Size Gargantuan Vehicle (165 ft. by 25 ft., 810,000 lb.)
Creature Capacity 0 crew, 200 passengers
Cargo Capacity 300 tons
Travel Pace 5 miles per hour (120 miles per day)
On its turn, the mimic can take 3 actions, choosing from the options below.
Batten Down. The mimic can activate or deactivate its batten down hatches.
Drop/Weigh Anchor. The mimic can drop or attempt to raise its anchor.
Fire Ballistas. The mimic can fire its harpoon guns.
Fire Mangonels. The mimic can fire its mangonels.
Haul In. The mimic can pull each target grappled by one of its harpoon guns 30 feet closer, and each target grappled by one of its pseudopods 10 feet closer.
Jaws. The mimic can use its jaws.
Move. The mimic can use its helm to move with its pseudopods or sails. As part of this move, it can use its naval ram.
Pseudopods. The mimic can attack with its pseudopod oars.
Repair. The mimic can fully restore 1 of its destroyed components.
Hull
Armor Class 17
Hit Points 500 (damage threshold 20)
The hull is the mimic's main body and is synonymous with the mimic. Whenever one of the mimic's ship components is destroyed, it takes damage equal to half hit point maximum of the destroyed component, which cannot be reduced in any way. The mimic's hull has the following traits.
Shapechanger. The mimic can use its action to polymorph into a galley, sailing ship, or warship by drawing its eyes, pseudopods, and teeth into its body, or back into its true form by extending them again. It can also polymorph its interior into fully furnished cabins and compartments, or revert such furnishings into its true, amorphous form. Its statistics are the same in each form. Any creatures, equipment, or objects it is carrying aren't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies. If cleaned out thoroughly, the mimic’s remains can be converted into a vessel.
Adhesive. The mimic adheres to anything of its choosing that touches it. A creature adhered to the mimic is also grappled by it (escape DC 26). Ability checks made to escape this grapple have disadvantage. The mimic can excrete, cease excreting, or dissolve its adhesive at will.
False Appearance. While the mimic remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from an ordinary vessel.
Grappler. The mimic has advantage on attack rolls against any creature or object grappled by it.
Regeneration. The mimic regains 30 hit points at the start of each of its turns if it has at least 1 hit point. Each time the mimic regenerates, each of its ship components regains 10 hit points.
Control: Helm
Armor Class 18
Hit Points 50
The mimic moves up to the speed of one of its movement components, with one 90-degree turn. If the helm is destroyed, the mimic can't turn.
Control: Anchor
Armor Class 19
Hit Points 50 (damage threshold 10)
It takes the mimic one action to drop its anchor and 3 actions to raise it. When the anchor is dropped, it falls up to 300 feet downwards in a 10-foot-radius cylinder towards a point directly beneath the bow. Each creature or object in the area when the anchor is dropped must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be struck by the falling anchor, taking 44 (8d10) bludgeoning damage. If the anchor lands on a solid surface, the mimic becomes moored in place until the anchor is raised again. While moored, the mimic's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed. Whenever an effect forces the mimic to move, it can make a DC 21 Strength saving throw. On a successful save, the mimic is not moved, or moves only half as far on a failure.
Movement/Weapon: Pseudopod Oars (12)
Armor Class 15
Hit Points 20 each; -5 ft. speed for each component destroyed
Speed (water) 40 ft.
The mimic's pseudopods can be used to move as well as to attack. When the mimic takes an action that moves it with its pseudopods, any creature or object in the water within 10 feet of it at any point of the move must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, a target is subjected to its Adhesive trait and grappled by one of the mimic's pseudopods. When the ship takes an action that uses its pseudopods as a weapon, each pseudopod can make one of the following attacks.
Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 30ft., one target. Hit: 36 (4d12 + 10) bludgeoning damage, and the target is subjected to the mimic's Adhesive trait. Until this grapple ends, a Gargantuan target's speed isn’t reduced, but it can't move farther away from the mimic; a Huge or smaller target is restrained until the grapple ends. Each of the mimic's pseudopods can grapple one target.
Fling: One Huge or smaller object held or creature grappled by one of the mimic's pseudopods is thrown up to 60 feet in a random direction and knocked prone. If a thrown target strikes a solid surface, the target takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it was thrown. If the target is thrown at another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 26 Dexterity saving throw or take the same damage and be knocked prone.
Movement: Sails
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 100; -15 ft. speed per 25 damage taken
Speed (water) 45 ft.; 15 ft. while sailing into the wind; 60 ft. while sailing with the wind
Weapon: Harpoon Gun (4)
Armor Class 15
Hit Points 50 each
Ranged Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target. Hit: 26 (3d10 + 10) piercing damage, and the target is subjected to the mimic's Adhesive trait. Until the grapple ends, a target's speed isn’t reduced, but it can't move farther away from the mimic. Each of the mimic's harpoon guns can grapple one target.
Weapon: Jaws
Armor Class 17
Hit Points Shares the mimic's hit points and hit point maximum
Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 36 (4d12 + 10) piercing damage plus 26 (4d12) acid damage. If the target is a Huge or smaller creature, it must succeed on a DC 26 Dexterity saving throw or be swallowed by the mimic. A swallowed creature is blinded and restrained, has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the mimic, and takes 56 (16d6) acid damage at the start of each of the mimic's turns.
If the mimic takes 60 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the mimic must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the mimic. If the mimic dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 60 feet of movement, exiting prone.
A Huge or smaller target reduced to 0 hit points by damage from the mimic's bite or while swallowed is ground to bits and dissolved in acid. Any nonmagical items the target was holding or carrying are destroyed as well.
Weapon: Mangonel (2)
Armor Class 15
Hit Points 100 each
Ranged Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, range 200/800 ft. (can't hit targets within 60 ft. of it), one target. Hit: 37 (5d10 + 10) bludgeoning damage. Whether the attack hits or misses, each creature within 20 feet of where the projectile lands must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 25 (10d4) acid damage and another 12 (5d4) acid damage at the end of its next turn. On a successful save, a creature takes half the initial damage and no damage at the end of its next turn.
Weapon: Naval Ram
Armor Class 20
Hit Points 100 (damage threshold 20)
The mimic has advantage on all saving throws relating to crashing when it crashes into a creature or an object. Any damage it takes from the crash is applied to the naval ram rather than to the mimic. These benefits don't apply if another vessel crashes into the mimic.
A creature or object struck by a mimic must make a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw, taking 88 (16d10) bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Miscellaneous: Batten-Down Hatches
The mimic releases any creature grappled by it, retracts into its shell, then shuts and locks its hatches, doors, and portholes. While the mimic is battened down, it gains a +8 bonus to it AC against all attacks made from outside of it, and any hatches, doors, and portholes in or on its body is affected as they would be by an arcane lock spell. While it is battened down, the mimic can't attack with its jaws or pseudopod oars, it is blinded, and it can only use its sail to move. It can continue to take other actions and lair actions as normal. The mimic can end this effect as an action.
This effect ends automatically if the mimic dies, is subjected to the knock spell, or a creature swallowed by the mimic causes it to regurgitate.
Batten Down. When an attack reduces the mimic to half its total hit points or less, it can use its Batten Down action. Once the mimic has used this reaction, it can't do so again until it finishes a short or long rest.
The mimic can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The mimic regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Come About. The mimic turns 90 degrees.
Drift. The mimic moves up to half the speed of one of its components. It can't make any turns during this movement.
Haul In. The mimic uses its Haul In action.
Shore Up. The mimic uses its Repair action.
Description
Sea strikers are seafaring mimics of tremendous size which take the forms of fast-moving and heavily armed ships. Young sea strikers imitate smaller vessels such as rowboats while adults are the size of galleys.
Though the layout of a sea striker mimic is subject to change at a moment's notice as the shapechanging mimic sees fit, they generally have the same features as a standard warship. For the following features, refer to the warship diagram in the "Sample Ships" section in Appendix A of the Ghosts of Saltmarsh.
Ceilings. The ceilings in the lower deck, holds, and cabins are 8 feet high with 6-foot-high doorways.
Doors. The ship's doors are made of bone and have AC 15, 18 hit points, and the mimic's damage resistances and immunities. Due to its amorphous and biological nature, locks can't be picked, but can be forced open with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check.
Footlockers. Footlockers on the ship are made of goethite, an iron compound produced by many molluscs. They have AC 19, 18 hit points, and the mimic's damage resistances and immunities.
Light. The mimic produces bioluminescence from faux hanging lanterns to cast bright light throughout the ship.
Rigging. If the mimic permits, its rigging can be climbed without an ability check; otherwise, attempting to climb the rigging results in being subjected to the mimic's Adhesive trait.
Sails. The mimic has two 80-foot-tall masts with sails to catch the wind and oar-shaped pseudopods on the lower deck for paddling.
Example Crew
A sea striker is a living aquatic creature, and does not require a crew to properly sail. However, it may allow itself to be boarded. Any crew allowed aboard are either seen by the mimic as allies, pets, or provisions for the mimic's long voyages at sea.
If the characters find themselves aboard an accommodating (or anticipating) sea striker, the crew will usually consist of the following creatures, all of which have proficiency with water vehicles in addition to their normal statistics:
- One captain (bandit captain)
- Five other officers: a first mate, a bosun, a quartermaster, a surgeon, and a cook (scouts)
- Forty sailors (commoners)
- Twenty siege engineers (guards)
- Thirty-two soldiers (guards)
- Two ship's surgeons (priests)
1. Main Deck
The main deck of the ship has the following features:
Mangonel. Two organic mangonels, made from bone and cartilage and operated by powerful muscles, are attached to the deck.
Hatch. A covered, 10-foot-square opening leads to the lower deck (area W8).
Railing. The main deck has a 3-foot-high rail around its perimeter that provides half cover for Medium creatures and three-quarters cover for Small creatures behind it.
Rowboats. Four rowboats are stacked on top of each other on this deck. Ropey sinews and organic pulleys can hoist these boats in and out of the water. There is a chance that each rowboat is actually a juvenile sea striker (using the statistics for a giant mimic).
2. Officers' Quarters
Four beds stand in the officer's quarters. Beneath each is an iron footlocker that holds the officers' belongings. The officers sleep in shifts so someone remains on duty to command the crew and carry out the captain's orders.
3. Captain's Quarters
The captain's quarters hold a bed and a desk. Beneath the bed is an iron footlocker that holds the captain's belongings.
4. Siege Weapon Ammunition
Shelves and rope-like sinews on the walls of this cabin secure mangonel stones and ballista arrows. This room is actually an organ: a storage sac. Each day, the mimic produces 3d4 of the acid-filled pearls it uses as mangonel stones, and 4d6 of the chitinous barbs its uses as ballista harpoons, all of which are stored here until needed.
5. Supplies
This area holds supplies the mimic or its crew may find useful.
6. Forecastle
The forecastle has the following features:
Ballistas. Two biological ballistas, made from bone and cartilage and operated by powerful muscles, are attached to the deck. The mimic uses them to launch harpoon-like stingers. These harpoons are coated in the mimic's adhesive and are attached to cord-like sinews, allowing the mimic to grapple targets from afar as well as reel them in.
Figurehead. The mimic's figurehead is almost purely decorational, but may serve as the method through which the mimic communicates with any crew on board.
Railing. The forecastle has a 3-foot-high rail around its perimeter that provides half cover for Medium creatures and three-quarters cover for Small creatures behind it.
7. Quarterdeck
The quarterdeck has the following features:
Ballistas. Two biological ballistas, made from bone and cartilage and operated by powerful muscles, are attached to the deck. The mimic uses them to launch harpoon-like stingers. These harpoons are coated in the mimic's adhesive and are attached to cord-like sinews, allowing the mimic to grapple targets from afar as well as reel them in.
Railing. The quarterdeck has a 3-foot-high rail around its perimeter that provides half cover for Medium creatures and three-quarters cover for Small creatures behind it.
Wheel. The ship's wheel stands at the aft of the quarterdeck.
8. Oar Deck
Twelve benches are built into the deck of the lower deck. When the mimic permits itself to be rowed, such as while it sleeps, crew members sit on these benches to work the oars. Otherwise, the mimic extends oar-shaped pseudopods from this deck to propel itself.
9. Privy
Benches line the walls of this room. Four holes carved in them house chamber pots.
10. Medical Cabin
Hooks and shelves on the walls hold medical instruments, bandages, balms, tonics, jars of leeches, and more, ready to treat injuries from combat or sailing mishaps.
11. Guest Cabin and Brig
This cabin is meant for guests and visiting high-ranking officials along for the journey. Since warships often have a greater need to house prisoners rather than guests, each bed aboard such a vessel also has a set of manacles (see chapter 5 in the Player's Handbook) attached to its frame.
12. Hold
Objects the mimic collects or can't digest are extruded and stored here.
13. Armory
Weapons and armor the mimic collects or can't digest are held in this cabin. Its walls are fitted with built-in weapon and armor racks.
Lair and Lair Actions
A Sea Striker’s Lair
Sea strikers are semi-nomadic. They sail along coastlines in search of prey, staying off a specific stretch of shoreline only so long as the hunting is good. When worthwhile targets are depleted, a sea striker shoves off for the open sea to seek out a new hunting ground.
As semi-nomadic creatures, sea strikers do not have lairs. However, as mimic vessels which may be boarded by unwitting mariners, a sea striker's interior acts for all intents and purposes as the monster's lair.
Attacks against the walls, floors, and objects inside the sea striker constitute attacks against the sea striker, and the sea striker takes any damage dealt to these objects. Objects inside the sea striker share the sea striker's traits and statistics.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the mimic takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the mimic can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Form Eyestalk. One object located inside the mimic polymorphs into an eyestalk. An eyestalk is a Small monstrosity with AC 17, 20 hit points, the house hunter's ability scores, traits, and senses, and a walking speed of 0 feet. An eyestalk can be killed by normal means. The mimic can sense what the eyestalk senses. Killing an eyestalk deals 10 damage to the mimic.
- Form Pseudopod. Up to three objects located inside the mimic each polymorph into a pseudopod. A pseudopod is a Medium monstrosity with AC 17, 20 hit points, the mimic's ability scores and traits, and a speed of 15 feet. A pseudopod cannot move out of the room it was formed in. A pseudopod uses the mimic's pseudopod attack, but with a range of 10 feet, pulling a target 5 feet on a hit, and deals only half damage. A pseudopod can be killed by normal means. Killing a pseudopod deals 10 damage to the mimic. When a pseudopod is killed, the mimic automatically grows a new one to replace it on the next initiative count 20, which appears in the same room as the destroyed pseudopod.
- Form Maw. One wall located inside the mimic polymorphs into a maw. A maw is a Large monstrosity with AC 17, 50 hit points, the mimic's ability scores and traits, and a speed of 15 feet. A maw can only move along vertical surfaces. A maw can use the mimic's bite attack, but deals half damage, or cast acid splash as a 17th-level spellcaster (spell save DC 18, 4d6 acid damage). A maw can be killed by normal means. Killing a maw deals 25 damage to the mimic.
- Pseudopod Attack. Each pseudopod inside the mimic moves up to its speed and makes an attack against one creature within range. A pseudopod that can't be seen by an eyestalk attacks as though blinded.
- Maw Attack. Up to three maws inside the mimic move up to their speed, following a maw's movement rules, and make a bite attack or cast acid splash against one creature within range. A maw that can't be seen by an eyestalk attacks as though blinded and the target of a blinded maw's acid splash has advantage on its saving throw.
- Collapse (Recharge 6). The mimic completely collapses one room inside it. Each creature in that room must succeed on a DC 26 Strength or Constitution saving thrown (target's choice), taking 52 (8d12) bludgeoning damage and being swallowed by the mimic on a failed saving throw, or half as much damage without being swallowed on a success. Eyestalks, maws, and pseudopods are immune to damage dealt by this action, and are not swallowed.
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Treasure Hold. The mimic designates one room within it as a treasure hold. The mimic can have only 1 treasure hold at a time, which lasts until the mimic uses this lair action again. When the treasure hold is designated, the mimic shunts an amount of treasure worth at least 10,000 gp into the newly designated hold, and opens its doors. Any creature creature that can see the treasure when it appears or is able to see the pile when it starts its turn is targeted by the incite greed spell (DC 18) as though cast by the treasure.
Regional Effects
The region containing a sea striker mimic is influenced by the mimic's presence, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- The carcasses of dragon turtles, giant sharks, and other creatures known to attack passing vessels regularly wash wash up on shore, sporting enormous bite marks and acid burns.
- Rumors spread through the region about a ghost ship attacking merchant ships. Witnesses claim the ship is in pristine condition, but not a soul could be seen on her deck.
If the mimic dies, these effects fade over 1d4 weeks.
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