Kuo-Toa

Medium humanoid (kuo-toa), neutral evil Armor Class 13 (natural armor, shield) Hit Points 18 (4d8) Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft. STR 13 (+1)DEX 10 (+0)CON 11 (+0)INT 11 (+0)WIS 10 (+0)CHA 8 (-1) Skills Perception +4 Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14 Languages Undercommon Challenge 1/4 (50 XP) Amphibious

Basic Information

Anatomy

A kuo-toa superficially resemble a grotesque cross between a fish and a humanoid. Their stout, stocky bodies are covered in slippery blue or purple scales, with clawed, webbed feet and black nails. Their hands are much more human-like, ending in the blunt nails typical of most humanoid races. Where one would normally expect the neck of a humanoid to be, there is instead the head of a fish, placed as if it had been grafted on. Some kuo-toa will display whiskers similar to those of a catfish, others have fins at the sides or tops of their heads, and a few have a mixture of both. Their bulging eyes are always a sickly yellow color, with a massive black pupil in the center.
When a creature misses the kuo-toa with a melee weapon attack, the kuo-toa uses its sticky shield to catch the weapon. The attacker must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw, or the weapon becomes stuck to the kuo-toa's shield. If the weapon's wielder can't or won't let go of the weapon, the wielder is grappled while the weapon is stuck. While stuck, the weapon can't be used. A creature can pull the weapon free by taking an action to make a DC 11 Strength check and succeeding.

Biological Traits

ACTIONS Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage. Spear. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) piercing damage, or 5 (1d8 + 1) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack. Net. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 5/15 ft., one Large or smaller creature. Hit: The target is restrained. A creature can use its action to make a DC 10 Strength check to free itself or another creature in a net, ending the effect on a success. Dealing 5 slashing damage to the net (AC 10) frees the target without harming it and destroys the net.
Sticky Shield. When a creature misses the kuo-toa with a melee weapon attack, the kuo-toa uses its sticky shield to catch the weapon. The attacker must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw, or the weapon becomes stuck to the kuo-toa's shield. If the weapon's wielder can't or won't let go of the weapon, the wielder is grappled while the weapon is stuck. While stuck, the weapon can't be used. A creature can pull the weapon free by taking an action to make a DC 11 Strength check and succeeding.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Amphibious. The kuo-toa can breathe air and water. Otherworldly Perception. The kuo-toa can sense the presence of any creature within 30 feet of it that is invisible or on the Ethereal Plane. It can pinpoint such a creature that is moving. Slippery. The kuo-toa has advantage on ability checks and saving throws made to escape a grapple. Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the kuo-toa has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Civilization and Culture

Major Organizations

Kuo-toa revere deities of their own design. Though their gods are not real, if enough kuo-toa fervently believe in a deity, their subconcious minds have a strange way of combining their power and manifesting that deity as a physical entity. Among the most revered kuo-toa gods are Blibdoolploop the Sea Mother, a female human with a crayfish head, claws, and shell covering her shoulders. Archpriests hold among the highest positions in kuo-toa society, being surrounded by fanatical devotees of their faith. Archpriests' devotion to their deity is so fervent that they manifest divine powers similar to a cleric. Archpriests also have the power to bestow a fraction of their mystical powers to particularly loyal underlings known as whips, who fight to the death to become the archpriest's heir when the archpriest succumbs. A disloyal whip may be stripped of its powers, if not its life. Most other humanoid societies view the kuo-toas' strange ways with disdain, chief among them being the Drow, who have slain the kuo-toa on sight as long as the two races have known each other.

History

days long past, kuo-toa once dwelled on the shores and islands of the surface world. The kuo-toa were driven deep underground by the humans and their ilk, dooming them to spend eternity in darkness. In their prison of the Underdark, the kuo-toa came into contact with the illithid, and found themselves a new set of oppressors. The illithid subjected the kuo-toa to slavery, condemning thousands to lives as chattel. The kuo-toa were a simple race, and were never intended to bear through the mental strain the illithids' psychic energy placed upon them. Nearly every kuo-toa was driven hopelessly mad and paranoid, and they retain their madness, even long after the mind flayers abandoned them. They invent their own gods in their madness, in a vain effort to protect themselves from the threats they face in their dangerous home.