The statistics block below contains details for more than one form of a selkie. Use the horizontal scrollbar below it to display the desired one or select from the links below that.
| Selkie, humanoid form Medium Humanoid (Aquatic, Shapechanger) |
Selkie, seal form Medium Humanoid (Aquatic, Shapechanger) |
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|---|---|---|
| Hit Dice: | 3d8 (13 hp) | 3d8 (13 hp) |
| Initiative: | +1 | +1 |
| Speed: | 30 ft. (6 squares) | 20 ft. (4 squares), swim 90 ft. |
| Armor Class: | 15 (+1 Dex, +4 mithral shirt), touch 11, flat-footed 14 | 16 (+1 Dex, +5 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 15 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +2/+1 | +2/+1 |
| Attack: | Mithral longsword +1 melee (1d8–1) | Bite +3 melee (1d6–1) |
| Full Attack: | Mithral longsword +1 melee (1d8–1) | Bite +3 melee (1d6–1) |
| Space/Reach: | 5 ft./5 ft. | 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: | — | — |
| Special Qualities: | Alternate form | Alternate form |
| Saves: | Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +1 | Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +1 |
| Abilities: | Str 9, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 12 | Str 9, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 12 |
| Skills: | Craft (any one) +3, Listen +6, Perform (chant, melody, ode, storytelling) +5, Spot +6, Swim +11; racial bonuses | Craft (any one) +3, Listen +6, Perform (chant, melody, ode, storytelling) +5, Spot +6, Swim +11; racial bonuses |
| Feats: | Alertness, Weapon Finesse | Alertness, Weapon Finesse |
| Environment: | Cold aquatic | Cold aquatic |
| Organization: | Solitary, pair, family (3–10), or tribe (12–30) | Solitary, pair, family (3–10), or tribe (12–30) |
| Challenge Rating: | 1 | 1 |
| Treasure: | Standard | Standard |
| Alignment: | Usually neutral | Usually neutral |
| Advancement: | By character class ♊ | By character class ♊ |
| Level Adjustment: | +1 | +1 |
Selkie, humanoid form • Selkie, seal form
Appearing as humanoids when on land and seals in the sea, selkies are shapechangers with purported fey ancestry whose dealings with nonfey are often tinged with tragedy.
In seal form, a selkie looks just like a normal seal, though its eyes usually betray a hint of its intelligence. In humanoid form, selkies resemble very attractive humans, usually with gray hair and eyes and very pale skin.
Selkies feel a deep curiosity about land dwellers that often leads to marriage. The union of a human and a selkie rarely ends happily, however, since the selkie partner is eventually overcome with longing to return to the sea, abandoning the human partner and any children of the union. Half-selkies are human in every significant respect, but may have slightly webbed hands and feet.
Selkies speak Common and Aquan.
Selkies in their natural form attack by biting their opponents, but they are not strong and do not prefer melee. In human form, they wield weapons forged of mithral and wear mithral armor.
Alternate Form (Su): A selkie has only limited control over its shapechanging abilities. When in the ocean, it is in seal form; when on land, it is in humanoid form. Only at the in-between places—shallow waters at the coast, a narrow strip of beach—can a selkie choose which form to use. Changing form is a free action. Equipment a selkie in humanoid form is wearing or carrying transforms to become part of its seal form, and magic items cease functioning while it remains in this form.
Skills: Selkies have a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard and can always choose to take 10 on Swim checks, even if distracted or endangered.
A selkie’s favored class is bard. Selkie clerics often do not choose to worship a particular deity, but have access to the domains of Healing, Protection, and Water. If the cleric chooses to worship a specific deity, the character has access to the deity’s domains instead.
A selkie PC’s effective character level (ECL) is equal to its class level +4. Thus, a 1st-level selkie bard has an ECL of 5 and is the equivalent of a 5th-level character.
Source: Fiend Folio, page 148. Changes applied as per the D&D® v.3.5 Accessory Update. Separated the two forms into separate statistics blocks. Borrowed the seal’s land speed from Stormwrack to provide the selkie’s land speed in seal form for when they are on a beach or in water too shallow to swim but don’t want to assume humanoid form for some reason.