Slaad

Slaadi are beings sprung forth from the Spawning Stone, a dense, geometrically complex object created by Primus in a failed attempt to bring the order of Mechanus to the ever-changing chaos of limbo. Limbo is their home, and they revel in the chaos of the place, though they occasionally burst into the material plane and wreak havoc there.

Slaadi Society

While they have no set social order, slaadi generally follow one rule: obey the strong, or be annihilated. This not only impacts how they interact with each other, but also how they interact with beings of other races.

Despite not having a social hierarchy, certain colors of slaadi know what they do best, and tend to fill those roles.

Red slaadi tend to be the more rogueish type, making for good assassins. Green slaadi are natural spell casters, and tend towards being wizards or sorcerers. Blue slaadi tend to be fighters or barbarians, utilizing their raw physical strength to their advantage, though they are incapable of deep thought and it is hard to hold a conversation with one.

Grey slaadi tend to be subservient to the death slaadi; the oldest, most powerful, and most evil of the slaadi, though they themselves are not evil. Grey slaadi are fairly adept fighters, but can also rely on their connection with a particularly powerful death slaadi to become formidable warlocks using the Undying or Great Old One patrons.

Reproduction

Slaadi are asexual, and don't experience any sort of attraction for others. They can however reproduce, by using their claws to inject an egg into a humanoid creature. The egg hatches into a tadpole, which feeds on the unfortunate host while it matures, and eventually bursts forth after 1d4+28 days.

While the few humanoids that have a degree of knowledge of the slaadi resent them for this practice, the slaadi have a hard time seeing why, as it is just their natural life cycle.

Control Gems

As slaadi emerge from the Spawning Stone, it implants a fragment of itself in the slaad's brain. If someone other than the slaad has it's control gem, they can command the slaad to do their bidding. A slaad born from a humanoid has no gem in its brain, but gains one if it ever comes into contact with the Spawning Stone, which all slaadi are attracted to.

If a slaad fails a save against an Imprisonment spell, their control gem may be transferred to the caster.

Anyone proficient in Medicine can remove the gem from an incapacitated or willing slaad's brain with a minute of uninterrupted work and a successful DC 20 Medicine check. Each failed attempt causes the slaad 4d10 psychic damage.

If the gem is destroyed, the slaad takes 4d10 psychic damage, but is freed from the control of the gem. A Greater Restoration spell can be used to destroy a control gem without harming the slaad.

Slaad Traits

Even though divided into several distinct subraces with their own unique features, all slaadi share some common traits.

Ability Score Penalty. Your utterly alien mind has trouble processing the material plane, your Wisdom and Intelligence are decreased by 2.

Age. Slaadi mature within a few days after being spawned, and can live to be 200 years old.

Alignment. Beings from the outer plane of limbo, slaadi are generally chaotic neutral, but those who spend time outside of limbo may drift towards any other alignments, except lawful.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Slaadi.

Aberration. You are an alien being from limbo, and are considered an aberration as well as a humanoid.

Claws. Your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Shapechanger. You can cast Polymorph on yourself without expending a spell slot, but you can only take on the form of a single humanoid that you decide on the first time you use this feature. You cant use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Mutable Subrace. Once per week, you can change your subrace to a different color during a long rest.

Red Slaad

Usually more lithe than their brethren, red slaadi excel at stealth, acrobatics and fast-paced, close quarters combat.

Ability Score Modifier. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Size. Red slaadi range from 5 to 7 feet tall, and weigh between 140 and 230 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Lithe Frame. You have advantage on all Dexterity saving throws. You also have proficiency in Acrobatics and Stealth.

Natural Poison When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike using your claws, the target must make a Constitution (DC 8 + Dexterity modifier + proficiency modifier) saving throw or take 1d6 poison damage. You also have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, and resistance to poison damage.

Green Slaad

Sporting a more bulbous belly than their brethren, and two curved horns above their yellow eyes, green slaadi are also usually more intelligent, and capable of spell casting.

Ability Score Modifiers. Your Intelligence and Charisma scores increase by 2.

Size. Green slaadi range from 5½ to 6½ feet tall, and weigh between 230 and 350 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Innately Magical. You have advantage on spell saving throws using Intelligence and Charisma. You also have proficiency in Arcana, and you can cast Detect Magic at will without expending a spell slot.

Telepathic. Your enhanced mental capabilities grant you telepathy with a range of 60 ft, and you do not need to share a common language to communicate with it.

Blue Slaad

The most brutish of their kind, blue slaadi use their size and strength to their advantage. While denser than their brethren, this stupidity can manifest as bravery and steadfastness.

Ability Score Modifiers. Your Strength and Constitution scores increase by 2, your Intelligence and Wisdom scores decrease by 1.

Size. Blue Slaadi range from 7½ to 9 foot tall, and weigh between 300 and 400 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Dull Mind. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened, but you can't learn new languages or skills.

Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Retaliation. When you are hit with a melee attack, you can make an unarmed strike against the attacker as a reaction.

Slaad Skin. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to harden the bumps and spines on your body, forming a protective shell and granting you resistance to non-magical piercing, bludgeoning, and slashing damage until the end of your next turn. You must finish a long rest before you can use this feature again.

Unarmored Defense. While you are not wearing any armor, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.

Grey Slaad

Grey slaadi tend to fair the best in the material plane, as their natural charisma helps them mask their almost completely alien way of thinking.

While it is not the case for all of them, many grey slaadi are sent to the material plane to do the bidding of a death slaad; some are happily subservient, while others seek to gain their freedom.

Ability Score Modifier. Your Strength and Charisma scores increase by 2.

Size. Grey Slaadi range from 6 to 7 feet tall, and weigh between 160 and 260 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Deathly Master. Grey Slaadi have a link to the necrotic energies of their death slaad master. As such, you have resistance to necrotic damage.

Imbue Greatsword. You are proficient with the greatsword. Additionally, while wielding a greatsword, you can cast Magic Weapon at 1st level without having to concentrate, and without expending a spell slot.

Death Slaad

Death slaadi are the result of a gray slaad having devoured the corpse of a death slaad. Like the grey slaad, they can wield greatswords and imbue them with their own magic.

Suffused with energy from the Negative Energy Plane they exemplify evil's corruption of chaos, and take sadistic pleasure in bringing harm to others. They propagate their race by dragooning mobs of lesser slaadi and invading other planes. Humanoids who survive the incursion become incubators for new slaadi.