Homebrew Deep-folk Species Details

Vile and Grotesque

The Deep-folk are quite a sight to see, they tend to be slender and tall. They are quite dexterous with their tentacled arms and mouth appendages, surprisingly enough they do not possess any actual fingers or hands. Instead they have five tentacles on each arm, they start about half way down their forearms where it splits into the tendrils. Similar to fingers they each vary in length with the middle one being the longest and the outermost two being the shortest. The middle tendril will typically end just above the knee, followed by the one to left of the middle ending about two inches above the middle one and the outer most left tendril will end an inch above the middle left one. Both sides have a similar configuration of tentacles, each being very dexterous and having two rows of circular suction cup-like mounds of flesh going down them. The cups aid with gripping any object they try to hold as they latch on to the surface of said object. Their heads are quite alien in shape, they tend to look similar to an octopus but with the tentacles surrounding a forward facing mouth. Said mouth contains two rows of short, spike-like teeth, they are carnivorous and love to eat aquatic life forms. Although they will not shy away from terrestrial beings, such as Drow, Ilithids, or even other Deep-folk. Their bodies are always hairless and their skin tends to be a blend of Caucasian and a light pink. Their heads possess four completely green eyes, although some very old Deep-folk have upwards of 8 eyes, the extra four being scattered across their skulls. The answer as to why some elders have more than four eyes lies in their religious standing.

Dark Minds and Darker Gods

The religious practices of the Deep-folk are quite brutal and vile. They worship a being that exists in the Far Realm known as Cthulhu, very little is known about this dark being, other than that it possesses ancient and forbidden knowledge. In order to access this knowledge its worshipers must endure and perform horrifying and vile rituals, the most devout of its followers tend to have grotesque mutations usually in the form of tentacles growing  from their bodies. Perhaps it is Cthulhu that wrought the Deep-folk upon this world, perhaps they used to be humans or Drow who sought his knowledge and would stop at nothing to obtain it and rose through the ranks of his cult, resulting in their warped forms. No matter how they were brought upon this world one thing can not be overlooked, the fact that they hold no value in any life than their own. While they don't despise other beings existing, they will never value them or anything the do unless it serves to benefit them. They often have a rather bleak outlook on life, they understand that they live only to serve Cthulhu and if they denounce their societal cult they know that their death would occur shortly afterword. There are a rare few who value other living beings in small quantities, however these are outliers and are often shunned by other Deep-folk. Most cannot perceive pain, instead they only feel pressure where the wound exists and can normally ignore wounds unless they prevent them from moving. They tend to enjoy strangling their quarry after stalking them for weeks, slowly driving the poor soul mad by forcing horrific nightmares upon them. 

Dark Magic

All Deep-folk have a natural inclination towards magic, typically the kind that toy with lesser being's minds. Perhaps they will drive a Drow to madness by making him see his betrothed being torn apart every night in extremely vivid nightmares, or maybe they will drive a beautiful young woman to mutilate herself to the point of suicide. No matter how they choose to toy with their prey the result is the same, the prey wishing for the sweet release of death and that wish being granted. They usually obtain simple spells genetically, but the more complex spells that they wish may be obtained by making a pact with their lord Cthulhu or through intense and strenuous study. They speak telepathically to one another and can speak to other races the same way, however the telepathic link is one way unless the other being possess telepathy as well. They are capable of learning nearly any language so long as it has a written form or it is directly taught to them.

Long, Bleak Lives

Deep-folk mature at a similar rate to humans but live much longer, usually around 250 years but some have been known to reach 300 years of age. The life of a Deep-folk is one of great hardship and devout worship of their dark god. It is rare to see one out adventuring but is not unheard of, usually they have been directed by Cthulhu itself to venture out of the Underdark to fulfill some task. Perhaps they have been ordered to infiltrate and topple a great empire by driving the emperor to insanity, resulting in the empire tearing itself apart from the inside. Maybe they were directed to assassinate an Elven sorceress who is close to discovering the secrets that Cthulhu possesses. But for the few who are adventuring without a direct order to, it is because they have been exiled, usually for treason or by the order of Cthulhu. All exiles bear a brand on their left pectoral that shows they are a traitor to their kind, every time someone is exiled a messenger tells the high priest of every standing Deep-folk city who they are and how to treat them should they try to enter their city. The usual punishment for attempting to return is death via hanging or being sacrificed with utmost haste.

Deep-folk Names

Deep-folk rarely have actual names because they speak telepathically and thus have no real need for them. But if one is out adventuring they will give themselves a name that will be easy to pronounce in each language that they think they'll be encountering. Due to this their name will change depending on what dialect the being they are communicating with chooses to speak in. Usually their names will be adjusted for common and they will possess a human-like name.

 

Deep-folk Traits

Crushing Grip, Eldritch Arcana, Superior Darkvision, Menacing Appearance, Maddening Psionics

Ability Score Increase

Due to their long lifespans and Dark God, Deep-folk are very intelligent, perceptive, and persuasive. As a result of this increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores by one.

Menacing Appearance

Deep-folk are alien to the surface and are horrifying to witness, because of this you are proficient in the Intimidation skill.

Maddening Psionics

Due to your allegiance to Cthulhu you have been blessed with the spell Waking Nightmare, when you cast it, you double your proficiency bonus when determining the damage and DC to escape its effects, you casting ability for it is Intelligence. Along with this you can use it on a sleeping foe to instantly drive them mad, once they wake they will be affected by long term madness. You can only use Waking Nightmare to inflict madness thrice per day.

Speed

The Deep-folk aren't exceptionally swift or slow, your speed is 30 feet.

Alignment

The Deep-folk have a very cold, cruel, and unfeeling society and conscious, due to this they tend to appear disconnected emotionally in conversation. In addition they are usually neutral in alignment, perhaps neutral good or neutral evil depending on how high they are in their religious hierarchy, or just neutral if they were exiled.

Crushing Grip

The sadistic nature of the Deep-folk truly shines throw in their martial arts. Each maneuver involves entangling their opponent and restricting their airway, it is a simple yet highly effective tactic that has resulted in the end of many infiltrators. As a bonus action you reach out and wrap your tentacles around the throat of an opponent and begin to strangle them, this does 1d6 bludgeoning damage at the start of your turn until they are freed. Once they are in your grip they can only attempt to escape your grip through a strength check, the DC of which is 10 plus your strength modifier. This ability also replaces the normal unarmed damage for you, it is now 1d6 plus your strength modifier bludgeoning damage.

Superior Darkvision

Having evolved for little to no light all Deep-folk can see in complete darkness up to 120 feet and in dim light as if it were bright light.

Eldritch Arcana

The dogmatic society of the Deep-folk teaches everyone the dark arts and the occult. Every individual is adept at identifying the occult and other parts of the arcane arts. Due to this you are proficient with the Arcana skill, if your  class allows you to be proficient with it as well then double your proficiency modifier for it. 

Size

Deep-folk tend to be tall and slender, usually standing around 6 feet in height but weighing very little for a being of that height. Your size is medium.