Scylla-Claw
Medium Aberration, Chaotic Neutral
Armor Class: 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 45 (6d8 + 18)
Speed: 30 ft. on land, 40 ft. swimming
Challenge Rating: 2 (450 XP)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 14 | 16 | 1 | 12 | 1 |
Saving Throws: Strength + 5, Constitution + 5
Skills: Stealth + 4
Damage Vulnerabilities: none
Damage Resistances: Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage from non-magical attacks
Damage Immunities: none
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages: Understands Aquan but cannot speak
Spellcasting
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Actions & Abilities
Multiattack: **Action Type:** Action
**Description:** The Scylla-Claw can make two attacks in a turn, one with its claws and one with its tail. This dual threat allows it to engage effectively in melee combat.
### Attack Sequence:
– **Claw Attack:**
– **Attack Bonus:** +5 to hit
– **Reach:** 5 ft.
– **Targets:** One creature
– **Hit Damage:** 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage
– **Tail Spike Attack:**
– **Attack Bonus:** +5 to hit
– **Reach:** 10 ft.
– **Targets:** One creature
– **Hit Damage:** 8 (1d10 + 3) piercing damage
– **Secondary Effect:** The target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its next turn.
Pincer Attack: **Action Type:** Action
**Description:** The Scylla-Claw slashes with its powerful pincers. It snaps its formidable claws with brutal precision, aiming to tear through flesh or armor.
– **Attack Bonus:** +5 to hit
– **Reach:** 5 ft.
– **Targets:** One creature
– **Hit Damage:** 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage
Tail Spike: **Action Type:** Action
**Description:** The Scylla-Claw uses its venomous tail spike to strike at a foe from a distance, delivering both piercing damage and a chance of poisoning its victim.
– **Attack Bonus:** +5 to hit
– **Reach:** 10 ft.
– **Targets:** One creature
– **Hit Damage:** 8 (1d10 + 3) piercing damage
– **Secondary Effect:** The target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its next turn.
Ambush Predator (Recharge 5-6): **Action Type:** Action (Recharge 5-6)
**Description:** Lurking in the shadows of brackish water, the Scylla-Claw can strike with stealthy precision. If it is hidden and makes an attack, it gains advantage on the attack roll and deals additional damage.
– **Extra Damage:** 9 (2d8) on a hit
– **Description:** On a successful attack, describe how the Scylla-Claw leaps from cover with ferocity, catching its target off guard.
Cunning Escape: **Action Type:** Reaction
**Description:** When the Scylla-Claw takes damage from a melee attack, it can swiftly retreat. This reaction allows it to evade further threats by moving out of reach.
– **Effect:** The Scylla-Claw can move up to half its speed in the opposite direction of the attacker without provoking opportunity attacks. This escape can be used tactically to reposition or avoid combined attacks.
Territorial Surge: **Action Type:** Bonus Action
**Description:** The Scylla-Claw marks a foe as its prey, becoming even more dangerous in its hunt for dominance. This ability enhances its focus on a specific target.
– **Mechanics:** Designate one creature within sight.
– **Effect:** The Scylla-Claw gains an additional +1 to attack rolls against that creature for one minute, or until it is incapacitated. This allows for heightened aggression and tactical focus in combat.
Appearance
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Size and Shape: The Scylla-Claw is a robust and formidable creature that spans approximately 5 feet in length. Its body is sleek and hydrodynamic, tapering into a refined shape suited for swift aquatic navigation, while also displaying muscular segments indicative of a powerful predator on land and sea.
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Coloration: The carapace showcases a radiant teal-blue, evoking the mesmerizing hues of the ocean’s depths. Dappled patterns of dark emerald and deep azure shimmer across its torso, enhancing its camouflage against rocky and marine environments while betraying the creature’s otherworldly nature.
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Texture and Surface Features: The outer layer of the Scylla-Claw exhibits a complex texture, combining the smooth, slick feel of shark skin with the rugged, multi-faceted surface of a crab’s exoskeleton. It is adorned with chitinous plates that glint ominously in light, marked by thin, irregular ridges providing additional resistance against attacks.
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Facial Features: Its face features a pair of large, bulbous eyes composed of multiple facets, providing an almost unnaturally heightened perception in low-light conditions. These multifaceted eyes glow faintly with an eerie luminescence, reminiscent of bioluminescent sea life. The mouth is wide, lined with sharp, serrated teeth that interlock like the blades of a terrifying trap; above it, elongated antenna-like sensory appendages twitch, scanning the environment for movement.
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Limbs and Appendages: The creature boasts eight appendages, each segmented and adorned with sharp, oversized claws capable of immense crushing force. Two of these appendages form formidable pincers, reminiscent of those found on a scorpion, designed for powerful gripping and slicing. Its tail is a strikingly lethal feature, tapering to a deadly barbed spike that arches menacingly, prepared to deliver a swift and poisonous strike to any unwary adversary.
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Special Features: Its body is illuminated by faint bioluminescent patterns that shimmer like ocean waves, creating captivating designs as it moves. These lights serve not only as an attraction to potential prey but also as a disorienting feature to confuse and scare opponents.
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Posture and Movement: The Scylla-Claw presents an athletic posture, adopting a low, crouched stance when stalking prey. Its limbs move with an unsettling grace, combining fluid aquatic motion with the deliberate, stealthy movements typical of a land predator. When moving through its territory, it glides along the ground or swims, both actions underpinned by a lethal agility that marks it as a master ambush predator.
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Additional Notable Traits: A distinctive feature is its dual nature: while it is primarily aquatic, its body is equipped with protective armor plating formed from tightly woven chitinous materials that secure its vulnerability. Its surface glistens with small droplets of water, leaving trails of moisture behind, marking its presence at every turn. The faint scent of the sea lingers around it, hinting at its origins from the dark, merciless depths of the ocean.
Tactical Information
Tactical Information for Scylla-Claw:
Role in Combat:
The Scylla-Claw is a cunning ambusher designed to take advantage of its surroundings. Its strategy hinges on stealth, mobility, and utilizing terrain to outmaneuver its foes. In combat, the Scylla-Claw will employ a hit-and-run tactic, aiming to strike swiftly and then retreat to safety, making use of its Cunning Escape ability to evade counterattacks.
Combat Behavior:
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Ambush Strategy:
- At the start of combat, the Scylla-Claw prefers to remain hidden, using the Ambush Predator ability to gain advantage on its first attack. This typically means lurking beneath the water, behind rocks, or concealed amongst debris.
- If engaged by a detachment of adventurers or perceived as outnumbered, it may focus on weaker targets, marking them as prey with its Territorial Surge to increase its chances of success.
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Mobility and Terrain Use:
- The Scylla-Claw will aim to surprise its foes by striking from an angle that provides cover or camouflage, launching a sudden attack from the water where visibility is reduced.
- After attacking, it will use Cunning Escape to disengage from melee, retreating towards deeper water or thick underbrush where it can remain concealed.
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Target Selection:
- The Scylla-Claw prioritizes enemies who are separated from their group or hurt. It is adept at taking down one target before moving on to another to prevent being overwhelmed.
- If surrounded or threatened, the Scylla-Claw can also utilize its mobility to escape to a more favorable position.
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Environment Utilization:
- In aquatic or brackish environments, the Scylla-Claw may take advantage of rocks, ruins, or kelp to provide cover, using these elements to block sightlines and create ambush opportunities.
- If out of water, it can use high vegetation or broken structures to similarly hide, shifting tactics based on its surroundings.
Narrative Interactions:
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Ferocious Presence: When players first encounter a Scylla-Claw, it may be depicted as a silhouette breaking the surface of the water, with bioluminescent patterns glittering in eerie pulses. Narration should convey a sense of dread and a primal urge to flee.
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Predatory Taunts: If the Scylla-Claw is intelligent enough to understand its surroundings in a narrative context, it may engage in threatening displays, snapping its pincers and alternately retreating into the shadows, creating a tension-filled atmosphere where the adventurers are being hunted.
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Territorial Manifestation: Upon marking a prey, if the Scylla-Claw is perceived to be communicating (through monstrous sounds or gestures), its aggression becomes palpable, with intense body language portraying its eagerness to fight fiercely and defend its territory.
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Desperate Measures: If the Scylla-Claw is cornered or heavily wounded, it might exhibit panic-like behavior or aggression, becoming erratic and utilizing all abilities at once. This display could be narrated as a creature fighting not just for survival, but to assert dominance over its domain, revealing its true ferocity.
In summary, the Scylla-Claw embodies an adventurous blend of fierce, tactical behaviors and immersive narrative experiences. With its ambush capabilities, clever use of the environment, and a ferocity informed by primal instincts and a dark past, it promises players dynamic and thrilling encounters both in combat and in storytelling.
