Merfolk

Merfolk are mythological creatures that have the upper bodies of humans and the lower bodies of a marine animal. They are prominently featured in video games, MTG, RPGs, and 40k even had a minor aquatic race at one point. /tg/ has had a spattering of threads dedicated to merfolk over the years. Many people have wished to use merfolk players or merfolk cities in their campaign. Unfortunately most settings have rules that are not conducive to using merfolk as player characters, and fluff that does not include merfolk as a major power. This page serves as a hub to organize and advertise all the merfolk content that the community has created to solve this problem. It is an attempt to create rules and fluff for PC races of merfolk that can be used in any campaign. If you like merfolk or other underwater themes, feel free to create anything you want and make a link for it on this page. However, please respect the creations of other people.

Merfolk Races

The Merfolk are the mysterious and secretive people who have populated the world’s waters, and they are as widespread as humans are on land. Communities exist in mountain lakes, coastal reefs, kelp forests, rivers, and even inside polar ice shelves. They are an ancient species with many subraces. The vast expanse and depth of the world's oceans conspire to keep many of these races undiscovered.

• Coastal Merfolk - Standard merfolk that mostly live on the continental shelf. They are a physically diverse and cosmopolitan race which is especially focused on commerce and trade.
• Coral Merfolk - Tropical merfolk with naturally magical blood that makes them excellent spontaneous casters.
• Abyssal Merfolk - Deep sea scary and octopus/squid merfolk that live in a theocratic militaristic society and regularly raid the surface.
• Arctic Merfolk - Live under ice sheets and in glacial lakes and rivers. large size? dolphin/whale?
• Selkie - half seal, halfing size +dex +con?
• Crustaceids - Crab People +str +con?
• River Merfolk - lakes swamps rivers

Merfolk Locations, Kingdoms and Cities

Merfolk settlements are as as varied and widespread as the merfolk themselves.

• Ataropolis - An upstart mercantile city state that is undergoing rapid expansion and a cold war is brewing with a nearby kingdom of elves.
• Glacial Lake - arctic mer town
• Barony of Dagobus - religious abyssal mer empire. ocean canyon extends into continental crust, serves as raider outpost.

Merfolk Culture & Technology

The Merfolk's unique aquatic environment has resulted in different solutions to social and technical problems.

Materials

• Bronze - a lesser quality but inexpensive metal that resists corrosion
• Stellite - a cobalt alloy that resists corrosion and is similar in strength to steel
• Pearlite - a mysterious and very rare type of metal that is found in some oysters and clams. A merfolk version of the dwarves' adamantite and elves' mithril
• Byssus/Sea Silk-strong fibers from mullosks that are immune to water degradation and can be woven into fabrics to make clothing, rope, nets, and other tools.
• Grease Pencil and Waterproof Paper - Books and documents in merfolk society use materials that function well in marine environments.
• Sharkskin - Leather made from the skin of sharks. it is very tough.

Weapons

Many weapons suffer reduced effectiveness under water due to hydrodynamic drag. Merfolk therefore use weapons that are specially designed to eliminate drag and increase ergonomics for submerged use. Some weapons are unchanged but the techniques for their use underwater is radically different.

Name	Damage	Crit Threat	Crit Damage	Size	Damage Type	Skill Type
Partisan	2D6	19-20	X2	twohanded	slashing/piercing	Martial
Great Trident	1D12	20	X3	twohanded	Piercing	Martial
Mersarissa	1D12	20	X3	twohanded	Piercing	Exotic
Chain Net	1D4	20	X2	onehanded	slashing	exotic
Katar
Cestus

• Partisan
• Great trident
• Mersarissa
• Chain Net
• Cestus/Katar

Armor and Shields

There are several considerations to make when using armor underwater, drag and buoyancy. Merfolk armors are usually form fitting and flexible. Medium and heavy armors usually use some form of buoyant material for padding such as kelp pods or cork. Shields are designed to have as little drag as possible when moving them laterally and also have small buoys distributed to the inner surface. Tower sields are extremelly rare in the underwater world because they are simply too unwieldy and the reduced danger from ranged weapons. They have been reduced to specialty applications.

• sharkskin leather armor - Basic leather armor has the same properties as land based leather armor.
• Padded - This padded armor uses aquatic fibers to give its wearer some protection.
• chain shirt
• Scale mail
• breastplate
• chain halberk
• platemail

Buildings

Merfolk structures often incorporate unique materials and features which results in distinct a architectural style. Wooden materials are uncommon due to the effect of woodworms. Instead, Merfolk make use of a variety of durable marine building materials:

• Kelp - Many merfolk buildings are made by weaving living kelp into a hollow ball that floats in the water while anchored to ocean floor. There can be several rooms arrayed in a daisy chain, one above the other, all constructed from only a few plants.
• sea grass - Sea grass is used as a filler material in thatching and living sea grass is planted on the roofs of buildings as an anchor or decoration.
• Coral - Coral is tough easily workable, and abundant in tropical climates. It is used all over the aquatic world.
• Stone - Used in alone or in combination with hydraulic cement, stone is one of the best materials for durablity
• hydraulic cement - hydraulic cement is a building material in use since ancient times and is known for its ability to harden underwater. hydralic cement is combined with sand or other materials to create concrete cructures, or is used in mortar to bind stone and brick buildings.
• Giant bones - The bones of giant sea creatures such as whales and sea serpents are and strong and durable enough to be excellent building materials
• giant shells - Some sea shell are large enough to be used by themselves as rooms in buildings. smaller ones are used in "shell masonry"
• wood - freshwater merfolk often use wood to build their structures, because woodworms do not live in freshwater.

Merfolk Magic

The Merfolk have a divergent tradition in the magical arts. Some marine spells accomplish the same objectives as their land counterparts, but in a different way.

• 'Merfolk Blood - Some types of Merfolk have blood that has vague magical properties. Evil races often wish to kill merfolk to acquire the .
• Spell Shell - Many merfolk wizards choose not use spellbooks. Instead they use magical sea shells that store spells in sound form rather than in writing. To memorize a spell for the day, a wizard listens to the song inside the spell shell. To add a spell to the shell, the wizard etches magical runes and symbols into a precious stone which is then placed into the shell. These stones are analogous to the more traditional paper that other races use to store their spells.

Spells

• Crush - creates magical water pressure in an area that crushes creatures in its area effect
• Shape Metal - shapes metal
• decompress - Decompresses the area around the target causing wracking pains in his joints and body
• Resonance - creates very intense sounds that resonate in the water, does.... something
• Freeze - Freeze the water around the target which traps them in a solid block of ice

Familiars

• octopus +2 stealth
• flying fish +3 fly
• crab +2 fortitude saves
• lobster +1 natural armor
• salmon +3 swim
• sea anemone +3 Hp
• tiny shark +3 perception in light
• jelly fish +2 will
• mantis shrimp +2 sleight of hand
• Carp +2 jump
• temperate fish +2 acrobatics
• Tropical fish +2 initiative
• Sea Star +2 survival
• squid +2 perception in dark
• nautilus +2 diplomacy

Merfolk Artifacts

Ancient and legendary items in the underwater world.

• Pearl Trident
• Bubble Band - This magical headband creates a bubble of breathable air around the head of the user. Merfolk use these bands to allow non water breathing individuals to freely travel underwater. The magic used to create these bands is a closely guarded secret.

Merfolk Religion

The merfolk worship some of the same gods as other races, but they also have their own unique racial pantheon.

demigods

many gods in the merfolk pantheon physically exist or have avatars which wander the unfathomable depths.

• Dagobus - deep sea demigod, patron of abyssal mer
• malron
• Nesoi - Primordial Demigods of islands. each island is said to have its own personification.

Creatures

• Carcharodon - 4 legged beast with huge shark head running around eating people

Merfolk Characters and NPCs

• Aramis Corselle & Ishka Amosa
• Slithice

Merfok Gallery

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