Homebrew Astral Merfolk Species Details

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases
by 1, and two other ability scores of your choice also
increase by 1.
Age. The lifespan of an astral merfolk is about the same as
a human’s.
Languages. You can speak Common and Aetherian, the
language of aetherbeasts.
Size. You are Medium.
Speeds. Your walking speed is 0 feet and you have a
swimming speed of 30 feet. As an action, you can
transform your tailfin into a pair of legs. While
transformed, you lose your swimming speed and
increase your walking speed to 30 feet.


The merfolk of the Aetherial Expanse make their home
in the Constellation Isles, where they’re locked in eternal
enmity with their age-old foes, the astral merrow. The
merfolk of the Constellation Isles tell tales of tumbling
into this world of eternal, starlit twilight long ago. And
though many of their kind died—or worse, mutated into
merrow—over time, they became at home in the aether.
The magic of the expanse has made their skin bright
with shining colors, and given them the uncommon ability
to shapechange their long tailfins into legs with webbed
feet, which allow them to walk comfortably on land.
Though astral merfolk are most at home in the aether, and
try to steer clear of the greed of land dwellers, the allure
of those who walk on land and sail on wooden ships often
proves too great to resist.
The astral merfolk have built a society in the Constel-
lation Isles on the isle of Larmeath (described in episode
4 of this Fable) and try to live a peaceful life despite the
constant predation of their fallen kin, the merrow. Never-
theless, some merfolk dream of more than a placid life in
Larmeath disrupted by vicious merrow attacks. Longing
for more from their charmed life, these merfolk seek out
pirate ships, and the glory and danger those ships chase.

Astral Merfolk Traits

The merfolk of the Aetherial Expanse make their home in the Constellation Isles, where they’re locked in eternal enmity with their age-old foes, the astral merrow.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases
by 1, and two other ability scores of your choice also
increase by 1.

Aetherbeast Affinity

You learn the animal friendship
spell, and when you reach 3rd level, you also learn the
animal messenger spell. You can cast these spells without
expending a spell slot a number of times equal to your
proficiency bonus (both spells count toward the same
limit), and you regain all expended uses when you
finish a long rest. When cast this way, the spell can
only target

Aetheric Adaptation

You can breathe both air, aether,
and water and are immune to the effects of aether
poisoning 

Slipstream

when you take the Dash action while
swimming, you gain extra movement equal to twice
your swimming speed. Until the end of your turn, you
don’t provoke opportunity attacks while swimming.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until
you complete a short or long rest.