Page 219 - D&D Bestiary

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MERFOLK

Aquatic humanoids with the upper body of a human and
the lower body of a fish, merfolk adorn their skin and
scales with shell decorations.
Merfolk tribes and kingdoms span the world, and
their people are as varied in color, culture, and outlook
as the human races of the surface. Land folk and
mer folk rarely meet except by chance, though star-eyed
mariners tell tales of romance with these creatures
along the shoals of faraway islands.
Merfolk lack the materials and practical means to
forge weapons beneath the waves, to write books and
keep lore, or to shape stone to raise buildings and
cities. As a result, most live in small hunter-gatherer
tribes, each of which holds unique values and creeds.
Only occasionally do mer folk unite under the rule of a
single leader. They do so to face a common threat or
to complete a conquest. Such unifications can be the
beginning of undersea kingdoms with dynasties lasting
hundreds of years.
Merfolk Settlements. Merfolk build their settlements
in vast undersea caverns, mazes of coral, the ruins of
sunken cities, or structures they carve from the rocky
seabed. They live in water shallow enough that the
passage of time can be marked by the gleam and fade
of sunlight through the water. In the reefs and trenches
near their settlements, merfolk harvest coral and farm
the seabed, shepherding schools of fish as land-based
farmers tend sheep. Only rarely do merfolk venture into
the darkest depths of the ocean. In such depths and
in their undersea caverns, merfolk rely on the light of
bioluminescent flora and fauna, such as jellyfish, whose
slow pulsing movements lend merfolk settlements an
otherworldly aesthetic.
Merfolk defend their communities with spears
crafted from whatever materials they can salvage from
shipwrecks, beaches, and dead undersea creatures.

1 MERFOLK
Medium humanoid (merfolk), neutral
Armor Class 11
Hit Points 11 (2d8 + 2)
Speed 10ft., swim 40ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
10 (+0) 13 (+1) 12 (+1) 11 (+0) 11 (+0) 12 (+1)
Skills Perception +2
Senses passive Perception 12
Languages Aquan, Common
Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)

Amphibious. The merfolk can breathe air and water.

ACTIONS
Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft.
or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1 d6) piercing damage,
or 4 (1d8) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a
melee attack.

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