Piranha-Man

Small monstrosity, neutral

Armor Class 18 (natural)
Hit Points 48 (6d6+24)
Speed 30ft., swim 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
10 (+0)	20 (+5)	18 (+4)	8 (-1)	14 (+2)	10 (+0)

Skills Perception +4, Stealth +12
Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 14
Languages Aquan
Challenge 1 (200 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Amphibious. Piranha-men can breathe both water and air.
• Bloodscent. Piranha-men have advanced nasal filters capable of detecting minute changes in the temperature and chemical composition of surrounding water. They have blindsight to a range of 30 ft while in water and gain advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks involving scent.

ACTIONS

• Bloodfrenzy. A piranha-man may make two bite attacks against any target that does not have full hit points.
• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d4+5) piercing damage.

ABOUT

This fish humanoid has shining silver-green scales, and a crimson belly. It wears no clothing or armor, and has no weapons. It snaps its mouth open repeatedly, displaying rows of gleaming white triangular teeth.

Piranha-men are primitive jungle humanoids with little culture and a violent reputation. They disdain weapons and armor, trusting in their vicious teeth and scales. They wear crude jewelry and belts made of dried strips of flesh to carry their few belongings.

They have no fixed villages, instead traveling tropical rivers in nomadic swarms.

Piranha-men rush headlong into combat, straining for the taste of blood. They view their blood frenzy as a religious glory. They have no remorse for members of their own swarm that fall to the teeth of their swarm mates; they believe that those not strong enough to survive don’t deserve to live. Piranha-men feast on the fallen, both enemy and ally, directly after battle.

Many jungle races, particularly lizardfolk, see piranha-man flesh as a delicacy and actively hunt them. Some river-dwelling sahuagin tribes successfully enslave piranha-men, using them as shock troops and spies.

Piranha-Man PCs

Rarely, an unusually intelligent, wise, curious, or fool hearty piranha-man will rise to lead their people or choose to wander the land.

Traits

• Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity increases by 2, and Constitution increases by 1.
• Age. Piranha-men lead fast and violent lives, reaching maturity by the age of 5 and rarely living longer than 40 years.
• Alignment. Piranha-men tend toward no particular alignment. Many tribes have a balance of lawful and chaotic elements, so are often perceived as neutral.
• Size. Piranha-men range from 3-4 ½ ft. in height. Your size is Small.
• Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 ft. You have a swim speed of 40 feet.
• Amphibious. You can breathe both air and water.
• Darkvision. You have darkvision to a range of 60 ft.
• Natural Attack. Your natural attacks deal 1d4 slashing (claw) or 1d4 piercing (bite) damage. Whenever you use an Attack action, you may make a natural attack as a bonus action against a target within 5 ft. that has less than full hit points.
• Bloodscent. You gain advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks involving smell.
• Languages. You speak, read and write Aquan as well as one other language (typically Common)

Class Preferences

Player character piranha-men are drawn to wild-focused martial classes such as barbarian or ranger, or nature-oriented divine classes such as druids, or clerics with domains that draw on nature, storms, or war. Arcane casters are extremely rare, though sorcerers with oceanic or elemental bloodlines have been seen.

Background Preferences

Backgrounds that focus on a piranha-man’s unusual origins are far more common than academic, social, or cosmopolitan backgrounds. Piranha-men that find themselves living in or near large river communities may have criminal, gladiatorial, soldier, sailor, or slave backgrounds, while those that have recently left their wilder cousins may have a background that reflects their outlander status.