The wall gave way under the roar of cannon fire, the wood splintering and spraying the pub with splinters. The wizard choked on her drink as the fighter kicked their table over and dragged her down behind it, shielding them from the blast. Elsewhere, the rogue threw herself over the bar while the cleric was shielded by the secluded corner she had taken up to speak with their client. Cries of panic abounded about the seedy tavern that they had come to looking for work. As the fighter swore and drew his axe, the wizard removed her floppy, pointed hat to find a fork stabbed partway through its tip. As she pulled it free, she glanced around the edge of the table and found not marauders by a gang of crabs armed with turrets as they menacingly waved their claws at the patrons.
This creature originally appeared in the Black Market Brawlers game mode of League of Legends, but I based my build off of its more recent appearance in The Ruined King - A League of Legends Story. In the game, its main abilities revolve around inflicting the shrapnel debuff on enemies, which increases the damage an enemy takes. Meanwhile, in the Brawlers game mode, they were ranged attackers whose attacks struck both their primary target and another nearby creature. Lore-wise, they are noted to be highly intelligent crustaceans that assemble, maintain, and utilize cobbled together shells feature cannons.
Given the apparent intelligence of a plundercrab, I knew I wanted it to be a magical beast and having played The Ruined King game, figured a lower CR would best suit it. I opted to include damage reduction to reflect its protective shell - both the one it builds and its natural shell. As a crab, it has the ability to swim as well as a pair of claw attacks that it can use to grab foes and then squeeze the life out of them with constrict. This concept is based off of the abilities of other crabs already within Pathfinder, but it isn't the plundercrab's main trick. Instead, the plundercrab's main claim to fame is its scrap cannon, a unique firearm that only works for the plundercrab. As with most firearms, it has a x4 crit and targets touch AC but has no baseline modifiers to its damage and requires a swift action to reload. It does make the most use out of this its feats of Point-Blank Shot and Rapid Shot, but it also has its shrapnel. This is intended to serve as the debuff from The Ruined King, inflicting a wound that increases the damage of certain types that it takes. Unlike that game, it can be removed by tending to the wound, but I opted not to include magical healing removing it, like with bleed, because simply magically sealing a wound doesn't remove the shrapnel inside it. Finally, the plundercrab can do an area attack with shellfire bombardment, mimicking attacks such as Launch Shrapnel, Shredder Cannon, and several others from the aforementioned game.
Pathfinder 1e:
I thought an ability that granted weakness might be a good method of capturing the effect of the plundercrab's Shrapnel for the 2e version and liked the idea of each successful Medicine check reducing some of that weakness. I opted to use a lower DC for this effect since the plundercrab inflicts it with each attack. With the 2e version of the shrapnel cannon, I wanted to include its ability to strike other nearby creatures and thus included the scatter trait. I didn't feel as inclined to give it the ability to grab targets in this version - I deliberated on an ability where it grabs somebody and then blasts them, but ultimately decided it didn't fit the concept I was working with. New abilities for this version include Tactical Retreat, based off of the giant hermit crab's Retract, but geared towards what the plundercrab does. Additionally, the plundercrab has Scuttle Shot based on Protective Pinch, but as the crab doesn't emerge from its shell to its shot, its target is concealed to it. As a note, it has a lower AC to account for the bonus that Tactical Retreat grants.
Pathfinder 2e:
Blue's D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Crustacean Crime Spree: Reports have been coming in of gangs of plundercrabs attacking dockside shops and even occasional merchant vessels and absconding with the loot. They swiftly disappear into the water, evading capture from authorities, which leads to concerned citizens reaching out to the heroes. Simply stopping and catching the plundercrabs does little to stop the diminutive thieves as more appear to take their place. However, if the heroes can successfully follow the plunder crabs, they discover that they have been trained by an enterprising thief living beneath notice.
Out of Your Shell: An unusually intelligent and powerful plundercrab has, after robbing a series of gunworks and forges, constructed itself a terrifying shell. Less of a siege tower and more of a mechanized suit of armor, the abnormally powerful plundercrab begins a reign of terror until the heroes are called in to stop it. To defeat it, the heroes must dismantle its protective armor before facing the monster lurking within.
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Have a monstrous Monday!
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