Joral Fish

Large beast, neutral evil

Armor Class 17 (Natural armor)
Hit Points 90 (12d10+24)
Speed swim 60 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
19 (+4)	10 (+0)	14 (+2)	16 (+3)	15 (+2)	11 (+0)

Skills Perception +4
Senses darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 14
Challenge 3 (700 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Water Breathing. The joral fish can only breathe underwater.
• Ram. The joral fish can ram small watercraft, using its hard head as a battering ram and doing 11 (2d10) damage to the craft.

ACTIONS

• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, 5 ft. reach, one target. Hit: 17 (3d8+4) piercing damage. In addition, the target must make a Dexterity save (DC 15) or be grabbed.
• Grab. While a target is grabbed, it is considered grappled and suffers 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning damage at the end of each of its turns as the joral crushes it with its powerful jaws. The target remains grabbed until they succeed at an escape roll (DC 15). The joral has advantage on its attacks against the target while it is grabbed.

ABOUT

This huge fish is found in most freshwater rivers and large lakes. As an adult, they range up to 8 feet in length, with powerful pectoral fins and a long spiny-dorsal fin. The joral fish is a deep blue above the lateral line but white or light blue below. A naked bone carapace marks the fish’s head, the jaws coming together in a maw that consists of bone-teeth inseparable from the head itself. Two massive bone-teeth on the bottom and two on the top allow the joral fish to grip almost any prey. Two wide eyes are set just above the bone carapace.

Intelligent Hunters. The joral fish is a very intelligent creature and as such is able to learn from its experiences to solve problems. This makes the predator extremely dangerous. By the time they have reached adulthood they are able to recognize prey and understand how to get at them, whether knocking someone out of a boat, sinking a boat, or even swimming in shallow waters without getting stuck. The joral is far more than a fish.

Survival of the Fittest. When the fish breeds they drop live young in deep, slow-moving or still parts of whatever water they live in. There the fish feeds on smaller fish, crustaceans as well as scavenge for food. They grow only slowly and the young die at an extraordinary rate for they are aggressive and live in a predacious world. Those that live do so through experience, experiences they retain and utilize in future hunts. They are not partial to anything in particular, only flesh, but they are willing to ram boats to get it.

Accidental Hoarders. Joral fish nest in deep hollows beneath river banks. They often drag their prey there to devour and for this reason, many of their lairs are filled with items both magical and mundane. The fish itself is highly sought after, particularly in its infant stage, as they are put in castle moats to guard against intruders.

Dragged to their Doom. This highly predatory fish hunts almost any type of prey it feels it can bring under the water and drown. It particularly hunts creatures in boats, ramming the craft and attempting to dislodge anyone in it as they are far more likely to sink due to clothing and armor. Once they have picked their prey, they bite it and attempt to drag it under the water.