The barbarian grinned as he clambered atop the monstrous skull left within the caverns. The ominous drip of distant water was lost between his boasting and joking as he posed atop the ancient bone, the sorceress joining in his mirth while the ranger was less than impressed. Before she could chide him, the skull suddenly surged and he tumbled from its brow. He crashed to the ground with a grunt as the rest of the party backed away in shock. They prepared for an undead monstrosity to rise before them, but their suspicions were dashed as the skull turned and suddenly they four found themselves face-to-face with an immense crustacean. Black eyes at the ends of its eyestalks twitched up and down as it took them in while flicking long-mantis like claws. It rose to its full height, towering over the band as a roar erupted from its craggy maws and its terrifying claws sprang out.
We’re following up a level eight crustacean with yet another level eight crustacean though with a much different focus. Where the clawitzer was all about fighting at range and had a claw modified for that, the shogun ceanataur’s claws resemble mantis-like blades that it can fold in and still attack with. It has some tankiness to it with its Skull Armor (inspired by construct armor as well as Tehialai, which is also where Move Home comes from), but also has a weakness to fire and electricity – a pair of very common damage types among casters.
The general design of the ceanataur follows that of a soldier, which influences the inclusion of a Reactive Strike as well as its high attack modifier and damage bonus even if its folded claw Strike doesn’t have any other tricks or traits. However, the shogun ceanataur can swap out these folded claws for its sickle claws with the Extend Claws action, gaining a Strike with a high bonus but an extreme damage. It also comes with the deadly and reach traits, but to balance it, the shogun ceanataur becomes off-guard. Aside from making it vulnerable to sneak attack and similar effects, this does lower its high AC to somewhere between low and moderate, which in general makes it very much a glass cannon when in this state. As an added effect, the shogun ceanataur can apply flourish to this trait to add a Strike as part of this action. This could potentially allow it to Extend Claws with a Strike, make a second Strike, and if that misses, Extend Claws again without a Strike to restore its AC.
Alternatively, if the shogun ceanataur hits its second Strike, it can follow that up with a Ripping Rend. Mechanically, this is based on the Rend ability while its inspiration comes from the bleed that the shogun ceanataur can inflict in Monster Hunter Rise. If the shogun ceanataur has enough targets in range and starts its turn with its sickle claws deployed, it can go for a Whirling Blades activity. While the clawitzer borrowed a bit from the ranger and inventor, the ceanataur bases this feature off of the fighter and barbarian feat, Whirlwind Strike. This is a higher level feat, which led to me including the -2 circumstance penalty on the Strikes. The shogun ceanataur does also have some ranged option in its toolbox with its Water Blast, a move that is mostly restricted to when its using a gravios skull. This is limited use area damage at a high DC, making it a pretty standard effect, but the ceanataur can use its Uncanny Climber to explore different angles to fire off from.
The weapon is based on the shogun ceanataur’s Extend Claws as well as the purple or higher sharpness that its weapons tend to have.
Pathfinder 2e:
The PF1e shogun ceanataur is much simpler by virtue of being in PF1e. Extend claws was a little rough to reimagine but I’m pretty happy with where it ended up being a swift action, giving 2d8 claws that get 1-1/2 times its Strength, but still having that penalty to AC. I was able to pull on Bloody Assault to create its Ripping Rend while Combat Reflexes is inspired by the fact that it even has a Reactive Strike in 2e. Naturally, it keeps its water jet but loses out a bit on its skull armor. This is a little difficult to translate back into first edition but to generate the feel of it, it does have a small matter of damage resistance that is bypassed by bludgeoning damage to better crack its skull. The ceanataur isn’t high enough level to be able to take something like Whirlwind Attack, which leads to it using Cleave and Great Cleave to represent its wide, sweeping swipes.
Pathfinder 1e:
Blue’s D&D 5e:
ENCOUNTER HOOK
Heads Up: The heroes have a favorite watering hole, a tavern owned and operated by a former adventurer who includes the skull of a great beast that he felled in his heyday. Those days are long past so when a mysterious monster attacked the tavern during a lull in visitors, he couldn’t do anything to stop it. The only that was stolen was the skull, but as a centerpiece of his tavern and an important memento from his heroic past and the bonds he formed during that time, he turns to his favorite patrons to get it back. When they refuse, he turns to the heroes instead. The culprit is none other than a shogun ceanataur that saw a better value in the skull and took it as its new skull. It defends this skull jealously and the heroes may have to devise a method to kill the crab without breaking its shell, which may afford the shogun ceanataur new attacks and maneuvers.
If you or people in the hobby you know prefer watching videos over reading my walls of text, there's a video featuring a discussion on this creature's design over on YouTube. I also have a Monster Mash for this week!
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Have a monstrous Monday!
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