Kuo-toa (pronounced: koo-o-TO-a), also known as gogglers and men-fish, were a debased, piscine race of warm-blooded and amphibious creatures that dwelt in the
UNDERDARK. Sinister secrets lurked below the surface of their alien minds, for the kuo-toa were fanatics plagued by mental instability that saw things others couldn't and worshiped gods that didn't exist — at least until they believed hard enough.
"They invent their own gods… The very definition of insanity."
Description:
Their bodies were covered in gray scales with yellowish undertones in males, which could vary in pigmentation based on their emotional state, such as a dark red when angered and a ghostly white when terrified. Coating their rubbery skin and piscine scales was a layer of slippery slime that gave their bodies a glimmering sheen. Normally the only clothing that they wore were leather straps to hold their gear since their slime made conventional armor and leather highly uncomfortable although some donned armor made of seashells. They did have a fondness for accessories of bone, shell, and gems. A light stench of rotten fish was constantly exuded by their bodies.
Personality:
Kuo-toa were extremely suspicious as well as duplicitous, betraying trust for their own benefit so long as they believed they could do it successfully. They would easily turn in family members they suspected of crimes to community officials. Due to these actions, they were normally perceived as cruel monsters by most other races, but this wasn't entirely accurate.
Society:
Kuo-toa societies were oppressive feudal theocracies ruled by a
Vi-Poolgol, which translated to "priest-king", and nine
Oorg-Poolgoopan, also known as "priest-dukes". The priest-dukes formed a religious governing body known as the
Sunken Council, which exercised complete control over the citizens' lives. Each council member dictated a different element of kuo-toa society, with dukes for fishing, trade, war, agriculture, mining, pilgrimage, sacred sites, slavery, and child-rearing. While the king and dukes theoretically held absolute authority over their subjects, the kuo-toan propensity for madness forced noble elites to forge alliances with other elites to mitigate infighting. Directly below the priest-dukes were the
Ba-Poolgol, priest-princes who might rule over smaller cities. Some kuo-toan elites possessed concubines, who were indolent members of the opposite gender.
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