#umishika

[thecreaturecodex]

Umishika

Image © Matthew Meyer, accessed at Yokai.com here

[Perytons do not exist. I mean, even more than usual for the monsters covered on this blog. Rather than being a folkloric or mythological creature, a heraldic beast or a misinterpretation of a real animal, the peryton is a literary hoax perpetuated by Jorge Luis Borges in his book The Book of Imaginary Beings. Borges wasn’t particularly subtle--he claims that the manuscript describing the perytons dates back to Atlantis--but the peryton has been adopted as a semi-popular monster regardless. Borges wasn’t the only one to have thought that “what if a deer was scarier” was a good monster concept, as this sea monster from Yakushima folklore indicates.]

Umishika CR 4 CE Magical Beast This creature has the upper body of a stag and the lower body of an eel. Its teeth are canine and sharp, and its rack of antlers is keen.

The umishika are aquatic kin to perytons, and are believed to have been created in the same arcane disaster that made those savage chimeras. Umishika combine features of deer, eels and seals, and are just as savage and violent as perytons are. They are more social, however, gathering regularly into shoals in order to gang up on prey and drive competition away. They eat mostly fish, but view fishing vessels as competitors, stalking them and climbing up onto deck at night in order to kill and eat their crews. 

An umishika’s shadow behaves strangely. It clings close to the monster, and when underwater distorts the umishika’s appearance so that it resembles the outline of a large fish such as a tuna or dorado. Umishika use this ability to approach close to prey with relatively little fuss, and may even attract predators or fishermen to them before the tables turn. An umishika’s teeth are sharp, but it uses them mostly to process food after puncturing it with horns and hooves. Although they branch like antlers, the horns of an umishika are not lost seasonally, and are found on individuals of all sexes.

Umishika            CR 4 XP 1,200 CE Medium magical beast Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low light vision, Perception +8, scent Defense AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+3 Dex, +4 natural) hp 42 (5d10+15) Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +3 DR 5/magic Defensive Abilities shadow shroud Offense Speed 20 ft., swim 60 ft. Melee gore +8 (1d6+3/18-20), 2 hooves +6 (1d4+1) Special Attacks horrific critical Statistics Str 17, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 12 Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 21 Feats Athletic, Improved Initiative, Multiattack Skills Climb +10, Disguise +3 (+11 as mundane fish), Perception +7, Stealth +8 Swim +18; Racial Modifier +8 to Disguise as mundane fish Languages Aquan SQ hold breath Ecology Environment any aquatic Organization solitary, pair or shoal (3-9) Treasure incidental Special Abilities Horrific Critical (Ex) An umishika’s gore attack threatens a critical hit on a roll of 18-20. If an umishika kills a humanoid foe with a critical hit, it can tear out the victim’s heart with its teeth as a free action. Any creature that witnesses this must succeed a DC 13 Will save or be shaken for 1 round. This is a mind-influencing fear effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Shadow Shroud (Su) An umishika has concealment when it is underwater.