[This crooning, glowing fish monster from Shetland is likely inspired by the midshipman, which is both bioluminescent and vocal. The art direction went into a more angler-fish like direction. If somebody out there has art of a monstrous toadfish, I would be all for it.]
A marool is a predator of the lightless depths of the ocean that nevertheless uses illumination to lure and hunt its prey. It has a body something like a monstrous anglerfish, but it is covered in a constellation of glowing eyes, and it bears an array of feelers and lures that allow it to sense the tiniest vibrations in water or air. Although many deep sea animals may be attracted towards the marool’s maw simply by the novelty of light, it can enhance the effect magically, luring creatures to their doom in the marool’s cavernous jaws and crushing stomach.
Marools spend most of their time on or near the ocean floor, but they do come to the surface, especially on moonless nights. A marool has a dim and evil intelligence, and they delight in destroying ships and consuming sailors. A marool prefers to use its mesmerizing lights to lure multiple victims into position before using their Great Cleave feat to gobble them all up at once. The only real culture marools seem to have besides violence is their love of music—they croon with low, murmuring voices that can be heard for miles, and those that speak Aquan can understand their frequently disturbing lyrics. A particularly skilled (or at least noisy) bard traveling on the waves may attract the attention of a marool, which is rarely a good thing for either the bard or their ship’s crew.
Marool CR 10
XP 9,600
CE Huge aberration (aquatic)
Init +2; Senses all-around vision, blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., Perception +20
Defense
AC 24, touch 11, flat-footed 21 (-2 size, +2 Dex, +13 natural, +1 dodge)
hp 133 (14d8+70)Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +12
Resist cold 10, fire 10; SR 21Offense
Speed swim 60 ft.
Melee bite +17 (2d8+13 plus grab)
Ranged radiant beam +10 touch (6d6)Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks capsize, fast swallow, mesmerizing lights, swallow whole (2d8+13 bludgeoning, AC 17, 13 hp)
Statistics
Str 28, Dex 15, Con 21, Int 9, Wis 16, Cha 14
Base Atk +10; CMB +21 (+25 grapple); CMD 34
Feats Cleave, Dodge, Great Cleave, Mobility, Power Attack, Spring Attack, Vital Strike
Skills Perception +20, Perform (sing) +9, Stealth +11, Swim +27
Languages Aquan
SQ deep diver, illuminated
Ecology
Environment cold and temperate oceans
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure incidental
Special Abilities
Deep Diver (Ex) A marool does not take damage from pressure effects at any level of ocean depth. It can change its depth rapidly without taking damage.
Illuminated (Ex) As a swift action, a marool can cause itself to give off bright or dim light at any radius between 5 ft. and 60 ft. It can also extinguish this light as a swift action.
Mesmerizing Lights (Su) A marool can, as a standard action, cause its glowing eyes to shimmer in a compelling fashion. All creatures within 60 feet must succeed a DC 19 Will save or be entranced, taking no action except for moving towards the marool. A marool can maintain this aura by taking a standard action each round. A creature that passes through hazardous terrain or is attacked by another creature gets another Will save to break the effect. A creature adjacent to the marool can take no actions and is considered to be flat-footed against the marool’s attacks. This effect lasts as long as the marool maintains the lights, plus for one round thereafter. A creature that successfully saves against a marool’s mesmerizing lights is immune to the lights of that marool for the next 24 hours. This is a visual, mind-influencing, glamer effect. The save DC is Charisma based.
Radiant Beam (Su) As a standard action, a marool can fire a ray of burning light from its eyes. This functions as a ranged touch attack with a range of 120 feet and no range increment. A creature struck by this radiant beam takes 6d6 points of typeless damage. This attack deals double damage to the undead and to creatures that are vulnerable to sunlight.