frogfolk by chefjeff

Frogfolk

We'd assumed the distant drone of the Southern marshland was merely the summer song of insects and pond toads. It was not until we journeyed deep into that territory that we were greeted by a troop of strange bipedal frogfolk about as tall as halflings. They treated us with a cautious reverence, fascinated by our equipment and mounts. Throughout the rest of our travels we occasionally noticed groups of the frogfolk following behind us with a wary curiosity, but they never disturbed us.

--Ozrolo Swift, Summer's Expedition Log

The frogfolk is a collective name given to a host of diverses froglike beings that dwell deep in untamed nature, far from the reach of greater civilization. As such, knowledge surrounding the lifestyle and culture of frogfolk is limited, and only a few of the most seasoned explorers have met the beings in person. Those frogfolk that do wander into the civilized realm are often eager to explore and find fascination at every corner, making loyal and energetic companions.

Diverse Peoples

Frogfolk are found in as many diverse forms as the amphibians they grew from. Two individual frogfolk from differing ecosystems will be wildly different in appearance and physicality. The appearance and customs of a colony of frogfolk form to match their environment: members of a colony found deep in the murk and mire of a swamp will often have smooth, moist, dark green skin and large bulbous yellow eyes on top of their head, while frogfolk found in a desert have incredibly dry and bumpy skin, with small black eyes.

This wide variance in appearance combined with the lack of knowledge and awareness of the frogfolk has led to a lot of misunderstanding of the differences and similarities between subspecies of frogfolk. As a result, many times a newly discovered colony of frogfolk is labeled a new race or an entirely different people, or similarly two very unique colonies are ignorantly determined to be of the same peoples.

Life of Hardship

Typically only one out of every ten frogfolk children lives to be a year old. Another one out of those ten will live to reproduce, and when they do they will have hundreds of offspring. This is because danger and death pervade every step of a frogfolk's natural life. Their water-locked eggs are easy food for fish or aquatic beasts, their young are a favorite prey of scavengers and opportunity hunters, and their adults frequently lose their lives defending their homes and their young. Life in the deep forests and marshes is rough for these small beast-folk.

While this macabre environment would emotionally devastate members of more civilized races, frogfolk have adapted a uniquely death-positive culture to cope with it. They see death as a chance to celebrate the fallen, to be thankful for one's own life, and to bolster the bonds they have with their still-living comrades. While others hold an air of gloom and mourning over a fallen ally, frogfolk will cheer and celebrate their passing, and are as equally put-off by grieving as others are by their cheer. While this behavior is strange and alien to many, it is still exhibited out of a deep respect for the fallen ally, and for the cycle of life and death as a whole.

Eclectic Outsiders

There is rarely any interaction between frogfolk villages and greater civilization. Frogfolk civilization rose in the depths of nature's wildest territory and that is where it prefers to stay. However, individual frogfolk can easily become infatuated by the idea of seeing the rest of the world. When you create your frogfolk character, consider what caused them to journey beyond their village, what motivates them to explore and keep going in the outside world, and what their relationship and connections are with the village and family they left behind.

It is not uncommon for a frogfolk to return to their home after a few years adventuring simply because they became tired or overwhelmed with experiencing the outside world. Still, it is equally common for adventuring frogfolk to never return, so fascinated and compelled by their travels and discoveries that they spend the rest of their life seeking adventure.

Frogfolk Names

Frogfolk typically either go by a native frogspeak name or a common name they have earned or been assigned to as they mature. Frogspeak names resemble the language they stem from, and are typically only one or two syllables of strange croak-like sounds strung together to form a name. If a frogfolk has a name in common, it is typically self-made or assigned by their tribe, and is based on their notable deeds or characteristics. For example, one may be named Stick for a time they used a tree branch to kill a predator, and one may be named Slip because they frequently fall in mud.

Frogfolk make no distinctions between gender in their names, behaviors, roles, or in any other part of their lives outside of mating.

Frogspeak Names: Aabo, Babrug, Bobba, Brillup, Brub, Gaga, Grob, Gruggo, Kricko, Prug, Pubbee, Quako, Ribbug, Rua, Willup.

Ability Score Increase Addendum

If you are using the Custom Origin rules from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, ignore the given ability score increases and instead increase any three different ability scores of your choice by 1.

Frogfolk Traits

All species of frogfolk share a set of common traits and features.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. Frogfolk mature quickly and live significantly shorter than humans. They enter adulthood at around 10 years old and rarely live older than 50.

Size. While weight and build varies greatly between species, frogfolk are typically around 3 feet tall and rarely taller than 4 feet. Your size is small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Darkvision. Accustomed to murky depths and nocturnal hunting, your large eyes are built for seeing in dark conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of red.

Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time.

Powerful Leap. You have a long jump distance of 20 feet and a high jump height of 10 feet, with or without a running start. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you move 0 feet on one of your turns.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write common and Frogspeak. Frogspeak is an animalistic language of croaks and clicks with simple words and sentence structure.

Subrace. Different frogfolk colonies develop different traits through generations to fit their environments and lifestyles. These many subspecies of frogfolk fall into five categories, reflecting the five main environments in which frogfolk colonies have developed. These are the slippery Pondfolk, the agile Treefolk, the poisonous Junglefolk, the powerful Broadfolk, and the mystical Sunfolk.

Pondfolk

Perhaps the most common and widely known subspecies of frogfolk are the pondfolk. While they are as reclusive and obscure as the other frogfolk, their villages' proximity to greater civilization leads to their home marshes frequently being visited by adventurers or outsiders. As a result of this, they live with greater secrecy, and are experts at navigating their homelands quickly and quietly. Many tribes are also nocturnal, and hunt through their marshes at night while fleeing to their hidden villages in the day.

Most pondfolk villages are located in secluded areas deep in swamps or marshes, close to a body of water. They could be built under a shelf of rock, woven into the roots of a tree, or dug into a bank of mud. These villages typically house around 30 to 80 members, and center around protected pools of pond water where they harbor their young tadpoles. These villages are often built hastily with makeshift materials, and rarely stand longer than two seasons. This is because predators like giant crocodiles, trolls, lizardfolk, or even other pondfolk tribes frequently seek out and destroy these villages to steal materials or eat the pondfolk's young.

These frogfolk stand the typical 3 to 4 feet tall, with slick moist skin that matches the colors and textures of their home environment. Their large eyes sit on top of their heads, and have wide black pupils surrounded by deep yellow irises. Their bodies and limbs are slim but deceptively muscular, with incredibly sharp reflexes that keep them away from predators and on top of prey.

Pondfolk are also incredibly well adapted for life in water. Their infant stage is spent as tadpoles in calm protected ponds, and they retain their aquatic nature into maturity. They are just as comfortable in water as they are on land, making them versatile scouts and hunters.

The most well known tribe of pondfolk are the Mogogols.

Pondfolk Traits

When you pick this race, you gain the following traits along with the common frogfolk traits detailed earlier.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength and Dexterity scores each increase by 1.

Swamp Hunter. You have proficiency in the Stealth skill. Additionally, you can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, rain, mud, murky water, or other similar swamp and forest environments.

Amphibious. You can breathe air and water and you have a swim speed equal to your walking speed.

Jumping Twitch. As a reaction after an enemy misses you with an attack or ends their turn within 5 feet of you, you can jump up to 10 feet away. Additionally, after you make an opportunity attack you can immediately move up to 10 feet as long as you keep the target within your reachduring the entirety of the movement. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Treefolk

Residing high in the treetops, these frogfolk are incredibly agile and elusive. They build intricate villages high in the canopies, far from the reach of predators and prying explorers. Typically these villages stand for many generations, and the tribe residing in them build up a wealth of culture and identity. As a result of this, treefolk are often very loyal to their families and their home, and will only leave their home territory in very specific and rare circumstances. Whatever does manage to drive them from their home will drive them with an intense devotion to their mission, and as such, treefolk found across the world are often some of the most hard-working and dependable allies one can make.

Treefolk are typically slightly shorter than frogfolk average, usually no taller than 3 and a half feet. They have strikingly large eyes in bold shades of yellow and red, with diamond-shaped pupils. Their skin is much smoother than other frogfolk, and faintly sticky. While exact coloration and patterns vary with region, most treefolk have light green skin and a pale white underbelly. Their arms and legs are long, thin, and incredibly muscular. This slim build combined with their sticky hands and feet give them their characteristic climbing ability, making them incredibly agile arboreal hunters and survivalists.

As treefolk villages are so hard to access and attack, their people can live a life much more peaceful than typical frogfolk. When treefolk aren't hunting for bugs or native plants to eat, or defending their home from invaders, they devote a lot of time to practicing magic or the arts. This makes treefolk villages seem much more "civilized" than other subspecies' settlements. There are many tales of jungle explorers being shocked by the unique art and divine magic found within such remote tribal villages.

The most well known tribe of treefolk is the Grippli.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity and Intelligence scores each increase by 1.

Artist and Acrobat. You have proficiency in the Acrobatics skill as well as one artisan's tool or musical instrument of your choice.

Aerial Agility. You can use your reaction when you fall to halve any falling damage you take. You can then reduce this damage by an amount equal to your level.

Sticky Pads. You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed. If you have at least one free hand, you can climb freely across smooth, vertical, and upside down surfaces. While you climb in this way your climbing hand counts as occupied and thus cannot be used for attacks or spellcasting.

Junglefolk

This subspecies of frogfolk are famous for their bright colors and their deadly toxins. They live similar lives to the pondfolk, but in the unforgiving depths of the rainforest. While some tribes build short-lived makeshift villages along tree branches or under foliage, many tribes follow a nomadic lifestyle, roaming the jungle and keeping a watchful eye over its inhabitants.

Without the incredible agility of treefolk or the hardiness and cunning of pondfolk, these frogfolk have developed an incredibly potent toxin that they secrete through their skin. When an attacker gets too close or makes unwanted contact with a junglefolk, they can release a splash of it at the attacker to potentially debilitate them. The exact effects of the toxin on the attacker varies. It can inflict uncontrollable muscle spasms, a fierce and sudden psychological fear response, a debilitating psychaedelic trip, or a terrible sickness.

To complement their powerful toxin and to dissuade potential attackers, junglefolk's skin takes on bold colors and patterns. These strange and unique combinations of different patterns and spots combined with bright solid blocks of color make every individual unique and striking. While they are the shortest of the frogfolk subspecies, their infamous poison and their shocking colors causes many creatures to avoid or even fear them.

The most widely known junglefolk tribe are the grung.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution and Charisma scores each increase by 1.

Frightful Reputation. You have proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

All-Terrain Amphibian. You gain a climbing speed and swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

Poisonous Fortitude. You have advantage on saving throws to resist being poisoned.

Natural Toxins. After being hit with a melee attack or being grappled, you can use your reaction to release a rush of poisons from your skin and force your attacker to make a Constitution saving throw. The DC of this save is equal to 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier, and the effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to your proficiency bonus. On a failure, roll a d4 to determine how the target is afflicted from the corresponding list below.

1 - The target begins convulsing from the toxin. Their speed is halved for the duration, and they cannot take reactions.

2 - The target becomes Frightened of you for the duration.

3 - The target is affected by psychaedelics, and must make a Wisdom saving throw at the start of their turn. On a failure, they use their action to mindlessly gaze at the sky.

4 - The target becomes Poisoned for the duration and takes poison damage equal to half your level (rounded down) at the start of each of their turns.

At the end of each of the target's turns, they can repeat the Constitution saving throw to potentially end the effects early.

Whether the target succeeds or fails, you may only use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You regain all uses after you complete a long rest.

Broadfolk

Broadfolk are the mightiest and often haughtiest subspecies of frogfolk. Residing in mudflats and the edges of swamps and forests, they come into contact with other races much more than the other frogfolk. As they live in a wide variety of habitats and with widely differing relationships with neighboring civilizations, there is no standard lifestyle for broadfolk. Some may live in secluded villages similar to pond or treefolk, some may live in nomadic hunting bands, and some may live integrated into some other race's community.

The broadfolk are so named because they are the largest of the frogfolk subspecies, and are surprisingly broad and heavy for their size. They have toadlike features, with wide mouths, bumpy dry skin, and squat bodies. They have thick, muscled arms, and equally thick and round torsos. While they rarely grow taller than 5 feet, they often weigh significantly more than full grown humans.

Aside from their deceptive strength and hardiness, the most impressive features of broadfolk are their long tongues they use to hunt and their massive mouths and stomachs. They launch their long sticky tongues towards prey like a projectile, and use it to pull them back into their mouths. They then use their strong jaws to restrain and devour the prey.

As broadfolk have much more interaction with greater civilization than do other frogfolk, many develop an inflated ego and sense of self-worth. They view their people as superior to other frogfolk, and even to other more common races. They frequently believe they deserve more in life than others, and expect to be treated with great respect and reverence.

The most well known tribe of broadfolk are the bullywugs.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution and Strength scores each increase by 1.

Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Tongue and Bite. Your powerful jaws and long tongue are natural weapons which can be used to make unarmed strikes even if you have no free hands. They deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.

Crushing Leap. When using your Powerful Leap feature, you can leap onto another creature's space to perform an empowered animalistic attack. If you cover a distance of at least 10 feet and then immediately make an attack or grapple check against the target creature, you can roll with advantage. Afterwards, you land in an unoccupied space adjacent to the target.

Natural Armor. You have tough warty skin. When you aren't wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you are wearing would leave you with a lower AC. A shield's benefits applys as normal while you use your natural armor.

Sunfolk

The sunfolk are a mystical and mysterious people. They live farther from civilization than all other subspecies, far into the desert. They rarely ever meet or interact with civilization, and even the most well-versed scholars and explorers often have not heard of their peoples.

These frogfolk often live solitary lives, only meeting other sunfolk for emergencies or for mating. They live as nomads or hermits, well-accustomed to the harsh sun and sand of their desert environments. They survive as well as they do by practicing ancient shamanic magic. They perform strange rituals in the sand to harness unusual magics for their aid. It is not uncommon for them to worship obscure gods or pantheons and to devote their entire lives to study or service of these deities.

Sunfolk are the most unique subspecies in appearance, as they don't rely so heavily on water or live in forested or swampy environments as the others do. Their skin is completely dry, and they do not have a tadpole stage. They have round, sunken eyes that are uniquely front facing, and feature black pupils over gold irises. They share similar mottled stripe patterns to pondfolk, but in lighter and richer warm or sandy shades to match their desert environment. They are slightly shorter than average, between 3 or 3 and a half feet tall, with squat round bodies and thin limbs.

Sunfolk typically have a deep connection to their homes or territories, from which they draw their magic power. If they ever do venture away from the desert and into civilization, it is often because something troubling has happened to their homes and they have embarked on a quest to fix it.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence and Constitution scores each increase by 1.

Weathered Nomad. You have proficiency in the Survival skill. Additionally, you have advantage on saving throws to resist exhaustion or other adverse effects due to extreme temperatures, dehydration, or lack of food.

Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.

Shamanic Magic. You know the Mold Earth cantrip. Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Thunderwave spell as a 2nd-level spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so after you finish a long rest. Once you reach 5th level, you can cast the Barkskin spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so after you finish a long rest. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells (choose when you select this race).

Racial Feats

If you are playing a Frogfolk, your list of available feats expands to include the following lineage-exclusive feats!

Sticky Tongue

You can use your prehensile extendable tongue to grab objects and attack opponents. Your tongue is a natural weapon with the finesse property, which you can use to make unarmed strikes even if you have no free hands. The attack has a reach of 10 feet and deals bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your ability modifier on a hit.

Additionally, you can use your tongue to attempt to grapple creatures with a range of 10 feet. If you succeed the Strength (Athletics) contest, the target is pulled 5 feet closer to you. You can similarly grab objects up to 10 feet away using this feature.

Swallow

Your connection to your beastial heritage is strengthened as you gain the ability to swallow trapped prey similar to the giant frogs and toads that terrorize smaller creatures.

Your Strength or Constitution score increases by 1

If you are grappling a creature that is equal to or smaller than you in size, as an action you can make a Strength-based attack against it. If the attack hits, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. The swallowed target is blinded and restrained, has total cover against attacks and other effects outside your body, and takes acid damage equal to your level at the end of each of your turns.

You can have only one target swallowed at a time. If a target you have swallowed dies, you digest it and its body is destroyed after 1 hour, after which you can use this feature again. Before the target is killed, you can use an action on your turn to regurgitate the creature to an unoccupied space next to you, ending the swallow. Taking damage from the swallowed creature forces you to make a Constitution saving throw with a DC equal to the damage taken, forcing you to instantly regurgitate the creature on a failure.

Amphibious Toxins

Your natural bodily poisons become more pronounced, giving you the following benefits.

Your Constitution score increases by 1
You gain resistance to poison damage
Once per turn as part of the action you take to make a grapple check or unarmed attack, you can force the target to make a Constitution saving throw equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier, taking 2d4 poison damage on a failure. This damage increases by 1d4 when you reach 5th level (3d4), 11th level (4d4), and 17th level (5d4). You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Animalistic Awareness

You gain a heightened sense of sight and hearing, giving you the following benefits.

You gain proficiency in Perception. If you already have this proficiency, you instead may double your proficiency bonus for any checks using this skill.
Your darkvision is enhanced. Its range extends by 30 feet and it allows you to see in darkness as if it were bright light and to fully discern colors even in darkness.
You may add your proficiency bonus to initiative rolls.