Deep One Hybrid Priest

Family: Deep Ones

Medium humanoid, chaotic evil

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 105 (14d8 + 42)
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) 16 (+3)

Saving Throws Con +5, Wis +3, Cha +5
Skills Athletics +6, Deception +5, Perception +3
Damage Vulnerabilities fire
Damage Resistances cold
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Void Speech
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Amphibious. The deep one priest can breathe air and water.
  • Frenzied Rage. If a deep one priest takes 10 or more damage from a single attack, it has advantage on melee attack rolls and gains a +4 bonus to melee damage rolls until the end of its next turn.
  • Lightless Depths: A deep one hybrid priest is immune to the pressure effects of the deep ocean.
  • Voice of the Deeps. The deep one priest can spend 5 minutes giving a speech in a rolling, droning voice that fascinates listeners. At the end of the speech, each creature that heard it must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or forget the events of the past 10 minutes or keep no memory of the events of the next 5 minutes (the priest’s choice). On a successful saving throw, a creature is immune to the priest’s Voice of the Deeps for the next 24 hours.

ACTIONS

  • Claws: Melee Weapon Attack:+6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.
  • Innate Spellcasting: The deep one priest’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 12, +4 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
    • At will: sacred flame, shocking grasp
    • 3/day each: inflict wounds, sanctuary, sleep
    • 1/day each: ice storm, shatter

ABOUT

With enormous eyes, a wide mouth, and almost no chin, the deep ones are hideous, fishlike folk, often hunched and scaled when encountered in coastal villages.

A deep one born to a human family resembles a human child, but transforms into an adult deep one between the ages of 16 and 30.

In their fully grown form, the deep ones are an ocean-dwelling race that worships elder gods such as Father Dagon and Mother Hydra, and they dwell in deep water darkness. They’ve intermarried with coastal humans to create human-deep one hybrids.

The deep ones keep to themselves in isolated coastal villages and settlements in the ocean for long periods, and then turn suddenly, at the command of their patron gods, into strong, relentless raiders, seizing territory, slaves, and wealth all along the coasts. Some deep ones have even founded small kingdoms lasting generations in backwater reaches or distant chilled seas.

They demand tolls from mariners frequently; those who do not leave tribute to them at certain islands or along certain straits find the fish escape their nets, or the storms shatter their hulls and drown their sailors. Over time, some seafaring nations have found it more profitable to ally themselves with the deep ones; this is the first step in their patient plans to dominate and rule.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Beasts 1 ©2023 Open Design LLC; Authors: Daniel Kahn, Jeff Lee, and Mike Welham.

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