Merfolk (Warrior, Wavecaller)

Merfolk. You know 'em, you (might) love 'em, you probably don't use 'em. The problem with merfolk is that they have underwater combat baked in, which most GMs and tables I know avoid given the myriad of questions it raises. How do you breathe and/or hold your breath? How well do you swim? How do you deal with combat in three dimensions? Lucky for you, all of these questions are actually pretty easy to answer for Pathfinder 2e.

Aside from the very basic mechanics the current merfolk offer, there isn't much to them. The real question is: how big are your underwater societies? Do you have entire nations of merfolk in a mystical Atlantis-adjacent city? What about pockets of merfolk that congregate around the ports? Do merfolk laborers scrape mussels off of the bottoms of ships? Do you have saltwater and freshwater merfolk? Was your entire world covered over in water at one point, allowing certain large lakes to have landlocked (ha) merfolk?

Think about what the merfolk means from a socio-cultural perspective. And yes, you should try and run them once in a while. The three-dimensional practice at lower levels will come in handy when your players get access to fly later. Give it a try! You don't need the Pythagorean Theorem to run them, I promise.

- TJ

Hook 1 (Nemanja) - The Pirate Without a Ship

A new pirate confederacy has risen to power off the coast of Tatamiki Archipelago—and it's quite an unusual one. The Wavecrashers call themselves pirates, though they own not a single ship as their manpower consists entirely of merfolk and harpies.

Those rare few who have survived Wavecrashers attacks talk of an eerie feeling of complete coordination between the two groups; the moray-bodied merfolk start with a series of boarding attempts that force sailors onto the defensive, turning their focus below. After the initial attack, the albatross winged, harpoon-bearing harpies descend from the clouds and begin the slaughter.

Hook 2 (TJ) - Might of the Moon

The Saint's Hope sunk off the coast of An'Zeth long ago. Now every three months, when all the moons are full, the Saint's Hope rises again, ravaging the coast outside of Nishka. The typical rumors surround it: the ship is cursed, it's haunted, or the captain has unfinished business. Attempts have been made to sink the ship, but regardless of how many holes are put in it, it does not waver. Discerning eyes, however, will note that the hull and frame of the ship (which sailors say regenerate anew each time it rises) are actually comprised of a patchwork of newer and older wood. Truly discerning individuals may be able to spot bits and pieces of previous ships the Saint's Hope has destroyed in recent months. 

The merfolk hydromancers maintaining the ship's buoyancy can only muster the proper magnitude of aquatic magicks when the moons are full. This gives the remaining merfolk plenty of opportunities to practice their carpentry using scavenged wrecks. Considering how well-fed they are given all of the crews they've eaten, they could keep at this for quite some time.

Hook 3 (Reece) - A Way Off World

Dear Fen,

As requested I am cataloging what I can of the flora and fauna here. Contrary to what one might think, there are very few merfolk here on Archipelagus. Given the prevalence of the plane of water here, I am particularly surprised.

There is one society I was able to locate in my travels—they were quite hospitable, to the point that I almost started to appreciate their hospitality. After ridding myself of that terrible impulse, I did learn a few things of interest.

These Mer, the Mi'ran, have been searching for a way off-world for some time now. They were left behind when the rest of their kin skirted into the Plane of Water. Evidently, their Shaman-King offended a powerful elemental lord who now bars their escape from this world. Should someone resolve the issue, I think we could take advantage of what they can't bring with them...

Insincerely, 

Gorimat