Denizens of the Deep

Merfolk Denizens of the Deep

SampleA racial option for file 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Merfolk “THOSE MERFOLK, THEY’RE A GOOD OMEN. or an evil omen. I can never remember which. All Underwater Cities you need to know is that if one o’ them is aboard �� your vessel, you're bound for a bout o’ fortune. Or Merfolk congregate in vast living cities in the tropical disaster. waters of the South and huge underwater citadels They keep to themselves, though. Only ever met in the more temperate North. The largest city in one once meself. Met ‘im on an honest merchant the South is a carefully grown reef named Azure ship. Deckhand ‘e was.. Whole ship went down in a Nim that stretches along thirty miles of a populated storm. I was the only survivor. A good omen ‘e was! archipelago. In the North, the Merrowkeep Citadel Suppose that means ‘e died. Bad omen, then. Wait, sits among windswept islands, carved out of the merfolk can swim. Good omen again!” heavy stone of a dormant underwater volcano. -Peer Icetide, ship’s captain These cities form the hub of merfolk culture. Merfolk traders bring goods that are impossible Merfolk are a semi-acquatic race of shapeshifters to make underwater from nearby islands or other that spend most of their lives underwater. Although surface settlements. In addition, these cities act as they can survive equally well on land or underwater, political gathering places, where representatives merfolk culture is based almost entirely beneath the from different merfolk groups can meet to debate waves. Those who spend most of their time on land and make decisions. are considered eccentric at best. There are two subraces of merfolk that are largely Merfolk and Sailors based on geographical location. Finfolk are merfolk �� whoSample live in the tropical waters surrounding the There are about as many superstitionsfile surrounding Cillian Arc; quick, agile, and graceful. Selkies are merfolk as there are sailors. Merfolk are merfolk who live in the chilly North near the Outer alternatively good luck, bad luck, and every omen Aerdes; sturdy, robust, and warm. in between. Merfolk themselves mostly ignore the superstitions of seamen, and many that stay underwater are unaware that these beliefs even exist. Konumika Some merfolk may sign aboard especially Large, unaligned skeptical or superstitious crews. Others form raiding parties, attacking ships from where they least expect Armor Class 19 (natural armor) 123 (13d10+52) – below the waves. However, these are not the norm; Hitpoints Speed 30 ft. most merfolk go years without ever seeing a land- dweller. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 16 (+3) 2 (-4) 10 (+0) 4 (-3) Underwater Culture Senses passive Perception 10 �� Languages —none Challenge 1/2 (100 XP) Merfolk culture developed underwater, meaning that many elements appear alien to those on the surface. One of the most venerated Merfolk crafts is Scale Armor. If the konumika takes damage, it tightens its glassblowing. Merfolk cities have dedicated pockets scales, gaining resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing of air for turning sand, cullet, limestone, and soda damage from non-magical weapons until the beginning of its ash into glass. They then shape the glass over super- next turn. heated undersea vents, creating internal fracturing Shedding Scales. Every day, the konumika sheds 1d4 that gives the glass its signature look. lightweight metal scales. Each scale is a tiny object that can be used in crafting. With the right tools or spells, 3d6+80 Other industries include textiles woven from scales can be forged into scale mail that weighs half the normal aquatic plants. Agriculture, both for weaving and weight. food, is integrated into city structures, with small Actions plots dotting courtyards and walls in residential areas. Every merfolk resident is a farmer in some Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. capacity, in addition to other duties. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) bludgeoning damage.. Many merfolk also keep konumika, large fish- like creatures that produce and shed metal scales increases by 2. thanks to a diet of a specific type of krill. Trained Age. Merfolk are able to swim from birth, and gain metalworkers use focused arcs of lightning to make other faculties quickly. In water or humid climates, the scales into lightweight plate armor or scale mail. they live up to 150 years old, while in arid climates Due to the difficulty in both producing and working their life expectancy is reduced. metal underwater, this is the only type of metalwork Alignment. Merfolk are community-oriented, and that is created in mermaid cities. Other metal crafts tend toward lawful alignments. Those that live come from the surface, either through trade, raiding outside of the underwater communities may tend parties, or the rare merfolk that live on land. towards chaotic alignments as an expression of personal freedom. Speed. Your base walking and swimming speed Merfolk Names are 30 feet. �� Darkvision. You have superior vision in dark and Merfolk have names in their native language of dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 Mermish, which can only be spoken underwater. feet as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it They are unpronounceable in any surface language. were dim light. Underwater, this range extends to Merfolk that spend any amount of time among 120 feet. You can’t discern color in darkness, only land-dwellers choose a name in another language, shades of gray. often one common among their community or Merfolk Weapon Training. You are proficient in companions. tridents and nets. Merfolk occasionally choose names that reflect Naturally Aquatic. You do not suffer penalties to something about their personality, but more often movement or combat underwater. You can breathe surface names are for convenience only. Some underwater. choose the name of the first person they meet on the Water Shaping. You know the shape water cantrip. surface, or the names of places they visit. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the create or destroy water spell at 2nd level once with this trait MerfolkSample Traits and regain the ability to do sofile when you finish a long �� rest. �Your Merfolk character has a variety of natural Arc Joining. If you know the shocking grasp abilities, the result of their amphibious nature. cantrip, you can use it underwater to permanently join two pieces of metal along a one-foot seam. Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score A joined seam can be extended by one foot for each Selkie skin tones range from milk-white to jet subsequent cast of shocking grasp. black, with a variety of blue-grey tones in between. Languages. You can speak, read, and write Many have speckled or dappled skin. They have Mermish and Common. Mermish is a language that short, sleek fur that protects them in the winter can only be spoken underwater. climates of the North. Their humanoid form does Subraces. Different regions of the sea are home to not look like their natural form, but can look similar different subraces of merfolk. The two subraces of to humans or elves. Many selkies interact with merfolk are finfolk and selkie. Choose a subrace for surface dwellers without ever revealing they are your merfolk. merfolk. Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1. Finfolk Stout Swimmer. When in your natural selkie form, �� you are resistant to cold damage. Hailing from tropical warers, finfolk interact with Selkie Shapeshifting. Selkies in their natural islanders more than their Northern cousins. Their form have a humanoid upper body and a seal-like cities tend to be organic, built into shaped reefs or lower body. As a selkie, you can shapeshift into nestled into kelp forests. a humanoid form as an action. Your humanoid Finfolk skin tones range from deep green to light form is constant but may not look like your natural blue. They are built for maneuverability underwater, form. When you take on humanoid form, you shed with fins on their arms, tail, and head that allow for a garment that may take the form of a coat, belt, or sharp turns in their natural habitat. Their humanoid sash. You consider this garment part of your body. form is visibly unlike other races, so when finfolk You can put the garment back on as an action and interact with surface dwellers, they do so as merfolk. turn back into your natural form. Finfolk are hairless in both forms, but some scar their head fins as a sign of personal expression. Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1. Graceful Swimmer. Your swim speed increases by 10 feet. Finfolk Shapeshifting. When in water, you appear in your natural finfolk form. Out of the water, you adopt a humanoid form, retaining your appearance in most aspects, but with two legs in place of a tail.

Selkies �� Selkies make their homes in the colder waters of the North. Their cities are stone, carved into underwater mountains or built from sunken ruins. Many selkie settlements are built on sites of intense volcanic activity, which aids in maintaining a comfortable temperature in the cold waters. Heated water is also used to turn wheels and provide mechanical power to the settlement. The largest selkie city, Merrowkeep Citadel, is itself built into a dormantSample volcano. file rotten planks. If your class or background allows Merfolk Craftwork you to start with thieves’ tools, you can substitute them with salvage tools. Merfolk produce a variety of crafts and products in their underwater cities. Merfolk adventurers that train in underwater communities often have access Murky Ink to Merfolk handiwork when they head out into the �� world. This ink is extracted from a variety of cephalopods and sold to surface dwellers as a reliable, rich, non-toxic ink. In addition, if a bottle of this ink is Konumika Scale unstoppered underwater, the ink will disperse, �� creating a 5-foot cube that is lightly obscured. If your This scale mail is crafted from the lightweight metal class or background allows you to start with a bottle scales of the konumika. It offers the same protection of ink, you can substitute it with a bottle of murky as regular scale mail, but weighs half as much. If ink. your class allows you to start with scale mail, you can substitute it with konumika scale. Merfolk Lighting �� Vitreous Flute Due to the physical interactions between water and �� fire, merfolk have other methods of illuminating This glass flute is made with a technique that is the depths in which they live. Merfolk use arcburn unique to merfolk furnaces. It produces deep candles, which consume a bioluminescent wax resonant notes underwater and airy tunes above. If to produce a cool glow when electricity applied. your class or background allows you to start with an Merfolk light these candles either with the shocking instrument, you can choose the Vitreous Flute as grasp cantrip or a device known as a sparkbox. your instrument. Lanterns similarly rely on bioluminescence to produce light. If your class or background allows you to start with candles or torches, you can Boarding Axe substitute them with arcburn canddles that shed �� equivalent light. A tinder box may also be replaced The head of this axe is from the surface, but by a sparkbox to light these candles. If your class has since been shaped to suit the needs of or background allows you to start with oil for a merfolk raiding parties. It features a spike that lantern, you may start with an equivalent amount of allows merfolk to more easily scale the sides of bioluminescent lantern fluid instead. unsuspecting ships. The boarding axe can deal slashing damage or piercing damage. It can also be used as a piton when scaling any penetrable surface ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS such as wood or ice. If your class allows you to start Cover Frame by Zehus on Dungeon Masters Guild Cover Art by ArtTower on Pixabay with a handaxe, you can substitute it with a boarding Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten axe. Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica, and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the Merfolk Garments USA and other countries. �� This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of Merfolk clothing is made from woven aquatic the Coast. Such material is used with permission under the plant fibers. It is amazingly light and breathable, Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. and holds water well when dampened, perfect for All other original material in this work is copyright 2020 by merfolk who venture to more arid climes. If your Patrick Tierney and published under the Community Content class or background allows you to start with a set of Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. clothes, they can be of merfolk origin.

Salvage Tools ��Sample file Merfolk often gather treasure and specialized tools from shipwrecks. They use a set of tools similar to thieves’ tools, specialized to work underwater. The tools also include a small pry bar for tearing up