Tantako

“I eventually decided it was time to return to

my little seal friends seaside abode and finally
began my journey back. The walk back was
much less eventful, thankfully. My nerves
desperately needed a respite from the chaos and
excitement. I arrived just in time to witness my
acquittance making a trade with a group of
tentacled humanoids. They differed in stature,
coloration and other traits, but all of them had
tentacles that coiled from the back of their
heads, like hair, a beaked mouth and large, soft
eyes. Most of them had two larger tentacles
that hung down from beneath their human-like
arms. Besides these commonalities, all of them
were marvelously and distinctly colored. I
watched their colors change from blues to reds
and pinks, to greens and yellow, over the
course of the conversation. As the transaction
seemed to complete, the tentacled humanoids
coloration returned to hues of blue and purple.
They left with some of my seal friend’s strange
weaponry, and he gained a basket of
glimmering stones and scavenged treasures.”
– Jovack Cotton, Traveler’s Journal
Disliked by Association
The Tantako generally find themselves
ostracized from other Cetosiran
communities due to their appearance and
its association with Tangoa, the god of the
Abyssal Depths. Despite how they look,
the Tantako have no love for Tangoa or
their deep ocean relatives. They prefer the
light, warm waters of the coast. The
Tantako are resourceful and intelligent
and can eek out an existence in their small
communities despite the lack of support
and trust.
Rising Above
Tantako resent Tangoa, even more so than
the other peoples of Cetosira. They wish
to rid themselves of that association and
will throw themselves into danger to show
their love for the People Who the Light
Touches. It is very common to see a group
of Tantako warriors accompanying
Mano’naka or Orcasen hunting parties
into the Deep.
Tantako Traits Tentacle Movement. You have a climb
Your Tantako character gains the and swim speed equal to your movement
following traits. speed.
Ability Score Increase. Your constitution Metachrosis. You can change colors at will
score increases by 1. either to camouflage yourself or to
Amphibious. You can breathe air and display/hide emotions. You gain
water. proficiency in one skill of your choice
Alignment. Tantako tend to a neutral between stealth, persuasion, or deception.
good alignment, though this can differ Languages. You speak, read and write
between individuals. common and primordial.
Extra Tentacles. You have a set of large
tentacle arms that protrude from beneath When making a Tantako you must
your humanoid arms. These tentacles can choose one of the following three
manipulate and hold objects and make Subraces; Pepana, Olawe, Kaho and
unarmed attacks but are not dexterous Kaiao.
enough to wield weapons or shields. Your
tentacles have a 5 ft. reach and can
interact with objects in your environment
as a free action.
 Kaiao
“One of the tentacled humanoids seemed
particularly curious of me, and as the group of
them started heading down the coast, they
turned and came in my direction. Their skin
was a light, sandy shade of yellow that was
striped and dotted with darker brown streaks.
As they came close to me, the streak pattern
began to dance and dazzle me with brilliant
colors. The creature’s eyes glowed with a green
blaze as its beaked mouth began to speak a
truly alien language. It put a hand to its chest,
and with a series of squeaks, chirps, and
flowing sounds, seemed to introduce itself to
me. I managed to snap out of the brief trance I
felt the light display had put me under and told
the creature my name. As I offered my hand for
a handshake, the creature looked confused, then
reached into a pouch and offered me a strange,
rocky, orb. I took it, assuming a gesture of
kindness, and found the orb began leaking an
incredibly stick, black, substance. As I tried to
remove it, both my hands became completely,
hopelessly, stuck. While stuck, the bastard
rummaged through my pockets and bag as the
seal folk watched and laughed at my
predicament! Eventually, seeming satisfied I
had little of value, the thing patted me on the
back and ran off in the direction of his
compatriots.”– Jovack Cotton, Traveler’s
Journal.
Lone Explorers
Kaiao are left to their own devices, even
Tricky Devils after birth. They are born in safe, tidal
pools, where they are left wrapped in their
The Kaiao live exciting and daring lives, egg sack. When they hatch, they will stay
constantly looking for opportunities to in this pool with their pool siblings. The
advance their individual goals. Due to
mother will bring food and teach them
their camouflage abilities, they often take
what they need without anyone knowing the basics of survival, but they are
its gone until they vanish (or simply hide expected to be self sufficient in a matter of
in plain sight). For this reason, they are months. Young Kaiao will leave the pool
generally distrusted by the other races of and form small groups of troublemakers
Cetosira but are considered valuable and thieves. Many of these small groups
assets by the other Tantako peoples. Kaiao
will eventually be brought into mixed
should never be underestimated. What
Tantako communities. As they age, their
they lack in stature they more than make
up for in nimbleness and quick wit. If a isolationist nature becomes stronger,
Kaiao is revealing itself to you, you’ve though they always share a bond with
probably already lost. their pool siblings.
 Kaiao Traits Disguise Experts. You can change the
texture, color and shape of your body to
Your Kaiao character gains the following resemble objects in your environment.
You have advantage on stealth checks
traits.
while you are prone and motionless.
Size. Kaiao average 3 feet tall and weigh
between 25-40 pounds. Your size is small. Ink Bomb. You naturally produce a sticky
and flammable ink substance that they
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
can use to create an Ink Bomb. Ink Bombs
You have a swim speed equal to your can be thrown, exploding in a five-foot
walking speed. radius sphere. All creatures in the area
Ability Score Increase. Your dexterity must succeed a dc 14 dexterity saving
score increases by 2. throw or take 3d8 fire damage and be
Darkvision. Accustomed to hiding in blinded. Creatures that succeed take half
murky tidal pools, you have superior the damage and suffer no status
vision in dark and dim conditions. You conditions.
can see in dim light within 60 feet of you
This damage increases to 4d8 at level 6,
as if it were bright light, and in darkness
5d8 at level 11, and 6d8 at level 16.
as if it were dim light. You can’t discern
color in darkness, only shades of gray. You can create one Ink Bomb per long
rest.