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| Myxine glutinosa, from Les Poissons (1877) by Gervais and Boulart, via Wikimedia |
A hagfish swarm can pose a danger to adventurers in the water. They might be attracted by a recent kill that the party made, tearing into the flesh of the corpse and the heroes alike. Giant hagfish are even more dangerous, as they can tear open the hull of a ship to get at the food inside. Imagine the horror as the adventurers go belowdecks in a ship only to find it flooded with seawater, slime, and squirming eels feasting on livestock and sailors.
The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2017 Jonah Bomgaars.
A wriggling mass of slimy, jawless eels
fills the water with viscous froth
Hagfish Swarm CR 2
XP 600
N Tiny animal
(aquatic, swarm)
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception -2
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2
Dex, +2 Size)
hp 25 (3d8+12)
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will -1
Defensive Abilities swarm traits
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee swarm (1d6 plus 1d6 bleed)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks distraction (DC 15)
STATISTICS
Str 12, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 1, Wis 6, Cha 5
Base Atk +2; CMB --; CMD --
Feats Lightning Reflexes, Skill Focus
(Escape Artist)
Skills Escape Artist +7, Swim +12
SQ slime cloud
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Slime Cloud (Ex)
While
underwater, as a free action, a hagfish swarm can secrete slime that transforms
all the water in the four 5-foot cubes it occupies into a transparent cloud of
viscous slime. This slime is the aquatic equivalent of rough terrain, and
creatures swimming through it expend 2 squares of movement. Creatures that
breathe water cannot breathe in a slime cloud and must hold their breaths. The
slime cloud remains for 10 rounds before dissipating. Hagfish are unaffected by
these slime clouds. The slime also grants the hagfish a +4 bonus on grapple and
Escape Artist checks made to escape a grapple.
ECOLOGY
Environment any ocean
Organization solitary, raft (2-4
swarms)
Treasure none
Hagfish are
primitive, eel-like fish that can turn the water around them into choking,
viscous slime. Lacking jaws, they feed on living and dead prey alike by tearing
chunks of flesh off with their serrated tooth-plates.
This slimy eel-like creature uncoils,
barbels twitching around its jawless mouth full of rasping plates
Hagfish, Giant CR 2
XP 600
N Medium animal
(aquatic)
Init +2; Senses blindsense 60 ft.; Perception -2
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2
Dex, +2 natural)
hp 25 (3d8+12)
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will -1
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
Melee bite +5 (1d6+6 plus grab)
Special Attacks traveling knot (1d6+6
plus 1d6 bleed)
STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 1, Wis 6, Cha 5
Base Atk +2; CMB +7; CMD 19 (can’t be
tripped)
Feats Lightning Reflexes, Skill Focus
(Escape Artist)
Skills Escape Artist +7, Swim +16
SQ slime cloud, traveling knot
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Slime Cloud (Ex)
While
underwater, as a free action, a giant hagfish can secrete slime that transforms
all water within a 15-foot cube centered on itself into a transparent cloud of
viscous slime. This slime is the aquatic equivalent of rough terrain, and
creatures swimming through it expend 2 squares of movement. Creatures that
breathe water cannot breathe in a slime cloud and must hold their breaths. The
slime cloud remains for 10 rounds before dissipating. Hagfish are unaffected by
these slime clouds. The slime also grants the hagfish a +4 bonus on grapple and
Escape Artist checks made to escape a grapple.
Traveling Knot (Ex)
As a
full-round action, a giant hagfish can tie its tail in a knot and then move
that knot forward along its body. A giant hagfish that starts its turn attached
to its prey can use a travelling knot to tear off a chunk of its prey’s flesh:
in doing so, it deals 1d6+6 points of damage plus 1d6 bleed to the target, and
it is no longer attached. A giant hagfish that starts its turn grappled by an
opponent can perform a travelling knot as part of a grapple or Escape Artist
check made to break free of a grapple, gaining a +4 bonus to that roll.
Attach (Ex)
When a giant
hagfish hits with a bite attack, its serrated tooth-plates latch onto the
target, anchoring it in place. An attached hagfish is effectively grappling its
prey. The hagfish loses its Dexterity bonus to AC and has an AC of 12, but
holds on with great tenacity. A giant hagfish has a +4 racial bonus to maintain
its grapple on a foe once it is attached. An attached hagfish can be struck
with a weapon or grappled itself – if its prey manages to win a grapple check
of Escape Artist check against it, the hagfish is removed.
ECOLOGY
Environment any ocean
Organization solitary, pair, swarm
(3-8)
Treasure none
Giant
hagfish are thick, mottled grey, eel-like creatures that can reach lengths of
10 feet. They have poor eyesight, relying on sensitive barbels to locate prey
and sense their environment. Their
primitive, round mouths lack jaws; once they grab on to their prey, they tie
their tail in a knot and move the knot forward along their body until it
presses against their prey, giving them the leverage to tear off a chunk of
their prey’s flesh. Like their smaller cousins, giant hagfish primarily eat the
carcasses that fall to the ocean floor, but they sometimes venture upwards to
hunt whales and other large sea creatures. Sometimes they even find their way
inside ships, tearing into the hull and squirming into the bilgewater.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-your agnathan d20 despot
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