“It was not beast, nor time, nor sickness that ended the underwater empire of Scotos. It was men, so cruel and foul that the ocean itself wailed in sorrow.”
– Ambrose, Lore-keeper of Mount Olympus
You may recognise the name Aquatalis from a recent playable race post. Due to the lore and history surrounding this race, it felt appropriate to provide some options should you wish to use them as enemy creatures in your adventures. Below you’ll find 4 variants of the Aquatalis that you can use in your campaign and you might notice they are based on different aquatic creatures than the playable versions.
Physical Traits
Aquatalis come in innumerable forms, each cursed with the features of aquatic fauna. This can manifest in varying degrees of intensity. One Aquatalis may appear predominantly human aside from a large swordfish blade in place of their hand, another however may have lost its limbs entirely, instead sporting a hollow torso that houses a large eel. The scale of an Aquatalis is dependent on the creature it has been merged with. A whale-based Aquatalis might grow to monstrous heights while a shrimp-themed Aquatalis never grows more than a handful of feet tall.
Due to the nature of their curse, all Aquatalis possess the ability to breathe water and can swim with impressive ease.
Cruelties Curse
At the beginning of the Realm’s creation, the Aquatalis were simple humans of the Vagabond nation. They belonged to a faction known as Kynigós Talis and despite the protests of their people, they hunted the creatures of the ocean obsessively. Whether for food or sport, they pursued the ocean’s bounty in quantities far beyond what was necessary, until someone, or something, intervened.
In the year 613, the small island that housed the Kynigós Talis was swallowed by the ocean, and all present upon its soil were twisted and warped into manifestations of the very creatures they had hunted with such cruelty. Scared and confused, they looked to the rest of the pirate nation for help but were turned away as the Vagabonds dare not tempt a similar fate. With nowhere to go, they fled beneath the waves, where they clashed with the Triton empire of Scotos.
The War For The Waves
After being cursed, the Aquatalis retreated beneath the waves to hide in their shame. It is from this moment that a brutal war broke out between the widely spread Triton empire and the Aquatalis who were forced to settle on dangerous or inhospitable land.
The battles were extremely violent. The Triton feared this sudden invasion of an unknown monstrous race and the Aquatalis were fighting for their very ability to have a future. The curse that forced them into this conflict ended up being their salvation as they were equipped with the tools that allowed the beasts of the seas to master it. Now, in the year 1273, the Tritons are in a worrying decline and have retreated to their final stronghold, Castle Trench.
Aquatalis Stat Blocks
In this blog, I have four variations of the Aquatalis, as well as one additional stat block for a living trap. Each has its own abilities and strengths which are detailed below. You can click on the stat blocks to download them.
Aquatalis Balena
Cursed with the features of a whale, Aquatalis Balena is one of the largest species of Aquatalis. They use this impressive size and strength to ragdoll their enemies around. They also have the unique ability to adapt their attacks depending on whether they are fighting on land or underwater.
Aquatalis Balena are durable brawlers that have multiple options for kicking off combat with a bang. Both their Water Spout and Sonic Boom actions can send your party into a panic by dealing some significant damage and causing them to split up. Unique to the Aquatalis Balena is the adaptable attacks that vary depending on if the creature is on land or underwater. This can keep your players on their toes if they encounter the creature multiple times in different environments.
When combat begins, the Aquatalis Balena should begin the fight with a Water Spout. This will give you the best chance of rolling the recharge dice and getting the action again. As creatures begin to clash, try to position the Aquatalis Balena next to grouped-up characters. This will allow you to both make use of the two targets included in Tail Sweep and also allow you to get the most out of Sonic Boom.
Aquatalis Helops
In place of their dominant arm, the Aquatalis Helops find a Swordfish head growing from their bodies. They use this living weapon to great effect, stabbing and parrying their foes in a quick display of skill. By the nature of having a conscious creature as their weapon, they are quick to react and the piercing head will sometimes propel itself forward with enormous force.
This creature can be a powerful combatant if it is left to position itself in a strategic location. The Thrusting Strike can be used up to 3 times a day and can hit multiple enemies. If unable to find a good position for Thrusting Strike, the multiattack, plus Reversal reaction, can still have the Aquatalis making up to three attacks per turn. When used in a group with other creatures, try to line up a Thrusting Strike while the other creatures engage to prevent the party from moving freely.
Aquatalis Anguillae
Uniquely among the Aquatalis, Anguillae live within its body like a shell, rather than having partially warped into the creature. The symbiotic eel can travel from body to body as needed, burrowing into its torso and taking control. From within this protective vessel, it launches quick attacks at a considerable reach.
The Aquatalis Anguillae is unique even among this supernatural race. Their New Host ability allows them to sustain themselves as fights progress by moving to new corpses as they appear. They can deal significant damage in a short amount of time thanks to their multiattack and they befit from focusing on a single creature so that they can activate their free grapple. The sudden danger that appears when a grappled creature is hit by Venomous Bite will certainly create a sense of urgency in your players. To utilise this creature to the best of its abilities, attack from afar, using that impressive 15ft reach. Focus on single targets instead of sharing the attacks around and if you do manage to grapple a character, pull them away from the fight and force urgency in the players. If you don’t have anyone grappled, keep moving to new corpses as they appear to maintain a healthy HP amount.
Aquatalis Piscis
Aquatalis Piscis are minions. They are small, weak, and easy to kill. These are the unfortunate many that took the form of relatively harmless fish. The manifestation can appear in many forms and to varying degrees of severity. Some will simply be frail humans with fish scales instead of skin while some are bulging fish-headed men with a grotesque fish in place of an arm.
As minion-type enemies, Aquatalis Piscis are expected to die in large numbers. Their primary purpose in an encounter is to bog down the player characters and make travel difficult. They aren’t intelligent creatures, so feel free to simply charge them into the nearest enemy and try and get any hits you can before they’re quickly (and impressively) dispatched. These creatures are an excellent opportunity to make your party feel powerful as they cut through masses of monstrous fish people.
Bonus Creature/Trap – Barnacle Turret
Not all Aquatalis remained humanoid. Unfortunately for some, the curse was broad and stated just ‘aquatic creatures’ which included some primitive life forms such as mussels, clams, and barnacles. Barnacle Turrets are more akin to living traps than a creature. They have been placed in great numbers throughout Aquatalis territory and typically act as an early warning system, being able to launch attacks from huge distances. They are particularly common on the walls of important buildings and on the walls of high-population cities.
Group Tactics, Encounters & Lore Checks
Aquatalis are humanoid creatures and should behave with the intelligence of such people. They are capable of fear, anger, hesitation and all other emotions someone might experience in a fight. As such, you should consider them as people and understand their personalities before throwing them against your party. Are they guards of an important temple that will defend the location with their lives? Are they simple thugs that have come across the party’s path during their travels and likely to flee as soon as things go wrong?
Should a fight break out, try to utilise each Aquatalis in a way that makes sense for them. Balena are big, strong creatures that will likely become the focus of the party. Try to make their large area of effect abilities early into the combat before ally and enemy become too entwined. Anguillae should always be looking to take advantage of their superior reach. They should let the minions rush in and clog up the space before approaching and attacking from behind their lines. If done correctly, the party should struggle to move through the swarms to reach them. Helops have excellent potential for forcing the party out of position. If they can get behind a caster or ranged party member, they can use their Thrusting Strike to push them right into the midst of a melee brawl! As for the Barnacle Turret, if the fight is located on Aquatalis land, having a handful of these pesky turrets hidden high on ceilings or walls will make them a challenging consideration. Does the party ignore bigger threats to destroy them or take small amounts of constant damage throughout the fight?
Some possible encounter groups could be:
Level 3 Encounter:
- 1 Aquatalis Anguillae
- 5 Aquatalis Piscis
Level 6 Encounter:
- 1 Aquatalis Balena
- 1 Aquatalis Helops
- 4 Aquatalis Piscis
Guards of an Important Locations:
- 1 Aquatalis Balena
- 2 Aquatalis Helops
- 1 Aquatalis Anguillae
- 12 Aquatalis Piscis
- 4 Barnacle Turrets
City Gates Defence:
- 2 Aquatalis Balena
- 3 Aquatalis Helops
- 2 Aquatalis Anguillae
- 30+ Aquatalis Piscis
- 12 Barnacle Turrets
Aquatalis Lore:
| History Check | Lore Learned |
|---|---|
| DC 10 | The Aquatalis were originally Vagabond Humans. They became as they are now due to a terrible curse placed upon them in response to their crimes. |
| DC 14 | Once known as the Kynigós Talis, the Aquatalis were cursed by the sea itself in response to the terrible way they mistreat the creatures of the ocean. |
| DC 18 | The Aquatalis are largely responsible for the decline of the once dominant Triton empire of Scotos. The conflict known as The War For The Waves is close to concluding in the favour of the Aquatalis. |
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading! The Aquatalis are an interesting race and I enjoy writing about them so I was happy to get the opportunity to expand on them with these options for Aquatalis enemies. If you do run these guys in an encounter, I’d love to hear how it goes either in the comments or in my community discord! Like the majority of the content on this blog, these creatures were created on my Twitch streams. Please come and join in the fun!
Have a great day everyone, and as always, may your next session be filled with glory!!
Veneon Reforged 
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