Cult Factions of Frog & Fish

 

Fish and frog peoples have had feuds in the past but at some point, the elemental water alliance in the Apocalypse war flooded parts of the waste and infiltrated the Chagrinspire via its waterways inside causing chaos. The frog and Fish folk claim they won the war still and they no doubt did lead to the end of the Apocalypse war.

Alighnment may vary and once you've met some ok specimens further encounters will have players checking before ambushing and murdering strangers.

Ive used these folk for trouble in a few games and over time I've added a variety of factions to make them more complicated. Some are only as bad as a thieves guild rather than demonic. The real bad ppl spread the idea frog or fish folk are the worst who lust after our women and worship demons. Fey frog folk are quite posh. Ancient fish folk faiths have thousands of years of fine fishy history. Most fresh water divinities and spirits are amenable but might be grumpy at human pollution and populations.

Apparently, the age of fish wanting to conquer the surface is over. Now some fish folk think settling the surface was a big mistake and why fish even have land rivals enemies now. Its the bugs and worm fault for colonising the land that made greedy rebel fish dare to leave water. Fish factions are more likely to war on each other and many serve the undersea emperors not demon ancestors. They have warred with amphibians and reptilians but now they might well cooperate against humans or other young species.

Frog folk can rapidly breed a fighting force raising seven feet tall fighting frogs in a few years with stockpiled bugs being the only limit. Quite a few amphibian peoples are committed to spreading and cooperating on their world project or making a comeback. Some want to revive lost saltwater species. Fish and reptiles or others might try to keep frog folk as serfs or vassals but are wary of amphibian reproduction speed and inevitable rebellion. They trade and work with other species and humans and are excellent water workers so they can come to dominate and control waterways. A few swamps and wetlands have flipped to amphibian control or influence after first being brought in as slave labour. Magic grog and swamp weed are vices they trade in and are banned in places. Their skills as water workers were good for allies in war. 

Frogs and Fish betrayed the worm and arthropod peoples long ago to enslave them as food so fish and frogs wage war on bug and worm folk. This led to changes in the monster kings in the age of darkness which resulted in mammalian members and led to human and orc slave troops being bred around the world.

The great undersea wars age is over with a hierarchy of dragons and gods and giants ruling over them vs the great undersea strife that drove Tako onto the surface worldwide. Thats why we have tree octopi now but that's another story. 

Abhuman Beast Folk
AC +3 to +6 HD d12/Lv Att by weapon +1 damage bonus 
Most abhumans are 7-foot-tall beast folk types
night vision, +3m leap, d4 unarmed damage
superior specimens depending on species get additional abilities at the thigh level

Fish Folk Abhumans
-3rd Amphibious
-6th Breathe water
-12th Call 8HD water elemental once per week for one hour

Anuran Folk Abhumans
-3rd Amphibious
-6th Spider climb (treefrog) or burrow 3 (toad or burrowing frog) or +Lv on jump range (ground frog) or +Lv on swim (aquatic or marsh frog)
-12th Call 8HD water elemental once per week for one hour

Beastling Folk
AC +3 d8/Lv Att by weapon  
-3-4 foot tall small beast folk
-all saving throws improved  
-fishlings can breathe water
-froglings are amphibious and +3 jump
-toadlings have burrow 3 and are poison* 
-newtlings are amphibious and are poison* 

-salamanderlings are immune to natural non-magic fire and are allied to elemental fire

*Enemies who bite skin find it tastes like nettles sting save or take d3 damage)
poison can be applied to darts, arrows, and knives for 1hp damage (d3 hp on larger edge)
they usually have a week's worth of poisoned missiles premade

Often subservient to larger kin or might be independent or allies 
They are much less interested in violence than larger kin but may not tolerate abuse
They might be light skirmishers with poison darts or heavily armoured disciples troops used to teamwork. Abhumans often more interested in personal glory but the little guys are more serious in war and more used to teamwork fighting big people. They also make better assassins, craftsmen, thieves and depend more on skill than muscle

Hybrids
Hybrids are more like humans in most respects and not like humans. Some species make them with magic for espionage and to fill cults with fanatic zealots. Some become full abhumans later in life. Many hybrids must hide their non-human features under clothing. Some embrace this condition by receiving mutations for oaths.

There are were folk too. Were-sharks, were-eels, were-pike, who may be found among human gangs of pirates. Seawolves (werewolfsharks) from the frozen north might come with viking raiders. Werefrog bards are used by some frog kings for espionage and propaganda 

Weather and Effects on Water Folk 
Many fish and frog folk are more active in certain weather 
You might notice your marine abuhuman chums are moody depending on the weather
Some subtypes are more fussy but the human-like part of abhumans makes them more flexible than natural animals. Some species specialise in extremes you don't expect or build underground homes to wait out the weather, The are more tolerant of cold than reptiles if wet and will liv often just beyond where reptilians won't. Some species are more salt tolerant. Ancient lineages like Temnospondyls were marine amphibians. Fish folk are probably more flexible in subtypes with different abilities facing climate. 

Average - always know where water is, hours away from water is acceptable
Dry - stay close to water or just short dusk and dawn sorties or just brumate 
Moist - high humidity, fog or some light showers, confident on the surface and happy
Wet - rainy or storms. moody and excited and intense emotions, a bit more chaotic
Cold - but prefer to sleep, brumate or migrate from ice or snow
Heat - if it's wet or humid its great if dry its best avoided

Factions
These offer cults and holy folk to provide oaths that the superior heroes use for magic as well as languages, allies and enemies

In the Frog and Fish folk bulwarks in lakes and rivers and at sea they might be of one faction but many are a cosmopolitan mix of several types or all of them.

d12 Fish Folk Factions
1 The outer gods from the void before time - especially for wicked sorcerers & wizards
2 The elder age great water elemental mother - water elemental magic
3 The water/chaos dragon - Tiamat mother of dragons and chaos who fought the gods the scaly mother goddess
4 Nomor is the mystical fish god of ancient secrets and mystery (the idiot god others call him while his priests interpret his avatars every stare and gulp of their temple avatar)
5 Ancestors - the great primal fish folk lords of the deep guard gates of the sea (the underwater fairyland)
6 Lampgulp the angler fish goddess - a ship-devouring goddess of Angerslund. She keeps away ships except for her cult of smugglers and wreckers. The cult throw her men to be her husbands who bond with her flesh forever. Her fish cultists gain a glowing lure and glassy teeth and black flesh. She has eaten the entire imperial fleets and is absolutely real you could see her if you dared
7 The catfish demon cult - ancient catfish wizards who ruled fish folk in the age of darkness. These were the fish folk who ruled in the age of darkness with other monster kings who used black magic and invaded he surface for an age. Sleeping catfish wizads sometimes awake to resume their lost civilisation or wizardry
8 The shark god - a brutal berserker conqueror god of war and devouring. Can also be a protector in more peaceful versions
9 The eel god - a mysterious lord of the deep up to shifty trickster things and makes obstacles
10 The Fish mother goddess - fish mother goddess of fertility and schools, she helps bring more fish into the world
11 The celestial dragon emperors - sea, lake, well and river dragons appointed by the heavens
12 Armoured elder fish - ancient huge beaked fish with armoured plates, fish folk join to gain improved armour and bites to serve as disciplined mercenaries

d12 Amphibian Folk Factions
1 The outer gods from the void before time, especially wicked sorcerers & wizards
2 The primal amphibian - great amphibian god of unity 
3 Ancestors - the first Amphibian lords who reincarnate the fallen
4 Petty Frog Gods - many minor frog cults popular with commoners
5 Great water elemental mother - a great water elemental ruler
6 Malakar the solar frog death god - the water eater and drought bringer who aids survival
7 Chacak the frog rain god - god of rain and fertility, but also can be a raging war god in storms
8 The Burrowmother - toad mother earth goddess - a great earth goddess of the deep, 

9 Fire salamander -  worship fire salamanders (not the partly humanoid kind the therapod ones), changed allegiance from water to fire, popular with newts and salamanders driven from wetlands into hot arid or volcanic regions. They wear asbestos cloth people call salamander skin that is fire resistant

10 The great star newts - newts went to the stars at the peak of their civilisation and some returned millennia later to establish their culture among newts and human cultists. Mysterious sinister star witch folk
11 The celestial dragon emperors - sea. lake and river dragons appointed by the heavens though a few think Tiamat and her husband Apsu, the first dragons are neat (not the modern Tiamat avatar, this predates the world creation)
12 High Amphibians - fey folk use frog folk in their wetlands for trade but also to halt bugs invading faerie land. These frog folk use faerie culture, court and customs. They are sophisticated, literary and like good manners. Their material technology is equivalent to elves and their magicians include fruits and wizards. Some of these have also left faerie influence and have colonies where they live as the local humans. Recently frog folk mercenaries living in the warring eastern continent have come to visit these kin. Other amphibians adopted this living also but might come off as backward rural cousins