Mucus Coating. While underwater, the coelacanth is covered in viscous mucus. A creature that touches the coelacanth or that hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it is coated in mucus and must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature begins suffocating and has disadvantage on all attack rolls until it the mucus is removed. A creature can remove the mucus away by spending an action to scrape it off with a free hand.
Toxicity. Any creature that bites or consumes the flesh of the coelacanth must succeed in a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for the next 24 hours.
Underwater Camouflage. The coelacanth has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made while underwater.
Water Breathing. The coelacanth can breathe only underwater.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage.
Lunge (Recharge 5-6). The coelacanth uses the Dash action as a bonus action, moving towards a creature. It can then make a bite attack against 1 creature in range.
Description
Living at great depths, the coelacanth is an ancient, armored fish with lobed, almost limb-like fins.
Reaching 6.5 feet in length and weighing 200 pounds, it is a fairly large animal, but still quite small compare to the creatures with which it shares the waters of the deep sea. However, a series of natural defense make the coelacanth a poor prey species.
It is covered in dense bony scales, providing it formidable natural armor. Its scales are coated in viscous mucus capable of choking the gills of any creature undeterred by prospect of breaking teeth against its armor. Its flesh has has high amounts of oil, urea, wax esters, and other substances that taste foul, are difficult to digest, or are just plain toxic.
Due to the lack of predators willing to eat them, and a slow metabolism adapted to life at great depths where food can be scarce, they are known to have long lifespans, at least as long as humans, if not longer.
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