Deep One
Servitors of the Dreamer in the Deep
The waves hold secrets. Lost civilizations, inhuman races, gateways to other worlds. All of these pale in comparison to the horrors that come from beyond the stars. Deep in the abyss, the ruins of an ancient city hold creatures that serve your nightmares.
The deep ones are a race of ocean-dwelling fish/frog-like humanoids created by the Great Old One Cthulhu. Long ago, when life was young, the Lord of R'lyeh created the deep ones as a servitor race. They were led by the most powerful male and female of their species that would forever hold the titles Father Dagon and Mother Hydra. The deep ones have existed on Ghaile for millions of years, even after the banishment of their master. They still reside deep in the cold watery grave of R'lyeh and often venture to the surface realm to kidnap or mate with humanoids. It's said that their chants and eldritch rituals still ripple through the water and that every day they come closer and closer to calling forth the end of days.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Deep Ones have a humanoid structure. They're tall, reaching around 7 feet regardless of sex, but their hunched posture often makes them look much shorter. Their fingers and toes are webbed to allow for increased swimming capabilities. Tails have been seen on some deep ones, though they're rare. It's unclear what the origins of these tails are, several theories include a development during aging, the result of transforming a non-human into a deep one, or perhaps even eldritch experiments on their own kind.
Biological Traits
The following stats are intended for Pathfinder 1e and are much more powerful than a standard player race
Ability Scores
+6 Strength, -4 Dexterity, +8 Constitution, +2 Wisdom. Deep Ones are physically tough but their round form leaves them less agile.Size
Deep Ones are medium creatures and thus incur no benefits or penalties due to size.Type
Deep Ones are monstrous humanoids with the aquatic and deep one subtypes.Base Speed
Deep Ones have a base speed of 20 feet and a swim speed of 40 feet.Languages
Deep Ones begin play speaking Aklo and CommonOther
Amphibious: Deep Ones can breathe on land or underwater indefinitely. In addition, they gain a +4 bonus on Stealth checks while underwater. Claws: Deep Ones possess two claw attacks that deal appropriate damage for their size (1d4 for medium creatures). Cold Resistance Deep Ones gain cold resistance 5. Darkvision: Deep Ones can see perfectly in the dark up to 60ft. Deep Dweller (Ex): Deep Ones are immune to the effects of water pressure as their bodies can adapt to different depths with ease. Devoted (Ex): Deep ones are fanatically religious, be it to the worship of a Great Old One, an elder deep one, or some other divinity. A deep one gains one bonus skill rank per Hit Die that must be placed in Knowledge (religion), and this skill is a class skill for all deep ones. Immortal (Ex): A deep one does not age. Barring death from violence, disease, or misadventure, a deep one can live forever. Deep ones are immune to effects that cause magical aging. Item Use (Su): A deep one can activate spell-trigger items like staves and wands as if it were a spellcaster of the appropriate class. Natural Armor: Deep Ones have tough blubbery skin that gives them a +3 bonus to natural armor.Genetics and Reproduction
Deep Ones are capable of reproducing with humans and other humanoid species. It's unclear how they can do this, but it's heavily assumed that it's simply due to an increased amount of genetic mutation leftover from their creation by an otherworldly being. Regardless of how it's accomplished, deep ones frequently mate with humanoids, particularly humans, in an effort to seed agents on the surface.
Mating with humanoids is almost always either the result of a deal made with local populations or the result of surface raids that sometimes lead to rapes. The pregnancies resulting from these acts are always similar to a standard humanoid pregnancy, though the mother may experience intense cravings for seafood and a general drawing towards the ocean. Sometimes they may even experience visions of horrific realms or dreams sent to them by beings beyond the stars. The children resemble their humanoid ancestry in nearly every way. As they age, their form begins shifting more and more to match their aquatic ancestry until eventually, they complete their transformation into a deep one. See the sidebar for more details.
Deep Ones that mate within their own species lay clutches of eggs, anywhere from 4-6. They're about softball size and hatch in about a year.
Deep Ones have also been known to dabble in genetic manipulation. It's been documented that some deep ones have developed unique abilities through a combination of advanced science and eldritch magic. This is the case with the Shoggoth-Twsha. By grafting hunks of Shoggoth flesh onto their bodies, some deep ones can form an innate connection with the creature they grafted from essentially gaining a "pet" shoggoth. The Shoggoth-Twsha often serve as generals and lead surface raids or underwater armies. As they grow in power, so too does their shoggoth. Eventually, the can manipulate any part of their body as if they were a shoggoth themself.
Growth Rate & Stages
Deep Ones have a unique method of growth caused by their alien biology. Unlike most species, they have no actual limit on how large they can grow. The only thing limiting their size is the amount of food they can intake. Most deep ones have access to enough food to maintain a height of about 7 feet. This height may decrease if the deep one begins starving with some even shrinking to the size of an average toad.
Some can grow truly enormous in height. Given access to a large amount of food for several hundred or even thousands of years, a deep one may become a Deep One Elder. These elders can be over fifty feet tall and weigh many tons. Amazingly, they also naturally develop divine abilities, even to the point of being able to grant their power to able recipients. How this happens is unknown but remains a highly researched topic by various scholars. Unfortunately, due to the deep one's connection to eldritch horrors, these scholars often end up being transported to alien worlds or generally succumbing to insanity.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Deep Ones constantly seek out new sources of food. Their level of food directly correlates to the amount of power a deep one has access to. This can even lead to deep ones starting wars solely for the purpose of food access, even when they already have plenty.
They can pretty much eat whatever's around them. In the sea, this means fish, whales, kelp, seals, even swimmers or sailors. On land, this may be the garbage, pets, livestock, gardens, or even the homeless or unfortunate night-time wanderers. There's some evidence that particularly large deep ones often hunt entire pods of whales of which they are often comparable in size. There are even tales told by the Darfellan of entire Ila being destroyed by a single deep one elder in a matter of minutes.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Deep One society is based around its three known leaders. First is the Great Dreamer Cthulhu. All deep ones must follow Cthulhu's will for that is their sole purpose for existing. Ever since Cthulhu was banished eons ago, his instructions have become less frequent. Rarely, certain commands are given to deep ones through dreams but more often than not, Father Dagon and Mother Hydra act as an intermediary.
Speaking of which, Father Dagon is the military, political, and religious leader of the deep ones. He serves as the general for countless deep ones and monsters produced by Mother Hydra's hybridization experiments. He's incredibly intelligent and uses this fact to decimate his opponents.
Mother Hydra is another highly advanced deep one. She serves a leadership role similar to Father Dagon but instead focuses primarily on civic and bio-logistic matters. Mother Hydra guides the evolution of deep ones and is the figure that directs when they can mate with humanoids. She's also responsible for guiding chosen deep ones on their journey to becoming a deep one elder. In addition, she has a knack for genetic experimentation and is responsible for the eldritch rituals and arcane sciences required to create unique deep one forms such as the Shoggoth-Twsha.
Father Dagon and Mother Hydra aren't set individuals. If one or another is killed, they will choose a deep one of the appropriate sex as a replacement and will guide that one on its journey through deep one elder status and beyond.
Outside of these three, deep ones often serve deep one elders in larger cities or simply larger deep ones in more remote outposts.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Deep Ones have a limited amount of free will. When not given directions by Mother Hydra, Father Dagon, or Cthulhu, they're pretty much free to act as they please. However, it's physically impossible for them to not follow a command given to them by those three figures. This is their only purpose. There are rumors that some power deep one psions or psychics have managed to break free of this control. If this is true, you can rest assured that Dagon or Hydra would have such a creature hunted to the ends of the earth.
Facial characteristics
Featureless unblinking eyes are sported by every deep one. These eyes are even present during the later stages of a deep one hybrid's transformation process.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Deep ones can be found in oceans all over the planet. They have particularly large settlements in the Hakali and Rahadi Oceans. They tend to form cities wherever they settle and can be seen in both coastal and deep-sea regions. When in coastal waters, they almost always are looking to influence the surface world and breed new deep one hybrids. The deep-sea cities are often reserved for experiments, rituals, and the location of their two leaders Father Dagon and Mother Hydra in the Hakali and Rahadi Ocean respectively.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
The Great Cthulhu blessed the deep ones with the ability to see in complete darkness.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
Immortal
Average Height
7 ft
Average Weight
300lbs
Geographic Distribution
Deep one hybrids are the awful offspring of a deep one and a human. During their younger years, they resemble any other human and seem indistinguishable save for a love of the sea. As they age, however, they grow more and more monstrous in appearance. Their mouths grow abnormally wide, their eyes grow and bulge out of their head losing color and becoming unable to blink, and their hands and feet grow claws and webbing. Their skin begins excluding a slime and peels off in areas to reveal scales underneath. Fat begins building on their body as they grow to huge heights only brought down by an increasingly hunched back. Deep one hybrids typically live in towns with others of their kind. This isn't due to a shared sense of community but instead the horrible efficiency of deep ones. The hybrids assume roles of leadership in town and often work with deep ones under the sea to funnel them resources, sacrifices, and anything they desire. Full-blooded humanoids are cowed and subservient to the hybrids, or even worse, kept as breeding slaves. The hybrids are devout followers of alien deities and most often worship Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, or the Dreamer in the Deep, Cthulhu. They usually go through great efforts to disguise their worship from town visitors. The following stats are intended for Pathfinder 1e
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