Siege Crab (5e Creature)
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Siege Crab[edit]
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Gargantuan monstrosity, unaligned Armor Class 21 (natural armor)
Saving Throws Str +15, Con +10 Amphibious. The crab can breathe air and water. Body Slam. Whenever the crab is knocked prone on land, each Large or smaller creature in the same spaces as the crab must succeed on a DC 23 Strength saving throw or take 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. Creatures grappled by the crab automatically succeed on the saving throw. Force Carapace. While the crab's Force Carapace is active, it has immunity to force damage and a +10 bonus to its AC (included in the AC). All bludgeoning damage the crab deals becomes force damage. Force Carapace stops any teleportation into or out of the Shielded Compartment and any creature inside the crab's Shielded Compartment can't be targeted by any divination magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors. A dispel magic spell targeting the siege crab can't destroy its Force Carapace, but does suppress this feature for 1 minute. Force Carapace is treated as a 4th-level abjuration spell. Immutable Form. The crab is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form. Improved Grip. Medium and smaller creatures can't gain advantage on ability checks to escape being grappled by the crab while it is alive. Magic Resistance. The crab has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Shielded Compartment. Four Medium or smaller creatures or objects or one Large creature or object can ride inside a 10-foot by 10-foot hollow inside the crab, accessible only by a hatch on its underside. Any creature inside the crab can use their action to exit through the hatch and move to a space within 10 feet of the crab unless it is prone. While prone, the hatch cannot be used and the only way out is cutting a path out, requiring 1 minute of work and dealing 300 damage to the siege crab in the process. Entering the Shielded Compartment requires an action and the creature attuned to the crab's coral circlet to open the hatch and allow another creature or object inside. Creatures inside the Shielded Compartment do not need to make saving throws against the crab's Body Slam, Trample, or claw attacks. Siege Monster. The crab deals double damage to objects and structures. ACTIONSMultiattack. The crab makes four attacks. Claw Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d6 + 10) bludgeoning damage. Each creature within 5 feet of the attack target, except the attack target, must succeed on a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw or take 17 (2d6 + 10) bludgeoning damage. If the attack is successful, the target is grappled (escape DC 23). The crab has two claws, each of which can grapple only one target. Shell Shock. When its Force Carapace is suppressed, the crab can hunker down to recharge it. The crab is knocked prone and its movement speed is reduced to 0 feet until the start of its next turn. At the start of the crab's next turn, its Force Carapace feature is no longer suppressed. For 1 round after the crab uses Shell Shock, creatures grappled by the crab have advantage on ability checks to escape to escape the grapple, ignoring Improved Grip. Scuttling Advance. The crab moves up to its speed in a straight line. During this move, it can enter Large or smaller creatures' spaces. A creature whose space the crab enters must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 17 (5d6) bludgeoning damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.
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Siege crabs are colossal magically enhanced crustaceans employed by various aquatic raiding societies to break enemy fortifications. Originally created by the twisted magics and mad surgeries of the kuo-toa, the use of siege crabs has spread to the sahuagin and locathah, though only the largest warbands or settlements had the skill, food, and need required to create and deploy these massive monstrosities. Each one requires decades of consistent magical reinforcements cast upon a normal crab from birth, medical procedures to both hollow out a riding compartment inside the crab and make sure it doesn't collapse under its own weight, and a skilled commander to direct the crab in even the most basic of functions. Each siege crab occupies a 20-foot by 20-foot space with a height of 15 feet and a weight of roughly 30 tons. Coral Circlet. During its creation, each siege crab is bonded with coral circlet. Any creature attuned to and wearing the circlet can give verbal commands to the crab, which will understand and obey them regardless of language. The crab can only understand simple instructions and cannot be programmed with strings of directives or reactions beyond basic attacks. For instance, if the crab is ordered to break down a building, it will do so, but as soon as the building is broken the crab will cease taking any actions until it receives new orders. Due to this vulnerability and limitation, most siege crab drivers do so from inside their crab's shielded compartment. The coral coronet can be used to share the crab's senses. Shielded Compartment. Deep inside every siege crab is an air and watertight shielded compartment that can house much smaller creatures and cargo for transport. The compartment is located on the underside of the crab, allowing for easy exit and difficult entry, unless the crab is knocked down. Tactics. Due to the difficulty of making them, forces in control of a siege crab will only use it with infantry support when breaking down either defensive fortifications or enemy vehicles, though even most allies will give the crab a wide berth to avoid getting crushed by its armored legs. Once a crab is finished clearing away enemy structures or siegecraft, it will usually disgorge its inner strike team near a strategic objective that requires more precision of combat. The crab will then either wait for them to return, defending the position, or stomp back across enemy lines to pick up another load. Variant: Colossal Siege CrabIn rare circumstances, a siege crab will grow to even more terrifying proportions during its magical development. These crustaceans are large enough to be used by storm giants. The colossal siege crab occupies a 30-foot by 30-foot space with a height of 20 feet and weight of 90 tons, has 341 (22d20 + 110) hit points, 23 AC, and can move through the spaces of Huge or smaller creatures with its Scuttling Advance. Its Shielded Compartment can hold one Huge creature, two Large creatures, or ten Medium or smaller creatures and its Force Carapace gives the crab resistance to all damage from spells. A colossal siege crab's CR is 18 (20,000 XP). |
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