Scythejaw Crustacean
Large Monstrosity, Unaligned
Armor Class: 14 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 45 (6d10 + 12)
Speed: 40 ft. (land), 60 ft. (swim)
Challenge Rating: 2 (450 XP)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 12 | 1 |
Saving Throws: Strength + 5, Dexterity + 4, Constitution + 4
Skills: Perception +3, Stealth +4
Damage Vulnerabilities: none
Damage Resistances: Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities: none
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened
Senses: Blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), Darkvision 120 ft.
Languages: Understands Aquan, but cannot speak.
Spellcasting
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Actions & Abilities
Multiattack: The Scythejaw Crustacean can make two attacks during its turn: one with its Claw and one with its Stinger. This tactic allows it to swiftly engage multiple opponents or deal damage more effectively to a single target.
– **Claw**: *Melee Weapon Attack*: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
– **Hit**: 12 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage. The claws may also grapple (DC 13 Athletics check to escape) on a hit.
– **Stinger**: *Melee Weapon Attack*: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
– **Hit**: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage.
– The target must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes an additional 7 (2d6) poison damage, or half as much on a successful save. The target is poisoned until the end of its next turn on failure.
Retaliatory Pincer (Reaction): When a creature within reach hits the Scythejaw Crustacean with a melee attack, it can use its reaction to make a claw attack against that creature.
– **Claw**: *Melee Weapon Attack*: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
– **Hit**: 12 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage.
This ability allows the Scythejaw Crustacean to punish attackers effectively, often deterring players from reckless melee aggression.
Vigilant Ambush (Special Ability): The Scythejaw Crustacean can disappear into the underwater murk and re-emerge to attack.
– **Effect**: The creature can use the Hide action as a bonus action at the start of its turn if it is in an aquatic environment. If it successfully hides, it gains advantage on its next attack roll before the end of its turn.
This ability emphasizes the creature’s predatory nature and its connection to its environment, allowing it to strike unexpectedly.
Frenzied Charge (Recharge 5-6): The Scythejaw Crustacean can use its action to move up to its swim speed and make one claw attack against a target it moves adjacent to.
– **Effect**: If it hits, the target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
This ability acts like a stunning rush that can help control the battlefield, turning terrain to the Scythejaw’s advantage by bringing enemies down to its level.
Appearance
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Size and Shape: The Scythejaw Crustacean measures approximately 5 to 7 feet in length, exhibiting a robust, muscular body that appears both streamlined and formidable. Its form combines the agility of a predatory fish with the sturdy structure of a crustacean, creating an intimidating silhouette that blends agility and brute strength.
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Coloration: The creature’s exterior features a mesmerizing yet perilous color scheme. Its body predominantly displays deep azure tones, interspersed with muted gray, invoking the vastness of the ocean. Striking crimson stripes traverse its carapace, reminiscent of blood, serving as a warning to would-be intruders and enhancing the creature’s menacing presence.
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Texture and Surface Features: The Scythejaw’s skin is covered in a smooth, scaly layer akin to that of a shark, interlaced with a rough, chitinous carapace that glistens in low light. The surface seems slightly wet, glimmering like the surface of the ocean, while sharp, jagged ridges run along the spine, adding an additional layer of defense and danger.
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Facial Features: The creature’s face is a nightmarish blend of predator and arthropod characteristics. It possesses large, reflective eyes that embody an unnervingly dull green, resembling the reflection of light on water. Its mouth is an elongated maw filled with serrated teeth, each designed to tear into flesh with horrifying efficiency. A pair of small, crab-like antennae extend above its eyes, giving it heightened awareness of its surroundings.
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Limbs and Appendages: The Scythejaw boasts four powerful appendages, each ending in imposing claws. These claws are not only designed for gripping prey but are also fitted with sharp, spiked edges, making them lethal in combat. A sinuous tail reminiscent of a scorpion’s curls menacingly behind it, tipped with a barbed stinger capable of delivering paralyzing venom to its victims.
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Special Features: The eyes of the Scythejaw Crustacean possess a faint bioluminescent quality, allowing it to navigate the darkest depths of its domain. Additionally, the creature’s exoskeleton exhibits random bioluminescent patches that pulse gently, suggesting an eerie depth of life, possibly a remnant of its magical origins.
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Posture and Movement: The Scythejaw typically adopts a hunched, low-to-the-ground posture, exhibiting a predatory readiness. When moving, it exhibits a hybrid grace and aggression; it can swim swiftly through the water with extraordinary ease, navigating like a darting shadow, while on land it can scuttle rapidly, making use of its powerful claws.
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Additional Notable Traits: The Scythejaw’s carapace is not merely an outer layer; it’s studded with natural armor plating that gives it a formidable presence. Throughout its body, scars and markings tell a story of tumultuous battles fought beneath the waves, elevating its menacing aura. The lingering smell of brine and salt wafts off its body, mingling with the hint of decay, a testament to its eerie connection with the depths of the ocean and the remains of those who dared to tread too close to its territory.
Tactical Information
Scythejaw Crustacean Combat Tactics and Narrative Interactions
Combat Behavior
The Scythejaw Crustacean is a cunning and vicious predator, reflecting both its abyssal origins and the cunning nature imparted by its creator, the sea witch Maralthea. In combat situations, it employs a combination of intelligent tactics and brutal force.
Tactical Overview:
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Ambush and Stealth: The Scythejaw Crustacean prefers to hide among rocks, sunken ships, or underwater debris, waiting to ambush intruders. It uses its darkvision to see in low visibility and listens carefully for movement. When it senses intruders, it strikes first from concealment.
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Team Coordination: The Scythejaw Crustacean often operates in packs (2–4), employing its Pack Tactics ability. When attacking, it aims to surround its prey, giving its allies advantage on attack rolls. It communicates through clicks and subtle movements, coordinating strikes to overwhelm foes.
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Initial Strikes and Disengage: At the start of combat, the Scythejaw will utilize its Multiattack to deliver devastating damage in quick succession. It will typically target the most vulnerable or isolated character first, preferring to eliminate threats swiftly. If low on health, it may retreat strategically into nearby terrain to regenerate and ambush again.
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Use of Terrain: The Scythejaw Crustacean is adept at using its environment, leveraging obstacles to evade attacks and to ensure it has access to cover. If fighting in shallow waters, it may take advantage of the terrain to hinder the mobility of land-based opponents.
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Retaliatory Pincer: If it’s attacked in melee range, it will utilize its Retaliatory Pincer reaction to capitalize on the opportunity for a counterattack, punishing players who engage without careful planning.
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Poison Delivery: It will prioritize using its Stinger attack to incapacitate opponents, preferring to inflict poison damage that may limit the enemy’s ability to fight back effectively, creating further openings for assault.
Narrative Interactions
When incorporating the Scythejaw Crustacean in encounters, the storytelling approach is vital to enhance immersion and tension:
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Atmospheric Introduction: When adventurers are in coastal areas, signs must indicate the presence of the Crustacean; fishermen abandoning their nets, large claw marks on rocks, or remnants of attacked ships. Using eerie soundscapes of the ocean, distant clicks, and splashes can provide foreboding before their encounter.
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Eliciting Fear and Uncertainty: The Scythejaw Crustacean can be shown, from the adventurers’ perspective, as a fleeting shadow in the water or ominous shapes straining against the light. Create a sense of dread through whispers of local fishermen, tales of loved ones lost at sea, or warnings of unnatural sea movements.
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Behavior and Intelligence: Capture the blend of primal savagery and cleverness through interactions. During combat, the Crustacean may intelligently target characters that pose significant threats (archers or healers), using its environment strategically. Outside of combat, those who attempt to engage with (or even just observe) the creature directly might witness it emulating more intelligent scavenging behaviors, taking bait from traps, or even displaying territorial aggression towards intruders.
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Encounters and Goals: Depending on your campaign, the Scythejaw Crustacean can serve as a guardian of a magical artifact submerged in its territory, a guardian of lost souls, or a manifestation of the sea witch’s individual curse. Adventurers may find clues during their encounters that lead them to discover its ties to Maralthea, enabling opportunities for expanded storytelling and quests.
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Post-Combat Consequences: If defeated, consider adding elements such as the remaining pack becoming erratic and aggressive. The adventurers might find themselves needing to flee or regroup as the ecosystem reacts to the sudden loss of a top predator in the area, hinting at the balance of nature that remains precarious.
By ensuring that the Scythejaw Crustacean behaves both predatorily and intelligently while giving it a strong narrative connection to the world, players will have an engaging and memorable encounter that highlights both its fearsome nature and the darker elements of exploration within the depths of the ocean.
