Lusca

Gargantuan monstrosity, chaotic evil

Armor Class 19 (natural hide)
Hit Points 487 (25d20+225)
Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
27 (+8)	11 (+0)	29 (+9)	13 (+1)	23 (+6)	18 (+4)

Saving Throws Con +16, Str +15
Skills Athletics +22
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities lightning
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Aquan, Common
Challenge 22 (41,000 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Bolstered By Carnage. If the lusca kills a creature, it gains advantage on its attack rolls and saving throws for a number of rounds equal to that creature’s Hit Dice.
• Innate Spellcasting. The lusca’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 19). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
  • 3/day each: control water, lightning bolt
  • 1/day each: chain lightning, tsunami

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The lusca makes seven attacks: three with its bites and four with its tentacles.
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 29 (4d10+7) piercing damage.
• Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d10+7) bludgeoning damage.

REACTIONS

• Compartmentalized Minds. Any time the lusca would be charmed or frightened, it can instead cause one of its heads to fall asleep, negating the effect for as long as it would last and having one less bite attack for the duration. It still makes saving throws as normal for the effect.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

A lusca can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. A reefhammer regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

• Grapple. The lusca makes a tentacle attack. Instead of dealing damage, the lusca grapples the target (escape DC 20).
• Grind Bones. The lusca can damage one creature it has grappled as if it successfully hit with a tentacle attack.
• Move. The lusca moves up to its speed.

LAIR ACTIONS

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), a lusca takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the lusca can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• A small whirlpool forms within a creature’s square that the lusca can see. That creature must attempt a DC 20 Strength saving throw or take 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and be unable to move on its next turn.
• The currents within the lusca’s lair change and shift according to the lusca’s whims. Each creature within 60 feet of the lusca must attempt a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be moved 60 feet in any direction of the lusca’s choosing.
• The lusca conjures one reef shark in a space within 30 feet of it. The reef shark is loyal to the lusca’s every whim and command.

REGIONAL EFFECTS

The region containing a lusca’s lair is warped by the creature’s immense power, which creates one or more of the following effects:

• Sharks and octopuses within 1 mile of the lusca’s lair become unnaturally aggressive, attacking any living thing they encounter.
• Massive whirlpools begin to form within 5 miles of the lusca’s lair.
• Currents within 1 mile shift and become supernaturally strong, pulling creatures caught within them towards the lusca’s lair.

ABOUT

This beast has three sharklike heads on short, scaly necks, while its lower body appears to be that of an octopus.

Territorial. Ravenous and unpredictable, a lusca claims wide swaths of territory in order to maximize the number of ships it can sink and crews it can feast upon; luscas brook no other large predators in their claimed territory, and battle even mighty krakens for control. They are equally territorial with their own kind, and an encounter between two luscas, except to mate, almost always ends with one dead or driven off. While luscas prefer to make quick meals of the sailors onboard a ship, they will eat just about any aquatic creature, and even giant octopuses and whales know to steer clear of a hungry lusca’s vicinity. Is the Lusca a Latin American monster? Latin America by definition represents those countries whose primary official languages are Romance languages derived from Latin, such as Spanish, Portuguese, and French (in addition to vibrant indigenous tongues like Quechua, Guarani, and various Mayan languages). Nations like the Bahamas and Belize (English) or Aruba and Suriname (Dutch) are not technically considered Latin American even though they share the same geographic area. That said, the lusca is celebrated with an international film festival in nearby Spanish-speaking Puerto Rico and it’s just a fun monster, so we’ve chosen to include it here.