So here's some context: I've been putting together a Campaign in a mostly oceanic / island chain setting. One of my players wanted to play, in his words, "a freaky fish guy". We looked over Gillmen, Undines, and Gripplis but none of them caught his attention for the concept he had in mind. So I created a new race for the world and had a lot of fun making it. They bring a unique flavor to the setting I have been developing and make the world feel deeper.
So without further ado, I present for your critique and comment: The Fishmen.
Fishmen
In places where wolves are considered nearly supernatural apex predators, mortals develop lycanthropy as a means of veneration and survival. In places where beasts of the great deep fill the apex predator role, mortals develop Psarithropy or the ability to transform into sea creatures. Psarithropes eventually settle into a middle ground between their terrestrial and aquatic forms, becoming a new species to themselves, Fishmen.
Fishmen tribes are very tightly knit communities that are capable of living both above and below water. Most Fishmen make livings as hunters, rangers, fighters, and enforcers given their physical prowess. Their personalities range widely, though most fishmen are known to be stoic, calm, and patient, yet ruthless and destructive in combat.
The uninitiated often mistake Fishmen for Undines, which mistake often offends Fishmen. Undines are the result of the plane of water influencing the genetics of mortals; Fishmen are descendents of Psarithropes. While Undines often make their way in the world based on what their minds can do, Fishmen use their superior physical bodies. As a race, Fishmen hold no ill-will to their Undine cousins, but many consider being associated with Undines as an insult to their strength.
Some Fishmen forms are quite grotesque while others strike an alluring mix between the aquatic and terrestrial worlds. Fishmen descended from sharks have gills on the base of the neck, while those based on crocodiles and whales seem to be able to breathe underwater via magical means as a result of their Psarithrope lineage. A Fishman’s exact appearance often depends on the creature they descended from and the nature of the ocean in that area.
Shark fishmen are scaly, have webbed hands and feet, and have fins sprouting from their backs and upper arms. These fins will inflate and become rigid in water and become flaccid on land. Most are shades of blue or brown with accents of white and black. All are bald. They have jet black eyes with no discernible sclera or pupils. Their teeth resemble shark’s teeth as they come in two rows, are incredibly sharp, and are replaced indefinitely throughout their lives. Their heads and bodies otherwise appear human; most have very built, fit physiques.
Crocodile fishmen retain scaly appearances with dark brown and green colorations accented by lighter browns and white, like their ancestors. Their most uncanny trait is their eyes. Crocodile fishmen have two sets of eyes, one in the human location and one on the backs of their heads. The set on the back of the head is positioned so the Fishman can lay still, face down on the water, and see outside the water. This feature doesn’t give these Fishmen any particular advantage as they can only use one set of eyes at a time; their brains never developed to the point to accept and interpret both sets of stimuli simultaneously. Transitioning the source of vision requires 6 seconds of concentration while one set opens and the other is effectively paralyzed. The back of the head eyes are pitch black with no discernable sclera or pupils. These fishmen also have black, claw like nails on the fingers, but they are not sturdy enough to use as natural weapons.
Whale fishmen have smooth, mammalian skin but colored in oceanic tones; blue, grey, black, and white. Their eyes appear like most other humanoids’. Their bodies tend to be much larger than other Fishmen and they often stand a few heads above other medium humanoids. Their proportions often make them bullet-shaped in the water which they move through quite gracefully. Unlike the other variants of Fishmen, these grow short hair in standard humanoid regions. While Shark and Crocodile Fishmen can often outspeed Whale Fishmen at short distance, Whale Fishmen can outlast nearly any Shark or Croc Fishman in an endurance race.
Fishmen Racial Traits - 12 RP
Since the base creature the Psarithropes varies, the ability score adjustments of fishmen vary based on that creature. Their other racial traits are universal. Included here are three different creature bases. This template uses the Specialized Ability Scores feature of the Race Builder. All elements from the race builder used here are listed at the end.
Shark Fishman
+2 STR, +2 DEX, -2 CHA
Crocodile Fishman
+2 STR, +2 DEX, -2 INT
Whale Fishman
+2 STR +2 CON, -2 INT
Monstrous Humanoid: Fishmen are humanoids with the monstrous subtype.
Medium: Fishmen are medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties based on their size.
Normal Speed: Fishmen have a base speed of 30 feet on land. They also have a swim speed of 30 feet. Fishmen also have a +8 racial bonus to Swim checks and always treat Swim as a class skill.
Amphibious: Fishmen can breathe both air and water.
Darkvision: Fishmen have Darkvision 60ft.
Natural Armor: Fishmen have +2 Natural Armor.
Eye of the Tiger(shark): Fishmen have a +2 bonus to Perception checks and always treat Perception as a class skill.
Languages: Fishmen start play knowing Common & Aquan. Fishmen with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Celestial, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Infernal, and Sylvan.
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Notes Section
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Monstrous Humanoids - 3 RP
Medium - 0 RP
Base Speed Normal (30 ft) - 0 RP
Specialized Ability Scores (+2 to two of one type, -2 to one of the other) - 1 RP
Standard Language Quality (Common & Aquan + Dwarven, Halfling, Sylvan, Elven, Gnome, Infernal, Celestial) - 0 RP
Swim (30 ft swim speed, +8 racial bonus to swim checks) - 2 RP
Amphibious - 2 RP
Natural Armor +1 Nat Armor - 2 RP
Improved Natural Armor +1 Nat Armor - 1 RP
Skill Training (Swim, Perception) - 1 RP
Aralica,
Thanks for your input; I appreciate the feedback. I was unaware of the Scaleheart and Seascarred Skinwalkers. They're cool and way more developed than my idea, but not quite what my player is going for (he's not sure about his class, which complicates things). I'm definitely going to tab the Skinwalker for a character idea it gave me.
I can see that the variants need more unique features for each; that'll be a good way to make the race stand out more.
You might be interested in using this as inspiration. Also some real cool rules for buoyancy and depth pressure.
Yeah, why are sharks smarter than whales? I think you could get more creative than just giving all of the races a strength bonus.
Neither crocodiles nor whales can breathe water.