Seahorse, Giant

This sea creature resembles a cross between fish and horse; it has small fins on its flanks and a gracefully curled tail.

Giant Seahorse CR 3

XP 800

N Large animal (aquatic)

Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +11

Defense

AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+4 armor, +2 Dex, –1 size)

hp 30 (4d8+12)

Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +2

Defensive Abilities anchor

Offense

Speed swim 30 ft.

Melee slam +7 (1d6+7)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Statistics

Str 20, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 7

Base Atk +3; CMB +9; CMD 21

Feats Endurance, Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills Perception +11, Swim +13

Ecology

Environment any oceans

Organization solitary, pair, or school (3–20)

Treasure none

Special Abilities

Anchor (Ex) As a move action, a seahorse can wrap its tail around a stationary object. The seahorse remains anchored to the object until it releases its grip (a free action) or is forcibly moved. An anchored seahorse gains a +4 bonus to its combat maneuver defense and on checks and saving throws against effects that would move it against its will.

Giant seahorses are bear-sized versions of the common, harmless seahorse. Naturally docile and skittish, seahorses are easily trained to be mounts but are difficult to train for combat. They provide a smoother but slower ride than sharks or hippocampi.

A giant seahorse is considered a quadruped for the purpose of carrying capacity. A light load for a giant seahorse is up to 500 pounds, a medium load is 1,000 pounds, and a heavy load is 1,600 pounds. It can drag 8,000 pounds.

Seahorse, Killer

This elephant-sized sea creature resembles a horse crossed with a fish, with crazed whirling eyes.

Killer Seahorse CR 5

XP 1,600

N Huge animal (aquatic)

Init +1; Senses low-light vision; Perception +13

Defense

AC 17, touch 9, flat-footed 16 (+8 armor, +1 Dex, –2 size)

hp 63 (6d8+36)

Fort +10, Ref +6, Will +3

Defensive Abilities anchor (see giant seahorse)

Offense

Speed swim 40 ft.

Melee bite +10 (1d8+8 plus bleed), tail slap +5 (1d6+4 plus grab)

Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.

Special Attacks bleed 1d6, constrict (1d6+8)

Statistics

Str 26, Dex 12, Con 21, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 7

Base Atk +4; CMB +14; CMD 25

Feats Endurance, Skill Focus (Perception), Toughness

Skills Perception +13, Swim +16

Ecology

Environment any oceans

Organization solitary, pair, or school (3–8)

Treasure none

These specially bred offshoots of the giant seahorse are used by aquatic creatures as guard animals. Vicious and territorial, they prefer larger prey and have been known to eat giant crabs and careless handlers. Killer seahorses are too unruly for use as mounts and only accept riders or baggage if magically controlled.

Killer seahorses have been known to crush other creatures into a bloody pulp just before giving birth, ensuring a good meal for their newborns (called "fry"). A killer seahorse fry is the size of a human hand and is an aggressive swarm feeder, like a piranha.

A light load for a killer seahorse is up to 2,500 pounds, a medium load is 4,900 pounds, and a heavy load is 7,400 pounds. A killer seahorse can drag 36,800 pounds.