Buy me a coffeeBluetip Eurypterid, the Dread Sea Scorpion
The Bluetip Eurypterid’s sword-sized pincers and venomous tail spring from hiding with chilling speed, striking unsuspecting prey with lethal precision and paralyzing them in seconds!
The Bluetip Eurypterid is a formidable, horse-sized aquatic predator known for its aggressive behavior and distinctive blue-tipped pincers and tail.
Appearance
This large vermin resembles a sleek, oversized sea scorpion, measuring up to 10 feet in length. Its dark, chitinous exoskeleton is accented by vibrant blue tips on its massive pincers and the finned tail, which ends in a long, thin stinger. The creature’s body is streamlined for swift swimming, with six jointed legs and two powerful claws that grasp at the air before it.
Behavior
The Bluetip Eurypterid is an aggressive ambush predator. It lies in wait within underwater debris or crevices, striking swiftly when prey comes within reach. Utilizing its pounce ability, it can leap from hiding to grapple prey with its claws and deliver a venomous sting. Once it has tasted prey, the eurypterid becomes single-minded in its pursuit, lashing out at anything that might be food.
Habitat
Inhabiting temperate or warm ocean waters, the Bluetip Eurypterid is commonly found in areas with ample hiding spots, such as coral reefs, rocky outcrops, and sunken shipwrecks. While primarily aquatic, it is amphibious and can scuttle onto land if necessary. Its preferred environments provide both cover for ambushes and a steady supply of prey.
Modus Operandi
The Bluetip Eurypterid employs a straightforward yet effective hunting strategy:
- Ambush: It remains concealed within its environment, using its natural camouflage and low-light vision to detect approaching prey.
- Pounce: When prey is within range, it uses its pounce ability to leap forward, attacking with both claws and its stinger.
- Grapple and Sting: The claws grasp and crush the prey, while the stinger delivers a potent venom that causes ongoing Constitution damage, weakening the victim over time.
- Persistence: If the initial attack does not subdue the prey, the eurypterid continues its assault relentlessly, driven by its aggressive nature.
Motivation
Driven by a voracious appetite, the Bluetip Eurypterid hunts to sustain its rapid metabolism and to repair its chitinous armor. Its aggressive behavior is also a result of territorial instincts, as it fiercely defends its hunting grounds from intruders. During breeding seasons, its aggression intensifies, leading to lethal clashes with others of its kind.
Bluetip Eurypterid 5e
Bluetip Eurypterid, Pathfinder
Eurypterid, the Dread Sea Scorpion
Large Beast (Aquatic), Unaligned
Armor Class 16 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points 85 (10d10 + 30)
Speed 30 ft., swim 60 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 (+4) | 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 1 (-5) | 12 (+1) | 3 (-4) |
Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +6
Skills Perception +3
Damage Resistances Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 30 ft., Passive Perception 13
Languages —
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +3
Amphibious.
The eurypterid can breathe both air and water.D&D Wiki
Keen Smell.
The eurypterid has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Pounce.
If the eurypterid moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the eurypterid can make one sting attack against it as a bonus action.
Multiattack.
The eurypterid makes three attacks: two with its claws and one with its sting.
Claw.
Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 12 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 14). The eurypterid has two claws, each of which can grapple only one target.
Sting.
Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature.
Hit: 10 (1d10 + 4) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. While poisoned in this way, the target is paralyzed. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Tactics
The eurypterid is an ambush predator, lying in wait within underwater debris or crevices. It uses its Pounce ability to close the distance swiftly, aiming to knock prey prone and deliver a paralyzing sting. Once a target is grappled, the eurypterid focuses its attacks on that creature, attempting to incapacitate it quickly.
Environment
Eurypterids inhabit temperate or warm ocean waters, often found near reefs, rocky outcrops, and sunken shipwrecks. They are solitary creatures, fiercely territorial, and will attack any intruders that enter their domain.
Two large azure-colored pincers grasp at the air before this sleek creature, while a finned tail bristling with a long, thin blue-colored stinger rises from behind.
Known to some as sea scorpions, eurypterids are aquatic crustaceans that blur the line between their terrestrial cousins and lobsters. Primeval and voracious, these vermin range in size from relatively harmless ochre eurypterids the size of a dog up to the truly immense spitting eurypterids.
There are even rumors of yet larger beasts, called whale eating eurypterids by sailors. Regardless of their size, all share one thing in common—an aggressive attitude. Eurypterids lash out at anything that might be food, and once they’ve tasted prey, are single-minded in their pursuit. Although quite at home in the open sea, most eurypterids are capable of scuttling around on land and can exist out of water indefinitely.
Unlike rats, eurypterids don’t spread disease or cause much damage to most cargos—traits that have led some captains to experiment with seeding colonies of ochre eurypterids in their holds to keep rodent populations under control. Alas, one can often tell the ships that use this tactic by the unusually high number of crewmen with missing fingers.
Bluetip Eurypterid CR 5
XP 1,600
N Large vermin (aquatic)
Init +7; Senses low-light vision, tremorsense 30 ft.; Perception +1
DEFENSE
AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +7 natural, –1 size)
hp 52 (7d8+21)
Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +3
Immune mind-affecting effects
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., swim 60 ft.
Melee 2 claws +8 (1d6+4), sting +8 (1d4+4 plus poison)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. (15 ft. with sting)
Special Attacks pounce
STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 17, Con 16, Int —, Wis 13, Cha 2
Base Atk +5; CMB +10; CMD 23
Feats Improved InitiativeB, Lightning ReflexesB
Skills Swim +12
SQ amphibious
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Poison (Ex)
Sting—injury; save Fort DC 16; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4 Con; cure 2 consecutive saves.
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate or warm ocean
Organization solitary
Treasure none
Section 15: Copyright Notice
Pathfinder Adventure Path #37: Souls for Smuggler’s Shiv. © 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: James Jacobs.