# [[22 Pollywog|Pollywog]] ![[pollywog.png|right hs-med]] One day you were stabbing giant leeches with your spear as you did most days. The next, you found yourself whisked out of your homeland and thrust into the middle of danger, surrounded by “people” you once would have considered food. You never would have believed you would wander the world, hunt for treasure, or fight on behalf of others. You had few ambitions beyond doing what was asked of you. But here you are, out in the world, with friends! $\quad$Something happened to you that uprooted you from an ordinary life in the muck and placed you on the path to adventure. Generally, pollywogs fear their monarch too much to venture far from the tribe, so you likely didn’t leave voluntarily. Maybe Tchatchanaga came to you in a dream. Perhaps some curious person scooped you out of the pond and raised you from a tadpole, instructing you in manners and civilization. You could also just be a notch braver than the rest and decided to seek adventure. $\quad$You look like a bipedal frog. You have soft, glistening skin. The large head that extends out from your torso sports a pair of globular eyes and a wide mouth. You have tiny slits for nostrils. Your skin might be green, brown, or some other color; bright pink, yellow, and blue appear in some tribes. You stand between 4 and 5 feet tall and weigh between 80 and 120 pounds. **Common Pollywog Names:** Blooorg, Ciiippet, Durruuuk, Eeevik, Faaarup, Giiibeet, Hooop, Jaaalup, Kkriiipt, Lorooop, Neeep, Pareeep, Rrediiip, and Tirireeek. ## Swamps, Great and Dismal By choice, pollywogs live in the wetlands—both in the borderlands and elsewhere in the known world. As such places have limited use to other folk who share their territory, pollywogs have been able to develop their culture and society without much interference. Add to the benefits of isolation their infamous aggression toward outsiders, and pollywogs experience little in the way of competition or contamination from other people. $\quad$Pollywog tribes settle in bogs, swamps, fens, and similar terrain. Some live in reed huts standing atop the occasional patch of dry land, but they might also make their homes between the roots of large trees or in cavities at the bottom of ponds. Others reside in dwellings high up in the trees. Comfortable on dry land and in water, they allow custom to determine their living quarters. $\quad$Pollywogs don’t like outsiders, especially rival pollywog tribes. Even though they happily devour prisoners, too much fighting erodes their numbers, threatening the integrity of the entire tribe. To preserve their territory, they sometime post Tooovirs at the edges of their claim. A Tooovir is a wooden pole set in the mud on which is mounted a grotesque mask. The tribe paints the mask the colors of the pol lywogs to whom the land belongs. ## Amphibious Folk Sharing so many physical qualities with ordinary frogs suggests that pollywogs might have evolved from them or been created from them by magic. Pollywogs have all the physical traits they need to survive underwater; they can breathe water as easily as they do air, and they have membranes between their fingers and toes to help them swim. $\quad$Dedicated carnivores, pollywogs subsist on insects, fish, and small mammals. Given their damp habitats, they find it difficult to create fire and thus consume most of their food raw. Pollywogs display adventurousness in their diet, though, and gobble up anything that creeps, crawls, swims, or flies that they can catch. They use nets, darts, and spears to hunt. $\quad$If food ever becomes scarce, pollywogs become aggressive and are known to hunt crocodiles and bog beasts. Many bands eat other humanoids, and believe they gain something of their power when they do so. $\quad$Pollywogs lay clutches of twenty to thirty eggs in the water, where the entire tribe watches over them until they develop into tadpoles. Once free from their membranous shells, the tadpoles must look after themselves. Birds and snakes deplete their num bers until only a hardy few survive. Pollywog monarchs also eat tadpoles to keep their numbers down. ## Backward Societies Greater numbers, entrenched beliefs, and an adherence to custom all serve the pollywogs well when it comes to survival, but their isolation and unwillingness to trade outside their communities stunts their social development. Most pollywogs live in the same manner as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. Such an arrangement benefits the leaders most of all, so there’s almost no chance of changing society for the better. $\quad$A monarch rules each tribe. This might be a king, queen, or a religious leader, depending on the tribe. The monarch rules with absolute power. They take many mates, claiming first right to any member of their tribe. The lesser pollywogs must give over a portion of their kills, which the monarch might dispense to the tribe or not. Almost all monarchs enjoy the power their rank grants; once they secure their leadership position, they are loathe to leave it. ## The Great Devourer Fear of the Great Devourer contributes to the inability for pollywogs to develop much more than they have. All believe they were created by a monstrous deity known as Tchatchanaga, who is said to dwell at the bottom of all pools and devour dead things that sink into his maw. Priests, called god-croakers, construct mytholo gies about the god that reinforce their own positions and preserve the tribe’s customs. God-croakers have the ear of the monarchs and, in some cases, act as the power behind the throne. ## Great Pollywogs About one in twenty tadpoles grows up to become a great pollywog. Taller, bulkier, and more aggressive than their counterparts, they come of age quickly and balloon in size. Great pollywogs are orange. They often protect the monarch and might terrorize the other members of their tribe. ## Simple Professions If you come from a pollywog community, your starting profession describes the chief responsibility you held among your people. Suitable professions include hunter, fisher, and weaver. You could also be an acolyte of the Great Devourer or a Wyyychen, one who consorts with the spirits of the land and wields terrible magic as a result. ## Pollywog Adventurers An unlikely adventurer, you have broken with your people’s traditions and forged your own path. Mingling with other folk makes you a pariah among your own kind, but the longer you go without their oppressive influence, the better you are for it. Humans and others accustomed to living among people different from them selves might not think twice about you. It’s a different story out in the wild, though, especially when and if you approach too close to pollywog territory. **[[019 Fighter|Fighter]]:** You were a great hunter or warrior, distinguishing yourself from the other tribe members through your impressive deeds. Leaving them, you bring with you an aggressive fighting style that incorporates your leaping ability and your sticky tongue. **[[020 Mage|Mage]]:** You were, or were apprenticed to, a Wyyychen, strange pollywogs who practice magic. You learned the fundamentals from your teacher but fled after you refused to suffer any more abuse at their hands or after you stole something of value. Typical traditions include [[065 Animism|Animism]], [[079 Destruction|Destruction]], and [[085 Hydromancy|Hydromancy]]. **[[021 Priest|Priest]]:** You probably worship the Great Devourer. As a priest of this monstrous god, you cover your face with an elaborate mask made from bark and bone, which gives you a strange and unsettling appearance. Traditions associated with this deity include [[079 Destruction|Destruction]] and [[085 Hydromancy|Hydromancy]]. **[[022 Rogue|Rogue]]:** You patrolled the lands around your tribe’s territory, planting the warning poles or hunting birds, lizards, and other prey. The skills you developed in this role pointed you toward the rogue path, where you can exploit your natural traits to great effect. ### Pollywog Traits Additional Descriptor: Amphibious **Size:** 1, **Speed:** 5 (Swimmer) **Bonus Languages:** Pollywog **Leaper:** You can expend 1 yard of movement to jump to a space within 5 yards. Once you use this trait, you lose access to it for 1 minute. **Sticky Tongue:** You can use an action to snatch a creature with your tongue. Target one creature of your Size or smaller within yards. Make a Strength roll against the target’s Agility. On a success, you can pull the target up to 3 yards. On a critical success, you can also make a melee attack against the same target, if it is within your reach. #### Level 1 Pollywog **Attributes:** Strength 13, Agility 10, Intellect 10, Will 10 **Natural Defense:** 15, **Health:** 20 **Languages:** Common, Pollywog (from Trait) **Rumbling Recovery:** You can use an action to heal half your damage total. Until the end of your next turn, your attacks deal an extra 2d6 damage. Once you use this talent, you lose access to it until after you rest. #### Level 2 Pollywog **Health:** +4 **Great Croak:** You can use an action to issue a tremendous croak. Each creature within 5 yards that is not a pollywog makes a Strength roll. On a failure, the creature takes 3d6 damage and becomes confused until the end of your next turn. Once you use this talent, you lose access to it for 1 minute. #### Level 5 Pollywog **Size:** +1, **Health:** +4, **Bonus Damage:** +1d6 **Magnificent Croaker:** You make Strength rolls with 1 boon and impose 1 bane on rolls against your Strength. In addition, you can use your Great Croak talent at a range of 10 yards; creatures now take 4d6 damage on a failed Strength roll. [[21 Naga|⬅️ Previous Section]] | [[Weird Ancestries|Table of Contents]] | [[23 Revenant|Next Section ➡️]]