When Patrick pointed out this illustration of a monstrous land-walking angler fish, I had to create a Frightful Fridays! entry from it. In keeping with the sources, the behemoth teleost uses its lure to attract prey, but it will chase down those who resist its lure.
I had a lot of fun working on this creature, and I hope you like it as well. See you next week!
Behemoth Teleost CR 13
XP 25,600
CN Huge aberration
Init +3; Senses see in darkness, tremorsense 300 ft.; Perception +32
Defense
AC 27, touch 11, flat-footed 24 (+3 Dex, +16 natural, –2 size)
hp 180 (19d8+95); regeneration 15 (acid)
Fort +13, Ref +9, Will +15
Immune cold, electricity, fire, poison
Offense
Speed 50 ft., burrow 20 ft.
Melee bite +23 (3d8+10/19–20 plus disease and grab), gore +22 (3d8+10)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks disease, fast swallow, light lure, powerful charge (gore, 6d8+20), swallow whole (4d6 acid damage, AC 18, 18 hp)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 19th; concentration +23)
At will—deeper darkness
3/day—blindness (DC 16), searing light (DC 17)
1/day—prismatic spray (DC 21)
Statistics
Str 31, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 13, Wis 19, Cha 18
Base Atk +14; CMB +26 (+30 grapple and overrun); CMD 39 (43 vs. trip)
Feats Bleeding Critical, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Great Fortitude, Greater Overrun, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Overrun, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Intimidate +26, Knowledge (nature) +23, Perception +32, Stealth +17, Survival +26
Languages Aklo
SQ Resilient lure
Ecology
Environment any terrestrial
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Teleost Withering Disease (Ex) Bite; save Fort DC 24; onset 1 day; frequency 1 day; effect 1d6 Str damage; cure 3 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Light Lure (Su) A behemoth teleost can activate or deactivate its lure as a free action. The lure cuts through darkness of any kind, including that created by deeper darkness. Any creature within a 300-foot radius of the lure must succeed at a DC 23 Will save to avoid becoming entranced by the lure. Those who successfully save are not subject to the same teleost’s lure for 24 hours, but those who fail move toward the teleost using the most direct means possible. A victim passing through a dangerous area receives a second saving throw to shake off the effect. If anything attacks an affected victim, the effect automatically ends. This is a mind-affecting charm effect with a Charisma-based save DC.
Resilient Lure (Su) The lure is treated as having SR 30 with respect to spells or effects that would extinguish the lure’s light.
An eating machine that prefers to lure its prey to itself, a behemoth teleost is capable of depopulating square miles worth of land when it embarks on its short-term binges. A typical specimen measures 15-feet in all dimensions and weighs two tons.
Dread krakens were not content to create only underwater abominations; after all, their most likely enemies lived on the surface. So, they crafted the behemoth teleost, a predatory creature that would call forth darkness that so easily frightens surface dwellers, but then would offer false hope and ultimately death to those who fall prey to its lure. Like other predators that consume multiples of their own weight, a behemoth teleost feeds for a week and then falls into a deep slumber for months at a time—after burying itself deep within the earth. A hunting teleost finds a spot near a well-traveled path where it creates pockets of deeper darkness and then activates its lure when it senses the approach of potential prey. The creature also buries itself just below the ground’s surface and extends its lure above the ground to attract prey. While reasonably intelligent, a teleost fights to the death when it is hungry (which is almost always).
