Chuul — Paralysing Crustacean Horror of the Swamps
A heavily armoured aquatic aberration that seizes prey in its pincers and feeds paralysed victims to the tentacles around its mouth.
The chuul is a massive crustacean-like predator with a thick shell, two crushing pincers and a nest of small tentacles surrounding its mouth. It lurks in swamps, ponds and underground waterways, waiting almost motionless until prey enters striking distance. Once it catches something, the chuul’s entire fighting style becomes about control: hold, drag, paralyse and feed.
At a Glance
Run It Tonight
Hide the chuul in water deep enough to conceal most of its shell. The first visible sign should be a claw, a ripple or a half-submerged trophy from an earlier kill. Once combat begins, it should seize a target immediately and use its tentacles on that victim rather than spreading damage evenly across the party.
Rules by Edition
Chuul
Large Aberration, Chaotic Evil
AC 16; Initiative +0 (10)
HP 76 (9d10 + 27)
Speed 30 ft., Swim 30 ft.
19 (+4)
10 (+0)
16 (+3)
5 (−3)
11 (+0)
5 (−3)
Skills Perception +4
Immunities Poison; Poisoned
Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 14
Languages understands Deep Speech but can’t speak
CR 4 (1,100 XP); PB +2
Traits
Amphibious. The chuul can breathe air and water.
Sense Magic. The chuul senses magic within 120 feet of itself. This otherwise works like detect magic but is not itself magical.
Actions
Multiattack. The chuul makes two Pincer attacks and uses Paralyzing Tentacles.
Pincer. Melee Attack Roll: +6, reach 10 ft. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) Bludgeoning damage. A Large or smaller target has the Grappled condition (escape DC 14) from one of the chuul’s two pincers.
Paralyzing Tentacles. One creature Grappled by the chuul makes a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, it has the Poisoned condition and repeats the save at the end of each turn, ending the effect on a success. After 1 minute it succeeds automatically. While Poisoned this way, the creature also has the Paralyzed condition.
Chuul
Large aberration, chaotic evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 93 (11d10 + 33)
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
19 (+4)
10 (+0)
16 (+3)
5 (−3)
11 (+0)
5 (−3)
Skills Perception +4
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages understands Deep Speech but can’t speak
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Traits
Amphibious. The chuul can breathe air and water.
Sense Magic. The chuul senses magic within 120 feet at will. This works like detect magic but is not itself magical.
Actions
Multiattack. The chuul makes two Pincer attacks. If it is Grappling a creature, it can also use Tentacles once.
Pincer. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage. A Large or smaller creature is Grappled (escape DC 14) if the chuul does not already have two creatures Grappled.
Tentacles. One creature Grappled by the chuul must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. While poisoned this way, the target is also paralyzed. It repeats the save at the end of each turn, ending the effect on a success.
Chuul CR 7
XP 3,200
CE Large aberration (aquatic)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +19
Defense
AC 22, touch 12, flat-footed 19 (+3 Dex, +10 natural, −1 size)
hp 85 (10d8+40)
Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +9
Immune poison
Offense
Speed 30 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee 2 claws +14 (2d6+7 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks constrict (2d6+7), paralytic tentacles
Statistics
Str 25, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 5
Base Atk +7; CMB +15 (+19 grapple); CMD 28 (32 vs. trip)
Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (claw)
Skills Knowledge (nature) +8, Perception +19, Sense Motive +9, Stealth +9, Swim +28
Languages Common; subterranean variants sometimes use Undercommon
SQ amphibious
Paralytic Tentacles (Ex)
A chuul can transfer a creature it has Grappled in a claw to its mouth tentacles as a move action. A creature held there must succeed on a DC 19 Fortitude save each round or be paralyzed for 6 rounds. While held in the tentacles, it also takes 1d8+7 damage from the chuul’s mandibles each round.
Ecology
Environment temperate swamps
Organization solitary, pair or pack (3–6)
Treasure standard
Chuul
Large Aberration (Aquatic)
Hit Dice 11d8+44 (93 hp)
Initiative +7
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), swim 20 ft.
Armor Class 22 (−1 size, +3 Dex, +10 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 19
Base Attack/Grapple +8/+17
Attack claw +12 melee (2d6+5)
Full Attack 2 claws +12 melee (2d6+5)
Space/Reach 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks constrict 3d6+5, improved grab, paralytic tentacles
Special Qualities amphibious, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to poison
Saves Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +9
Abilities Str 20, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 5
Skills Hide +13, Listen +11, Spot +11, Swim +13
Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative
Environment temperate marshes
Organization solitary, pair or pack (3–5)
Challenge Rating 7
Treasure standard
Alignment usually chaotic evil
Paralytic Tentacles (Ex)
A chuul can transfer a Grappled opponent from a claw to its mouth tentacles as a move action. The tentacles hold the victim without dealing grapple damage. The creature must succeed on a DC 19 Fortitude save each round or be paralyzed for 6 rounds. While held, it takes 1d8+5 damage per round from the chuul’s mandibles.
Behaviour
Chuuls are ambush hunters with enough intelligence to choose good ground. They do not charge across open terrain if dark water, reeds, refuse channels or flooded passages can hide them instead. A chuul that has found a productive hunting place may remain there for months.
They are also collectors. Tools, armour, jewellery and other durable objects taken from prey often accumulate in their lairs even though the chuul has little practical use for them.
Signs Before Initiative
- Drag marks lead from paths or docks directly into deep water.
- Armour and weapons have been arranged in piles well above the normal flood line.
- A large crustacean track appears beside humanoid footprints, then both sets stop at the water.
- Fish and smaller scavengers vanish from an otherwise rich pond.
- Victims recovered from the water show crushing claw wounds but surprisingly little struggle after capture.
- Magic items disappear from corpses more consistently than mundane valuables.
If Violence Starts
The chuul grabs first. In fifth edition it can control two creatures at once with its pincers, but it normally chooses one victim for the paralytic mouth-tentacles. In PF1e and 3.5e, the older grapple chain is even more important: once prey reaches the mouth, the encounter becomes a rescue problem.
When water is available, the chuul drags captured creatures away from allies or into deeper channels. It does not need to drown paralyzed prey quickly; separation alone can win the encounter.
Counterplay
Do not let the chuul choose the waterline. Force it into open ground, maintain distance and break grapples before a captured character reaches the mouth tentacles. Poison immunity does not make it generally resistant to magic, so control effects that bypass its strong shell can be extremely useful.
In fifth edition, its ability to sense magic means an apparently concealed magical object or active spell can reveal a target’s presence. Mundane stealth may therefore work better than magical concealment in the wrong circumstances.
Homes and Hoards
Chuuls prefer shallow water with nearby deep escape routes: swamp pools, cisterns, flooded quarries, sewer junctions and underground rivers. A productive lair often contains trophies from many different kinds of traveller because the chuul chooses prey based on opportunity rather than culture or wealth.
Using a Chuul in an Encounter
The silent cistern. Workers vanish from a city reservoir, but nothing has contaminated the water.
The magic collector. Only enchanted objects are missing from bodies recovered along a marsh road.
The flooded shortcut. A submerged passage is the fastest route through a ruin, and the chuul has learned exactly where travellers surface for air.
The trophy mound. A heap of weapons reveals that the same chuul has been hunting the crossing for decades.
Related Creatures
Browse the Aberration Bestiary, compare other aquatic ambushers such as the Froghemoth, or return to the World Bestiary.
Rules Sources and Licensing
The 5.5e/2024 Chuul is available in SRD 5.2.1 under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. The 5e/2014 Chuul is available in SRD 5.1 under CC BY 4.0. The Pathfinder 1e statistics derive from the open Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary, and the D&D 3.5e statistics are Open Game Content from the Revised d20 System Reference Document.
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