Deep scions are people who surrender their bodies and souls to an evil aquatic power in exchange for their lives. Upon surrendering, they were transformed by an ancient, painful, and uncertain ritual, into amphibious shapechangers, in service to their masters.
Deep scions have two forms: the original form before their transformation and a human–piscine hybrid form. The hybrid form possesses fangs and claws, along with numerous fish-like features, but it is slower on land.
The dark ritual that deep scions underwent made them incredibly dangerous, both physically and mentally. Regardless of its form, a deep scion was astonishingly strong, capable of efficiently wielding battleaxes and other large weapons, and it could see in complete darkness. Switching between forms was a simple task that took no more than a few seconds.
A deep scion's hybrid form was amphibious, capable of living both underwater and on land, although its piscine gait reduced its land speed. Hybrid forms were armed with lamprey-like maws and sharp claws, and were fully capable of fighting off enemies without a weapon at hand.
When in danger, in its hybrid form, the deep scion could emit a psychic screech capable of stunning creatures hundreds of feet away. Using this scream underwater had the additional effect of transmitting the last 24 hours of a deep scion's life to its master, so long as they were in the same body of water. This could allow for last-minute communication between the two if the deep scion was in serious danger.
If killed in hybrid form, the dark magic would be dispelled and a deep scion's corpse would revert to its natural form, as it was before its transformation.
