Underworld Beasts 01 - The Dungeon Angler Fish

Im gonna make some monsters that make dungeons more horrible
They will all be new oldschool type monsters for classic dungeons and caves and I will do one a day till xmas if possible.

Underworld Beasts 01 - The Dungeon Angler Fish
"Im going to gobble you little morsels up i am! Nomnomnomo Haaha!"

The Dungeon angler is a slimy albino or black deep water fish with a twitching glowing lure to attract prey. In the underland kingdoms these fish occupy underground streams and pools trapping travelers to eat. Living in magical waters tainted by alchemy produced these horrors. They hate any aquatic or intelligent or magical or carnivorous creatures. They all plan to be gods of the undersea realm of eternal darkness. Even as impudent baby ones the size of a goldfish.

The swim beneath a tunnel or dungeon and create chew a well shaft which attracts creatures and creates water features many dungeonoids use. To be even more tempting the fish creates a illusion on it's lure tentacle and will create visions of magic swords held by ladies hands or treasure heaps, or books. It psionicly gleans this from the desires of prey. Larger ones are smarter and have better illusions. Some just undermine a floor so a medium animal weight falls through into water. They could seal of a dungeon and kill everything in it for fun.

They can see in absolute darkness 24" and through solid rock 9". They use this to detect prey with bioelectric fields, pressure and other non visual senses. They can burrow through 1" of rock per day per HD. More powerful ancient ones just get bigger and smarter. They can survive out of water for a day but after 12 hours take a hp damage per hour. They complain all the time about lack of water but might dig some tunnels for pay. Pay = prey. The lure is one foot long per HD and a measure of how far it can swallow something bigger than itself like a pony from a gulping surprise leap. The lure can write with a stylus and provide reading light. They often arrange wells where they can nab creatures in range on edge of water. In some cases like a wounded pig on shore it ight climb out onto land. The are masters of camouflage and blend into stone often just under water. Their thousands of teeth are transparent and glass like even breaking off in victims. In some places they have poison quills on their skin or other exotic features.

Each Angler has a number of male husbands fused to her flesh and each knows one spell. They like illusions and summoned creature spells best. Males as fingerlings dwell in a magic school by sea demons then when mature and have a spell they are sent to a female bite her fuse into her and draw nutrient from her bodies while organs atrophy away providing sperm and spells. They learn Priest or wizard or other spell lists and casting styles. 1in6 females caries multiple spell list using heads like priest and wizard. Mostly heads collectively may cast one spell per round as well as bite attack. Some sea witches adopt juvenile males with trickery and bond with them. Females once bonded are constantly pregnant and may have multiple males.

They sound like Brian Blessed shouting from inside a aquarium and not at all ladylike.

They really hate it when intelligent talking food mistakenly thinks they are lowly males. They assume males in a party are inferiors and retarded, and females are the leaders.

Small AC +4 HD 4 MV3"/9"swim Bite 2d4 SA:Illusions and 1d3 males
Medeum AC +8 HD 8 MV4"/12"swim Bite 3d6 SA:Illusions and 1d4+1males
Large AC+12 HD 12 MV5"/15"swim Bite 6d4 SA:Illusions and 2d4 males
Colossal AC+16 HD 20 MV6"/18" Bite 12d4 SA:Illusions and 3d4 males

Small are under 60 years and have intelligence of an animal, uses food, crying children, or mate illusions. Their males spells are all 1st level. They snatch and grab and run mostly. They are happy to trap a room or corridor and snatch dungeon dwellers in secret.

Medium are under 300 years and have human cunning. Lure illusions include small shiny treasure or pile of bottles. Their males have one 3rd level, two 2nd level and rest 1st level. The are cunning with minions and create own lairs and tunnels and waterways. They might do it for cash but only for non good people. They are jerks who want to eat everyone but take time to read and write and talk. Farming food humanoids and slaves is popular goal.

Large are under 1000 years and have high human intelligence. Illusions include personal items or friends if a group is confusing so goes for common friends of party. They might even hide forms of the cultists and surroundings to create an illusion jolly dungeon pub. Have a male spell head for 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and rest have 1st lv spells. Now they try to rule a level or whole dungeon using magic and intrigue.

Colossal are the great immortal ancestors, aeons old and usually have built a dungeon to surround themselves with. These usually have a cult that hurl victims into the god pit and guard it.  Bait illusion may conceal the whole dungeon with many phantom phenomena tailored to tease adventurers. Male spell heads can hold up to third level spells with two holding 4th level and one with a 5th level spell. They all hate each other and employ sub females (daughter vassals) as buffers between them. They spend time breeding, consorting with fish demons and tormenting interesting prisoners for decades. They even discover how to make human hybrid angler fish women and implant  them with males spells. Not very bright but eager to kill and eat like most beast men and abhumans. Their hybrid spies and cults monitor and manipulate food populations, skimming them for money and people. In one case it one was so big it had a village on it's back! Cannibal head hunter albino cultists believe god is an island. Seafaring ones eat giant monsters and whales in the dark deep sea or underland oceans.