Homebrew Bullywug Species Details

If you’re considering taking a slimy one along on an adventure, remember this important fact. The strange, glazed over look in its eyes as it addresses you; is the same look you might have after just waking up from an afternoon nap.

— Arbrek, dwarf fighter and adventurer

Bullywugs were foul inhabitants of the natural world both in smell and company, constantly hungry savages often completely lacking in higher emotions and feelings. Unlike many other creatures of the wild, bullywugs either didn't understand or didn't care about the effect they had on their own ecosystems. They hunted and killed for sport without the intelligence or discrimination to allow environmental recovery, and so systematically depleted the natural resources of their own habitats.

Swampy Minds

The Bullywug's Amphibious nature comes through not only in their appearance, but also in how they think and act. Bullywugs experience a more limited emotional life than other humanoids. Like most Amphibians, their feelings largely revolve around food and sleep.

Bullywugs experience most feelings as detached descriptions of creatures and situations. For example, humans confronted by an angry troll experience fear on a basic level. Their limbs shake, their thinking becomes panicked and jumbled, and they react by instinct. The emotion of fear takes hold and controls their actions. In contrast, Bullywugs see emotions as traits assigned to other creatures, objects, and situations. A Bullywug doesn’t think, “I’m scared.” Instead, aggressive, stronger creatures register to the Bullywugs as fearsome beings. If such creatures attack, however, Bullywugs fight anyway, out of sheer pride. Bullywugs aren’t scared of a troll; instead, they understand that a troll is a fearsome, dangerous creature and react accordingly.

Bullywugs never become angry in the way others do, but they act with territorial aggression toward most creatures. They are aggressive toward prey they want to eat, creatures that want to harm them, and so on.

Pleasurable people and things make life easier for Bullywugs. Pleasurable things should be preserved and protected, sometimes at the cost of the Bullywug's own safety.

Harsh and Proud

Bullywugs are a prickly and distrustful people. They cherish the bonds of kin and the swamp as well as the comforts of a campfire and home, harboring few dreams of gold or glory. Even adventurers among them usually only venture into the world for reasons of their own perceived shortcomings, hoping glory can overcome them.

Bullywugs are easily moved to anger and hate to see any living thing have a better time than themselves. They are selfish, clinging tightly to what they have, even in lean times.

Marsh-like Manners

Most Bullywugs live in small, warlike communities with large swamps and well-kept pools. They rarely build kingdoms of their own or even hold much land beyond their quiet shires. They typically don’t recognize any sort of Bullywug nobility or royalty, instead looking to the strongest among them to guide them. Families preserve their traditional ways despite the rise and fall of empires.

Not many Bullywugs live among other races, Their unusual stature and way of life make them outcasts in most societies. Other Bullywug communities travel as a way of life, driving wagons or guiding boats from place to place and maintaining no permanent home.

Exploration and Adventure

Bullywugs take up adventuring out of pride. They dislike the pace of human society, which is regimented from day to day but constantly changing over decades, so they find careers that let them travel freely and set their own pace. Do not be fooled by the Bullywug's aloof nature, they also enjoy exercising their physical prowess or gaining greater magical power, (even though many never posses it) and adventuring allows them to do so. Some might join with rebels fighting against oppression, and others might become champions of their homelands.

Bullywug Personality

You can use the Bullywug Quirks table to determine a personality quirk for a Bullywug character or to inspire a unique mannerism.

Bullywug Quirks

d8	Quirk
1	You hate clutter and see no reason to scavenge fallen enemies. One Pale-Skin's junk is everyone's junk!
2	You sleep best while mostly submerged in water.
3	Money is meaningless to you.
4	You think there are only two species of humanoid: Bullywug and Pale-Skin.
5	You have learned to laugh. You use this talent in response to all emotional situations, to better fit in with your comrades.
6	You still don’t understand how metaphors work. That doesn’t stop you from using them at every opportunity.
7	You appreciate the soft humanoids who realize they need your brain to overcome their petty squabbles.
8	You enjoy eating your food while it’s still wriggling.

Bullywug Names

Bullywugs take their names from the Batrachian Common tongue. They use simple descriptives granted by the tribe based on an individual’s notable deeds or actions.

Bullywugs make no distinction between male and female in their naming conventions. Each example name includes its translation in parenthesis.

Bullywug Traits

Your Bullywug character has the following racial traits.

Age

Bullywugs reach maturity around age 14 and rarely live longer than 60 years.

Alignment

Most Bullywugs are neutral. They see the world as a place of harshness, where life and death are natural processes. They wish only to survive, and prefer to leave other creatures to their own devices.

Size

Bullywugs are a little bulkier and smaller than humans, but not by much. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet, a base climbing speed of 10 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 60 feet.

Waterbreathing

You can breathe underwater.

Natural Weapons

Your long tongue is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal poison damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. Bullywugs deal a d6 of bludgeoning damage with their bite, being proficient with it and using strength as it's modifier for attack and damage rolls

Sticky Tongue

In battle, you can become spontaneously hungry. As a bonus action, you can make a special attack with your tongue. (range 10) If the attack hits, it deals poison damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, and you grapple the creature. You can’t use this trait again until you finish a short or long rest.

Adhesive: The tongue adheres to anything that touches it. A Huge or smaller creature adhered to the tongue is also Grappled by it (escape STR saving throw). Ability Checks made to Escape this grapple have disadvantage.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Aquan.

Giant Leap

Bullywugs have a 20ft long jump and 10ft high jump with or without a running start.

Natural Camouflage

Bullywugs have advantage on stealth checks when in swamps, forest and jungles, bogs, marshes, etc.

Amphibian Acrobats

Built with strong and capable legs and a fixation towards jumping Bullywugs are naturally inclined towards physical activity, granting them proficiency in Athletics and Acrobatics.