Homebrew Bullywug Species Details

Bullywug

Life as a Bullywug is nasty, brutish, and wet. These frog-headed amphibious humanoids must stay constantly moist, dwelling in rainy forests, marshes, and damp caves. Always hungry, a bullywug is always on the lookout for their next meal. Bullywugs used to rule empires of their own before their deity, the evil demon lord Ramenos, once a demon lord, fell to somnolence and his influence waned. Now, Bullywugs as a whole are insecure about their place in the world after their civilization collapsed and often seek to emulate other, larger civilizations they deem as successful or go it alone in their tribes. Often, Bullywugs will integrate into marshy, coastal, or other moist environments’ cities. Although their past civilization was evil, many Bullywugs are free to pick their own fates now that Ramenos is somnolent. 

Bullywugs are often insecure about their place in the world. Their fall from empire has left them as scattered tribals across the world, and their deity has left them. They consider themselves the right and proper rulers of the swamps. They follow an etiquette of sorts when dealing with outsiders and one another, subject to the whims and fancies of their leader-a self styled lord of the muck. This leader often bases their system of nobility and persona off of nearby kingdoms, empires, or what their stories say the old Bullywug empire was like with no understanding of how this actually works, making up grand titles. 

Bullywug tribals love nothing more than seeing other humanoids praising their civilization and when they capture a humanoid, they often have no plans of actually killing them, but rather, extract as much tribute and praise as they can. They love being validated. A bullywug  community is rife with corruption and intrigue as the nobles raid outside settlements for gifts to their king to advance their station, or assassinate rivals, for which punishment is severe. Bullywug politics are very cutthroat. 

This cutthroat approach to politics, a simple curiosity of the outside world, a desire to further emulate what they see as a successful outer world…many bullywugs see ample reason to leave their communities and integrate into larger humanoid communities and civilizations instead, where they usually work manual labor jobs involving water, as fishermen, or other aquatic jobs. 

Bullywug society is based off of “might makes right”, and female Bullywugs are weaker, and have very little status in a bullywug tribe. Consequently, many female bullywugs leave to join other civilizations if they have the opportunity to look for a better life. Male bullywugs usually stay in the tribe, hoping for opportunities to advance, and possibly become the king. 

Bullywugs who join wider humanoid society usually form small enclaves and stick with other bullywugs, usually near the edge of the river, lake, pond, ocean, or whatever part of the city is near the water. They will integrate partially into a society, usually at least stopping the worship of demon lords. 

Religion:

The deity of the Bullywugs is Ramenos, the somnolent god. Ramenos is a slothful, lazy demon lord who can’t properly answer summons due to his somnolent nature. He is too bloated to even move, requiring minions to feed him. Many Bullywug kings and communities worship him and see his sloth as something to be emulated due to their harsh lives. They think that his lack of movement is due to his great success-he doesn’t need to waste time hunting, he’s gained enough wealth and power to “succeed” in life. 

Camazotz is another popular demon lord worshipped by the Bullywugs. The Demon Lord of bats, vampirism, ambition, fire, darkness and savagery, he perfectly appeals to Bullywug kings and nobles. He carries an air of sophistication to hide his violent actions, and his ambition mirrors the ambitions of Bullywugs to rebuild their own empire. 

Sseth is also commonly worshipped by the Bullywug nobility. The demon lord of murder, traps, and poison and usurpation, he appeals to the treacherous nobles who wish to get ahead and replace the king. 

Sess’innek is also commonly worshipped by Bullywugs. The evil-aligned demon lord and self-proclaimed god of the Lizardfolk, he targets weak or tribal civilizations and feeds off of their insecurity or actual weakness, influencing them to militarize, raid their neighbors, and become dominant, instilling paranoia in them. 

Sometimes, a Bullywug community will end up worshipping nature over demon lords if a particularly enlightened king rises to power, in which case a Druid might take over as the spiritual leader. 

Biology:

Bullywugs resemble giant bipedal frogs; with males standing at around 5.3 feet and females around 5.0 feet tall. Bullywugs lay eggs once a male and female has mated. These eggs are cared for by the female, as the males consider themselves above child-rearing. A female will lay up to 200 eggs at a time. Bullywugs reach adulthood at age 10, and can live up to 60 years old. Most die before then due to tribal conflicts. 

Bullywugs have chameleon-like skin and if they stand still long enough in a forested, rainforest, or swamp-like environment, they will blend into their surroundings, which aids in ambushes or hiding. A Bullywug can breathe both air and water, allowing them to stay underwater indefinitely. Bullywugs have a standing leap that allows them to outpace their opponents in difficult terrain or flee if something happens. Bullywugs can communicate with frogs and toads when they croak in the Bullywug tongue. Finally, they require moisture for their skin, or they begin to dry out. A bullywug needs to routinely soak their entire body three times a day in water to keep their skin moist; (Using an average of a canteen’s worth of water a day to this effect). After two days without moisture, a Bullywug starts to dry out and suffers a level of exhaustion at the end of the day. They can recover from this only by magic or by soaking themselves. To conserve water, many bullywugs carefully soak a towel and use this to soak themselves instead of dumping water on themselves. 

Bullywug Traits

As a Bullywug, you have the following racial traits.

Creature Type

You are a Humanoid.

Size

You are Medium.

Speed

Your walking speed is 20 ft., and you have a swimming speed double to your walking speed.

Bite

You have a toothless maw that you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with them, you deal <strong>1d4</strong>{{modifier:str#signed}} bludgeoning damage.

Amphibious

You can breathe both air and water.

Standing Leap

The Bullywug’s long jump is up to 20 feet and its high jump is up to 10 feet, with or without a running jump.

Camouflage

You have advantage on dexterity (stealth) checks made to hide in swampy, rainforested, forested, marshy, or estuary environments.

Tongue Snatch

Your tongue is 10 feet long and covered in an adhesive that allows you to capture prey more easily. You can use this tongue to manipulate buttons, levers, or grab and pull small objects under 5 pounds towards you. Your tongue can fit into places smaller than yourself, making it useful to reach through cell bars, grates, or other such things. 

Moisturized skin

You require moisture for your skin, or you begin to dry out. A bullywug needs to routinely soak their entire body three times a day in water to keep their skin moist; (Using an average of a canteen’s worth of water a day to this effect). After two days without moisture, a Bullywug starts to dry out and suffers a level of exhaustion at the end of the day. You can recover from this only by magic or by soaking yourself. To conserve water, many bullywugs carefully soak a towel and use this to soak themselves instead of dumping water on themselves.