Ningyo

Ningyo are an eastern branch of merfolk, shy and peaceful. Their slim human upper bodies are light blue or pale yellow; below, they have deep green or dark blue fish tails ending in broad fins. Their eyes shine silver or gold, and their hair is flaming red, shoulder length on males and waist length on females. Many wear shell necklaces and bracelets strung on braided seaweed.

They breathe both air and water but weaken quickly in the open air and rarely surface. Beachcombers occasionally glimpse them sunning on rocks or leaping in spirals above the waves. They speak the language of the ruler of the sea and the trade tongue, and can talk with any fish.

Ningyo avoid violence. Forced to fight, they grab whatever weapons are handy and swim off the moment danger passes or a gap opens. They usually go unarmed, but an armed band carries tridents (60%) or spears (40%).

A ningyo casts spells as both an eastern priest and an eastern sorcerer of a level equal to its Hit Dice, so one with 3 Hit Dice casts as a 3rd-level member of each class. Common choices are animate water, ghost light, hypnotism, deflection, comprehend languages, know history, bless and cure light wounds.

They cannot last long out of the water, losing 1 hit point for every round above the surface.

They build no permanent homes, drifting with the currents after the fish they eat. Seaweed-lined ledges serve as temporary shelters, mostly for females about to give birth. A school holds 1-10 males, as many females, and children numbering half the adults. Each 10 adults have a 2 or 3 HD leader; schools of 20 or more adults add a 4 or 5 HD chieftain and have a 25% chance of 2d4 dolphins as guards and helpers.

Females bear 1-4 young roughly once a decade. The infants grow fast, reaching 3 feet and 1 HD within a year. After an especially fertile season a school may split in two. Ningyo live about 200 years.

Unlike the spirit-blooded folk, ningyo owe the ruler of the sea no obedience, but by long tradition they seldom refuse his requests. Though indifferent to human affairs, they feel warmly toward humans and lend a hand when they can. Sailors see them as guardians and leave offerings, especially in heavy storms.

Ningyo befriend any sea creature that values peace, especially dolphins, and sometimes join spirit-blooded folk on errands for the sea's ruler. They eat small fish, plus the odd crab or oyster, seaweed and plankton.