Pathfinder 1e Monster / NPC: Pufferfish

Special Abilities

Familiar The master of a pufferfish familiar gains a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves.   Poison (Ex) Spines—injury; save Fort DC 12; frequency once; initial effect staggered for 1 round; secondary effect 1 Str damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. If certain portions of the pufferfish’s body are eaten, the poison’s effect is instead 1d4 points of Constitution damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.   Spines (Ex) Pufferfish aren’t equipped to attack other creatures, but foes that strike a pufferfish with an unarmed strike or a natural attack take 1 point of piercing damage from the fish’s toxic spines, and must immediately attempt a saving throw against the pufferfish’s poison.  

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Pufferfish are a category of poisonous fish that dwell in warm coastal waters. Pufferfish have the ability to rapidly fill their stomachs with water or air, causing their bodies to balloon out and make the poisonous spikes on their skin more pronounced, while increasing their apparent size to frighten predators. While certain aquatic sharks and other animals have adapted to eat pufferfish, the puffer’s tetrodotoxin (typically delivered via the spines on the fish’s skin, though prevalent throughout its organs as well) remains highly poisonous to humans and most mammals who must be careful if they wish to eat one of these fish.   Pufferfish come in a variety of sizes and types, and most range from 6 inches to 2 feet in length and weigh between 5 and 30 pounds.