Why, that's a Piscean!

The final comments are in from last week's "Weekly What the Heck". The result is the piscean, a creature of water native to the Elemental Chaos. It represents the variations and adaptations of the denizens of the sea. Of course, fishermen don't realize this and just think it's monstrous.

I'd like to thank benpop and Ripper (with special thanks to benpop for the name) for their ideas, all of which have been mashed together to create:

Piscean

A piscean is an elemental beast embodying the variety and changeability of the sea. Always hungry, pisceans hunt for food endlessly and attack anything they can swallow.

Level 12 Skirmisher

Piscean Tempest

XP 700

Large elemental beast (aquatic)

Initiative +12 Senses Perception +10
HP 126; Bloodied 63
AC 26; Fortitude 26, Reflex 24, Will 24
Speed 4, swim 12

mBite (standard; at-will)

+17 vs. AC; 2d8 + 5 damage.

MSnatching Bite (standard; at-will)

Reach 2; +17 vs. AC; 2d6 + 5 damage, plus the target is grabbed (until escape). The piscean tempest cannot make bite attacks while grabbing a creature, but it can use gnashing teeth.

MGnashing Teeth (standard; at-will)

If a piscean tempest begins its turn with a target grabbed in its jaws, it makes an attack against the grabbed creature: +17 vs. AC; 3d8 + 5 damage. Miss: Half damage.

MSwallow (standard; at-will)

The piscean tempest attempts to swallow a bloodied Small or smaller creature it is grabbing; +15 vs. Fortitude; on a hit, the target is swallowed and restrained (no save) and takes 10 damage on subsequent rounds at the start of the piscean’s turn. Schools of piranha that live in the gullet also attack the target every round (+13 vs. AC; 1d8 + 5 damage). The swallowed creature can make melee basic attacks only, and only with one-handed or natural weapons. If the piscean tempest dies, any creature trapped in the gullet can escape as a move action, ending that action in a square formerly occupied by the piscean.

CRadiant Burst (minor; at-will)

Close burst 2; +11 vs. Will; the target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls until the end of the piscean tempest’s next turn.

Skirmish +1d8

If, on its turn, the piscean tempest ends its move at least 3 squares away from its starting point, it deals an extra 1d8 damage with its melee attacks until the start of its next turn.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Str 20 (+11) Dex 19 (+10) Wis 19 (+10)
Con 22 (+12) Int 3 (+2) Cha 12 (+7)

Piscean Tempest Tactics

A piscean tempest prefers to move around the battlefield, using its skirmish ability to deal extra damage while it tries to find a Small target to grab and swallow.

Level 14 Controller

Piscean Evolutionary

XP 1,000

Huge elemental beast (aquatic)

Initiative +12 Senses Perception +12
HP 143; Bloodied 71
AC 28; Fortitude 27, Reflex 26, Will 26
Speed 4, swim 12

mBite (standard; at-will)

+19 vs. AC; 2d8 + 5 damage.

MSnatching Bite (standard; at-will)

Reach 3; +19 vs. AC; 2d6 + 5 damage, plus the target is grabbed (until escape). The piscean evolutionary cannot make bite attacks while grabbing a creature, but it can use gnashing teeth.

MGnashing Teeth (standard; at-will)

If a piscean evolutionary begins its turn with a target grabbed in its jaws, it makes an attack against the grabbed creature: +19 vs. AC; 3d8 + 5 damage. Miss: Half damage.

MSwallow (standard; at-will)

The piscean evolutionary attempts to swallow a bloodied Medium or smaller creature it is grabbing; +18 vs. Fortitude; on a hit, the target is swallowed and restrained (no save) and takes 10 damage on subsequent rounds at the start of the piscean’s turn. Schools of piranha that live in the gullet also attack the target every round (+15 vs. AC; 1d8 + 5 damage). The swallowed creature can make melee basic attacks only, and only with one-handed or natural weapons. If the piscean evolutionary dies, any creature trapped in the gullet can escape as a move action, ending that action in a square formerly occupied by the piscean.

CRadiant Burst (standard; at-will)

Close burst 3; +16 vs. Will; 1d10 + 5 damage, and the target slides 1 square and takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls until the end of the piscean evolutionary’s next turn.

Change Shape (minor; at-will)

A piscean evolutionary can alter its physical form to appear as any large-gargantuan aquatic creature (see Change Shape, page 280). It loses its radiant burst attack in any other form.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Str 15 (+6) Dex 17 (+7) Wis 20 (+9)
Con 17 (+7) Int 15 (+6) Cha 20 (+9)

Piscean Evolutionary Tactics

A piscean evolutionary often begins a fight disguised as an aboleth, a huge chuul, or some other aquatic creature more powerful than itself. Once a battle is joined it drops the disguise and uses its radiant burst to scatter enemies. It tries to single one out as a target to be grabbed and swallowed.

Piscean Lore

A character knows the following information with a successful Arcana check.
DC 20: Pisceans are aquatic creatures that are always hungry. They swallow prey whole, and those swallowed are quickly torn to shreds by schools of vicious fish that live in the monster's gullet.

Encounter Groups

Pisceans are sometimes found enslaved by aquatic humanoids.
Level 13 Encounter (XP 4,100)
* 2 piscean tempests (level 12 skirmisher)
* 1 piscean evolutionary (level 14 controller)
* 1 kuo-toa marauder (level 12 skirmisher)
* 1 kuo-toa harpooner (level 14 soldier)

I'm not sure what the hiccup was with blogger that this morning's WWtH post didn't show up at 10 AM as scheduled and I had to manually post it at 4 PM. It's up now, in case anyone thought I forgot or quit or something.