Shark

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Shark
A shark.
(Creature)

Type
Animal
(aquatic)
CR
2
Environment
Any ocean
Alignment
Adjective
Shark-like, sharkish
Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 247
Angustiden
(Creature)

Type
Animal
(aquatic)
CR
7
Environment
Any ocean
Alignment
Source: Tempest Rising, pg(s). 84
Megalodon
Dire shark1E
(Creature)
Great white shark
(Creature)
Hammerhead shark
(Creature)

Type
Animal
(aquatic)
CR
3
Environment
Any ocean
Alignment
Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 247
Helicoprion
(Creature)

Type
Animal
(aquatic)
CR
6
Environment
Any ocean
Alignment
Source: Tempest Rising, pg(s). 85
Jigsaw shark
A jigsaw shark attack.
(Creature)

Type
Animal
(aquatic)
CR
1
Environment
Temperate ocean
Alignment
Source: The Inner Sea World Guide, pg(s). 255
Tiger shark
(Creature)

Type
Animal
(aquatic)
CR
3
Environment
Any ocean
Alignment
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.23

Abilities

Sharks have multiple rows of sharp teeth and can smell blood within water from up to a mile away.23 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 23.

Ecology

Unless forced to, sharks prefer not to eat humanoids and attack them and small boats only if mistaken for seals or when desperate.23

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.4

Blue shark

Blue sharks inhabit the warmer oceans of the world, although they sometime migrate to cooler waters, and can be quite aggressive.56

Bull shark

Great white shark

Great white sharks are among the largest species of mundane shark on Golarion and most often hunt near coastal surface waters.23 They can leap at great height out of the water bite prey well above the surface.23

Hammerhead shark

This larger species of shark has a noticeably hammer-shaped head.6

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.4

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.78

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.23

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.9

Tiger shark

This large and aggressive shark gets its name from the dark stripes over its body.6[citation needed]

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.1011 Another creature with a taste for shark meat is the sea snail-like incutilis.12

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.13 Jigsaw sharks and great whites are frequently spotted off the Lost Coast of Varisia,8 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.1415 The gargantuan megalodons have been spotted in the waters off the Ironbound Archipelago,16 the Antarkos Ocean,17 and the coasts of Varisia.18

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,19 and Claybottom Lake in Varisia.20

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.21 Undersea storm giants sometimes train larger shark species to serve as mounts or beasts of burden.22 Shark-like themselves, sedacthys23 commonly domesticate these animals.24 Sharks are also sometimes taken as animal companions25 by water-breathing or sea-dwelling druids2627 and rangers.28

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 wereshark29 and their distant descendants, the beastkin known as seascarred.30 Inscrutable shark-men called kaneano live near Ilizmagorti on Mediogalti Island,31 and may be related to the fearsome and malevolent adaro.32 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.3334 However, feeders in the depths are sharks infused with malevolent power and intelligence by sedacthys.35 One of the most bizarre shark-like creatures is the lusca, gargantuan magical monstrosities with three shark heads and the tentacles of an octopus.36 Much smaller, but still terrifying, are bunyips, who combine the features of both sharks and seals.37 On land, burrowing bulettes look so similar to sharks that they are commonly known as landsharks.38

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 kholo39 nation on Lamashtu's realm of the Outer Rifts.40 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.41

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.42

References

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

  1. Megalodons had the
    Uncommon
    trait prior to the Pathfinder Second Edition Remaster Project.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Logan Bonner, et al. “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 291. Paizo Inc., 2019
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Logan Bonner, et al. Shark” in Monster Core, 307. Paizo Inc., 2024
  4. 4.0 4.1 Jesse Benner, et al. “Bestiary” in Tempest Rising, 84–85. Paizo Inc., 2012
  5. James Jacobs. “Souls for Smuggler's Shiv” in Souls for Smuggler's Shiv, 43–44. Paizo Inc., 2010
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Jason Bulmahn, et al. “Monsters A to Z” in Bestiary, 247. Paizo Inc., 2009
  7. Nicolas Logue & Mike McArtor. “Bestiary” in Edge of Anarchy, 77. Paizo Inc., 2008
  8. 8.0 8.1 James Jacobs, et al. “Flora” in The Inner Sea World Guide, 255. Paizo Inc., 2011
  9. James Jacobs & Greg A. Vaughan. Sekamina” in Into the Darklands, 40. Paizo Inc., 2008
  10. Greg A. Vaughan. “Night of Frozen Shadows” in Night of Frozen Shadows, 21. Paizo Inc., 2011
  11. Jesse Benner & Sean K Reynolds. “Bestiary” in Night of Frozen Shadows, 88. Paizo Inc., 2011
  12. Robin D. Laws. Pathfinder's Journal: The Treasure of Far Thallai 1 of 6” in The Wormwood Mutiny, 84–85. Paizo Inc., 2012
  13. James Jacobs, et al. “The Shackles” in The Inner Sea World Guide, 171–172. Paizo Inc., 2011
  14. Matthew Goodall, et al. “The Linnorm Kingdoms” in Lands of the Linnorm Kings, 9. Paizo Inc., 2011
  15. Matthew Goodall, et al. “Linnorm Kingdoms Bestiary” in Lands of the Linnorm Kings, 53. Paizo Inc., 2011
  16. Matthew Goodall, et al. “The Linnorm Kingdoms” in Lands of the Linnorm Kings, 23. Paizo Inc., 2011
  17. Amber E. Scott & Mark Seifter. Antarkos Ocean” in Aquatic Adventures, 5. Paizo Inc., 2017
  18. James L. Sutter. Varisia” in The Hook Mountain Massacre, 71. Paizo Inc., 2007
  19. China Miéville. Outsea” in Guide to the River Kingdoms, 37. Paizo Inc., 2010
  20. Nicolas Logue. “The Hook Mountain Massacre” in The Hook Mountain Massacre, 11. Paizo Inc., 2007
  21. Owen K.C. Stephens. “Places” in Guide to Absalom, 26. Paizo Inc., 2008
  22. Jason Nelson. Storm Giant” in Giants Revisited, 53. Paizo Inc., 2012
  23. Paizo referred to sedachtys as sahuagins and sea devils until the publication of Monster Core.
  24. Hal Maclean, et al. “Named NPCs” in NPC Guide, 29. Paizo Inc., 2010
  25. Logan Bonner, et al. “3: Classes” in Core Rulebook, 145. Paizo Inc., 2019
  26. F. Wesley Schneider. “Seven Days to the Grave” in Seven Days to the Grave, 32. Paizo Inc., 2008
  27. Jason Bulmahn, et al. “Chapter 3: Classes” in Core Rulebook, 54. Paizo Inc., 2009
  28. Jason Bulmahn, et al. “Chapter 3: Classes” in Core Rulebook, 67. Paizo Inc., 2009
  29. James Jacobs, et al. Technology” in The Inner Sea World Guide, 305. Paizo Inc., 2011
  30. Tim Akers, et al. “Wereshark-Kin” in Blood of the Moon, 20. Paizo Inc., 2013
  31. Robert G. McCreary. Ilizmagorti” in Cities of Golarion, 29. Paizo Inc., 2009
  32. Tim Hitchcock, et al. “Bestiary” in Racing to Ruin, 80–81. Paizo Inc., 2010
  33. Jason Bulmahn, et al. “Monsters A to Z” in Bestiary, 239. Paizo Inc., 2009
  34. Mike Shel. “Shackles Gazetteer” in Isles of the Shackles, 12. Paizo Inc., 2012
  35. Dennis Baker, et al. Sahuagin” in Monster Codex, 196. Paizo Inc., 2014
  36. Mike Shel. “Threats of the Shackles” in Isles of the Shackles, 53. Paizo Inc., 2012
  37. Anthony Pryor. Bunyip” in Mystery Monsters Revisited, 5. Paizo Inc., 2012
  38. Joshua J. Frost. Bulette” in Dungeon Denizens Revisited, 6. Paizo Inc., 2009
  39. Paizo referred to all kholo as gnolls until the publication of The Mwangi Expanse, and renamed all gnolls to kholo across Player Core, GM Core, and Monster Core. For details, see Meta:Kholo.
  40. James Jacobs. “Lords of the Abyss” in Lords of Chaos, Book of the Damned Volume 2, 7. Paizo Inc., 2010
  41. James Jacobs. “Demonkind” in Lords of Chaos, Book of the Damned Volume 2, 39. Paizo Inc., 2010
  42. Jason Bulmahn, et al. “Spells” in Core Rulebook, 351–353. Paizo Inc., 2009

External links

  • Shark (real-world animal) on Wikipedia