Merfolk

Merfolk (sing & pl; masc pl: mermen; fem pl: mermaids) were aquatic humanoids with upper body, arm and head of a human and legs resembling the tail of a fish.

Description

A merfolk person had the upper body, arms, and head of a fair-featured human from the waist up and instead of legs they had a fish-like tail from the hips down. Also distinguishing them from humans were the gills slits along their necks, the slight webbing between their fingers, and their pupils exhibiting an ice blue or pale silver tone.

On average, mermen grew to be around 8 feet (2.4 meters) in length and had broader shoulders, while mermaids grew only slightly shorter. On average they weighed around 400 lb (180 kg) and it was unheard of for merfolk to become overweight, due to their active lifestyles, and possessed greater strength than their physiques would imply.

The coloration of their eyes, hair, and skin varied as much as those of humans, as did the coloration of their fins and scales — some colorations being more common in certain areas. Merfolk across Faerûn exhibited all the varied skin tones of the continet's humans. They tended towards pale pink or tan, though some around the Alamber Sea and Vilhon Reach had darker tones. The most common hair colors were light brown or blond, as these helped them to better blend in to their environment. The rarest of hair colors were blue and silver — those born with either were considered to have great destinies and so would be raised and watched over by their entire clan.

The coloration of merfolk fins and scales ranged from a deep kelly green to a brilliant silver, though some colorations outside of this could be found. Some Serôsian merfolk exhibited brighter colors and even scales that were striped or speckled. While some merfolk in the Alamber Sea or Vilhon Reach had scales that ranged from copper to golden.

In terms of clothing, merfolk often adorned themselves with shells and coral. And Serôsian merfolk in particular had a widespread practice of tattooing across their culture.

Personality

Known to be playful creatures, merfolk would often prank adventurers they came across. Their levels of mischief could come across as cruel, but not overly malicious.

Combat

Merfolk were generally known to wield crossbows, daggers, javelins, nets, and tridents. They also used grappling hooks when performing attacks on the surface dweller ships.

Society

Merfolk generally lived in isolated settlements within coral reefs or cliffs that were honeycombed with numerous passages and rooms. Some lived within underwater cities of their own design, built from coral, rocks, and shells. Such communities tended to have netted pens where fish were kept like livestock.

They trained aquatic animals, such as giant seahorses, to serve as their guardians or steeds. They were particularly known to train barracudas for this purpose, having three to eighteen protecting their communities.

Diet

Merfolk were an omnivorous people, both harvesting underwater plant life and hunting aquatic animals to eat. They were also known to herd and raise certain species of fish, much like surface dwellers did with livestock.

Homelands

Merfolk could be found in a variety of aquatic regions, typically those with a temperate or tropical climate. Many were only seen outside of their watery habitats to visit coastal places or bathe in the sun's rays.

Languages

Merfolk generally knew how to speak Common and Aquan, though some also knew how to speak the language of locathah.

Religions

Many merfolk worshiped the deity Eadro.

Relationships

Merfolk were capable of interacting with surface folk, as they could survive outside of the water as amphibious creatures. However, they rarely traveled more than a few feet away from the water's edge. In Serôs, many merfolk were allied with neighboring selkies.It was not unheard of for Sirines to mate with merfolk, producing children with joint characteristics of their parents, such as webbed fingers and scales.

This article uses material from the “Merfolk” article on the Forgotten Realms wiki at Fandom and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.