Oceanian Bestiary 5E

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Bestiary by A4 Play

You and your party have already trekked through plenty of strange realms—no doubt about it. Ready for something totally new? Let’s sail to Oceania. I’m willing to bet you’ve never adventured there before!

For this bestiary, we’re diving beneath the waves to hunt down the region’s rarest sea monsters, then island-hopping to track elusive spirits, ghosts, and monsters. Every tale we uncover goes straight into a brand-new bestiary, complete with developed stat blocks for 5th Edition.

Open the book and you’ll find each creature’s story drawn from authentic island legends: its strengths, weaknesses, personality, and the reason it exists at all. We keep the original folklore intact, but polish the wording so it reads smoothly at your table. You’ll also get GM tips and adventure hooks for monsters.

All the art is rooted in local myth. To keep things truly authentic, some creatures are even inspired by real postage stamps issued on these islands—stamps that feature the monsters themselves!

Monsters:

• Abaia (Magical Eel) – New Guinea – A magical eel that controls the weather and can become extremely vengeful if disturbed.
• Adaro (Monster) – Solomon Islands – The malevolent half of a person’s soul; it often takes the form of sea creatures such as sharks and becomes a conscious, vengeful monster.  
• Aitu-i-vae-toko (Cannibal Ogre) – Marquesas Islands  – A cannibal with extremely long, stilt-like legs; he strides over reefs, ravines, and cliffs so fast that his prey can hardly escape.  
• Aku-Aku (Spirit) – Easter Island – Guardian spirits of the island who aggressively pursue intruders.
• New Zealand (North Island) – A dragon guardian who can raise storms or smash any ships or canoes that disturb it.
• Boongurunguru (Demonic Boar) – Solomon Islands – A demon that appears as a gigantic boar with a fern growing on its flat head and a buzzing hornets’ nest beneath its chin.
• Bunabuna (Spirit) – New Guinea – Malevolent spirits that hunt people.  
• Dakuwaqa (Shark God) – Fiji – A monstrous shark god to whom all other sharks submit; he can shapeshift into a muscular Fijian man with the torso of a shark.  
• Erumía (Creature) – New Guinea – A gigantic jellyfish, mother of all jellyfish and protector of all sea life.  
• Green Lady (Ghost) – Hawaii – The ghost of a woman with green skin and dagger-like teeth who kidnaps children.
• Kakamora (Fairies) – Solomon Islands – Tiny cave-dwelling beings with long hair and claws; shy forest spirits often called gnomes and regarded as protectors of nature.
• Karemanua (Half-Shark Monster) – Solomon Islands – A wild creature, half human and half shark, that can be tamed and serve as a guardian.
• Kopuwai (Giant Ogre) – Māori – A giant with a dog’s head who roams with a pack of two-headed dogs.  
• Kurangaituku (Bird Woman) – Māori – A supernatural being, part woman and part bird, with talons and a beak.  
• Māori – Large, powerful cannibals with long black hair and sharp claws who live in the forests.  
• Malk ra Ngeraod (Spirit) – A rooster with a human head that hatches gold coins on Spirit Mountain and drives mad anyone who sees him.  18.
• Marakihau (Spirits) – Māori – Human-shaped beings with long tubular tongues capable of devouring people.  
• Mejenkwad (Spirit) – Marshall Islands – Malicious female spirits that can fly and usually bring death.  
• Menehune (Dwarf Builders) – Hawaii – Miniature beings known as the “night architects.”  
• Mo‘o (Dragon) – Hawaii – Dragon shapeshifters who can take the form of women to lure people; guardians of bodies of water.  
• Mother Eel (Monster) – Marshall Islands – A huge sea monster, mother of all fish, who can swallow a person when angered.  
• Ngarara (Reptilian Monster) – Māori – A massive reptile-like creature, sometimes referred to as a snake goddess.  
• Night Marchers (Ghosts) – Hawaii – The spirits of ancient Hawaiian warriors who march to sacred sites.
• Oboubi (Sea People) – Papua New Guinea – A mythical seafaring people regarded as masters of marine animals.
• Oo-er (Bird) – New Guinea – A magical bird that lays square eggs
• Oriogoruho (Monster) – Papua New Guinea – A monster with huge ears that abducts people.  
• Pairío (Creature) – Papua New Guinea – An evil spirit turned into a gigantic catfish that rams fishermen’s canoes with the spines on its back.
• Patupaiarehe (Fairies) – Māori – Pale-skinned, fair-haired forest fairies encountered in wooded areas.  
• Ponaturi (Fairies) – Māori – Similar to patupaiarehe but live in the sea and come ashore only at night.  
• Pouakai (Predator Bird) – A gigantic predatory bird said to carry people off to its nest.
• Rokobakaniceva (Octopus Goddess) – Fiji – A deity in the form of an enormous octopus.  
• Sirena (Mermaid) – Guam – A girl cursed by her mother for loving to swim; she became a half-fish, half-human who lives in the ocean off Guam.
• Spirit ‘nogut’ (Spirit) – Papua New Guinea – A malevolent spirit that possesses a person and grants them supernatural powers to do harm.  
• Tabakea (God) – Kiribati – A primordial turtle god.  
• Tamburan (Spirit) – Solomon Islands – A malicious spirit that causes every kind of misfortune but is dangerous only at night.  
• Taniwha (Spirit) – Māori – Water spirits that can take many shapes—lizards, eels, or sharks—depending on the locale and its people.  
• Tatane (Spirit) – Easter Island – Evil spirits of Easter Island, embodiments of the devil: extremely thin, with skin stretched over their bones, prominent cheekbones, long ears, and small beards. Forever hungry, they fly at night, slip into houses, and devour every scrap of food.  
• Te Wheke-a-Muturangi (Monster) – Māori – A huge, monstrous octopus.  
• Tikokura (Spirit) – Polynesia – A malevolent spirit that takes the form of a giant wave.  
• Tuhirangi (Dragon ) – New Zealand – The sea guardian of New Zealand’s southern waters.  
• Úere-bóro (Spirit) – New Guinea – The vengeful spirit of a man who was beheaded after death.  
• Whiro (Demon) – New Zealand) – The god of darkness and evil, usually depicted as a lizard-like being who dwells in the underworld and brings misfortune to humankind.  

Items:

• Drum (pahu) – A traditional Polynesian log drum.  
• Hei-Tiki – A nephrite pendant carved in human form that enhances the wearer’s mana and magic.  
• Maui’s Fishing Hook – The legendary fish-hook of the demigod Maui.  
• Yapese Stone Money – Large carved stone discs traditionally used as currency on the island of Yap.

Oceanian Bestiary 5E is available through DriveThruRPG in PDF.

---

Please note:  The links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item the author of this post will receive an affiliate commission.