Bestiary: Giant Anglerfish

The soft, hypnotizing glow from its headstalk’s extremity reveals the massive shape of this great fish, its hard scale armor, bulging, blank eyes and vicious jaw full of inward–bent teeth, gaping at you.

Anglerfish, Giant (CR 5)

N Large animal (aquatic)

Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low–light vision; Perception +7

Defense

AC 19, touch 10, flat–footed 19 (+10 natural, –1 size)

hp 52 (7d8 + 21)

Fort +10, Ref +5, Will +4

Defensive Abilities dual mind

Offense

Speed swim 40 ft.

Melee bite +10 (3d8+4)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks lure, swallow whole (1d10 acid damage, AC 14, 5 hp)

Statistics

Str 19, Dex 10, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 2

Base Atk +5; CMB +10 (+14 grapple); CMD 20 (can’t be tripped)

Feats Ability Focus (lure), Great Fortitude, Improved Natural Armor, Improved Natural Attack (bite)

Skills Perception +7, Stealth +5 (+9 in the dark), Swim +18; Racial Modifiers Stealth +4 (+8 in the dark)

Ecology

Environment deep salt water

Organization solitary or mated individual

Treasure incidental

Special Abilities

Dual Mind (Ex): A giant anglerfish rolls twice for each saving throw against mind–affecting spells and effects, and takes the best result.

Extended Jaw (Ex): A giant anglerfish can stretch his jaw and stomach at great rates, allowing it to swallow whole a creature up to its same size.

Lure (Su): As a free action, a giant anglerfish can light the dangling lure on its forehead, forcing all creatures within a 30–foot radius to make a DC 17 Will save or become fascinated for 1 round. Other anglerfish and ceratioidi are immune to this effect. A creature affected by this ability does not view the anglerfish who has fascinated it as a potential threat until that anglerfish actually attacks– allowing it to approach without breaking the fascination. Once a creature successfully saves against this effect, it is immune to the same anglerfish’s lure ability for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma–based.

Like their smaller cousins, giant anglerfish inhabit the depths of marine trenches where sunlight can’t reach. Their size, however, allows them to lure and devour bigger and sometimes sentient preys.

This species exibits extreme sexual dimorphism: males are but Tiny, innocuous worms attached to the female’s body, both parasitizing and fertilizing her. Though a male is non–intelligent, this form of union is enough to render the female’s mind more resistant to mental attacks. A non–mated female will lack the dual mind ability. Many male anglerfish can be attached to one female, without providing additional benefits. Detaching a male from the female’s body requires a tricky called shot inflicting at least 5 points of damage (this damage is not subtracted from the female anglerfish’s hit points).

Ceratioidi often use giant anglerfish as mounts or companions. They are feared and respected as messengers of the mysterious godling which is also the greatest, oldest and mightiest member of their species.

The Angler Sovereign (CR 23) is an unique awakened Gargantuan giant anglerfish with 20 racial Hit Dice, 13 levels in arcanist (blood arcanist archetype^ACG, Aquatic bloodline^APG), and 6 mythic tiers in archmage^MA. As a mythic creature, it is extremely long-lived and able to grant divine spells up to the 6^th level. Its clerics gain access to the Animal, Magic and Water domains and to the Fish* and Rivers^ISG subdomains.

New Subdomain: Fish

Associated Domain: Animal

Replacement Power: Add Swim to your list of class skills. In addition, your swim speed increases by 10 feet.

The following granted power replaces the speak with animals power of the Animal domain.

Amphibian Being (Su): With a touch, you can give a creature the ability to breathe water (or air, if it is a water–breathing creature) for 1 minute per cleric level you possess. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.

Replacement Domain Spells: 1^st– touch of the sea^APG, 3^rd– water breathing, 4^th– ride the waves^UM.