Kuo-toa

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Infobox D&D creature


caption=Kuo-toa depicted on the cover of "Descent into the Depths of the Earth".
name=Kuo-toa
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type=Monstrous humanoid
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mythical=
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In the "Dungeons & Dragons" roleplaying game, the kuo-toa are fish-like monstrous humanoids that dwell in the Underdark.

Publication history

The name "Kuo-toa" was created by Gary Gygax, co-creator of the "Dungeons & Dragons" roleplaying game. However, the concept was clearly inspiredFact|date=January 2008 by the Deep Ones, creatures that appear in H. P. Lovecraft's novella "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". Like the Kuo-toa, the Deep Ones are a monstrous marine-dwelling race of fish-headed humanoids, who worship a being called Dagon.

The kuo-toa is considered a "Product Identity" by Wizards of the Coast and as such are not released under its Open Gaming License. [cite web |url=http://www.d20srd.org/faq.htm |title=Frequently Asked Questions |accessdate=2007-02-23 |publisher=D20srd.org]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The kuo-toa first appeared in dungeon modules "D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa" [Gygax, Gary. "Shrine of the Kuo-Toa" (TSR, 1978)] , and "D3 Vault of the Drow" [Gygax, Gary. "Vault of the Drow" (TSR, 1978).] The first D&D manual that the kuo-toa appeared in was the original "Fiend Folio". [Turnbull, Don, ed. "Fiend Folio" (TSR, 1981)]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

The kuo-toa appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989), [Cook, David, et al. "Monstrous Compendium Volume Two" (TSR, 1989)] and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993). [Stewart, Doug, ed. "Monstrous Manual" (TSR, 1993)]

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

The kuo-toa appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000). [Cook, Monte, Jonathan Tweet, and Skip Williams. "Monster Manual" (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)]

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)

The kuo-toa appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).

The kuo-toa was presented as a player character race for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting in "Underdark" (2003).

The voice of Dagon was detailed in "Dragon" #349 (November 2006), in the "Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Dagon".

The kuo-toa monitor and the kuo-toa whip appeared in "Drow of the Underdark" (2007). The crazed kuo-toa, the kuo-toa exalted whip, the kuo-toa harpooner, and the kuo-toa monitor appear in "Monster Manual V" (2007).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)

The kuo-toa appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008). [Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. "Monster Manual" (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)]

Description

Kuo-toa have scaly, bipedal bodies with fish-like heads.

ociety

Kuo-toa often raid seaside settlements for human victims. Most worship the goddess Blibdoolpoolp, though a few remote tribes worship Dagon.

Kuo-toa in various campaign settings

Kuo-toa in the Forgotten Realms

In the "Forgotten Realms" campaign setting kuo-toans maintain friendly relations with drow, their Underdark neighbours. Blibdoolpoolp is the focus of the kuo-toans' lives, and even has her own monstrous, deformed kuo-toa breed — the giant kuo-toa leviathan. They have total hatred for the sahuagin, another race of fish-like beingsWho|date=October 2007.In the "Sellswords" book series, Jarlaxle comments to his drow compatriots that a monk (referring to Grandmaster Kane) fights in the same manner as the Kuo-Toa, using their body as a weapon.

Kuo-toa in Greyhawk

In the "World of Greyhawk" campaign setting, kuo-toa settlements are known to exist in the Underdark, near the Vault of the Drow beneath the Hellfurnaces.

References

Additional reading

*Cagle, Eric. "The Minions of Darkness." "Dragon" #300 (Paizo Publishing, 2002).

*Stephens, Owen K.C. "By Any Other Name: Races of the Underdark." "Dragon" #281 (Paizo Publishing, 2001).