KUO-TOA

A kuo-toan presents a cold and horrid appearance. A typical specimen looks much as if a human body, albeit a paunchy one, had been covered with scales and topped with a fish's head squarely on the shoulders. The huge fish eyes tend to swivel in different directions when observing an area or creature. The hands and feet are very long, with three fingers and opposing digit, partially webbed. The legs and arms are short for the body size. Their coloration is pale grey, with undertones of tan or yellow in males only, and the whole skin has a sheen from its slime covering. The color darkens when the individual is angry and pales when the creature is badly frightened.

The ancient kuo-toa people once inhabited the shores and islands of the upper world, but as the race of mankind and its associate species grew more and more numerous and more powerful, the 'men-fish' were slowly driven to remote regions. Continual warfare upon these evil, human-sacrificing creatures threatened to exterminate the species, for a number of powerful beings were aiding their sworn enemies - mankind. Some kuo-toans sought refuge in sea caverns and secret subterranean waters, and while their fellows above were being slaughtered, these few prospered and developed new characteristics to match their lightless habitats. However, the seas contained other fierce and Evil creatures with designs of their own, and the deep-dwelling kuo-toans were eventually wiped out leaving only those in the underworld to carry on the species. These survivors were unknown to men, and mankind eventually forgot the men-fish entirely. Even the word goggler, a derisive term for their ichthyoid foes, lost its meaning to humans. But the kuo-toans remaining in their underworld places did not allow memory of the past to lapse—and woe to the hapless human who falls into the slimy clutches of the kuo-toans.

Now the kuo-toans are haters of sunlight and are almost never encountered on the surface of the earth. This, and their inborn hatred of discipline, prevent the resurgence of these creatures, for they have become numerous once again and have gained new powers. However, they have also become somewhat unstable, and insanity is not uncommon amongst the species.

Although their eyes are set on the sides of their heads, kuo-toans have excellent independent monocular vision, a very wide degree of field (180°), and they are able to detect movement even though a creature is normally invisible due to magic, astrally projected or ethereal. Thus, only complete motionlessness can avoid visual detection by a kuo-toan. They see into the infrared and ultraviolet spectra, and vibrations within 10-ft can be felt by these creatures, so they are only surprised on a 1 (in 6).

Hit probability for these creatures is the same as a human of the same level but males gain a +1 bonus on their 'to hit' roll and on damage, due to their Strength. This bonus applies only to weapons, not to their natural biting attack mode (which causes 2-5 hit points of damage). When fighting with a dagger only, these creatures are also able to bite at an opponent.

Kuo-toans wear no clothing—only leather harnesses for their weapons and a small amount of personal gear, as any other garments would hinder their swimming. Their skin is tough, scaled and very slimy. Coupled with their Dexterity, their slimy tough skin gives them a high natural armor class. The special defenses of these creatures include their skin secretion which makes it only 25% probable that an attempt to grapple, grasp, tie or web a kuo-toan will succeed. Note that shields do not add to their armor class—they are used as weapons.

Kuo-toans are totally immune to poison and are not affected by paralysis. 

Spells which generally affect only humanoid-type creatures (charm person, hold person, sleep and so on) have no effect on these creatures. 

Electrical attacks cause only half damage (or none if a saving throw is made). 

A magic missile will cause only 1 hit point of damage to a kuo-toan, and all forms of illusion are useless against them. 

However, kuo-toans hate bright light - such as from a light spell—and fight at -1 on 'to hit' rolls when exposed to such illumination. 

They suffer full damage from all fire-based attacks and saving throws against such attacks are at -2 on the die.

Typical arms carried by kuo-toan fighters are:

The harpoon is generally used only by higher-level fighters. It is a wickedly barbed throwing weapon with a range of 30-ft. It inflicts 2-12 hit points of damage, exclusive of bonuses. Creatures struck must attempt a saving throw of 13 or better (d20) to avoid being snagged by the weapon. Creatures of Man-size or less who are thus caught will be jerked off their feet and stunned for 1-4 rounds. The harpooning kuo-toan will haul in his victim and attempt to slay him with a dagger thrust, since the harpoon is fastened to the hurler by a stout cord.

The shields employed by these creatures are fashioned of special boiled leather, and just before battle they are treated with a special, particularly sticky, glue-like substance. There is a 25% chance that any frontal attack on a shield-bearing warrior will strike this glue and stick fast until the wielder is able to pull it free (same chance as that individual has of opening a dungeon door).

The kuo-toans speak the strange subterranean trade language common to most intelligent dwellers in the underworld. In addition, they speak their own arcane tongue and can communicate with most fish by empathic means. Their religious speech is a corruption of the language used on the Elemental Plane of Water and if a cleric is near it is 75% improbable that any creature from this plane will attack kuo-toans, for the cleric will speak and request that they be spared in the name of Sea Mother (Blibdoolpoolp).

The number of hit dice possessed by this hardy race is not indicative of their possible variation in hits, since their breeding gives them exactly the same number of hit points per die, varying by level:

Kuo-toans do not generally co-operate from community to community, although they have special religious places in common.

These places are usually for intergroup trade, councils and worship of Sea Mother, so they are open to all kuo-toans. These religious communities, as well as other kuo-toan settlements, are open to the drow and their servants, for the dark elves provide useful goods and services as slave-traders and merchants, but the drow are both feared and hated by the kuo-toan people, so there are frequent kidnappings and minor skirmishes between the peoples. The illithids (mind flayers [...]) are greatly hated by the kuo-toans and they and their allies are attacked on sight. Despite their common hatred of mind-flayers, the kuo-toans and githyanki are not on good terms with each other; the kuo-toans entertain deep mistrust of githyanki and do their best to avoid them. Kuo-toans will always attack githzerai.

Sometimes the kuo-toans are encountered in small groups journeying in the upper world to kidnap humans for slaves and sacrifice. Such parties are also found occasionally in the dungeon labyrinths which connect to the extensive system of underworld passages and caverns which honeycombs the crust of the earth. Only far below the earth's surface will the intrepid explorer find the natural caverns and spaces hewn from living rock over the ages in which the kuo-toa people build their underground communities.

These creatures normally travel in well-armed bands. If more than 20 kuo-toans are encountered it is 50% likely that they will be within 1-6 miles of their lair. For every four normal warriors in an encountered band there will be an additional fighter of 3rd or 4th level. For every eight normal fighters encountered there will be an additional fighter of 5th or 6th level. For every 12 in the group there will be a cleric/assassin of equal levels, either 4th/4th, 5th/5th, 6th/6th or 7th/7th (d4 + 3 for determination of level). If more than 20 normal (2nd level) fighters are in the group, it will be a war party—ie. a full-scale raiding/fighting detachment. A war party will include:

The 'whips' are fanatical devotees of the Sea Mother goddess of the kuo-toans. They inspire the troops to stand firm and fight without quarter for the glory of their ruler and their deity.

If a kuo-toan lair is found it will contain 40-400 2nd level males. In addition, there will be higher level fighters in the same ratio as noted above for outside groups, war parties, and:

In special religious areas there will also be a number of kuo-toan clerics. For every 20 individuals in the community there will be a 3rd level cleric, for every 40 there will be a 4th level cleric, for every 80 there will be a 5th level cleric, all in addition to the other individuals. These clerics will be headed by:

It is 50% probable that any kuo-toan cleric above 6th level will be armed with a pincer staff. This is a 5-ft long pole topped by a 3-ft long "claw". It corresponds to a medieval man-catcher, and if the user scores a hit the claw end has closed upon the opponent, making it impossible for the trapped individual to get free. (Naturally, this weapon can be employed only against creatures of a girth about that of a small-to-large human—a size range between the elf and the gnoll). It is 10% probable that both arms will be pinned by the claw, 40% probable that only one arm will be trapped (if the victim is right-handed, the claw will trap the left hand with 75% probability, the right with 25% probability). Trapped opponents lose all shield and Dexterity protections (or weapon attack potential if it is their weapon-bearing arm which is trapped, in which case Dexterity protections are still lost but the shield is still effective and nearby kuo-toans will always strike at such trapped individuals.

When two or more kuo-toan clerics or cleric-assassins operate together, by joining hands they can generate a stroke of lightning. The bolt is very narrow, so that only the specific target victim will be affected unless, by mischance, another creature gets into the 2-ft wide path of the stroke. The bolt of electrical energy causes 6 hit points of damage per cleric or cleric/assassin to any creature struck—half that if a saving throw is made. The chance of generating such a stroke of lightning is 10% cumulative per round per kuo-toan involved. (Check each round when priests are acting in conjunction).

Kuo-toans spawn as do fish, and hatchlings—'fingerlings' as they are usually called—are raised in pools until their amphibian qualities develop about one year after hatching. The young—now 1-ft or so high—are then able to breathe air, and they are raised in gens according to their sex and fitness.

Especially fit fingerlings, usually of noble spawning, are trained for the priesthood—as clerics, cleric/assassins or as special celibate monks. 

The latter are 'monitors' whose role it is to control the community members who become violent or go insane. The monitor is capable of attacking to subdue or to kill. A monitor has 56 hit points, attacks at 7th level, and has the following characteristics:

Slaves obtained by the kuo-toans are used for labour, food and sacrifice. The composition of any slave group can be determined at random from the following table: