| Hit Dice: | 1d8+2 (6 hp) |
| Initiative: | +1 |
| Speed: | 5 ft. (1 square), swim 50 ft. |
| Armor Class: | 13 (+1 Dex, +2 leather), touch 11, flat-footed 12 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +1/+2 |
| Attack: | Trident +2 melee (1d8+1) or heavy crossbow +2 ranged (1d10/19–20) |
| Full Attack: | Trident +2 melee (1d8+1) or heavy crossbow +2 ranged (1d10/19–20) |
| Space/Reach: | 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks: | — |
| Special Qualities: | Amphibious, low-light vision |
| Saves: | Fort +4, Ref +1, Will –1 |
| Abilities: | Str 13, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 10 |
| Skills: | Listen +3, Spot +3, Swim +9; racial bonuses |
| Feats: | Alertness |
| Environment: | Temperate aquatic |
| Organization: | Company (2–4), patrol (11–20 plus 2 3rd-level lieutenants and 1 leader of 3rd–6th level), or band (30–60 plus 1 3rd-level sergeant per 20 adults, 5 5th-level lieutenants, 3 7th-level captains, and 10 porpoises) |
| Challenge Rating: | ½ |
| Treasure: | Standard |
| Alignment: | Usually neutral |
| Advancement: | By character class |
| Level Adjustment: | +1 |
This being has the upper body, arms, and head of a fair-featured human. Instead of legs, however, it has the scaled tail of a great fish.
The merfolk are playful, marine-dwelling people. Although wary of surface dwellers, they are not usually hostile: They prefer sunning themselves on rocks to engaging in warfare.
Both male and female merfolk decorate themselves with shells, coral, and other underwater adornments.
Adventurers who encounter merfolk are often the victims of pranks and mischief. The sport of merfolk can be cruel, although they are not actually evil. Should surface dwellers do them harm, however, these creatures can be formidable enemies.
A merfolk is about 8 feet long from the top of the head to the end of the tail, and weighs about 400 pounds.
Merfolk speak Common and Aquan.
Most merfolk encountered outside their home are warriors; the information in the statistics block is for one of 1st level with the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8.
Merfolk favor heavy crossbows of shell and coral that fire bolts fashioned from blowfish spines, with an underwater range increment of 30 feet. Merfolk often barrage their enemies before closing, when they resort to tridents.
Amphibious (Ex): Merfolk can breathe both air and water, although they rarely travel more than a few feet from the water’s edge.
Skills: A merfolk has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.
Merfolk live in semipermanent communities located near choice fishing and hunting areas. They often keep company with porpoises. Surface dwellers who come face to face with merfolk commonly encounter a scouting or hunting patrol.
The merfolk revere the deity Eadro, who created both them and the locathahs.
A merfolk’s favored class is bard; most merfolk leaders are bards. Merfolk spellcasters who are not bards are generally adepts. Merfolk clerics worship Eadro. A merfolk cleric has access to two of the following domains: Animal, Protection, or Water.
Merfolk characters possess the following racial traits.
Source: Monster Manual (version 3.5), page 185. The racial traits were not published there (or even in Stormwrack) but were generated here by reverse engineering the statistics block—or in the case of bonus languages, making them up on the spot.