# [Kuo-toa](3-Mechanics\CLI\bestiary\aberration/kuo-toa-xmm.md) *Source: Monster Manual (2024) p. 189* Kuo-toa loot ruins and raid communities near their dwellings in the Underdark. Their shields are coated in sticky slime, which they use to disarm their foes, and they employ slimy nets to entrap victims. They usually strive to take their enemies alive and drag captives to their hidden lairs. Most kuo-toa follow the orders of their more powerful leaders out of a combination of faith and fear. In rare cases, a kuo-toa might abandon its community to live as a hermit or wanderer. Such kuo-toa might know much about the Underdark, but they live in fear of the strange gods they forsook. ## Kuo-toa *Fishlike Fanatics of the Deep* - **Habitat.** Coastal, Underdark - **Treasure.** Relics Kuo-toa have slimy, humanoid bodies and the heads of goggle-eyed deep-sea fish. They claim they once dominated whole worlds, their empires spanning land and sea under the blessings of piscine gods. The kuo-toa can't say what disaster brought their glorious civilization to an end, but elves, humans, mind flayers, and the kuo-toan gods bear the brunt of their blame. From the lands and seas of the surface, the kuo-toa retreated into cavernous trenches and Underdark seas. In these hidden realms, kuo-toa brood over all they've lost and forgotten, nursing plots to avenge themselves for slights that might never have occurred. Kuo-toa hate the civilizations of the surface and the Underdark, believing themselves to be victims of age-old slights and ongoing conspiracies. Kuo-toa undertake contrived plots to propel themselves to dominance, often kidnapping people to learn their secrets or making dubious sacrifices to bizarre gods. To facilitate such plots, kuo-toa try to capture creatures alive using nets or strange weapons. Drow, dwarves, and gnomes dwelling in the Underdark, as well as surface communities near submerged subterranean passages, are frequent targets for kuo-toa raids and other plots. Kuo-toa frequently serve depraved masterminds such as aboleths and krakens. Such kuo-toa believe these powerful creatures are avatars of kuo-toan deities or gods in their own right. Kuo-toa might temporarily ally with other evil creatures, but these alliances shift as kuo-toa leaders interpret omens from their unpredictable deities. ### Kuo-toa Deities Kuo-toa ever seek to placate their inscrutable deities. However, few kuo-toa can agree on the identities of their gods, and little consistency exists between kuo-toa communities. Only Blibdoolpoolp the Sea Mother, a figure with a human body but the head and claws of a crayfish, sees broad worship. Lacking information about what their other gods look like, kuo-toa priests invent new forms for them, creating divine idols with whatever objects are at hand. But whether these kuo-toa priests draw power from belief or delusion, aberrant talent, or a stranger supernatural source, some power answers their petitions. Roll twice on or choose results from the Kuo-toa Deity Features table to inspire how kuo-toa represent a deity. **Kuo-toa Deity Features** `dice: [](kuo-toa-xmm.md#^kuo-toa-deity-features)` | dice: 1d10 | The Deity's Head Is Like A... | The Deity's Body Is Like A... | |------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------| | 1 | Barnacle | Hermit crab | | 2 | Crab claw | Jellyfish | | 3 | Hagfish | Kuo-toa | | 4 | Moray eel | Mantis shrimp | | 5 | Sea anemone | Merfolk | | 6 | Shark | Plesiosaurus | | 7 | Sunfish | Sea cucumber | | 8 | Tentacle | Ship's figurehead | | 9 | Treasure chest | Squid | | 10 | Viperfish | Whale | ^kuo-toa-deity-features ### Kuo-toa Sanctuaries Kuo-toa typically organize their communities around sites they believe to be important to their deities. These might be structures or series of caverns, and most feature both air-filled and submerged chambers. Important places within these sites suggest the rituals of kuo-toa faiths, the demands of kuo-toa deities, or the whims of omen-seeking archpriests. As with kuo-toa deities, the features of these locations vary between communities. Roll on or choose a result from the Kuo-toa Ritual Sites table to inspire features and suggest adventures within a kuo-toa community. **Kuo-toa Ritual Sites** `dice: [](kuo-toa-xmm.md#^kuo-toa-ritual-sites)` | dice: 1d8 | The Kuo-toa Community Features... | |-----------|-----------------------------------| | 1 | An arena scattered with weapons made from crustacean shells. | | 2 | A gallery of hibernating chuuls. | | 3 | A garden of mussels and tide pool creatures that whisper secrets. | | 4 | A hidden shrine with a patchwork depiction of a new kuo-toa deity. | | 5 | The lavish chamber of an animal or monster said to be prophetic, lucky, or literate. | | 6 | A pool filled with jellyfish, eels, or fish roe that glow in organized patterns. | | 7 | A punishment chamber exposed to the light of the surface. | | 8 | A towering statue of a kuo-toa deity. | ^kuo-toa-ritual-sites > [!quote] A quote from Tak Merakin, Harbor Master of the Styes > > When the Corpse Moon rises and the Chum-Tide washes in, up rise the Gogglers from their pits beneath the waves. Burbling and noisome they come, fishing night's shores as we do dawn's waves. ```statblock "name": "Kuo-toa (XMM)" "size": "Medium" "type": "aberration" "alignment": "Neutral Evil" "ac": !!int "13" "hp": !!int "18" "hit_dice": "4d8" "stats": - !!int "13" - !!int "10" - !!int "11" - !!int "11" - !!int "10" - !!int "8" "speed": "30 ft., swim 30 ft." "skillsaves": "Perception": !!int "4" "senses": "darkvision 120 ft., truesight 30 ft., passive Perception 14" "languages": "Undercommon" "cr": "1/4" "traits": - "desc": "The kuo-toa can breathe air and water." "name": "Amphibious" - "desc": "While in sunlight, the kuo-toa has [Disadvantage](3-Mechanics/CLI/rules/variant-rules/disadvantage-xphb.md)\ \ on ability checks and attack rolls." "name": "Sunlight Sensitivity" "actions": - "desc": "Melee or Ranged Attack Roll: +3, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft. Hit:\ \ 5 (1d8 + 1) Piercing damage." "name": "Spear" - "desc": "Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 10, one Large or smaller creature the kuo-toa\ \ can see within 15 feet. Failure: The target has the [Restrained](3-Mechanics/CLI/rules/conditions.md#Restrained)\ \ condition until the net is destroyed (AC 10; HP 5; [Immunity](3-Mechanics/CLI/rules/variant-rules/immunity-xphb.md)\ \ to Bludgeoning, Poison, and Psychic damage). A creature can take an action to\ \ make a DC 10 Strength ([Athletics](3-Mechanics/CLI/rules/skills.md#Athletics))\ \ check to free itself or another creature in a net within 5 feet, destroying\ \ the net on a success." "name": "Sticky Net (1/Day)" "reactions": - "desc": "Trigger: A creature misses the kuo-toa with a melee attack roll using a\ \ weapon. _Response—_Strength Saving Throw: DC 11, the triggering creature.\ \ Failure: The attack's weapon sticks to the kuo-toa's shield. If the target\ \ doesn't let go of the weapon, the target has the [Grappled](3-Mechanics/CLI/rules/conditions.md#Grappled)\ \ condition while the weapon is stuck (escape DC 11). While stuck, the weapon\ \ can't be used. The target can take an action to make a DC 11 Strength ([Athletics](3-Mechanics/CLI/rules/skills.md#Athletics))\ \ check, freeing the weapon on a success." "name": "Sticky Shield" "source": - "XMM" "image": "3-Mechanics/CLI/bestiary/aberration/token/kuo-toa-xmm.webp" ``` ^statblock ## Environment coastal, underdark