Pairio

Huge monstrosity, chaotic evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)

Hit Points 112 (15d12 + 30)

Speed 0 ft., swim 60 ft.

STR 20 (+5) · DEX 13 (+1) · CON 15 (+2) · INT 8 (−1) · WIS 14 (+2) · CHA 11 (+0)

Saving Throws Dex +4, Con +5, Wis +5

Skills Perception +5

Damage Vulnerabilities fire, radiant

Damage Resistances cold; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical attacks made in water

Condition Immunities frightened, prone

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15

Languages understands Kiwai and Common but can’t speak

Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

Traits

Amphibious. Pairio can breathe air and water, but it can’t move on land unless magically compelled.

Water Camouflage. Pairio has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made while underwater.

Boat Breaker. Pairio deals double damage to objects and vehicles (such as canoes and ships). A wooden vessel reduced to 0 hit points by this damage is split in two.

Venomous Spikes. A creature that touches Pairio or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 3 (1d6) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) poison damage. The creature must then succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. While poisoned in this way, the creature is also paralyzed. The creature can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Actions

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

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) piercing damage.

Tail Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet away and knocked prone.

Razorback Breach (Recharge 5–6). Pairio surges upward in a 30-foot line that is 10 feet wide. Each creature and object in the line must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 22 (4d8 + 4) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. A creature that fails the save is also poisoned (see Venomous Spikes).

Bonus Actions

Predatory Surge. Pairio moves up to its swim speed in a straight line. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks if it starts and ends the movement underwater.

Reactions

Wave Juke. When Pairio is hit by a ranged attack while underwater, it adds 3 to its AC against that attack, potentially causing it to miss.

Lore

An evil spirit turned into a gigantic catfish that rams fishermen’s canoes with the spines on its back.

Pairio is a water-dwelling monster feared across the islands and coastal reaches of what is now Papua New Guinea’s Western Province. Unlike many oceanic creatures, Pairio comes with a clear origin myth: it is the transformed body of a powerful, malevolent female spirit known to the Kiwai as a dógai-órobo.

The primary danger Pairio poses is its sheer size—a gigantic catfish with a massive back bristling with rows of hardened, jagged spikes. Those spikes can tear straight through a traditional canoe, splitting it in two. The creature’s driving urge is to destroy any vessel that dares trespass in its domain off the Kubani-kikava reef.

From Oceanian Bestiary 5E, p. 66 · Fern Flower Press