Buy me a coffeeShark, Dire (Megalodon)
“Lurking in the abyss, the Megalodon returns to prove the ocean still has a king!”
Colossal Reaper of the Ancient Depths
Appearance:
The Megalodon is a towering relic of the deep—up to 60 feet in length—with a body built like a fortress of muscle and scarred hide. Its skin is slate-gray with a pale, belly-white underside that reflects light from the surface to conceal its monstrous silhouette. A dorsal fin like a ship’s sail cuts the water above it. Its vast maw is ringed with multiple rows of serrated teeth, each as long as a dagger, capable of pulverizing bone and steel alike. The eyes are black, cold, and soulless—more ancient than mortal memory.
Behaviour:
Solitary and territorial, the Megalodon is both a predator and a sovereign of its domain. It stalks the ocean with a calm, methodical menace, exerting dominance over everything beneath the waves. It rarely wastes energy, preferring ambush to open pursuit unless enraged. Intelligent in a primal sense, it exhibits cunning not expected of a beast—circling prey out of sight, feinting attacks, or even ramming ships to create chaos before striking.
Habitat:
Megalodons dwell in the deep oceans and ancient trenches, often lurking near undersea rifts, volcanic vents, or the sunken ruins of civilizations lost to time. Occasionally, they rise to shallow coastal waters, especially when driven by hunger, mating instincts, or arcane disturbances.
Modus Operandi:
The Megalodon strikes from below with sudden force, launching upward to impale and crush prey with its jaws. It targets ships’ keels or giant sea creatures, breaking bones and timber alike. Once blood is in the water, it enters a frenzied state, becoming even more relentless and resistant to pain. It’s known to drag entire vessels beneath the waves and return hours later to consume what it left behind.
Motivation:
Driven by primal hunger and territorial dominance, the Megalodon is less a creature and more a force of nature. In magical worlds, it may be bound to ancient sea gods, cursed to patrol the waters for eternity, or awakened by powerful maritime rituals. Its presence is often a harbinger of imbalance in the seas—an apex predator returned to restore a forgotten order through carnage.
Megalodon 5e
Shark, Megalodon 5e
Dire Shark (Megalodon) Pathfinder
Megalodon
Gargantuan Beast, Unaligned
Challenge: 18 (20,000 XP) • Proficiency Bonus: +6
Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points 310 (23d12 + 161)
Speed swim 60 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 (+9) | 12 (+1) | 25 (+7) | 2 (–4) | 16 (+3) | 8 (–1) |
Saving Throws Dex +7, Con +13, Wis +9
Skills Perception +15, Stealth +7
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities cold
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, paralyzed
Senses darkvision 120 ft., blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 25
Languages —
Traits
Water’s Shadow.
While submerged, the Megalodon has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide its approach against creatures in or on the water.
Apex Hunter.
When the Megalodon surprises a creature and hits it with its first bite each combat, that attack is a critical hit.
Actions
Multiattack.
The Megalodon makes two Bite attacks.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target.
Hit: 49 (6d12 + 9) piercing damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 21). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the Megalodon can’t bite another target.
Ram. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 5 ft., one prone or grappled target.
Hit: 35 (4d10 + 9) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 21 Strength saving throw or be knocked unconscious as it’s crushed beneath the beast.
Devour Vessel (Recharge 5–6).
The Megalodon targets one waterborne vehicle (up to Gargantuan) within 10 ft. The vessel must succeed on a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw or take 80 (10d12 + 9) bludgeoning damage and capsize if its hull drops to 0 HP.
Legendary Actions
The Megalodon can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
- Surge. The Megalodon swims up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
- Bite. The Megalodon makes one Bite attack.
- Ram (Costs 2 Actions). The Megalodon makes one Ram attack.
Tactics
- Ambush from Below: Uses Water’s Shadow to strike unsuspecting prey at the surface or from beneath.
- Crushing Grapple: Opens with a surprise-critical Bite to restrain a foe, then follows up with Ram to incapacitate or swallow.
- Devour Vessels: In naval battles, targets ships with Devour Vessel to wreck hulls and sow terror.
- Relentless Pressure: Employs legendary Surge to maintain the assault and prevent escape.
Shark, Megalodon
The true nightmare of the sea is the megalodon, a shark that represents the pinnacle of this species’ evolution. Horrifying in its immense size and ruinous appetite, the megalodon is certainly the beast behind many legends of enormous fish who swallow ships whole. A megalodon is 60 feet long and weighs 100,000 pounds.
Family: Aquatic & Fish
Gargantuan beast, unaligned
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 232 (15d20+75)
Speed 0 ft., swim 50 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 (+8) | 14 (+2) | 21 (+5) | 1 (-5) | 12 (+1) | 10 (+0) |
Saving Throws Wis +5
Skills Perception +5
Senses blindsight 60 ft.; passive Perception 15
Languages –
Challenge 11 (7,200 XP)
Special Traits
- Blood Frenzy. The shark has advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature that doesn’t have all its hit points.
- Water Breathing. The shark can breathe only underwater.
Actions
- Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 30 (4d10 + 8) piercing damage, and a Large or smaller target must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be swallowed whole. If its bite attack is a critical hit, it can swallow a Huge creature in the same way. A swallowed creature is blinded and restrained and has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the shark. It takes 11 (2d10) bludgeoning damage and 11 (2d10) piercing damage at the start of each of the shark’s turns. A megalodon can have one Huge creature, up to three Large creatures, or up to 10 Medium creatures swallowed at a time. If the shark takes 45 damage or more on a single turn from the swallowed creature, the shark must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate the creature, which falls prone within 5 feet of the shark. If the megalodon dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 10 feet of movement, exiting prone.
Section 15: Copyright Notice
Sea Monsters (5E) © 2021, Legendary Games; Authors Michael Ritter, Michael “solomani” Mifsud, Robert J. Grady, Mark Hart, Jeff Ibach, Alex Riggs, Scott D. Young, Jeff Lee, Matt Kimmel, and Jason Nelson.
Large as a dragon, this shark’s jaws open to reveal a cavernous, tooth-lined gullet capable of swallowing a horse whole.
The true nightmare of the sea is the megalodon, a shark that represents the pinnacle of this species’ evolution. Horrifying in its immense size and ruinous appetite, the megalodon is certainly the beast behind many legends of enormous fish who swallow ships whole. A megalodon is 60 feet long and weighs 100,000 pounds.
Dire Shark (Megalodon) CR 9
XP 6,400
N Gargantuan animal (aquatic)
Init +6; Senses blindsense 30 ft., keen scent; Perception +25
DEFENSE
AC 23, touch 8, flat-footed 21 (+2 Dex, +15 natural, –4 size)
hp 112 (15d8+45)
Fort +14, Ref +13, Will +8
OFFENSE
Speed swim 60 ft.
Melee bite +17 (4d10+15/19–20 plus grab)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft.
Special Attacks swallow whole (2d6+15 damage, AC 17, 11 hp)
STATISTICS
Str 30, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +11; CMB +25 (+29 grapple); CMD 37
Feats Bleeding Critical, Critical Focus, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Perception +25, Swim +18
ECOLOGY
Environment any ocean
Organization solitary
Treasure none