Araiteuru

Huge dragon (taniwha), neutral

Armor Class 18 (natural armor)

Hit Points 189 (18d12 + 72)

Speed 40 ft., swim 80 ft.

STR 23 (+6) · DEX 12 (+1) · CON 19 (+4) · INT 14 (+2) · WIS 16 (+3) · CHA 18 (+4)

Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +8, Wis +7, Cha +8

Skills Athletics +10, Insight +7, Perception +11

Damage Resistances lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks while the dragon is in water

Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 21

Languages Common, Draconic, Māori

Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)

Traits

Amphibious. Araiteuru can breathe air and water.

Legendary Resistance (2/Day). If Araiteuru fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.

Wave Mastery. While totally immersed in water, Araiteuru’s movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks, and difficult terrain composed of water costs it no extra movement.

Stone-Tail Ambush. If Araiteuru spends at least 1 minute motionless with its tail buried in sand or rock, it is indistinguishable from normal stone (DC 18 Intelligence [Investigation] check to discern). When it ends this disguise, it has advantage on its first attack roll made before the end of its next turn.

Foreboding Moko. Glowing moko (tattoo) patterns across Araiteuru’s face flare when it is angered. Any creature that starts its turn within 30 feet of Araiteuru while these patterns are glowing must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the start of that creature’s next turn. Araiteuru can suppress or ignite the moko (no action required). A creature that succeeds on the save is immune to this effect for 24 hours.

Actions

Multiattack. Araiteuru makes two attacks: one with its Bite and one with its Tail.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (2d10 + 6) piercing damage plus 4 (1d8) lightning damage.

Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage.

Storm Surge (Recharge 5–6). Araiteuru smashes its tail into the water, raising a crashing wave in a 40-foot-long, 15-foot-high line that begins adjacent to the dragon. Each creature in the area must make a DC 18 Strength saving throw, taking 33 (6d10) bludgeoning damage and being pushed 30 feet away and knocked prone on a failed save, or half as much damage and no push on a successful one. Creatures aboard a vessel make the save with disadvantage.

Reactions

Splash Rebuff. When Araiteuru is hit by a melee attack from a creature it can see that is within 15 feet of it and Araiteuru is at least half-submerged, it lashes the water toward the attacker. The attacker must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage and be pushed 10 feet away.

Lair Actions

When Araiteuru is in its coastal cave lair, it can invoke the magic of the bay. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Araiteuru takes one of the following lair actions; it can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row.

Raking Wave. A 20-foot-tall wave sweeps across a 60-foot-long line originating anywhere on the water’s surface Araiteuru can see. Creatures in the line must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or take 13 (3d8) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone.

Sudden Squall. Fierce winds fill a 60-foot-radius sphere centered on a point Araiteuru can see. The area becomes difficult terrain, and ranged weapon attacks that enter or pass through the sphere are made with disadvantage until initiative count 20 on the next round.

Calling the Fog. Thick mist spreads in a 40-foot-radius sphere centered on Araiteuru; the area within is heavily obscured for all creatures except Araiteuru until the next round.

Lore

A dragon guardian who can raise storms or smash any ships or canoes that disturb it.

Elders still tell the story that long before the islands of Aotearoa–New Zealand took on their present shape, one momentous event occurred. The legendary navigator Kupe arrived—a man forever remembered as standing on the border between the human world and the great ocean. Generation after generation repeats the tale of how he gave the islands their first names and of the mighty sea beings he met along the way. One of those beings was Araiteuru, a dragon Kupe left behind in a coastal bay, ordering it to guard the island’s sandbar and protect anyone who honors the ocean’s sacred rites.

Since that day, the harbor’s southern headland is more than a cliff—it is the frozen tail of Araiteuru. Beneath it lies a cave where the monster slumbers, hearing every splash above the sandy bar. Let the slightest threat appear and the water turns to white foam, a storm erupts, and in the dark depths moko patterns—traditional tattoos—flare across its serpentine face, proclaiming its ancient age and high rank. One lash of that tail can smash any ship to splinters.

From Oceanian Bestiary 5E, p. 18 · Fern Flower Press