Caribe, Flying Razorfish Swarm

Medium swarm of Tiny beasts, unaligned

Armor Class 14
Hit Points 44 (8d8 +8)
Speed 0 ft., swim 20 ft., fly 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
8 (-1)	18 (+4)	12 (+1)	3 (-4)	12 (+1)	3 (-4)

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses darkvision 60 ft.; passive Perception 11
Languages –
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Blood Frenzy. The swarm has advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature that doesn’t have all its hit points.
• Flyby. The swarm doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy’s reach.
• Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and it can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny fish. The swarm can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.
• Water Breather. The swarm can only breathe underwater.
• Acidic Slime. The caribe is covered with a viscid layer of slime that burns on contact with exposed flesh for d4+1 points of damage per round of contact. The slime sticks to skin but can be removed with strong alcohol.

ACTIONS

• Bladed Fins. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 0 ft., one creature in the swarm’s space. Hit: 14 (4d6) slashing damage, or 7 (2d6) slashing damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer.
• Bites. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 0 ft., one creature in the swarm’s space. Hit: 14 (4d6) piercing damage, or 7 (2d6) slashing damage if the swarm has half of its hit points.

TACTICS

• Initial Round-Every initial round is considered a surprise round unless the intended target is immune to being surprised.
• Subsequent Round(s)-Caribe swarms disappear under the waves following their attacks and then dive to gain speed for subsequent attacks. They then surface to attack without warning from unexpected directions. Targets that fail to succeed on a Perception check (15) are considered surprised for all attacks during that round.

ABOUT

The razorfish has a mouth filled with needle-like teeth similar to, but larger than, those of a piranha. Unlike a piranha, the razorfish boasts two pairs of sharp, bladed fins resembling wings along its sides. Razorfish travel in large schools, both for mutual protection and to help take down larger prey. When the swarm senses movement on the water’s surface, these aggressive fish leap from the water and fly through their target’s space, using their wings to cut and slash. Once the prey enters the water, the razorfish swarm over them and tear them to shreds in a matter of a few heartbeats.

Caribe are not particularly stealthy or deceptive by nature, but their flying ability requires them to plunge deep below the surface to gather speed prior to launching past the water’s surface. Unwary sailors can easily be surprised at the sudden initial appearance of these aggressive predators, but even when aware, subsequent attacks may come from unexpected quarters.

Caribe are covered with especially slimy scales, which make them difficult to attack with melee weapons. The slippery fish are able to slip out from under attacks and are extremely difficult to grapple or capture. The slime itself is acidic, making them dangerous to hold and control. All of these factors allow caribe that make it onto a boats’ deck a fair chance of flip-flopping back into the sea.

d6	Caribe Treasures
1	5 black pearls (50 gp)
2	Leather scrap of a mysterious map
3	A length of silver chain (10 sp)
4	Half of a wooden holy symbol (GM’s choice)
5	A pouch with the following contents: 3 golden teeth, ring of protection +1 6 A small sealed tube with the following contents: 6 star sapphires, potion of vitality

*Treasures possessed have been swallowed by the fish and can only be found after cutting it open.