Octopus
An octopus is an aquatic cephalopod mollusc with large eyes and four pairs of tentacled arms. It is capable of emitting clouds of dark ink underwater and jetting through water, and it has a venomous bite. Some octopuses can grow to giant sizes, with tentacles as long as 20 feet.1
Ecology
Octopuses, as well as their giant variants, sometimes serve as animal companions.2 Aquatic elves are particularly known to befriend octopuses.3 A blue-ringed octopus sometimes serves as a spellcaster's familiar.24
On Golarion
Octopuses are among the most common sea life caught and sold by fisherfolk on Golarion.5 They also live in the midnight zone of ocean depths.6
Giant octopuses
Giant octopuses are far larger than their more common kin and can eat much larger prey, including humanoids and sharks.1 They can grow up to 16 feet long but can easily squeeze through gaps as narrow as two feet wide, but require more effort to squeeze if the gap is narrower than one foot wide. Giant octopuses often lair within shipwrecks, coral reefs, or underwater caverns. They strew their lairs with objects, which might include magic weapons, shields, and artworks taken from dead adventurers and sunken ships. A giant octopus' beak is venomous.7
Giant octopuses on Golarion
Giant octopuses are known to roam the ruins of Azlant8 and the Embaral Ocean.9
Athamaru explorers of the Obari Ocean found an octopus town—a collection of giant octopuses dwelling in the ocean rock and shipwrecks on the ocean floor—whose inhabitants displayed a remarkable level of organization, including large gatherings and community hunting parties. The few athamarus who returned alive described the octopuses as intelligent and wise.7
Similar creatures
Cecaelias have the upper bodies of humanoids and lower bodies of an octopus.9
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Monsters A to Z” in Bestiary, 219. Paizo Inc., 2009 .
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Animal Archive, inside front cover. Paizo Inc., 2013 .
- ↑ “Racial Animals” in Animal Archive, 5. Paizo Inc., 2013 .
- ↑ “Chapter 2: Mastering Magic” in Ultimate Magic, 117. Paizo Inc., 2011 .
- ↑ “Embaral Ocean” in Aquatic Adventures, 13. Paizo Inc., 2017 .
- ↑ “Aquatic Rules” in Aquatic Adventures, 48. Paizo Inc., 2017 .
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 “Octopus” in Monster Core, 248. Paizo Inc., 2024 .
- ↑ “Arcadian Ocean” in Aquatic Adventures, 10. Paizo Inc., 2017 .
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 “Embaral Ocean” in Aquatic Adventures, 14. Paizo Inc., 2017 .
External links
- Octopus (real-life animal) on Wikipedia