Hybrid animals are just animals! Why is an owlbear a “Monstrosity” in the 5e Monster Manual? Is it an unbalanced creature? No. Does it do something supernatural or extraordinary? No. It is a bear with a beak!
So. Certain hybrid animals will be “Beasts” in my 5e settings from now on.
There are, of course, a couple of ground rules:
- The creature must be composed of the parts of no more than 2 real animals (or dinosaurs). An owl and a bear! Okay! A badger and a chicken! Uh... Yep. A dragon, goat and lion with a snake tail.... Nope. No chimeras. (Yes. Yes. Potayto. Potato. See #4.)
- It must be composed of currently existing animals in the Monster Manual.
- It must have an unaligned nature. No death dogs. They are evil (or seriously misunderstood).
- It can not have any supernatural abilities. It can breathe lightning and fly in a bubble of aetheric energy. What?!? No... Awesome. But, no.
Sharktopus
The sharktopus is a strange and rare hybrid animal that is popular among the KuoToa. While they lack the cleverness of the octopus, they have the ferocious bloodlust of a shark! Rare giant sharktopuses have been known to reach lengths of up to 40 feet.
Sharktopus (CR: 3)
Large beast (monstrosity), unaligned
Armor Class 11
Hit Points 71 (8d10 + 27)
Speed 10 ft., swim 50 ft.
STR
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DEX
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CON
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INT
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WIS
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CHA
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20 (+5)
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12 (+1)
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17 (+3)
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3 (-3)
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10 (0)
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4 (-3)
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Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5
Senses blindsight 60ft., passive Perception 13
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Blood Frenzy. The sharktopus has advantage on all melee attack roll against any creature that doesn’t have all its hit points.
Underwater Camouflage. The sharktopus has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made while underwater.
Water Breathing. The sharktopus can breathe only underwater.
Actions
Multiattack. The sharktopus makes two attacks. One with its tentacles and one with its bite.
Barbed Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning OR piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 17). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the octopus can’t use its tentacles on another target.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d8 + 5) piercing damage. If the target is grappled or restrained by a tentacle, the sharktopus has advantage on the attack.
Ink Cloud. A 20-foot-radius cloud of ink extends all around the sharktopus if it is underwater. The area is heavily obscured for 1 minute, although a significant current can disperse the ink. After releasing the ink, the sharktopus can use the Dash action as a bonus action.
