Homebrew Mermaid Species Details

"You were a mermaid, weren't you? That's what Nadya said,"

"I still am," said Cora, "I just have my scales under my skin for now."

-Seanen McGuire, Beneath the Sugar Sky

 

Commonly considered the subject of fairytale, an encounter with a mermaid is easily dismissed as a sailor mistaking sahuagin, merrow, or even a seal for a beautiful woman. In truth, mermaids are more common, and more complicated, than most would assume.

Two Worlds

Though most at home beneath the waves, mermaids possess a natural wanderlust that often compels them to leave their birthplace and wander the wider world. Gifted with the ability to transform their tail into a pair of legs, mermaids can find themselves torn between land and sea, with friends in both that can't cross so easily to the other.

Few can truly claim to know how mermaids came to possess this gift. Some legends say that it was a blessing from a god of the sea. Others, that it came from a bargain with a witch. No matter the truth, mermaids--though most comfortable in the water--can always find a place on land.

Mermaid Names

Mermaid names make no distinction based on gender and male mermaids, more androgynous than humans, are often mistaken for women on the rare occasions they're seen. More important than gender is a mermaid's school, the family and tribe they were raised with. No school stays in the same place for long, and a mermaid who leaves home rarely knows when they'll see their family again. Many wandering mermaids hold the name of their school close to their hearts, waiting for the day they meet again.

General Names: Alwyn, Cora, Fianna, Llaith, Lochan, Maena, Niamh, Rae, Shani, Teris, Uaine, Vilit

School Names: Aislach, Belyyreka, Glaisbela, Inbhirean, Muirlough, Polesian, Rodhayla

 

Mermaid Traits

Your mermaid character has several traits in common with other mermaids, stemming from a shared bond with the sea.

Ability Score Increase

Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Dexterity or Constitution score increases by 1

Age

A mermaid matures slightly faster than a human. They reach adulthood in their mid-teens, and their lifespans are shorter by a handful of years.

Size

Starting at the hips and tapering towards their tailfin, a mermaid's tail is at least twice as long as their upper body. Without their tails, mermaids are about the same size and build as a human. Your size is Medium

Speed

Your base walking speed is 10 feet. Because of your tail, you also have a swimming speed of 40 feet.

Amphibious

You can breathe air and water

Land and Sea

While you aren't submerged in water, you can use a bonus action to transform your lower body. Your tail becomes a pair of legs, your base walking speed and your swimming speed become 30 feet, and you appear to be human. This transformation lasts until you use a bonus action while submerged in water to revert to your true form.

Natural Wanderer

You have proficiency in the Survival skill. You also have proficiency with navigator's tools, and you always know which way is north

Tidecaller

You know the shape water cantrip. You can also cast create or destroy water once with this trait without any material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a short or long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Voice of the Ocean

You can comprehend and verbally communicate with any creature that has an innate swimming speed. You can speak with the creature whether or not it understands a language, though any information it can give you might be limited by its Intelligence

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Aquan