The Merfolk

Abilities
Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

**Amphibious Transformation**
You breathe both water and air. In addition, you may use an action to shed your scales and take human form for vice-versa. This cannot be triggered forcefully by touching the water, and can only be triggered at will.

Your appearance changes as well as you losing your tail. Any unnatural skin or hair colors (blues, greens, purples, etc) are shifted into more neutral human colors.

Subraces
Most feared or revered of Merfolk are the Sirens, renowned for their beautiful singing capabilities and occasionally, murderous intent. They are known for beautiful, dazzling tails.

Ability Score Increase
Your Charisma modifier increase by 1

Siren Song
You gain proficiency in your choice of Persuasion or Performance.

Allure
You gain the ability to cast Charm Person at first level once per long rest. Use Charisma as your spellcasting modifier.

**Bioluminescent Merfolk**
In tropical settings, it is possible to find populations of Merfolk with bioluminescent hair and scales, shining in hues unlike the typical coloration of other mers.

Ability Score Increase
Your Wisdom score increases by 1

Luminescence
You know the Light cantrip and can illuminate the area around you with brightly shining scales and hair. In addition, you may cast Color Spray once per long rest.

**Deep-Sea Merfolk**
Some Merfolk live deep within the depths of the ocean, possessing genetic modifications necessary for their styles of life, such as dark, streamlined bodies and large glowing eyes.

Ability Score Increase
Your intelligence score increases by 1

**Darkvision**
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Bring the Depths
You gain the ability to cast Darkness once per long rest. As this is magical darkness, you still cannot see through it.

Physical Appearance and Traits
-For example, Sirens tend to vary in blues, greens, and purples, while their skin is more often of natural hues anyway.

-Meanwhile, Biolumincenent merfolk come in almost every color under the rainbow. This includes their skin color.

-In their merfolk form, they have fins along firearos and thin webs between their fingers. There are also small gill openings in their neck, allowing them to breathe underwater. Their ears look like small fins with multiple points, having thin cartilage between each point.

-In their Human form, they look almost elvish in appearance. If a merfolk has an unnatural skin or hair color, it shifts in hues into more neutral and human tones.
Their fin-like ears merge and form into elven-looking pointed equivalents.

**Age**
Merfolk mature and age at a rate similar to humans.

**Size**
Merfolk are typically 7-9ft long in merfolk form, however, accompany a height similar to humans in humanoid form; your size is medium.

**Speed**
When you have legs, you have a movement speed of 30ft. When you have a tail, you have a 10ft walking speed and a 40ft swim speed.

Languages

Aquan is the primary language of the merfolk and is almost completely unheard of on the land. Whispers of it come along with stories of merfolk, but most are believed to be false. It’s most similar to elvish in its spelling and pronunciation.

Aquan is NOT a language that players will be able to start out with and must learn it IRP.

Lore

Lorelei was then determined to grow a nation of merfolk so strong, that no human could ever pose a threat to them. Using the knowledge she had gained from spending her time learning about land-folk and their cultures, Lorelei became the first Merfolk Queen and settled in the southern sea to begin to grow and create her own kingdom. And thus was the birth of Prisea, named after Lorelei’s first daughter, a kingdom forged in the sea and built to be a haven for merfolk everywhere. Knowing her mistake would be repeated and could potentially be their downfall, Lorelei began to preach about how dangerous man-kind is and that the surface must be avoided. Centuries later, this ideal has been heavily ingrained into the merfolk culture as a whole.

Today, the Kingdom of Prisea has grown into a powerful but completely isolated nation. The capital city of Moor was settled in the southern seas, far from Astroth's main kingdoms. With no need for war and plenty of room to expand, the merfolk kingdom has an abundance of resources at its fingertips. The people of Prisea have taken this time to develop culturally important things such as art, music, and general crafts. As well as the growing importance of religion among merfolk. They often avoid having affairs with the kingdoms on the land, and simply watch from afar. Not a lot is known about Prisea because of this.

Even though Prisea has become a safe-haven for all merfolk, some still must satisfy their curiosity to see the surface. While seeing merfolk on land is rare, some do settle in small coastal villages. You would think they could pose as elves, were it not for their human-like lifespan.

Humans generally avoid merfolk-populated areas out of fear or respect. Over the many years, stories and rumors of Sirens leading them to their deaths have created a dangerous stigma around any and all merfolk. When in reality, most merfolk aren't violent.

**Deep-Sea Merfolk**
Deep-sea merfolk are different than the other two subraces. While Sirens and Bioluminescent merfolk are generally co-habitable, the denizens of the deep are closer to the opposite of them.

Wanderers of the abyss, the deep-sea dwellers are uncommon in larger cities like Moor. They usually stray from brightly-lit areas, as they are better hunters in the dark. Queen Lorelei wanted to protect these merfolk as well, so she built them villages, habitable caves, and trenches in the deeper part of the Prisean territory. This way they could have proper protection, live under Prisean rule, and still avoid the brightly-lit city. The area they now reside in is now referred to as the Dark-Sea plains and is mostly used as a home and hunting ground for the Deep-Sea merfolk.

Religion

Okeanon symbolizes the wrath of the ocean. Thrashing waves, thunderstorms, and the creatures of the deep. She is what tears men’s boats in twain and crushes them in her grasp. It vaguely translates to Ocean’s Rage.

Okeanri is the calm mother of the ocean, caring and providing. She’s more commonly invoked and is the primary name of the goddess they worship. She is a strong figurehead for authority and underwater nature. She is a protector of magic and of all creatures in the sea. This name translates to Ocean’s Grace.
Due to her dual personality, in many depictions, she is a twin-tailed mermaid with two heads. In folklore, it’s said she created the creatures in the sea but she was still lonely. So she cried for days on end until the ocean was larger and larger and took up much of the land. There she could fit in the merfolk, made partially in her image, so they could explore and make a life for them.