Amphibious. Abyssal mermaids can breathe air and water.
Pleasing Shape. The abyssal mermaid can use her action to polymorph into a Small or Medium humanoid, or back into her true form. In losing her fins, she loses her swim speed, and she gains the speed(s) of her new form. Other than size and speed, her statistics remain the same in each form, as does her voice. Any equipment she is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. She reverts to her true form if she dies. Once undergoing this transformation, she cannot transform back into her true form until she has obtained the soul of another creature.
Innate Spellcasting. The mermaid's innate spellcasting ability is CHA (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). She can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: magic missile, vicious mockery
2/day each: charm person, sleep, disguise self
1/day: scrying
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) slashing damage.
Mate for Life While holding a willing (not charmed) humanoid in an embrace, the mermaid magically caresses the individual to siphon a portion of said humanoid's soul. A protection from evil and good spell cast on the target prevents this effect, as does a magic circle. If the embrace lasts for at least 1 hour, the target's hit point maximum is reduced by 11 (2d10). If this effect reduces the target's hit point maximum to 0, the target dies, and its soul is trapped in the mermaid's periapt. The reduction to the target's hit point maximum lasts until removed by the greater restoration spell or similar magic.
Keepsake Periapt (Item). When a humanoid dies as a result of an abyssal mermaid's Mate for Life ability, the soul becomes contained inside an item—typically worn—that the target gave to the mermaid freely. Said periapt can hold only one soul at a time, and only the mermaid who received the gift can catch a soul with it. If the periapt is carried or worn by the mermaid at the time of her death, the soul permanently becomes hers, forgetting anything about its previous owner.
Description
Soulless
Abyssal mermaids are descended from an ancient sororal order of devout tropical merfolk; but they were corrupted long ago by a malicious creature from the depths of the ocean who sought godhood and followers. The nuns of the order were lured into the darkness by this entity, and over time their zealotry transformed them into wicked, covetous creatures. As a result, abyssal mermaids are one of the few peoples of the multiverse born without a soul, and they are cursed with the all-consuming desire to obtain one. If an abyssal mermaid dies without having acquired a soul, her body dissolves into foul black foam, and rather than passing into the afterlife, everything that she was ceases to exist completely.
Pickup Artists
An abyssal mermaid's chief goal in life is to win the heart of another. When one is in love, one's soul is vulnerable to manipulation, or theft. While her victim is in this weakened state, the abyssal mermaid claims their soul as her own, winning a chance at an afterlife spent eternally swimming in the gentle, sun-warmed waves of her ancestral home as a luminous earthbound spirit. Unfortunately for the abyssal mermaid; the ancient curse placed upon her kind has left her graceless and hideously malformed. Once she acquires a target, she will spend years planning, practicing the arts of deception and seduction needed to enact the perfect plot to win her beloved's affection.
Flotsam Fetishists
An abyssal mermaid forms an immediate limerence for the first living person of whom she becomes aware. Since she rarely swims any but the deepest, and coldest depths, typically she will first "meet" someone by stumbling upon a trinket they once tossed thoughtlessly into the sea. Her curious, flippered hands will spend countless hours obsessing over every detail of her precious object, using divination to spy upon and admire her crush from afar. If she determines that she cannot win the heart of her chosen partner, she must sacrificially kill them before seeking a new mate.
Lovelorn Jetsam
Legend has it that if you find your affections spurned, you can write a prayer in Aquan, seal it in a weighted bottle, and toss it to the waves for an abyssal mermaid to find. She may have pity on you and use her wiles and cunning to aid you in your quest to win over the person you desire. You should be aware, however, that she'll expect you to be an equally faithful wingman when she calls upon you for help.
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