Shoal Servant - Evil/Dead Prestige Class

This Prestige class uses elements that may not be applicable to the Forgotten Realms Campaign

The uncaring ocean holds ancient evils and vile secrets, and few of the alien menaces concealed in the depths hold as much enmity against the surface dwelling races as the kuo-toas, an ancient race that has long since retreated to the depths. They shun others and are content to worship their Sea Mother goddess, Blibdoolpoolp. Although rarely seen by those on the surface, occasionally kuo-toas make contact with shore communities to raid, infiltrate, or further other alien goals. In some distant villages, kuo-toa take over, raping and pillaging at will. They force the local populace to worship their foul goddess, killing anyone who tries to fight back. The vile kuo-toas often breed with those they conquer, creating dedicated kin through a carefully planned combination of fear, subjugation, and forced procreation. Over generations, loyal individuals become more like the kuo-toas they venerate, turning their backs on the people they once knew. To the kuo-toas, they are known as shoal servants - beings that act as liaisons between the shore and sea.

Kuo-toas accept these strange beings, seeing them as useful tools to perform tasks on the surface that they would rather avoid. While their alien mindset prevents them from viewing non-kuo-toans with anything other than contempt and distrust, they do not question the actions of Blibdoolpoolp and treat shoal servants with a grudging acceptance.

Shoal servants spread worship of Blibdoolpoolp among the surface races through slow, subtle conversion. Shoal servants in positions of power use that power to the advantage of the kuo-toas. They redirect ship traffic toward or away from kuo-toan communities, kidnap people for food and slaves, and seek out knowledge that is otherwise inaccessible from beneath the waves. In most cases, shoal servants use quiet and hidden methods to perform these tasks, knowing that most civilized races hate and fear the kuo-toas and their warped servants. Because of this, most shoal servants choose to flee when confronted with danger, although when cornered, they become truly ferocious.

Individuals chosen by the kuo-toas to become shoal servants are usually contacted through a series of disturbing dreams. Over the course of a month, the candidate is inexplicably drawn to the seashore, where he must stand and allow the tide to rise and ebb around him at least three times. At that time, a kuo-toan cleric rises from the briny water and finishes the ritual, binding the individual to the deity Blibdoolpoolp.

Because devout worship of Blibdoolpoolp is required, most shoal servants are clerics. Druids who have turned their backs on the "rational" deities of the core races find the primal power and outlook of Blibdoolpoolp intoxicating. Fighters, rogues, and rangers, especially those who are used to working on ships or near shorelines, sometimes hear the call of this prestige class. Sorcerers and wizards who work with the raw forces of the storm and turbulent ocean sometimes become shoal servants, seeking out the ancient and long-forgotten knowledge held by the kuo-toas. Bards who become shoal servants are exceedingly rare.

Unlike members of the other cultist prestige classes in this article, shoal servants commonly work together. They are rarely entrusted by the kuo-toans to perform tasks alone, so groups are often escorted by one kuo-toan overseer.

Hit Die: d8

To qualify to become a Shoal Servant, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

Shoal Servant Details

From: Dragon #300

Older Prestige class adapted to 3.5

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