Megafauna, Zeuglodon

This elongated, whale-like creature moves through the water with an eel-like motion despite its wide, fluked tail. Razor-sharp teeth fill its almost reptilian mouth.

Zeuglodon CR 9

XP 6,400
N Gargantuan animal
Init +8; Senses low-light vision; Perception +20

DEFENSE

AC 25, touch 11, flat-footed 20 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +14 natural, –4 size)
hp 115 (11d8+66)
Fort +13, Ref +11, Will +6

OFFENSE

Speed swim 60 ft.
Melee bite +17 (2d8+19 plus grab)
Space 20 ft.; Reach 20 ft.
Special Attacks thrash

STATISTICS

Str 37, Dex 18, Con 22, Int 1, Wis 13, Cha 6
Base Atk +8; CMB +25 (+29 grapple); CMD 40 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Lunge, Power Attack, Run
Skills Perception +20, Swim +27; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception
SQ hold breath

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Hold Breath (Ex)

A zeuglodon can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to 4 times its Constitution score before it risks drowning.

Thrash (Ex)

A zeuglodon grappling a foe can thrash its body back and forth rapidly, dealing extra damage due to the violent motion of its whipping head. This attack deals 4d8+19 points of damage, but allows the grappled creature a free attempt to escape the grapple. If a creature escapes, it is thrown 30 feet in a random direction by the zeuglodon’s erratic thrashing.

Primeval Sea Creatures

The ocean is full of myriad life forms, as varied and specialized as those in any other environment. But not all sea creatures are the result of millennia upon millennia of continual evolution. Some found themselves perfectly suited for their roles as apex predators millions of years ago and have simply remained as such to the present day, presenting terrible threats to those creatures that cross them, from their natural prey to unsuspecting sailors who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. In most cases, these creatures are closely related to other waterborne animals, be they fish, reptiles, or mammals, and some even have distinctive similarities to primarily land-based creatures.

ECOLOGY

Environment warm oceans
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure none

The primordial zeuglodon is often mistaken for a dinosaur or other large reptile, in part because of its almost crocodilian mouth as well as its snake-like elongation. Despite these features, it is more closely related to whales and other cetaceans than either aquatic reptiles or fish. A zeuglodon moves through the water with a vertical anguiliform (eel-like) motion that seems almost to be a primitive version of the efficient fluke-driven locomotion of its cetacean relatives. Zeuglodons breathe air through blowholes on the tops of their heads, though they lack the lung capacity to stay underwater for as long as their more evolved kin. The relative dimensions of their angular heads are too small to encase the enlarged brains or melons developed by other cetaceans for echolocation or communication with others of their kind, and as such zeuglodons are less social than whales and dolphins. What they lack in specialized anatomy, however, they make up for in sheer ferocity and speed.

A hunting zeuglodon is a furious foe to contend with.

An adult zeuglodon measures around 50 feet long and weighs upward of 50,000 pounds.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Adventure Path #60: From Hell’s Heart © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Jason Nelson and Rob McCreary.

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