Kuo-Toa
Kuo-Toa are a race of fish people created millions of years ago. One of the first humanoids in the surface world, they were driven from the shores, lakes, rivers and shallow sea regions where they made their home, and driven to the depths by the other mortal humanoids. The majority found their way to the Underdark where their descendants still live in great numbers.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Kuo-Toa have the characteristics of fish though their morphology has shaped their musculo-skeletal system to the point that some of their fins have developed into arms / webbed hands, and legs / webbed feet. They also have partially formed lungs adapted to allow them to survive on land, while still having gills allowing them to breathe underwater indefinitely. Each also has a swimbladder, scales and general appearance of fish.
Genetics and Reproduction
Each lineage has a general cluster of genetics of their fish ancestors and what appears to be mutations for some higher brain functions & the ability to grow actual limbs.
When the greed it is usually like other fish in a place where they were spawned themselves or in a general location of their choosing. There the females release countless eggs while the males release clouds of sperm. Not all the eggs are fertilsed and much of these clouds are feasted upon by watery predators before fertilisation or maturing.
Growth Rate & Stages
The Kuo-Toa start as a fish-like creature with no real difference in appearance. From there after a few months of growth their arms, legs & lungs develop and they start to venture onto land. After about two to three years they are large enough to join other groups of Kuo-Toa, or strike out on their own, eventually developing into adulthout after 7 to 10 years.
Ecology and Habitats
The Kuo-Toa prefer the Underdark, especially in regions with large bodies of water nearby. There they tend to schools of fish and their young while living a simple life at present. They are both a predator to lower lifeforms here, and prey to larger more aggressive predators. Some take a few Kuo-Toa as pets, oddities or as slaves. Either way with the latter, they are not very good in these roles due to them not being the brightest, and a racial trait found in all their kind. This trait is that they were scarred psychologically by enslavement in the depth by monsterous creatures who came the Far Realms.
Behaviour
The Kuo-Toa are usually hostile to outsiders who view them with distrust or as potential threats. They were scarred by tentacled monstrosities from the Far Realms shortly after fleeing to the Underdark or other out of the way places. This has led to their species developing a damaged psyche, and can appear an almost child-like mentality to outsiders. They generally follow objects and places as sacred, and even worshipping strange tentacled creatures out of a nightmare.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
World wide.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Able to see and smell with great accuracy especially in water, they are able to put these to great use in hunting. Some have vestigial senses of their ancestors such as the sharks ability to sense electrical currents generated by other living creatures or the bioluminesence of others like theangler fish.
Civilization and Culture
History
The Kuo-Toa are an ancient species, stretching back over millions of years. Some scholars point that they actually may be the oldest humanoid mortal creatures on Earth. They do seem to be but left no mark to their culture behind.
They have evolved from many fish species, some that are still in existance. Some show the ability to pick up bioelectrical signatures of other creatures for example. Given this, they all seem to be able to interbreed.
Something happened early on to the Kuo-Toa. When other intelligent humanoid species arose, they eventually encountered the Kuo-Toa. The former species hated what they saw and drove the Kuo-Toa deep into the seas & the Underdark, leaving their old environments (sea shores, lakes, large rivers) to the newcomers. Hidden deep in these regions they became degenerate as they didn't have the space or resources to grow to their full potential. Also, as a primitive race, they were unable to fully work what resources they find.
What happened next was a tragedy unimaginable. Ancient races from the Far Realms had found their way to Earth, and soon realised that they could dominate the Kuo-Toa easily. Using psychic powers and other horrific techniques to achieve this. Having the Kuo-Toa as slaves allowed these creatures to create hidden empires throughout the world unseen. This leads to the Kuo-Toa being permanently damaged psychologically & passing this trait on to their young down the generations.
The Kuo-Toa never recovered from being enslaved, and exactly how they escaped the clutches is not really known. It seems to be a mmixture of events. Many of these creatures withdrew appearing to die, but dreaming all the same. Along with the Kuo-Toa turning to worshipping odd objects such as adventurers boots, and even other odder object creating their own mythology around them. This allowed them to project their religious beliefs in directions their masters didn't want or need.
After these creatures left the Kuo-Toa alone, the latter stayed were they were and created their own tribes growing slowly in number. They have become a pest to deep sea creatures and those exploring the wetter regions of the Underdark. Many of the races that live in the Underdark usually ignore them. A few though prey on the Kuo-Toa as a source of food, or as slaves for basic work.
IUn some cases, Kuo-Toa tribes have gotten too big to destroy fully. Many of these split in time due to numbers. These tribes can be chaotic in nature but always ruled by at least one chieftain and priest. Others end up forming into specific groups within the tribes such as monitors who keep the rest in line. Most if not all have some basic attributes that allows for the tribe's success, and they scavenge everything they can from doomed expiditions into the tribal grounds. A few can work clothes or other scavenged items for use by others. These they will pass on to each generation allowing them to keep their societies together.
Lately, something has been shifting withing the tribes. Many are moving from their old haunts and taking up residence in newer Underdark / deep sea area. Some also have stayed and seems to be carrying out strange rituals sacrificing members of their tribes, and others from neighbouring tribes. Some have took to carving stone statues of a warped eye & pentagram, and stone wormlike creatures as well as tentacled monstrosities of all types. Many explorers and Underdark inhabitants are saying that the Kuo-Toa seem more organised and bolder than normal, with some of the tribes outwardly attacking settlements they wouldn't have before.
One tale that is leaked out is a tribe trying to make its way to the north western shore of the Iberian Peninsula. It appeared as a mass migration and captured Kuo-Toa told their captors of a distant land where the Masters lived of the coast the direction the tribe is heading to. They said that Dagon & Mother Hydra lived there, and wanted to be ruled by them.
"Strange little things those. Well until they grow to the same height as us. Stinking too, of rotting fish & brine. Dumb too usually. The leaders though..... somewhat smarter and better organised. Take them out and you may stand a chance. Don't want captured and ate by them."
Darvin le Penn, Frankish Underdark exlorer.
Origin/Ancestry
Descended of many fish species in fresh- & saltwater.
Geographic Distribution
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