Deep One

*This lumbering creature’s gray-green hide glistens with moisture, and saliva dribbles from its fishlike maw.*

**Deep One CR 1**

**XP 400**

CE Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic, deep one)

**Init** –1; **Senses** darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +7

**DEFENSE**

**AC** 12, touch 9, flat-footed 12 (–1 Dex, +3 natural)

**hp** 17 (2d10+6)

**Fort** +5, **Ref** +2, **Will** +5

**Defensive Abilities** deep dweller, immortal; **Resist** cold 5

**OFFENSE**

**Speed** 20 ft., swim 40 ft.

**Melee** 2 claws +5 (1d4+3)

**STATISTICS**

**Str** 17, **Dex** 9, **Con** 16, **Int** 12, **Wis** 15, **Cha** 10

**Base Atk** +2; **CMB** +5; **CMD** 14

**Feats** Great Fortitude

**Skills** Intimidate +5, Knowledge (religion) +6, Perception +7, Stealth +4 (+8 underwater), Survival +7, Swim +16; **Racial Modifiers** +4 Stealth underwater

**Languages** Aklo, Common

**SQ** amphibious, devoted, item use

**SPECIAL ABILITIES**

**Deep Dweller (Ex)**

Deep ones are immune to damage from water pressure; their bodies are capable of instantly adjusting to different water depths or even the surface with ease.

**Devoted (Ex)**

Deep ones are fanatically religious, be it to the worship of a Great Old One, an elder deep one, or some other divinity. A deep one gains one bonus skill rank per Hit Die that must be placed in Knowledge (religion), and this skill is a class skill for all deep ones.

**Immortal (Ex)**

A deep one does not age. Barring death from violence, disease, or misadventure, a deep one can live forever. Deep ones are immune to effects that cause magical aging.

**Item Use (Su)**

A deep one can activate spell-trigger items like staves and wands as if it were a spellcaster of the appropriate class.

**ECOLOGY**

**Environment** any water

**Organization** solitary, gang (2–5), cult (6–12), or shoal (13+)

**Treasure** standard (wand of protection from good [5 charges], other treasure)

Deep ones are as at ease dwelling in the most remote of ocean trenches as they are in the shallows that hug secluded shorelines, although their favorite haunts combine the two. The largest deep one cities are located at places not far off shore, but nestled in vast submerged canyons unusually close to those coastlines. This proximity allows deep ones to pursue one of their favorite goals—commingling with and corrupting surface-dwelling humanoids. Unlike skum, a similar aquatic race that reproduces with surface dwellers, deep ones do so not out of a biological need but as a way to spread their blasphemous religion above the ocean waves. The hybrid children of deep ones and humans form a race of their own. These offspring typically live near others of their kind, assuming positions of leadership in their small towns.

Deep ones usually worship the alien entities known as the Outer Gods or the Great Old Ones, with Cthulhu and Dagon the foremost among them. Deep one settlements that contain a deep one elder instead typically venerate that powerful deep one, who in turn serves one of the eldritch gods. Many deep ones gain levels as clerics, inciting religious fervor in their kinfolk and promoting their chosen deities as the greatest among the Outer Gods. Those few who instead choose to take up a less focused devotional path, such as that of an oracle, still venerate the Old Ones as a whole.

Deep ones prefer to fight with their claws. If they do resort to manufactured weapons, they prefer piercing ones, as these function best underwater. They can also use wands and staves; deep ones who pursue the study of more powerful magic often learn to create magic items for their weaker kinfolk to wield.

A deep one typically stands about 7 feet tall, but its hunched gait and lumbering stance can make it appear shorter when it shambles ashore. An average deep one weighs 300 pounds.