Reef Shark
Medium Beast · · CR 1/2
- Beast
- Medium
- Tier 1
CR 1/2 medium beast, unaligned — that's Reef Shark. Native to underwater. Sourced from Monster Manual (5e 2014) and Monster Manual (5.5e 2024).
Stat Block
- Challenge Rating
- 1/2
- Type
- Beast
- Size
- Medium
- Alignment
- —
- Speed
- —
- Habitats
- Underwater
- Sources
- Monster Manual (5e 2014), Monster Manual (5.5e 2024)
Ecology
Reef sharks are mid-sized predators of warm coastal shallows, atolls, and coral reefs. They feed on schooling fish, octopuses, and crustaceans, hunting in coordinated packs. Females give live birth in protected lagoons after a year of gestation; pups are independent immediately. Their populations depend on healthy reefs, so they vanish when coral dies. Sahuagin and merrow domesticate reef sharks as guards and mounts.
Behaviour
Reef sharks are bolder than open-ocean species, due to their pack tactics and intimate knowledge of reef geometry. They circle prey in coordinated turns, using the coral to corral fish into ambush zones. With sharp electroreception, they detect heartbeats meters away and target wounded prey first. They rarely attack creatures larger than themselves unless that prey is bleeding or alone.
Origin
Most reef sharks are mundane beasts, but ancient reefs guarded by sea-deities sometimes spawn awakened reef sharks with intelligence and limited speech. Sahuagin priests claim the reef shark as a sacred avatar of their fiend-patron, breeding aggressive lines for war. A rare 'silver reef shark' subspecies is said to guide drowning sailors to land in tales told along the southern coasts.
Related Monsters
Frequently Asked Questions about Reef Shark
- What is the challenge rating of Reef Shark?
- Reef Shark has a challenge rating of 1/2. It fits a tier-1 party (levels 1-4).
- What type of creature is Reef Shark?
- Reef Shark is classified as a beast in D&D 5e, medium size.
- Where does Reef Shark live?
- Reef Shark's listed habitats include Underwater.