Homebrew Crab Folk Species Details

The crab folk are the result of a magical ritual used long ago by a mighty green hag to transform her ogre minions into more useful servants. All crab folk that now exist are descended from those original creations, with most living in small, isolated clutches. Though they are content to lead peaceful lives as hunters and gatherers, the magic that created the crab folk sometimes compels them to lash out in fearsome raids when the conditions are right.

Aquatic Vassals. Long ago, a green hag gathered a small army of ogres to serve as her enforcers along the desolate coast she had claimed. The hag found the ogres’ simple minds and brutal strength useful, but too often, their lack of cunning foiled her plans. Many tumbled into the sea and drowned, too simpleminded and impatient to learn how to swim. Others smashed caravans and crushed their defenders most effectively, but looted cheap, bulky trade goods while leaving valuable smaller treasures behind.

Frustrated by her servants, the hag wove a spell to adapt them to the coastal terrain while planting in their minds a few simple commands to help them with their tasks. She gave them the tenacity and toughness of a crab to augment their strength, grasping claws to help them claim the treasures she loved, and a deeply embedded magical compulsion to obedience.

Treasure Hungry. The hag had a particular love of silver, and was loath to allow even the smallest bit of that metal to slip through her grasp. Her spell gave the crab folk an insatiable love for silver. When they see it, all crab folk feel an irresistible urge to seize it and carry it back to their lairs. If necessary, they resort to violence to claim the metal.

Brutal Raiders. Each year, when the warm summer gives way to the chill of autumn, the crab folk look to the sky for omens. In ancient days, the green hag kept close watch on the fishing villages and towns near her domain. If those settlements grew too strong, she sent her familiar, a cruel seagull, to harangue the crab folk with its cries and drive them to war. Today, by a stroke of bad luck a gull might happen to land near a crab folk lair and utter the right combination of cries to summon up this ancient compulsion. Driven to action, the crab folk rampage along the coast, looting and smashing any settlements they know of or encounter. After six days exactly, their rampage ends, and they return to their humble lives.

Deep-Seated Memories. When a coastal raid or a theft of silver is done, crab folk gather the treasures they have won and place them at the feet of a simple effigy of their hag creator, made from driftwood and other scrap and kept in their communal lair. The crab folk have little sense of what drives them, but they understand that the effigy represents a mother and creator who must be obeyed.

Legend holds that the green hag preferred to travel in the guise of a regal hobgoblin queen. If the crab folk ever encounter someone who bears a strong resemblance to that form, their magical compulsion might force them to worship that creature, obeying their every command.

Crab Folk Traits

You have claws to grapple and ave a hard shell

Limited Amphibiousness

Limited Amphibiousness. The crab folk can breathe air and water, but it needs to be submerged once every 24 hours to avoid suffocating.

Natural weapon

Your claws are natural weapons and you can use them to make an unarmed strike that deals the normal damage for an unarmed strike in addition you can grapple a target 

. Until this grapple ends, the crab folk can automatically hit the target with its claw, and the crab folk can’t make attacks with that claw against other targets. The crab folk has two claws, each of which can grapple only one target. The DC is 8+proficiency bonus +STR modifier 

 

Hard shell

Unarmored defense while no wearing armor your AC equals 10 + your DEX modifier + half of your CON modifier rounded up You can use a shield and still gain this benefit 

While wearing armor you get a + 1 bonus to your AC

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 1, and your Constitution score increases by 2.

Age

Goliaths have lifespans comparable to humans. They enter adulthood in their late teens and usually live less than a century.

Alignment

Crabfolk society, with its clear roles and tasks, has a strong lawful bent. The crabfolk sense of fairness, balanced with an emphasis on self- sufficiency and personal accountability, pushes them toward neutrality.

Size

Crabfolk are between  8 and 11 feet tall and weigh between 350 and 500 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet. In addition you have a swimming speed of 40 feet.

Languages

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