Pyropiscis

Glowing-hot plates of iron cover the head of this immense, primordial lungfish, and lava spills from between its jagged teeth.

Pyropiscis (CR 8)

Large Magical Beast (Fire)
Alignment: Neutral
Initiative: +6
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, Low-Light Vision, Tremorsense 60 feet; Perception +10

Speed: 10 feet, Burrow 60 feet (through lava or magma only) ( sprint)
Space: 10 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 22, touch 11, flat-footed 20 (+11 armor, +2 Dex, -1 size)
Hit Points: 105 (10d10+50)
Saving Throws: Fort +11, Ref +9, Will +5
Damage Reduction: 5/adamantine
Immunity: fire
Weaknesses: lava dependency, vulnerability to cold

Offense

Melee: bite +17 (2d8+10/19-20 plus burn and Grab)
Reach: 10 feet
Ranged: lava bomb +11 (3d6 plus 2d6 fire)

Special Attacks: Burn (1d6, DC 19), searing bite

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
24 (+7)	14 (+2)	18 (+4)	2 (-4)	15 (+2)	6 (-2)

Base Attack Bonus: +10
CMB +18 (+22 Grapple)
CMD 30

Feats: Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Lunge, Toughness, Weapon Focus (bite)

Skills: Perception +10, Stealth +6 (+14 in lava)

• Racial Modifiers: +8 Stealth in lava

Languages:

Special Qualities: hibernation

Special Abilities

Hibernation (Ex)

A pyropiscis can enter a state of hibernation for an indefinite period of time in order to survive longer periods away from a source of lava. Entering a state of hibernation takes 1 hour, during which the pyropiscis encases itself in a thick layer of igneous stone. While hibernating, a pyropiscis doesn't need to breathe, drink, or eat. The stone casing has hardness 8 and 90 hit points. As long as the casing remains intact, the pyropiscis within remains unharmed. The pyropiscis remains in a state of hibernation until it senses lava (or another source of extreme heat) nearby, at which point it breaks out of its case over the course of 1d4 minutes.

Lava Bomb (Ex)

Like an active volcano, a pyropiscis can spit a lava bomb-a blob of molten rock-as a ranged attack (range increment 30 feet). If a lava bomb hits, it deals 3d6 points of bludgeoning damage and 2d6 points of fire damage to its target.

Lava Dependency (Ex)

A pyropiscis can breathe indefinitely while submerged in lava. It can survive out of lava for 1 hour per point of Constitution. Beyond this limit, the pyropiscis runs the risk of suffocation, as if it were drowning.

Searing Bite (Ex)

A pyropiscis's searing-hot jaws are designed to bind readily to flesh, giving it a firm grasp on its prey. This functions as the constrict ability, except that a pyropiscis deals 2d6 points of fire damage when it makes a successful grapple check, rather than dealing bludgeoning damage.

Sprint (Ex)

Once per minute, a pyropiscis may sprint, increasing its land speed to 40 feet for 1 round.

Ecology

Environment: Warm Mountains or Underground
Organization: solitary, pack (3-6), or school (12-20)
Treasure: none


Few environments are more inhospitable to life than the depths of a volcano, where magma surges through the rock like blood through veins. Of the creatures that do live in this hellish landscape, few are better adapted than the pyropiscis. Pyropiscises depend on this deadly environment of extreme temperatures and choking gases for their very lives. While they have a fishlike appearance, pyropiscises do not swim-their bodies are far too dense to float in water or similar liquids. Instead, pyropiscises rely on their powerful muscles and sharp scales to burrow through molten rock. A typical pyropiscis measures over 12 feet long, and weighs almost 4,000 pounds. Brilliant red scales glow and pulse with terrible heat, protecting those portions of their bodies not covered in blackened iron plates.

Ecology

The unique physiology of pyropiscises allows them to derive sustenance directly from molten rock, leaching necessary minerals and volatiles from lava as it passes through their gills. A pyropiscis draws energy directly from the lava in which it dwells, using the intense heat to power its metabolic processes. While pyropiscises don't need to consume the flesh of other creatures to survive, they require nutrients from flesh to grow and to reproduce. A well-fed pyropiscis continues to grow throughout its lifetime and can reach an immense size.

Pyropiscises typically lurk close to the surface of active volcanoes, and ride eruptions like flowing tides to find prey. They burst forth from rivers of lava to snatch fleeing creatures with their jaws, and consume the charred corpses of those who can't outrun the volcano's fury. Once they have finished feeding, they swim back against the current of lava and into the volcano. Those pyropiscises that linger to gorge themselves, and those too weak to fight the downhill flow, become stranded on land. They then enter hibernation, awaiting the next eruption. A pyropiscis can hibernate for centuries at a time. Eventually, however, a stranded pyropiscis begins to starve, and will break out of its hibernation in search of food.

Pyropiscises reproduce by laying clutches of four to six eggs. They surround their eggs in fiercely guarded nests constructed of iron drawn from the surrounding stone. Newly hatched pyropiscises look like worms made of lava. Their scales are soft, and they lack the protective plating of their adult counterparts.

Sometimes, pyropiscises venture deep into the hearts of volcanoes that host portals to other planes, and wander through in search of sustenance. The Elemental Plane of Fire is their most common extraplanar hunting ground, but occasionally pyropiscises are found hunting in Hell. Lengthy sojourns into infernal realms sometimes grant pyropiscises fiendish traits.

Habitat & Society

Pyropiscises are found across Golarion, almost exclusively in areas of intense volcanic activity. They can reach many of the world's active volcanoes by navigating the interconnected series of magma chambers that worm their way through the depths of the earth, ranging from arctic hot springs to volcanic tropical islands.

These lava-dwelling fish rarely venture far onto the surface, preferring to remain belowground where rock remains molten for hundreds or thousands of years. The natural instability of their homes sometimes turns against pyropiscises, however, and particularly violent eruptions send angry pyropiscises raining down on nearby surface settlements, where they gorge themselves and cause even greater destruction.

Pyropiscises are social creatures. They live in schools of a dozen or more individuals, typically hunting alone or in smaller packs. They reproduce infrequently, and only ever after a successful hunt. Pyropiscises are intensely protective of all the young in their school regardless of parentage, and take turns guarding them. When a new crop of young reaches maturity, they form a school of their own, venturing to a different part of the same volcano. Even if a pyropiscis's hunts take it to other planes, it always strives to return to the volcano of its birth to spawn. Pyropiscis schools readily adopt stranded wanderers, but while welcoming to their own kind, these fiery beasts are hostile to all other creatures.

Some fire giants domesticate pyropiscises, overcoming their surly, willful nature through stubbornness. The giants' size and immunity to fire allow groups of them to handle an unruly pyropiscis throughout its training. Still, fire giants must continually placate their pets with charred flesh to prevent them from lashing out. This steady stream of food grows the pyropiscis to an enormous size, and some fire giants have been known to ride giant pyropiscises as mounts into battle. Pyropiscises also serve fire giants as fortress guardians, swimming in moats of magma at the entrances to their tunnels.

Pyropiscises are a recurring bane to miners and excavators. The rumble and activity of mining efforts can stir hibernating pyropiscises from their slumber, and the newly wakened pyropiscises spare few lives in their search for food and safety. The most unfortunate miners may even break directly into a pyropiscis's cocoon, as a hibernating pyropiscis encased in solid rock is indistinguishable from the surrounding stone. Those with the skill or unfortunate experience to recognize a sleeping pyropiscis for what it is can make a decent profit selling the monster to individuals in search of a guardian or owners of particularly opulent menageries, provided they can chisel the cocoon free and transport it to market without rousing the creature inside.