Nereids

The Nereids - also known as Mermen and Mermaids by other races - are a rather unusual race among the races of Artograch. Their appearance is similar to that of continental humanoid mammals (especially that of Humans and Elves), albeit their body under the hip is very similar to that of a fish. It is worth mentioning about their hair, that the typical human spectrum of hair colours is extended by the blues and greens of the sea, and this sometimes applies to their skin colour as well.

Naturally, they live in water, especially in warm seas. As a race with magical origins, all Nereids are naturally strong in Water Magic without exception. This heavy amount of magical concentration allows them to shapeshift, letting them temporarily assume the shape of a human - this is an ability all members of the race are capable of, giving ground to hypotheses that their distant ancestors were members of a ground-based humanoid race, albeit no traditions ever mention such a thing. One more fact that supports these hypotheses is that they more-or-less still wear clothes and jewelry (especially bracelets and torcs) even in their default fishy shape. However, the biggest counterargument to these hypotheses is that even though they may find continental "relatives" attractive every once in a while, they are completely incapable of crossbreeding with them. From a human point of view, the beauty of a Mermaid rivals that of High Elves and their voice evokes emotions: their angry speech makes people uncomfortable (and can be sometimes downright scary), their sad and melancholic songs make one lose their confidence, and their happier shanties raise the spirits.

They are a very agile race by default, which is shown even in their humanoid shape, especially after the learn how to walk on legs and move accordingly (including swimming in their human shape). Their characteristic alignment is typically more freedom-centered than that of other races. Of course, they use weapons too, usually preferring those who are useful both underwater and overground, such as spears and harpoons. Their underwater kingdoms can be found have different values and laws, but occasionally one can run into lone Nereids wandering the seas as well. In all of their "little civilizations", the same religion can be found: they worship the nameless gods of their own pantheon, and generally don't necessarily deny the existence of other deities, merely refuse to be subordinated to their rule.

What can be found in the personality of just about all of them is their lack of confidence in landlubber civilizations, which is why they are unwilling to accept the seniority of landlubber titles and respect local laws only superficially, with the only notable exceptions being port cities where laws regarding them are relaxed. This is why many Nereids also live in pirate paradises (such as the Free City of Gabyr) - many of them join the crews of pirate ships, albeit their more patient and less sadistic characters make them somewhat stick out, their "magical amphibian" traditions give them advantages that make them welcome additions as sailors.

On the southern coasts of Continental Artograch, they often turn up even in their default fishy shape, but more to the north (e.g. in Etrand), they are often considered a fairy tale, often being considered "Demons of the Sea", seducing vulnerable seamen into the wild waves with their gorgeous but fraudulent songs - in these lands, their shapeshifting abilities are unheard of. Nereids venturing into those northern lands are reluctant to show up with their true forms, perhaps because they wouldn't want to meet with fanatical worshippers of Titanius eager to purge them.

Attributes (FRPG)
Enabled aligment: any, with the exception of Lawful Good and Lawful Evil

Disabled secondary races: Vapire, Theriantrope, Lich