Devilfish

Pathfinder’s devilfish are a new take on an old name.  “Devilfish” was “basic” D&D’s term for the ixitxachitl; the Creature Crucible accessory PC3 The Sea People, by Jim Bambra, devoted lots of ink to their evil machinations.  In the Bestiary 2, the devilfish name jumps to evil seven-armed octopi instead.  As they are, they make good low-level threats during sea adventure scenarios (their unholy blood attack is a cute supernatural take on octopi’s natural ink-squirting abilities).  But they are begging for higher intelligence, class levels, and/or templates—why should aboleths and krakens have all the fun?

The bay of Oshiko is being held hostage by a greedy ogre mage who demands exorbitant tribute in gold from every vessel, no matter how small—even rowboats.  His hold is enforced by his devilfish minions, whose unholy blood is stirred by the evil oni’s commands.

The outrigger canoes of the Poonal rangers are said to be the fastest in the world.  They have to be, for the seafaring Poonal are locked in a never-ending chase from the flying devilfish of the South Seas, who can jet out of the water just long enough to burst their unholy blood clouds and maul the backs of the rowers they arc over.

The canal city of Tibrezia is a lively but horrid place.  A cosmopolitan city that traded morality for love of spectacle—even by the standards of the Olive Coast—Tibrezia opened its gates to anyone, even worshippers of the primordial ocean evil Dagon.  Now intelligent devilfish slurp through the arcades on their tentacles before slipping back into the canals, tieflings and dhampirs mingle with the doge’s courtiers, and one in twenty children is born a skum.

—Pathfinder Bestiary 2 88