Grung

Image credit WOTC

> *Sentient, poisonous frogs that live in trees. Truly, the gods hate us.*
>
> —Volo
>
>

Grungs are aggressive froglike humanoids found in rain forests and tropical jungles. They are fiercely territorial and see themselves as superior to most other creatures.

***Tree-Dwelling Amphibians.*** Grungs live in trees and prefer shade. A grung hatchery is maintained in well-guarded ground-level pools. About three months after hatching, a grung tadpole takes on the shape of an adult. It takes another six to nine months for a grung juvenile to reach maturity.

***Castes and Colors.*** Grung society is a caste system. Each caste lays eggs in a separate hatching pool, and juvenile grungs join their caste upon emergence from the hatchery. All grungs are a dull greenish gray when they are born, but each individual takes on the color of its caste as it grows to Adulthood.

Green grungs are the tribe’s warriors, hunters, and laborers, and blue grungs work as artisans and in other domestic roles. Supervising and guiding both groups are the purple grungs, which serve as administrators and commanders. (Use the **Grung** stat block to represent members of the green, blue, and purple castes.)

Red grungs are the tribe’s scholars and magic users. They are superior to purple, blue, and green grungs and given proper respect even by grungs of higher status. (Use the **Grung Wildling** stat block to represent members of the red caste.)

Higher castes include orange grungs, which are elite warriors that have authority over all lesser grungs, and gold grungs, which hold the highest leadership positions. A tribe’s sovereign is always a gold grung. (Use the **Grung Elite Warrior** stat block to represent members of the orange and gold castes.)

A grung normally remains in its caste for life. On rare occasions, an individual that distinguishes itself with great deeds can earn an invitation to join a higher caste. Through a combination of herbal tonics and ritual magic, an elevated grung changes color and is inducted into its new caste in the same way that a juvenile of the caste would be. From then on, the grung and its progeny are members of the higher caste.

***Naturally Toxic.*** All grungs secrete a substance that is harmless to them but poisonous to other creatures. A grung also uses venom to poison its Weapons.

***Slavers.*** Grungs are always on the lookout for creatures they can capture and enslave. Grungs use Slaves for all manner of menial tasks, but mostly they just like bossing them around. Slaves are fed mildly Poisoned food to keep them lethargic and compliant. A creature afflicted in this way over a long period of time becomes a shell of its former self and can be restored to normalcy only by magic.

***Water Dependency.*** A grung that fails to immerse itself in water for at least 1 hour during a day suffers one level of Exhaustion at the end of that day. A grung can recover from this Exhaustion only through magic or by immersing itself in water for at least 1 hour.

## Variant: Grung Poison

Grung poison loses its potency 1 minute after being removed from a grung. A similar breakdown occurs if the grung dies.

A creature Poisoned by a grung can suffer an additional effect that varies depending on the grung’s skin color. This effect lasts until the creature is no longer Poisoned by the grung.

* ***Green.*** The Poisoned creature can’t move except to climb or make standing jumps. If the creature is flying, it can’t take any Actions or reactions unless it lands.
* ***Blue.*** The Poisoned creature must shout loudly or otherwise make a loud noise at the start and end of its turn.
* ***Purple.*** The Poisoned creature feels a desperate need to soak itself in liquid or mud. It can’t take Actions or move except to do so or to reach a body of liquid or mud.
* ***Red.*** The Poisoned creature must use its action to eat if food is within reach.
* ***Orange.*** The Poisoned creature is Frightened of its allies.
* ***Gold.*** The Poisoned creature is Charmed and can speak Grung.