Deep One Hybrids
A Deep One’s appearance is odious to human eyes. Clad in thick leather hide and slime covered scales, their bulbous unblinking eyes fasten and fishlike beak are not so hideous for the differences they have to mankind, but the similarity. This however is easily explained as the bloodline of mankind and Deep Ones have been joined many times. For some unknown reason among the foul desires of Deep Ones is one to mate with human women and produce hybrid offspring. There is no affection with this act- human females are seen as little more than breeding stock and treated only gently to assure that she carries the child to term. The human women are usually bred until too exhausted to bear additional children and then ritually sacrificed- sometimes by their own Hybrid children.
Hybrids are born completely human in appearance. In fact, if born in areas free of Deep One influence, the hybrid may believe itself completely human and may be horrified when his or her true nature reveals itself. Most hybrids though are raised by the Deep One Priest caste and given humans slaves to care for its needs.
Because of their human appearance, hybrids are capable of infiltrating human society virtually undetected- at least at younger ages [see below]. As time passes the human population of a Deep One dominated community will slowly be replaced by hybrids who continue human practices only to fool nearby communities. Promising Hybrids, especially those with sorcerous talent, are often used as agents in human communities, creating cults dedicated to worshipping the Deep Ones as sea gods and working to destroy human society from within. A sign that a hybrid may be at work in a community is the elimination of the human sorcerers within it- Hybrids fear magical detection and will often remove those capable of doing so.
As time passes though, their alien nature begins to become dominant. At some point they begin to transform slowly into a Deep One themselves as their fould blood devours their seeming of humanity. When the process starts to become hard to disguise, hybrids begin to shun normal human community and prepare for their coming life in the waves. They retreat to Deep One dominated communities and begin to join in Deep One life, capable of limited immersion in the sea at first, then beginning to prefer the sea’s embrace more and more until at last their transformation is complete and they go to join their kin in their great cities beneath the waves.
Why Deep Ones produce Hybrids and how they are able to breed with an alien species is open for speculation. Hybrids make excellent spies and bolster the Deep One population, but their general contempt for humanity makes it odd that they would choose to join with them. Some note that Deep Ones Hybrids often have sorcererous talent so the Deep Ones may be trying to produce more Priests than they breed naturally. A few however have a more horrible theory. The varied appearance of Deep Ones and their ability to ‘displace’ a native population suggest to them perhaps Deep Ones are not a natural species. Perhaps their makers plan is to move from planet to planet absorbing native populations into their servant's ranks and sweeping the planet clean of all other life may be part of some long term foul cosmic plan of the Old Ones themselves. Perhaps the cold intellect of the eldest Deep Ones is a mind that has slowly seen the population of worlds die.
Deep One Hybrid Template
Creature Size and Type: Change Type to Alien Hybrid
Hit Dice: Unchanged
Speed: Hybrids have a Swim speed of 20 in additional to the base creature’s natural movement rates.
DV, DR, Attack, Damage, Special Attacks: Unchanged
Special Qualities:
Amphibious Nature: Hybrids automatically gain the Sea’s Breath Feat. When they gain two Corruption from the Transform ability [see below] they gain the ability to breath water for short [1+ Con bonus hours, minimum 1] periods of time. After gaining four Corruption points, the Hybrid gains gills and can remain underwater indefinitely, their Swim Speed increases to thirty and their land Move is reduced by five and grow scales giving them a natural DR of 1. After six points gained by Transform, they gain the natural weapons of a Deep One, their DR becomes 2, they gain the Choke and Improved Grab Special Attacks, the Amphibious, Aquatic Mastery and Terror Special Qualities and their Template becomes fully Alien- they are effectively a Deep One.
The Call: Hybrids who are unaware of their own nature will eventually be called to a Deep One dominated area. Starting at age 15, each year the character must make a Will save equal to his or her current age. If they fail, they will be drawn to the direction of the nearest Deep One community slowly but surely by both wanderlust and strange dreams. Once there, if recognized as a Hybrid, the Hybrid will welcomed into the community. If not, the dominated community may believe that they are a human interloper and act accordingly.
Transform: Each year beginning at the age of 25, a hybrid must make a Corruption save. This represents the slow transformation of a character into a Deep One- Corruption gained in any other way doesn’t count toward changes referred to in Amphibious Nature above. Each point gained in this manner reduces the Hybrid’s Charisma by 1 as the physical changes start to become apparent. After gaining the first two points gained in this the Hybrid’s true nature way may be Disguised [DC=15+ 2 x Corruption points gained by Transform] but the third point makes it difficult to pass without magical means as they gain a certain unclean ‘look’. At the fourth point, the emergence of gills on the Hybrid’s neck makes detection almost certain in human communities. Hybrids at this stage usually retire from public view and begin to associate with their Deep One kin.
Abilities: Save for the Cha loss by Transform, the base creature’s abilities are unchanged
Skills: Deep One Hybrids gain a +4 circumstance bonus to Swim checks and may Take 10 with a Swim check even if distracted or endangered This bonus increase to +6 after the Hybrid gains to two points of Corruption from the Transform Special Ability and to +8 when the Hybrid gains four points in this manner.
Feats: As noted above, Deep One Hybrids gain the Sea’s Breath Feat
Code of Honour: Hybrids may only have a Code of Honour if they remain unaware of their inhuman nature. Once they receive the first Corruption point from the Transform special ability though, the Hybrids loses the ability to possess a Code of Honour.
Corruption: A Deep One Hybrid has a –2 penalty to Corruption saves, including one brought about by the Transform special quality.
Favoured Class: Change to Scholar
