Killer Whale 5e: Stats, Echolocation and Fighting in the Water

A killer whale is a CR 3 Huge beast with AC 12, 90 hit points, a 60-foot swim speed, 120-foot blindsight and one attack: a +6 bite for 21 (5d6 + 4) piercing damage. That single bite averages more than a level 3 wizard with 14 Constitution has hit points (20). In 2014 its blindsight comes from Echolocation, so a Deafened killer whale loses it. The 2024 rules (SRD 5.2.1) drop Echolocation and Keen Hearing, raise its Dexterity from 10 to 14 and give it Stealth +4, which makes it an ambush predator that silence can't blind.

Table of Contents

• •Killer Whale Stat Block (2014)
• •The Killer Whale in the 2024 Rules
• •How Killer Whales Fight
• •Running a Killer Whale Encounter
• •How Players Beat a Killer Whale
• •Killer Whale Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Killer Whale Stat Block (2014)

Read the three traits together. Hold Breath (30 minutes) means it breathes air and has to surface. Keen Hearing gives Advantage on hearing-based Perception, so its passive Perception is 18 against anything splashing. Echolocation says it can't use its blindsight while Deafened. That last line is the only real weakness on the stat block.

The Killer Whale in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 whale keeps its 120-foot blindsight with no condition attached, so Deafening it does nothing. It acts earlier in initiative and can hide. It also has a 5-foot walking speed, so a beached 2024 whale can drag itself back toward the water, where the 2014 one is stuck.

How Killer Whales Fight

The killer whale has one attack a turn and a lot of speed. Its plan is simple: reach a swimmer, bite, and keep doing it.

• •The bite: +6 against AC 16 hits on a 10 or higher, 55% of the time, for 21 damage. That's about 11.5 damage a round. Against a swimmer who took off their armor (AC 12), it hits 75% of the time for about 16 a round.
• •Speed advantage: 60 feet of swimming against characters who either have no swim speed (every foot costs an extra foot) or a slow one. The whale chooses when a fight starts and who it's with.
• •Blindsight: it sees everything within 120 feet, including invisible creatures and anything in murky or dark water. Hiding from it in dark or murky water doesn't work; only total cover blocks it.
• •Focus the weak swimmer. A 2014 whale with Keen Hearing hears the character thrashing in the water. A DM playing the whale well bites the character who is already in the water and struggling, not the one on deck.

The party's problems underwater stack up. A character without a swim speed has Disadvantage on melee weapon attacks unless the weapon is a dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear or trident (2014), or deals Piercing damage (2024). Ranged weapon attacks have Disadvantage and miss beyond normal range (2014 exempts crossbows, nets and thrown weapons). A character can hold their breath for 1 + Constitution modifier minutes. The whale can hold its breath for 30.

Running a Killer Whale Encounter

A killer whale is worth 700 XP.

• •2024 rules: for four level 3 characters, Low is 600 XP and Moderate 900, so one whale (700 XP) is a Moderate fight. If the party is in the water, it plays harder than that. At level 5, two whales (1,400 XP) are Low on paper (1,400 of the 2,000 Low budget) but a real fight if the party is in the water.
• •2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator): one whale is Medium for four level 3 characters. Two whales at level 5 come to 2,100 adjusted XP (1,400 × 1.5), Medium. Check your numbers in the calculator.

Where the party stands decides the fight. On a ship's deck, the whale can't reach anyone with its 5-foot reach unless they're at the rail of a low boat. In the water, it's the most dangerous thing a level 3 party can meet.

How Players Beat a Killer Whale

• •Stay out of the water. A whale has no ranged attack. Fight from a ship, a pier or a rock, and every time it surfaces it takes hits without giving any back.
• •Deafen a 2014 whale. Echolocation means a Deafened 2014 whale can't use blindsight. Blindness/Deafness can deafen it on a failed Constitution save (+1). The Silence spell's 20-foot sphere deafens any creature entirely inside it, and a Huge whale fits. Without blindsight the 2014 whale has no darkvision, so in deep or dark water it's effectively blind. This doesn't work on a 2024 whale.
• •Use the right weapons. Spears, tridents, daggers and javelins (2014) or any piercing weapon (2024) avoid the underwater melee penalty. Crossbows are the best ranged choice under 2014 rules.
• •Don't count on fire spells in the water. Anything fully underwater has resistance to fire damage in both editions.
• •Turn it into an ally. A caster of Polymorph can turn an ally of level 3 or higher into a killer whale, since the form's CR (3) can't exceed the target's level. In 2014 the target takes the whale's 90 hit points; in 2024 it keeps its own and gains 90 temporary hit points.

Killer Whale Encounter Ideas

The fishing grounds. A village's fishing boats keep coming back with their nets torn. Three killer whales are taking the catch. The villagers want them driven off, not killed, because the whales also keep the sharks away.

The shipwreck dive. The party has to swim down 60 feet to a sunken hold. A killer whale circles above. It ignores the boat but bites anything in the water, and everyone has to come up for air eventually.

The sea druid's guardian. A druid's island is guarded by a killer whale that answers a horn. It surfaces next to the party's rowboat and waits. If the party lands without permission, it starts circling.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is a killer whale in 5e?

CR 3, worth 700 XP, in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 12 and 90 hit points.

Does deafening a killer whale blind it?

In the 2014 rules, Echolocation says it can't use its blindsight while deafened, so it relies on normal sight. The 2024 killer whale has no Echolocation trait, so deafening it doesn't affect its blindsight.

How long can a killer whale hold its breath?

30 minutes, in both editions. It breathes air, so it has to surface.

Can a killer whale leave the water?

The 2014 killer whale has a walking speed of 0 feet and can't move on land. The 2024 one has a 5-foot walking speed, enough to drag itself a short distance.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.