Buy me a coffeeLusca: The Abyssal Blue-Hole Leviathan
Lusca: the blue-hole leviathan that lures sailors with a shark’s maw and an octopus’s embrace.
A legendary Caribbean cryptid, the Lusca is described as a cavern-dwelling, mollusc-like titan — part giant octopus, part shark — blamed for disappearances in deep blue holes;.
Appearance: A hulking, irregularly proportioned predator: a broad, shark-like head with rows of serrated teeth set into a rubbery, beak-lined maw; a misshapen mantle that sometimes flashes fin-ridges; and a cluster of long, muscular tentacles—each ringed with suckers and ending in hooked tips—able to crush timber and tear flesh. When seen from a distance the Lusca’s skin may gleam like wet slate or bruise-purple, and it often emits a faint phosphorescent wash from the undersides of its tentacles, giving blue-hole waters an otherworldly glow.
Behaviour: Insolent and secretive, they are ambush predators that favor silence and sudden violence: they lurk in the vertical shafts and cave mouths of submerged sinkholes, waiting for vibrations on the surface, then erupt with explosive force. They display territorial aggression toward boats and divers, sometimes abandoning an injured quarry once satiated; some tales claim they mimic distant calls or displace smaller sea life to herd prey into traps.
Habitat: They are most commonly reported in deep blue holes and submerged cave systems of the Caribbean, especially the blue-hole networks around Andros Island in the Bahamas. They claim the vertical chimneys and shadowed caverns where open ocean meets freshwater lens, using complex passages and collapsed chambers as lairs.
Modus Operandi: They combine grappling and crushing with stealth: it waits in near-silence until surface disturbance signals prey, then lashes out with multiple tentacles to entangle oars, propellers, or limbs while the maw bites and rips. It exploits cave geometry—dragging victims into narrow tunnels to finish them—and may sever vessels with sudden, synchronized strikes; on landless prey it sometimes abandons partially devoured remains to deeper waters to avoid scavengers.
Motivation: Driven by hunger and territorial instinct, Luscas are opportunistic apex predators whose behavior is shaped by the spatial constraints of blue holes—defending den sites, monopolizing food resources, and reacting violently to unfamiliar vibrations. Folklore also ascribes to them a cunning malice, suggesting they sometimes imitate or manipulate sounds to lure the curious into fatal depths.
Lusca, 5e 2024
Lusca, Pathfinder
Lusca
Gargantuan Monstrosity (Aquatic), Unaligned
Armor Class 17 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points 225 (18d12 + 108)
Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 (+8) | 14 (+2) | 22 (+6) | 7 (−2) | 14 (+2) | 12 (+1) |
Saving Throws Str +13, Con +11, Wis +7
Skills Perception +11, Stealth +7 (in water)
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 21
Languages —
Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +5
Traits
Amphibious. It can breathe air and water.
Blue-Hole Sovereign. The lusca ignores movement restrictions caused by squeezing while underwater, and it has advantage on attack rolls against creatures that are above it in the water.
Ambush Predator. It has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn in combat yet.
Mimicry (Recharge 5–6). The lusca mimics voices and sounds it has heard. Each creature within 120 feet that hears the mimicry must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed until the end of its next turn. While charmed in this way, a creature uses its movement on its next turn to move toward the source of the sound by the safest available route. The effect ends early if the creature takes damage.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the lusca fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Actions
Multiattack. It makes two Tentacle attacks and one Bite attack.
Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target.
Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 19). Until the grapple ends, the target is restrained. The lusca can grapple up to three Medium or smaller creatures, or one Large creature, at a time.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 30 (4d10 + 8) piercing damage. If the target is grappled by the lusca, the bite deals an extra 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage.
Crushing Pull (Recharge 5–6). The lusca makes one Bite attack against a creature it is grappling. On a hit, the target takes an extra 18 (4d8) bludgeoning damage and is pulled up to 30 feet straight downward.
Ink Cloud (Recharge 5–6). The lusca releases ink in a 20-foot radius centered on itself. The area is heavily obscured until the end of the lusca’s next turn. Creatures other than the lusca that start their turn in the cloud must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the start of their next turn.
Legendary Actions
The lusca can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The lusca regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Tentacle. The lusca makes one Tentacle attack.
Drag. One creature grappled by the lusca must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be pulled 20 feet toward the lusca.
Sudden Descent (Costs 2 Actions). The lusca moves up to half its swim speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Lair Actions
When fighting inside a submerged cavern or blue hole, the lusca can take a lair action on initiative count 20 (losing ties):
Siphoning Current. A powerful current sweeps through a 60-foot line that is 20 feet wide. Creatures in the current must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be pulled 30 feet toward the lusca and knocked prone.
Toxic Haze. A 20-foot-radius cloud of foul, sulfurous water appears at a point the lusca can see within 60 feet. Creatures in the cloud must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of their next turn.
Falling Stone. Loose rock collapses in a 20-foot square the lusca can see within 120 feet. Creatures in the area must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) bludgeoning damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.
Regional Effects
The waters within 6 miles of a lusca’s lair are warped by its presence:
- Fish and marine life avoid the area, leaving unnatural stillness.
- Bioluminescent plankton gather in spirals over deep shafts at night.
- Voices and distant cries sometimes echo from beneath the water with no visible source.
These effects fade 1d10 days after the lusca dies.
Lusca
[This content was created by Paizo Publishing LLC for the Pathfinder rules but is not from the Pathfinder RPG product line.]
This behemoth has three huge, snapping shark-like heads on short, scaly necks, while its lower body appears to be that of a gigantic octopus with eight muscular tentacles.
Luscas are among the most feared predators in the open ocean, their snapping shark heads and writhing tentacles spelling the end for many crews. Their presence can first be felt in the air, as its body naturally conducts electricity, and sailors who have encountered the being claim that thunderclouds seem to roll in alongside the creature. Ravenous and unpredictable, it claims wide swaths of territory in order to maximize the number of ships it can sink and crews it can feast upon. While luscas prefer to make quick meals of the sailors onboard a ship, they will eat just about any aquatic creature, and even giant octopuses and whales know to steer clear of a hungry lusca.
The average lusca is 90 feet from tentacle to snout and weighs 3,800 pounds.
| Lusca CR 17 |
| XP 102,400 CE Gargantuan magical beast (aquatic) Init +4; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision; Perception +28 |
| DEFENSE |
| AC 32, touch 6, flat-footed 32 (+26 natural, 4 size) hp 270 (20d10+160) Fort +20, Ref +12, Will +11 Immune electricity, poison |
| OFFENSE |
| Speed 10 ft., Swim 40 ft., jet 200 ft. Melee 3 bites +27 (2d8+10/1920), 8 tentacles +21 (1d8+5 plus grab) Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft. Special Attacks constrict (1d8+5 plus poisonous suckers), rend ship Spell-Like Abilities (CL 18th; Concentration +22) 3/day – chain lightning (DC 20), geyser (DC 19) 1/day – summon (level 8, 1d3 Dire Sharks 50%), vortex (DC 21) |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 30, Dexterity 11, Constitution 26, Intelligence 13, Wisdom 21, Charisma 18 Base Atk +20; CMB +34 (+38 grapple); CMD 44 Feats Awesome Blow, Critical Focus, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Sickening Critical, Snatch, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (bite) Skills Perception +28, Stealth +11, Swim +41 Languages Aquan, Common SQ tenacious grapple |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Poisonous Suckers (Ex) A creature constricted by a lusca’s tentacles is exposed to its deadly venom. Lusca Venom: Constrict – injury; save Fort DC 28; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d6 Dexterity; cure 2 consecutive saves. Rend Ship (Ex) As a full-round action, a lusca can attempt to use four of its tentacles to grapple a ship of its size or smaller by making a combat maneuver check opposed by the ship’s captain’s Profession (sailor) check; the lusca receives a cumulative +4 bonus on the check for each size category smaller than Gargantuan the ship is. If the lusca grapples the ship, it holds the ship motionless; it can attack targets anywhere on or within the ship with its tentacles, but can’t attack foes at all with its shark heads. Each round it maintains its hold on the ship, it automatically deals bite damage to the ship’s hull. Tenacious Grapple (Ex) A lusca does not gain the grappled condition if it grapples a foe with its tentacles. |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment warm oceans Organization solitary Treasure double |
Section 15: Copyright Notice – Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Isle of the Shackles
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Isles of the Shackles © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Mike Shel.