Ocean Hunger
It’s Underwater Week and we are delving into the depths of the sea to go hunting for a deadly and terrible beast. Actually, creating a powerful and deadly underwater monster poses some unique challenges. The ocean hunger, this week’s monster, combines several of the most terrible features that make underwater monsters so special. The first is size: every great ocean monster is big, and I mean REALLY BIG, and the ocean hunger is no different. The second feature is that the creature must be alien, not familiar in form or motivation to surface creatures. Finally, the creature has to interact (at least on occasion) with people not confined to the ocean floor. After all, a monster that dwells only undersea and is never ever seen is not really worth creating. So without further ado, check out the mighty ocean hunger, a fearsome creature that combines all the worst of the ocean’s depths into one terrible monster.
Ocean Hunger
Trembling beneath the sea is a true horror, a massive, armor-plated monstrosity bigger than any whale. Its sleek body is covered with a dull grey bony plates, and it has a long row of red eyes filled with black smoke running down either side of its body. Though it has no visible fins or tentacles, it swims with incredible speed, and its mouth, large enough to swallow a ship, is filled with angry red spikes like massive spears.
OCEAN HUNGER CR 20
XP 307.200
N Colossal magical beast (aquatic)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 120 ft.; Perception +40
DEFENSE
AC 36, touch 1, flat-footed 36 (-1 Dex, +35 natural, -8 size)
hp 480 (31d10+310)
Fort +26, Ref +16, Will +15
Defensive Abilities all-around vision
OFFENSE
Speed swim 100 ft., fly 20 ft.
Melee bite +39 (4d6+22/19-20 plus grab)
Special Attacks capsize, death jet, swallow whole (10d10 piercing damage, AC 27, hp 48), tsunami wave, waters of death
STATISTICS
Str 40, Dex 8, Con 28, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 2
Base Atk +31; CMB +54 (+56 overrun); CMD 63
Feats Critical Focus, Great Fortitude, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Improved Vital Strike, Improved Overrun, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Perception, Swim), Toughness, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Perception +43, Swim +63; Racial Modifiers Swim +8
Languages Aklo
ECOLOGY
Environment cold oceans
Organization solitary
Treasure incidental
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Death Jet (Ex): An ocean hunger can move with great speed, opening its wrathful maw and devouring all those in his path. An ocean hunger suffers no penalty to CMB for attempting to overrun multiple targets while underwater. Additionally, whenever it successfully overruns an opponent while underwater, the ocean hunger may choose to use its swallow whole ability to swallow that creature.
Drain Life (Ex): Whenever a creature suffers damage from the ocean hunger’s swallow whole ability, the ocean hunger regains a number of lost hit points equal to 1/2 the amount of damage dealt in this way.
Tsunami Wave (Ex): An ocean hunger can create a massive 100-foot radius wave as full-round action by surfacing above the water, then crashing back down. The wave created by this effect deals 10d6 points of bludgeoning damage to creatures within its radius who are on the surface of the water, and those creatures also sink 1d10 x 10 feet under the water. Creatures in the area can attempt a Reflex save (DC 34) for half damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Waters of Death (Su): As a standard action, the ocean hunger can suffuse the water within 100 feet of it with dark energies, causing the water to turn red. Any creature (excluding the ocean hunger) which begins its turn within the area suffers 5d6 points of damage and must succeed on Fortitude save DC 28 or be slowed so long as it remains within the area.
Ecology
Very little is known about the ocean hunger, a massive aquatic monster that generally dwells at the ocean’s depths, buried dormant under the sea floor, waiting for its time to awaken. These periods of hibernation typically last up to 100 years and are usually followed by the massive cataclysm that is the ocean hunger’s feeding frenzy, as the beast attempts to sate its hunger before returning to hibernation. The ocean hunger’s appetite is legendary, and stories tell of it depleting large swaths of the ocean’s population, as well as attacking ships, port cities, and even devouring small islands whole. After eating, the beast returns to its long slumber. The regularity of the creature’s sleep cycle, as well as the obvious power of the monster, lead some scholars to question whether the beast has some greater purpose than merely feeding. Some scholars also point out its seemingly unnatural flight, questioning if it may have been deliberately created with some kind of purpose.
Due to the long periods of hibernation, it is difficult to gauge if there is more than one ocean hunger in existence, with some scholars claiming that there is only one such creature. While others believe this to be wishful thinking, the mating habits and social habits of the ocean hunger have not been observed by any living creature, and information about its general behavior—apart from a voracious and destructive appetite—is difficult to determine.