Sharktopus
5E Stat Block
Monstrosity, Typically Neutral
Armor Class: 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 112 (15d10 + 30)
Speed: 10 ft., swim 40 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 19 (+4) | 14 (+2) | 15 (+2) | 3 (-4) | 12 (+1) | 6 (-2) |
Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +5
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages: —
Challenge: 6 (2,300 XP) | Proficiency Bonus: +3
Water Breathing: The sharktopus can breathe only underwater, but it can hold its breath out of water for up to 1 hour.
Ambush Predator: In the first round of combat, the sharktopus has advantage on attack rolls against any creature it has surprised.
Actions
Multiattack: The sharktopus makes one Bite attack and up to two Tentacle attacks.
Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) piercing damage.
Tentacle: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d4 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the sharktopus can't use this tentacle against other targets. The sharktopus has six tentacles.
Ink Jet (Recharge 5–6): The sharktopus expels a dense cloud of caustic, viscous ink. The effect depends on whether it is submerged or ashore:
In Water: A 30-foot radius sphere of ink erupts centered on the sharktopus. The area becomes heavily obscured for 1 minute. Any creature that starts its turn in the cloud or enters it for the first time on a turn must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) acid damage and becoming poisoned until the end of its next turn on a failed save, or half as much damage and no poison on a success.
Out of Water: The sharktopus fires a high-pressure jet of black slime in a 30-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, a target takes 14 (4d6) acid damage, is blinded, and is restrained by sticky, tar-like residue (DC 15 Strength check to break free as an action). On a success, it takes half damage and isn't blinded or restrained.
OSR Stat Block (B/X / Old-School Essentials)
Armor Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 8* (36 hp)
Attacks: 1 × bite (2d6) + 4 × tentacle (1d4 + constriction)
Move: 90' (30') swimming / 20' (10') crawling on land
Saving Throw: F6
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
Alignment: Neutral
Constriction: Targets hit by two or more tentacles are constricted, taking an automatic 2d6 damage per round and unable to move or cast spells requiring somatic components until they break free with a successful strength check at a -2 penalty.
Ink Jet: Once per day (or 1-in-6 chance per combat round), the sharktopus can discharge a massive cloud of chemical ink:
Submerged: Creates an opaque, murky cloud 40 feet across. Vision is reduced to zero. Furthermore, the chemical stings eyes and gills; anyone breathing or touching the water must save vs. Poison or be blinded and choking for 1d4 rounds, fighting with a -4 penalty to attack rolls.
Ashore: Fires a blinding, caustic stream up to 30 feet away targeting a single combatant or tight group. Requires a successful attack roll against AC 5. A target hit takes 2d6 acid damage and is blinded and coated in sticky black sludge for 1d4 turns unless washed thoroughly with strong solvents or alcohol.
Background:
According to ancient mariner logs and the mad ramblings of salt-cured sages, the first of these monstrosities were engineered by Xaloc the Drowned, a high merman wizard whose descent into lichdom mirrored his obsession with apex predation. Disgusted by the fragile diplomacy of the Merfolk kingdoms and the clumsy bulk of traditional sea-monsters like krakens, Xaloc sought to forge the ultimate living weapon: an entity combining the unrelenting, forward-driving momentum and sensory aggression of a great white shark with the prehensile, tactical cruelty of an ancient octopus.
Using high-pressure arcane vats filled with preserved brine, dark necromancy, and alchemical mutagens, the mad merman lich stitched together the jaws and cartilage of a deep-water leviathan with the muscular, multi-limbed mantle of a giant cephalopod. But Xaloc did not stop at mere flesh-crafting. He infused the creature's digestive glands with a concentrated, alchemically distilled necro-toxin—a corrosive, black bile that functions as its signature ink jet.
Submerged in the ocean depths, this viscous black cloud acts as a suffocating, acid-laced smokescreen that dissolves an enemy's vision and defenses in seconds. Yet, because the lich designed his abominations to clear out coastal fortifications and smash surface-running ships, the creature's ink gland adapts when it is dragged ashore. Exposed to open air, the compressed venom super-reacts with oxygen, transforming into a high-pressure, blinding stream of tar-like caustic slime that can fuse a sailor to the deck or strip the flesh from a landing party.
Though Xaloc’s sunken spire was eventually shattered by coastal tides and rival sea-lords, his biological horrors did not die with him. Sharktopuses now breed in the dark, forgotten trenches of the world, rising from the black depths whenever hunger or the residual magics of their mad creator call them to the surface.
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