Buy me a coffeeAnomalocaris, the Razor-Jawed Tide Stalker
Anomalocaris: The Bizarre Sea Monster with a Circular Saw Mouth That Terrorized the Ocean!
Anomalocaris is a sleek, torpedo-shaped predator that glides through Cambrian seas with unmatched agility. Measuring up to one meter in length, it stands among the largest and most formidable hunters of its time. Its elongated body is segmented and lined with flexible, fin-like lobes that ripple in coordinated waves, allowing it to swim with a fluid, undulating motion.
At the front of its head, two spined, jointed appendages reach out like mechanical arms, ready to grasp and manipulate prey. Its most iconic feature is a circular, tooth-ringed mouth, capable of rotating to crush and shred soft-bodied organisms. Flanking this fearsome maw are a pair of large, stalked compound eyes, offering exceptional vision that allows Anomalocaris to detect motion and fine detail in its watery realm.
Anomalocaris behaves as an active, visual hunter, likely stalking trilobites, worms, and other soft-bodied invertebrates. Its grasping appendages snatch prey with precision, guiding it into its spinning, crushing mouth. Whether by sudden ambush or swift pursuit, it relies on speed, maneuverability, and acute sight to overpower its victims. While it may struggle to pierce hard shells, it takes full advantage of unarmored or injured creatures.
It inhabits shallow, sunlit Cambrian oceans, swimming just above the seafloor in warm, nutrient-rich waters teeming with early animal life. These dynamic marine environments offer both challenge and opportunity in the form of evolving prey and rising competition.
Its modus operandi is one of stealth, speed, and precision. Anomalocaris scans its surroundings with its sophisticated eyes, targets movement, and launches attacks with calculated efficiency. Agile and alert, it thrives through specialized adaptation.
Driven by a deep-rooted instinct to feed and survive, Anomalocaris is not a ruler, but a pioneer of predation—a striking example of nature experimenting with what it means to hunt in a rapidly diversifying world.
Anomalocaris 5e
Anomalocaris, Pathfinder
Anomalocaris
Small beast, unaligned
| Armor Class | 14 (Natural Armor) |
|---|---|
| Hit Points | 45 (6d6 + 24) |
| Speed | 30 ft., swim 50 ft. |
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 18 (+4) | 3 (–4) | 12 (+1) | 6 (–2) |
Saving Throws: Dex +5
Skills: Perception +3, Stealth +5
Damage Resistances: Piercing (from nonmagical weapons)
Senses: Darkvision 30 ft., Tremorsense 20 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages: —
Challenge: 2 (450 XP)
Traits
Amphibious. Anomalocaris can breathe both air and water.
Keen Sight. The Anomalocaris has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Swimmer’s Agility. The Anomalocaris ignores difficult terrain while swimming and doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when moving through water.
Actions
Multiattack. The Anomalocaris makes two attacks: one with its Grasping Appendages and one with its Crushing Maw.
Grasping Appendages. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage. The target is grappled (escape DC 13) if it is Small or smaller. Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained.
Crushing Maw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target grappled by the appendages.
Hit: 14 (3d6 + 3) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of its next turn.
Water Jet (Recharge 5–6). The Anomalocaris exhales a powerful jet of water in a 15-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in the line must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 13 (3d8) bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Creatures that fail the save are pushed 5 feet and knocked prone.
Tactics
- Uses its speed and stealth to approach prey quietly in water.
- Grapples small targets with its appendages before crushing them with its powerful jaws.
- Employs Water Jet to disrupt foes or finish weakened prey.
- Prefers to avoid prolonged fights with larger opponents, relying on hit-and-run tactics.
Flavor
Though small, the Anomalocaris is a deadly predator in the watery depths, using speed, vision, and crushing power to take down prey far larger than itself. Its unique circular mouth and grasping limbs make it a terrifying sight beneath the waves.
This three-foot creature glides forward on rippling oar-like lobes, spiked appendages waving menacingly from either side of its round mouth
Originally Posted by Jonah Bomgaars
On the d20despot.blogspot
Anomalocaris
CR 1XP 400 N Small vermin (aquatic)Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +1
DEFENSE
AC 13, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +1 size, +1 natural)
hp 13 (2d8+4)Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +1Immune mind affecting effects
OFFENSE
Speed 5 ft., Swim 30 ft. Melee bite +2 (1d6 plus grab)
Special Attacks gnaw (1d6)
STATISTICS
Str 11, Dex 12, Con 14, Int –, Wis 13, Cha 2
Base Atk +1; CMB +1 (+3 grapple); CMD 12
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Gnaw (Ex)An anomalocaris gnaws at its prey, dealing bite damage, when it makes a successful grapple check (including the one made as part of a grab with its bite attack).
ECOLOGY
Environment any oceans
Organization solitary
Treasure none
Anomalocaris is a predator of primeval seas. Its three-foot-long, segmented body is broadened by a lateral array of a dozen paddle-like lobes; these grow longer toward the creature’s midsection, giving it an oval or diamond-shaped outline. These lobes, along with a tail resembling that of a shrimp, propel it through the water with an undulating motion. Its rounded head is topped with two large compound eyes on short stalks. A circular mouth of overlapping, serrated plates occupies the underside of the head. The anomalocaris has two six-inch-long barbed claw-like appendages that it uses to graps prey and pull it towards its grinding mouth.