Homebrew Cnidarin Species Details

Cnidarans have two distinct phases to their lifecycle: the medusozoa and the polyp. An adventuring cnidaran—one that can speak, has a vaguely humanoid shape, and can manipulate tools—is a medusozoa. These individuals are responsible for interacting with the outside world (in other words, anything beyond their home reef). When medusozoa mate, an event that can involve dozens of individuals, the thousands of larvae that are conceived settle on the nearest substrate, often the cnidarans’ own coral home. Once rooted, the larvae develop into polyps with two tasks. The first is to grow a single new medusozoa over a single moon’s cycle and then birth this inch-long, instinct-driven youngster into the waters surrounding its home. The second is to secrete a calcareous exoskeleton, fusing their body with the reef and growing the cnidarans’ coral home. Life for a young medusozoa is tenuous; it must fend for itself, drifting in open waters and feeding on plankton and other medusozoa until it reaches at least a foot in length, usually by the end of its third year. During this juvenile stage, a time known as the uko’ulush (the ‘wild time’), a medusozoa is largely ignored by other cnidarans, who believe that “trial by ocean makes the hardest pearls.” Once a cnidaran completes this juvenile stage, it is brought into the reef, a utilitarian and communal space where the customs, culture, and values of that reef are passed on, the uko’malang (the ‘time of waiting’).

Cnidarin Traits

Ability Score Increase, Amphibious, Subrace

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution increases by 1.

Amphibious

You can breathe air and water.