The legend of the merfolk stormcaller is one that any sailor worth his sea salt knows very well. They say that if a single mermaid shows herself to a ship as it leaves port, the voyage is doomed. Of course, this isn’t always the case – after all, if it was, how would the story have started? But like every old wives’ tale, it does have a kernel of truth at it’s core. Ships have been lost due to the activity of these creatures that make their homes below the waves. The merfolk are a curious species. They lack raw material and trade skill to have any sort of industry, instead relying on what they can find from various shipwrecks. When times get lean, they some times need to take matters into their own hands.
The merfolk stormcaller will follow a ship for a while to try to determine what it is carrying and if they will be able to bring it down. And then they begin to manipulate the weather to bring the ship to a place the rest of the tribe will be able to claim it by subtly adjusting the winds and waters. And when they are ready to bring it down, they will whip the sky up into a frenzy, calling down a terrible storm in an effort to sink the ship, bringing down lightning bolts to carve through the timbers and expedite the process. They take no pleasure in the destruction, but know that it is sometimes necessary for the survival of their people. The tribe will attempt to save those it can from drowning in the storm, attempting to pull them to safety. More than one sailor has found himself come to on the shores of a strange island he does not remember seeing.
Historians and Storytellers. When their particular skills are not necessary for resupplying the tribe, the stormcallers work to preserve the stories of their people. When individual tribes cross paths, it is not uncommon for the stormcallers to meet and share the stories of their tribes so that their people’s accomplishments may live on and continue to be told outside of their immediate group. They are treated with respect and deference, but they are rarely leaders within their tribes. In more permanent settlements it is not odd to see them in privileged positions that are more ceremonial than actually necessary to the survival of the settlements. The merfolk stormcallers are always female for reasons unknown to anyone.
Design Notes: The merfolk stormcaller is a great example of how a low CR monster can boast powerful abilities while not providing much of a direct challenge to the PCs. They have the ability to once per day cast a powerful 8th level spell that is altering the weather in a major area of the ocean. But it provides very little effective use for the merfolk stormcaller in actual battle, requiring her concentration to keep the increasing the fury of the storm. It also provides these underwater hunter-gatherers with a way to take their destiny and their survival into their own hands by hunting more than just fish and other sea creatures.
Art by Molly Harrison. Template design by Colby Savell
Ben Erickson
