Shark

Shark

(Creature)

Type

Animal
(aquatic)

CR

2

Environment

Any ocean

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Adjective

Shark-like, sharkish

Images of sharks

Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 247

Angustiden

(Creature)

Type

Animal
(aquatic)

CR

7

Environment

Any ocean

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: Tempest Rising, pg(s). 84

Megalodon Dire shark1E
(Creature)
Gargantuan Animal Aquatic Level 9 Alignment LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE Source: Monster Core, pg(s). 307 Type Animal (aquatic) CR 9 Environment Any ocean Alignment LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 247

Great white shark
(Creature)
Huge Animal Aquatic Level 4 Alignment LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE Images of great white sharks Source: Monster Core, pg(s). 307 Type Animal (aquatic) CR 4 Environment Any ocean Alignment LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE Images of great white sharks Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 247

Hammerhead shark

(Creature)

Type

Animal
(aquatic)

CR

3

Environment

Any ocean

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Images of hammerhead sharks

Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 247

Helicoprion

(Creature)

Type

Animal
(aquatic)

CR

6

Environment

Any ocean

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: Tempest Rising, pg(s). 85

Jigsaw shark

(Creature)

Type

Animal
(aquatic)

CR

1

Environment

Temperate ocean

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Images of jigsaw sharks

Source: The Inner Sea World Guide, pg(s). 255

Tiger shark

(Creature)

Type

Animal
(aquatic)

CR

3

Environment

Any ocean

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 247

Sharks are a group of fish found throughout the seas of Golarion characterized by pectoral fins and five to seven gills on the sides of their head. Dangerous predators, they had evolved over the eons into primordial aquatic killing machines and have not changed much since.

Abilities

Sharks have multiple rows of sharp teeth and can smell blood within water from up to a mile away. Unless forced to, sharks don't like eating humanoids and only attack them and small boats if mistaken for seals or desperate, being the perpetuating sorce of the sharks are maneaters myth .

Ecology

Unless forced to, sharks prefer not to eat humanoids and attack them and small boats only if mistaken for seals or when desperate.

Species of shark

Angustiden

Angustidens are very large sharks native to deep waters. They are exceeded only by megalodons in size, and are known to prey on great white sharks.

Blue shark

Blue sharks inhabit the warmer oceans of the world, although they sometime migrate to cooler waters, and can be quite aggressive.

Bull shark

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Great white shark

Great white sharks are among the largest species of mundane shark on Golarion and most often hunt near coastal surface waters. They can leap at great height out of the water bite prey well above the surface.

Hammerhead shark

This larger species of shark has a noticeably hammer-shaped head.

Helicoprion

Helicoprions are peculiar sharks with lower jaws ending in whorls of teeth. These can be flicked out against prey, and recoiled to trap targets in a spiral of shredding teeth. Once a potential meal has been captured, a helicoprion keeps it trapped and waits for it to succumb to its injuries.

Jigsaw shark

Jigsaw sharks are a smaller species of shark found off the coast of Varisia. They generally grow between five to eight feet in length, although some larger specimens have been spotted.

Megalodons

Also known as dire sharks, megalodons are a true terror of the seas. Their enormous size makes them a threat to even the largest ocean-going vessels, and they have noticeable effects on their surrounding ecosystem.

Sharks of Lake Nirthran

Sharks are not only found on Golarion's surface waters. A species of giant bioluminescent shark is said to inhabit the deeper regions of Lake Nirthran in the Darklands realm of Sekamina.

Tiger shark

This large and aggressive shark gets its name from the dark stripes over its body.

Ecology

One would think that sharks are top predators, but Golarion's oceans, rivers, and lakes are dangerous enough that this is not the case. Of note are the giant shark-eating crabs that grow to be the size of a small hut, and the clever shapechangers known as selkies, both of which can be found in the cold waters off the coasts of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. Another creature with a taste for shark meat is the sea snail-like incutilis.

On Golarion

Although hundreds of species of shark can be found off nearly any coast on Golarion, they seem to be particularly common in the Shackles. One of the largest islands in the archipelago is even named Shark Island. Jigsaw sharks and great whites are frequently spotted off the Lost Coast of Varisia, Even the cold waters of the Steaming Sea are home to aggressive shark species, such as the ones found off the city of Bildt in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. The gargantuan megalodons have been spotted in the waters off the Ironbound Archipelago, the Antarkos Ocean, and the coasts of Varisia.

Sharks are not only denizens of the sea, but can also be found in Golarion's rivers and lakes. These include the rivers near the settlement of Outsea in the River Kingdoms, and Claybottom Lake in Varisia.

Domestication

Intelligent aquatic races have been known to domesticate sharks for hunting or guard duty. An example of this can be found in the city of Absalom, where the local gillmen have begun training them to serve as bloodhounds to track escapees from the prison known as the Black Whale. Undersea storm giants sometimes train larger shark species to serve as mounts or beasts of burden. Shark-like themselves, sedacthys commonly domesticate these animals. Sharks are also sometimes taken as animal companions by water-breathing or sea-dwelling druids and rangers.

Shark-like creatures

Quite a few of Golarion's species have shark-like features, most often because of magical experimentation and breeding, although this seems to not always be the case. These include the wereshark and their distant descendants, the beastkin known as seascarred. Inscrutable shark-men called kaneano live near Ilizmagorti on Mediogalti Island, and may be related to the fearsome and malevolent adaro. Intelligent sedacthys are often referred to as being like sharks, but whether this is primarily because of their features, their ability to naturally communicate with them, or their predatory nature is hard to gauge. However, feeders in the depths are sharks infused with malevolent power and intelligence by sedacthys. One of the most bizarre shark-like creatures is the lusca, gargantuan magical monstrosities with three shark heads and the tentacles of an octopus. Much smaller, but still terrifying, are bunyips, who combine the features of both sharks and seals. On land, burrowing bulettes look so similar to sharks that they are commonly known as landsharks.

Beyond Golarion

Like with many other creatures of the natural world, extraplanar versions of sharks exist in the Great Beyond. These include fiendish sharks that inhabit the waters of Tharsekti, the kholo nation on Lamashtu's realm of the Outer Rifts. Other powerful beings have or take on the shapes of shark, such as the nascent demon lord Ovonovo, who claims all sharks under his areas of concern.

Sharks in magic

Both sharks and megalodons can be summoned for short periods using druidic magic, while their fiendish or celestial counterparts can be brought forth using arcane magic.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

External links

• Shark (real-world animal) on Wikipedia