Shrimp, Giant Mantis

This brightly colored crustacean looks like a large lobster with cruel pincers poised at its fore.

Giant Mantis Shrimp CR 9

XP 6,400
N Medium vermin (aquatic)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., incredible sight; Perception +1

AC 26, touch 17, flat-footed 19 (+7 Dex, +9 natural)
hp 105 (14d8+42)
Fort +12, Ref +11, Will +5
Immune mind-affecting effects; Resist sonic 10

Speed 40 ft.; swim 30 ft.
Melee pincer +17/+12 (2d6+4 plus grab and sonic burst), pincer +17 (2d6+4 plus grab and sonic burst)
Special Attacks sonic burst, speedy pincers

Str 18, Dex 25, Con 16, Int —, Wis 13, Cha 16
Base Atk +10; CMB +14 (+18 grapple); CMD 31 (43 vs. trip)
Feats Weapon Finesse^B

Incredible Sight (Ex)

A giant mantis shrimp’s eyes pick up colors well beyond those visible to humans, and it can see perfectly in all light conditions, including supernatural darkness. As long as the giant mantis shrimp is not blinded, it is treated as having blindsight 60 feet.

Sonic Burst (Ex)

A giant mantis shrimp attacks with such extreme speed that its pincers issue a concussive blast of light and force when they snap closed. Each time a giant mantis shrimp makes a pincer attack, whether it hits or misses, each creature in a 10-foot-radius burst centered on the attack’s target takes 1d8 points of sonic damage and must succeed at a DC 20 Reflex save or be stunned for 1 round. A creature that succeeds at this save is immune to the stun effect from additional sonic bursts from that giant mantis shrimp until the vermin’s next turn, but it still takes sonic damage from additional sonic bursts. The giant mantis shrimp is immune to this effect. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Speedy Pincers (Ex)

A giant mantis shrimp can make iterative attacks with one pincer.

Environment warm coastlines
Organization solitary
Treasure none

Though the colorful shells of giant mantis shrimp are beautiful to behold, the sight of one often means death.

These apex predators prowl tide pools and coastal shallows, competing for territory with karkinoi and shark eater crabs.

A typical giant mantis shrimp grows to 4 feet high and 6 feet long, and weighs around 200 pounds.

Variants

Their incredible eyesight and deadly pincers make giant mantis shrimp formidable predators in any environment.

• Cave Mantis Shrimp: A cave mantis shrimp has adapted to life in caves, losing its coastal cousin’s vibrant shell and becoming almost translucent. A cave mantis shrimp gains a +8 racial bonus on Stealth checks and can take a full-round action when it acts on a surprise round.
• Mantis Shrimp Lord: Found on the seabed in deeper waters than its smaller relatives, mantis shrimp lords are Large. Their attacks ignore the first 20 points of hardness when attacking objects, which the mantis shrimp lords use to their advantage, scuttling ships and devouring the unfortunate cargoes and crews.
• Sand Mantis Shrimp: Sand mantis shrimp bury themselves in deserts, waiting for passersby to approach a little too close to their claws. A sand mantis shrimp loses the aquatic subtype.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 5 © 2015, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, John Bennett, Logan Bonner, Creighton Broadhurst, Robert Brookes, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Thurston Hillman, Eric Hindley, Joe Homes, James Jacobs, Amanda Hamon Kunz, Ben McFarland, Jason Nelson, Thom Phillips, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Alistair Rigg, Alex Riggs, David N. Ross, Wes Schneider, David Schwartz, Mark Seifter, Mike Shel, James L. Sutter, and Linda Zayas-Palmer.