Sawfish (Sawshark)
Large Animal (Aquatic)
Hit Dice: 3d8+3 (16 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: Swim 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 14 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +4 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+6
Attack: Saw +3 melee (2d4+3/19-20)
Full Attack: Saw +3 melee (2d4+3/19-20)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Low-light vision
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +2
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Skills: Hide -1*, Listen +3, Search -3*, Spot +5, Swim +10
Feats: Alertness, Improved Critical (B), Swimby Attack
Environment: Any aquatic (sawfish) or warm aquatic (sawshark)
Organization: Solitary, pair, or school (3–8)
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 4-6 HD (Large); 7-9 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: --
This large, raylike fish has a long, flat snout with a row of teeth on each side.
There is little to distinguish the sawfish from the sawshark except for the position of the gill slits on each fish. On the sawshark, the gill slits are on the sides of the neck; on the sawfish, the gills are on the underside of the body.
The sawfish belongs to the family of rays, and is similar in some ways to the manta and stingray. The sawshark, however, is a true shark. Both the sawfish and sawshark are characterized by a long, flat snout with a row of teeth on each side. Both fish use a side-to-side slashing motion to attack their prey and to defend themselves. This sawlike snout makes up roughly half the total body length of each fish. On some individual fish, the snout itself may be 6' long.
Sawfishes are very lethargic animals, spending much of their day nestled in the muddy sea/river floor. At night, they scull slowly through the shallows, using their sensitive saw to find buried prey, which are then raked from the sediment to be consumed. It is useful to view the sawfishes' unique snout like a fish detector combined with a clam rake.
An average sawfish is about 10-12 feet long and weighs around 120 pounds.
Sawfish do not speak.
Combat
If small fishes swim past a hungry sawfish, this great shark-like ray will launch from the bottom, slashing its toothy weapon rapidly side to side. Gouged by the snout's awl-shaped teeth, injured fishes tumble to the sea floor, now immobilized and easy to catch.
Apart from its use in finding and disabling prey, the toothy snout is also a weapon of defense. When threatened, sawfishes will smack this jagged sword against attackers, whether they be sharks or fishermen. Generally, though, sawfishes are very gentle animals, prefering to lie quietly, undisturbed.
Skills: A sawfish has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line. *Sawfish have a +8 racial bonus to Search checks when probing sea or river floors with their snout for prey and a +8 racial bonus to Hide checks while hiding in the same environment.
NEW FEAT
Swimby Attack [GENERAL]
Prerequisite: Swim speed of 40 feet or more.
Benefit: When swimming, the creature can take a move action (including a charge) and another standard action at any point during the move. The creature cannot take a second move action during a round when it makes a swimby attack.
Normal: Without this feat, the creature takes a standard action either before or after its move.
The sawfish first appeared in Dragon Magazine #116, p. 42.
