisted Strand disguised as a downed plane.
Giant Enemy Crab: Big, bulky crabs who will smash your boat to splinters if you get too close.
Spot the Thread: The one in Stellar Basin can immediately give itself away to observant players who notice its obelisk disguise glows regardless of your Panic state. More broadly speaking, the shape of their claws is visible below the water if you look carefully.

Monster Ray

A new monster introduced in the second free update. This beast can appear in shallow water anywhere on the map if your panic is too high, whether day or night.

Bioluminescence Is Cool: Red markings glow along its back and tail.

Leviathan *SPOILERS*

Leviathan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2023_05_08_2_8.png

The largest monster in the ocean, lurking around the edges of the Isles.

Always a Bigger Fish: Though the Basin Creature may have it beat out in terms of raw mass, the Leviathan is the biggest and most dangerous creature patrolling the seas. Unless you activate the bad ending, that is.
Big Good: In spite of being The Heavy, it is ultimately the greatest force of good in the game, being the sole thing allowing the Fisherman a second chance to set things right.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: The Leviathan isn't some vicious mindless predator, but a living guardian that protects the seas from an Eldritch God seeking to destroy the entire world. For recovering the Tome of the Deep that can summon the cosmic horror, the sea monster swallows up everyone, including the Fisherman's wife. Only the Fisherman survives. It follows him in the hope he'll dispose of the Tome. Once redeemed the monster swallows him up as well in the good ending.
Border Patrol: It will destroy your boat if you stray too far towards the edge of the map.
Creepy Good: As terrifying as it is, it ultimately serves the greater good by destroying the Tome of the Deep.
The Heavy: Is the monster most active in the plot, being the creature responsible for the Fisherman's lost memory in the first place, as well as ensuring that you stay in the Isles under threat of death, disposing of you personally in the good ending.
Gentle Giant: If encountered in the wild, it will usually completely leave the Fisherman alone. Unless he goes further than he should, out past the isles.
Good Is Not Nice: Will not hesitate to devour the Fisherman if he attempts to escape the Isles. It also terrified the delivery man into a small cove, although considering what's in the package he's delivering, it's hardly the fault of the creature for reacting negatively.

Location Specific

Night Angler

You're not the only Angler out on these waves...

A giant fish living around the Marrows that disguises itself as a ghost ship.

Arc Villain: Can be considered this for the Marrows, although it is far more passive than the other regional monsters and is only a threat at night.
Ghost Ship: What they appear to be from a distance, a dark ship identical to yours. It's only when you get close that the illusion fades and the real creature is revealed. Notably there are actual ghost ships in the game that appear at other locations; it's only the ones around the Marrows that are giant anglers.
Hell Is That Noise: Makes a warped, distorted foghorn sound as it get close, just before it attacks.
Spot the Thread: While they resemble other ghost ships at a distance, they twist and turn instead of sailing in a straight line. If you peek through your spyglass, you can see the monster underneath the illusion.
Warm-Up Boss: They're the primary threat around The Marrows, but they're easy to spot from a distance and not all that aggressive. You can keep them passive by turning off your lights and making minimal movements. At high enough engine upgrades, you can just outrun them entirely.

Serpent

Gale Cliffs Serpent

Echoing Voice of the Cliffs

A huge cyclopean serpent living in the Gale Cliffs.

Arc Villain: The most pressing threat at the Gale Cliffs.
Collapsing Ceiling Boss: Apparently the frequent falling of debris in the passages of the Gale Cliffs are due to its constant swimming and burrowing. In a way that makes the Serpent a threat even when it's not actively chasing after you.
The Juggernaut: Big, scary, and can take your ship apart in just a few bites. It only has a top speed of 40 knots though, so outrunning it is a solid strategy.
More Teeth than the Osmond Family: And very very willing to use them on your ship.
Wake-Up Call Boss: If you're cautious, you can easily avoid the dangers of the seas for every quest around The Marrows by keeping panic low and not being too adventurous at night. The same cannot be said for the Gale Cliffs where the Serpent proves to be a threat all day long, regardless of how low your panic is. Because Gale Cliffs is likely to be the first region you visit outside The Marrows, you're also unlikely to have enough upgrades to survive more than two hits from them. Better focus on engine upgrades!

Basin Creature

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tentacle_monster.png

The Monster About to give the Fisherman a surprise.

A colossal creature living at the bottom of the Stellar Basin, terrorizing anything that comes within reach day or night.

Antlion Monster: A rare underwater, non-desert example. The Basin Creature lies dormant at the very bottom of Stellar Basin, only stirring when something (such as the Fisherman's boat) drives directly over its gaping mouth, which will provoke an attack from it.
Arc Villain: Of the Stellar Basin, being the biggest threat in the region and the thing you have to help the Researcher build a machine to neutralize.
Bioluminescence Is Cool: Its mouth and tentacles have a blue glow to them at night, which turns red if it's preparing to attack. It's beautiful in a haunting and eldritch way.
Combat Tentacles: If you move above it, it spears your boat with giant tentacles to drag you down.
Drone of Dread: There's a constant droning sound emanating from the deeper center of Stellar Basin, implied to be coming from this beast itself. It's a good warning to stick to the surrounding shallows of the basin until you find a proper way to deal with it.
Invincible Villain: Surprisingly averted despite its massive size and power. Banish works against it (if only for a few seconds), and you can discover a method to pacify it completely for about half an in-game day. It is still technically invincible though, since there's nothing you can do to even scratch it in direct combat, but that's true for almost all local monsters.
Tentacled Terror: It's some kind of gigantic tentacled creature which menaces the Stellar Basin. The Researcher says she doesn't know whether it's a squid, octopus, other mollusc or even an anemone.

Jelly Bombs

Glowing jellyfish that dwell in the Stellar Basin at night.

Action Bomb: They're basically living depth charges, and hitting one will cause them to explode shortly after.
Bioluminescence Is Cool: They glow red, making them fairly easy to see and avoid.

Mind Suckers

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mindsucker.png

Paranoia Inducing Serpents

Serpentine creatures in the Twisted Strand that induce panic.

Achilles' Heel: They only react to movement and take quite a while to fully rise from the water, making them largely harmless if you hit the brakes and stay still the moment you spot one. After a couple seconds of looking around they just sink back below the waters and despawn, allowing you to proceed unhindered.
Arc Villain: The primary threat in the Twisted Strand and Arch-Enemies of the Airman for driving the rest of his platoon to insanity and death. Helping the Airman get revenge and kill them all is the only way to progress the story.
Bioluminescence Is Cool: They glow a bright yellow color very similar to that of the fungi in the Twisted Strand. While this could suggest some sort of connection, it could just be a form of camouflage.
Brown Note Being: Like their name suggests, they do nasty things to the minds of mortals and cause them to go mad.
Invincible Villain: A notable aversion in such a horror game. They're the only threat in the game to be outright killed with the help of the airman and his mortar.
Living Motion Detector: They only respond to the player's movement, meaning that if the player stays still they won't be able to track them down.
Puppeteer Parasite: Twisted Strand's black rock reveals that the Mind Suckers are actually worm-like parasites infesting and reanimating the corpses of completely different snake-like abominations.
Support Party Member: Uniquely among the major monsters of each region, they don't attack you directly, though they can still damage your ship if you run into them. Instead they inflict panic on you until the mangroves do it for them.

Mangroves

The plants of the Twisted Strand, alive and malevolent.

Combat Tentacles: When your panic is high enough they manifest as this, rising up from the water to grab and strike at your boat.
Mobile Maze: They turn the Twisted Strand into this by raising and dropping walls of roots to shift its passages.
When Trees Attack: Living plants that are hostile and attack your boat using their roots when provoked.

Unseeing Mother

Blind Deity of the Devil's Spine

A blind sea monster, resembling a giant piranha. Resides in Devil's Spine with her progeny.

Arc Villain: Of the Devil's Spine, being the greatest threat in the area, with her spawn acting as her eyes.
Climax Boss: As the final Arc Villain regional monster, the Unseeing Mother's territory of the Devil's Spine acts as this before the climax of the game begins. The Devil's Spine is where Dredge shows its Lovecraftian roots the most, being an ancient civilization destroyed by an unforgiving deity. It is also where much of the greater stakes of the game become apparent before The Reveal with the Collector.
Eyepatch of Power: Fittingly enough the marks on her eyeless face resemble a giant eyepatch.
Flunky Boss: Since she's blind she can't attack until her children latch onto your ship, slowing it down, and signalling to her your location. At six piranhas, your engines are effectively disabled, making it impossible to escape from her without using an ability like Banish or Manifest.
Logical Weakness: Her children will be scalded by the boiling water expelled from the underwater volcanic vents around Devil's Spine, so they will flee if your ship's above them. As she needs them to be able to attack you, they're effective safe zones.
No-Sell: Banish has no effect on her whatsoever. It does however affect her children and since she won't attack unless they signal her to, it basically pacifies her until her children return.
Piranha Problem: Resembles one, albeit way larger, around the size of your ship, and missing eyes. Her children are closer to the size of a dog.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Not her, but rather her children, whose glowing red eyes make them effective scouts for their blind matriarch.

Monstrous Narwhal

An aggressive and hungry... thing... that has made the Pale Reach its hunting ground.

Call a Smeerp a "Rabbit": Whatever this creature is, it is not a Narwhal. It more resembles some kind of six-eyed mutant sea lion.
Delicious Distraction: The main island in the Reach has a fish basket that the player can drop fish into. This will placate the narwhal for a time, allowing the player to fish at the local spots without having to worry about it leaping onto their boat. The duration depends on how much fish you're willing to drop in. A full basket will keep it happy for a few days.
Non-Malicious Monster: It's vicious, but instead of being malevolent it's simply hungry; it isn't even territorial. If you keep it fed, it has no trouble letting you wander the interior of the Reach.
Use Your Head: As befitting a monster with a giant horn, its method of attack is to leap out of the water and land head-first on your boat.

The One That Lost

An enormous monster encased in the ice of the Pale Reach that yearns to be free.

Kaiju: It's big. Not as big as the God of the Deep but bigger than the Leviathan. Two docks are constructed just around its paws.
Monster in the Ice: The entire iceberg complex which makes up the Pale Reach is actually one gigantic prison for it, and it was nearly freed from the solid ice wall it's trapped in by the Expedition. It becomes the Fisherman's job to prevent it from further waking up and busting out of the ice.
Monster Is a Mommy: It appears to be a supersized version of the Narwhal, complete with a single glowing yellow horn, implying that the Narwhal is somehow related or descended from it.
Sealed Evil in a Can: An odd case. When it was 'killed' by whatever Eldritch Abomination it was fighting against, it was dismembered and cast to the surface to be "taken by the sky" (whatever that means). Freezing itself in ice was an act of desperation that kept it from being destroyed completely; so in other words, the Can was something Evil Sealed itself into to keep itself in the game.

The Sleeping Deity Unmarked Spoilers!

The God of the Deep

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2023_05_08_3.png

A mysterious entity tied to the Tome of the Deep, released in the bad ending of the game.

Always a Bigger Fish: Powerful as the Leviathan is, it can do nothing to stop the Deity's destruction of the Isles and presumably the world.
Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Its head alone is bigger than the entirety of the Isles.
The Corruptor: Caused the Fisherman to develop his unscrupulous Collector persona with the goal of bringing his wife back.
Deal with the Devil: The Collector wishes to use its tome to bring back his wife, with the caveat of it being awakened by the ceremony and destroying the world. While it is unknown if the Collector knew the ultimate end result, it is unlikely that he would have cared regardless.
Destroyer Deity: Does little once it wakes up besides end the world as we know it.
Eldritch Abomination: The thing looks like Cthullhu through an abstract perspective, is the cause of all of the Aberrations and sea monsters throughout the game, and its awakening leads to the destruction of Greater Marrow and the death of everyone in it.
Evil Only Has to Win Once: While the Leviathan has presumably been thwarting its followers for centuries, seeing as how the world has yet to be destroyed by the start of the game, one of its followers winning causes an apocalyptic scenario that the Leviathan is helpless against.
Fisher King: Completely altered the sealife and landscape in the Isles, most notably the Devil's Spine, which was implicitly a former place of power for it.
Greater-Scope Villain: Its tome being unearthed is the cause of the entire plot of the game.
Gone Mad from the Revelation: Its specialty, implicitly being responsible for the sinister behavior of the Hooded Figures as well as the behavior of the Fanatic in the Devil's Spine. Being exposed to the Tome of the Deep also caused the protagonist to go off the deep end, splintering his personality into the Collector and Fisherman halves respectively.
If You Thought That Was Bad...: The Aberrant Fish, Monsters, Hallucinations, and other Cosmic Horror elements of the story pale in comparison to this thing, which caused all of the above while still imprisoned in the ocean.
Walking Spoiler: As a being only present in the Bad Ending of the game, as well as blowing the lid off of certain late game revelations like the Collector's true nature, it functions as this.
Walking Wasteland: If the state of the Marrows in the Bad Ending is any indication, then absolutely.

Characters / DREDGE

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