Tritons guard the ocean depths, building small settlements beside deep trenches, portals to the elemental planes, and other dangerous spots far from the eyes of land-bound folk. Long-established guardians of the deep ocean floor, in recent years the noble tritons have become increasingly active in the world above.
Aquatic Crusaders
Centuries ago, tritons entered the world in response to the growing threat of evil elementals. Tritons waged many wars against their enemies on the Plane of Water, driving them into the Darkened Depths where they escaped into the crushing pressure and utter darkness. In time, the tritons noticed that their ancient elemental foes had grown quiet. Expeditions to the depths revealed that krakens, sahuagin, and far worse foes had fled the Plane of Water for the Material Plane.
The tritons, driven by a sense of duty and responsibility, would not allow their foes to escape so easily. A great conclave of tritons chose volunteers skilled in weapons and magic as part of an expeditionary force to enter the Material Plane and seek out their enemies.
Those tritons spread across the world's oceans and established protectorates to watch over deep sea trenches, portals, undersea caves, and other locations where their enemies might lurk. They defeated their foes when they found them and drove the rest into hiding.
With their foes banished to the deepest reaches of the sea, tritons settled in to watch for any sign of their return. Over time, the tritons extended their stewardship over the sea floor from their initial settlements and built outposts to create trade with other races. Despite this expansion, few folk know of them. Their settlements are so remote even merfolk and sea elves rarely encounter them.
Haughty Nobles
As a result of their isolation and limited understanding of the Material Plane, tritons can come across as haughty and arrogant. They see themselves as caretakers of the sea, and they expect other creatures to pay them deep respect, if not complete deference.
This attitude might grate on others, but it arises from a seed of truth. Few know of the tritons' great victories over dreadful undersea threats. The tritons make little allowance for such ignorance and are delighted to expound upon the great debt others owe them.
Tritons also have a tendency to emerge from their isolation under the assumption that other folk will welcome them as respected allies and mentors. Again, distance drives much of this attitude. The tritons' limited view of the world leaves them ignorant of the kingdoms, wars, and other struggles of the surface world. Tritons readily see such concerns as minor events, a sideshow to the tritons' role as the world's true protectors.
Staunch Champions
Despite their off-putting manners, tritons are benevolent creatures at heart, convinced that other civilized races deserve their protection. Their attitude might grate, but when pirate fleets prowl the waves or a kraken awakens from its slumber, they are among the first to take up arms to protect others.
Tritons readily sacrifice themselves for the common good. They will fight and die for humans, merfolk, and other creatures without question. Their self-absorbed nature makes them overlook the history of other creatures, but they also endure a sense of guilt over allowing the evils of the Plane of Water to enter the Material Plane and threaten its inhabitants. The tritons believe they owe a debt of honor to the world, and they will fight and die to pay it.
At times their fervor and ignorance of the world can lead them astray. Tritons encountering other creatures for the first time can underestimate them, leaving the tritons vulnerable to deception. With their strong martial tradition, tritons can sometimes be too eager to leap into a fight.
Strangers to the Surface
Given their isolation, most tritons have never been to the surface world. They struggle with the idea that they can't easily move up and down out of water, and the changing of the seasons mystifies them.
Tritons also find the variety of social institutions, kingdoms, and other customs bewildering. For all their proud culture, they remain innocent of the surface world. The typical triton protectorate is tightly regimented, organized, and unified around a common cause. A triton on the surface becomes easily confused by the bewildering array of alliances, rivalries, and petty grievances that prevent the surface folk from truly unifying.
At its worst, a triton's arrogance compounds the tendency for the triton. not to understand the ways of the surface world. It's easy for a triton to blame baffling social practices on what the triton perceives as the barbarism, weakness, or cowardice of surface folk.
Triton Personality
Far from flawless, these champions of good mean well, but they are easily frustrated by others. You can select, roll, or adapt a triton-specific quirk from the Triton Quirks table. Use the quirk to inform how you portray your character.
Triton Quirks
| d6 | Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | You phrase requests as orders that you expect to be obeyed. |
| 2 | You are quick to boast of the greatness of your civilization. |
| 3 | You learned an antiquated version of Common and drop "thee" and "thou" into your speech. |
| 4 | You assume that people are telling you the truth about local customs and expectations. |
| 5 | The surface world is a wondrous place, and you catalog all its details in a journal. |
| 6 | You mistakenly assume that surface folk know about and are impressed by your people's history. |
Triton Names
Most triton names have two or three syllables. Male names typically end with a vowel and the letter s, and female names traditionally end with an n. Tritons use their home protectorate as a surname, with the name formed by adding a vowel followed by a "th" to the end of
the protectorate's name.
Female Triton Names: Aryn, Belthyn, Duthyn, Feloren, Otanyn, Shalryn, Vlaryn, Wolyn
Male Triton Names: Corus, Delnis, Jhimas, Keros, Molos, Nalos, Vodos, Zunis
Triton Surnames: Ahlorsath, Pumanath, Vuuvaxath
Theros Tritons
Born of the Sea
Tritons are an amphibious people, at home in the water but mobile on dry land. Their bodies are covered in fine scales that range from yellowish-green through shades of blue to deep purple. Their heads are crowned with prominent crests, and fins sprout from their forearms, calves, and shoulders. Their digits are webbed, allowing them to swim as quickly as they can run.
Well suited to life in the deep, tritons wear little clothing unless armored for battle. They fashion most of their clothes and other items from materials found in the ocean: coral, seaweed, shells, bone, sea urchin spines, the shells of monstrous crustaceans, and so on. Having an old, well-developed civilization, tritons know much of how to refine these materials into garb as rich and weapons as sturdy as any found on land.
Land and Sea
For centuries, dryfolk have fished the seas of Theros and have used the sea's surface as a means of travel. Many tritons interpret this as an intrusion into their domains. As a result, some warlike triton communities respond with periodic strikes against sailors and fishing vessels. Others believe that turnabout is fair play and so venture onto land to hunt for meat, steal supplies from coastal travelers, or raid dryfolk poleis for riches.
Despite the tensions between tritons and the peoples of the surface, some tritons make their lives on land. Enchanted by the feeling of the winds, the rustle of leaves, the ingenuity of land-dwelling inventors, or any of countless other surface-world charms, every triton living beyond the waves does so for their own reasons. In some places, like the polis of Meletis, whole triton communities flourish among dryfolk neighbors. See chapter 3 for more details on the tritons of Meletis and the Siren Sea.
Hand of Thassa
While tritons pay respects to many gods, they tend to revere Thassa, god of the sea, above all other deities. Her devotees see her as the primary god of the pantheon, believing she will bring their people to ascendancy over the monsters of the sea and the poleis of the land.
Depths of Curiosity
Many tritons are intrigued by surface culture. The curious among them venture into sunken ruins and shipwrecks, sifting through the debris for whatever grabs their attention. Often these tritons develop collections of a specific kind of object or lore, trading with one another as they develop a sort of expertise in their field. Some tritons approach investigations of the dryfolk with scientific rigor. Such scholars often hold theories to go along with their collections, hypotheses many are eager to test upon meeting new dryfolk.
Myth of Dalakos and the Kraken
Dalakos considered himself a triton like any other—curious, quick-minded, maybe even blessed with exceptional cleverness by the gods. But he was unfocused and easily distracted, his potential scattered like seeds on stone. It wasn't until a kraken rose from the ocean's deepest depths and began a rampage that threatened Dalakos's community that he was forced to focus. As the beast drew closer, Dalakos sought ways to turn the monstrosity from its path. He worked day and night, but ultimately his plans failed. All that Dalakos knew was destroyed, obliterated by the might of the kraken.
Yet the kraken carried on, moving toward a coastal human settlement. Amid the ruins of his home, Dalakos had a revelation. Working desperately, the triton crafted a miraculous device, one that ultimately laid low the kraken and saved the town. Today, Dalakos resides inside the kraken's shell, where he works day and night, his heart broken, but his mind forever focused on bringing his gifts to life.
Triton Names
A triton's name is a symbol of choice. Upon reaching adulthood, a triton might shed the name they were given by their parents for one of their own choosing. Some opt to keep their name, but the majority select one that represents the adult they've become. Tritons might even go on to choose yet other names, as they shift from one phase of life to another, or after significant life events. Leaving a home community or transitioning to live among dryfolk might constitute such life changes. Tritons also have a fluid concept of gender and might switch names freely as they shift gender identities.
Female Names: Amathe, Gnorcys, Leurybia, Margomestra, Nereones, Oleia, Samathe, Saphiro, Tethene, Theaneia, Thectra
Male Names: Bysseus, Cetos, Galaukus, Galiton, Kenessos, Odexes, Palamon, Pontreus, Rheteus, Thrasios
Traits
Your triton character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase
Your Strength score increases by 1, your Constitution score increases by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
Age
Tritons reach maturity around age 15 and can live up to 200 years.
Alignment
Tritons tend toward lawful good. As guardians of the darkest reaches of the sea, their culture pushes them toward order and benevolence.
Size
Tritons are slightly shorter than humans, averaging about 5 feet tall. Your size is Medium. Your height is 4'6" with a modifier of +2d10. Your weight is 90 lbs. with a modifier of +(height roll) x 2d4.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Amphibious
You can breathe air and water.
Control Air and Water
A child of the sea, you can call on the magic of elemental air and water. You can cast Fog Cloud with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast Gust of Wind with it, and starting at 5th level, you can also cast Wall of Water with it. Once you cast a spell with this trait, you can't cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Emissary of the Sea
Aquatic beasts have an extraordinary affinity with your people. You can communicate simple ideas with beasts that can breathe water. They can understand the meaning of your words, though you have no special ability to understand them in return.
Guardians of the Depths
Adapted to even the most extreme ocean depths, you have resistance to cold damage, and you ignore any of the drawbacks caused by a deep, underwater environment.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and Primordial.
Triton MPMM
Originally from the Elemental Plane of Water, many tritons entered the Material Plane centuries ago in response to the growing threat of evil elementals. Those tritons spread across the worlds' oceans, protecting the surface from terrors in the deep. Over time, triton have extended their stewardship over the sea floor to the ocean's surface.
Tritons have webbed hands and feet, small fins on their calves, and coloration that favors blues and greens.
Ability Score Increase
One ability score of your choice increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1, or three ability scores of your choice increase by 1.
Size
Medium
Speed
Your walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.
Amphibious
You can breathe air and water.
Control Air and Water
You can cast Fog Cloud with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the Gust of Wind spell with this trait. Starting at 5th level, you can also cast the Water Walk spell with it. Once you cast any of these spells with this trait, you can't cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast these spells using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait (choose when you select this race).
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 discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Emissary of the Sea
You can communicate simple ideas to any Beast, Elemental, or Monstrosity that has a swimming speed. It can understand your words, though you have no special ability to understand it in return.
Guardian of the Depths
Adapted to the frigid ocean depths, you have resistance to cold damage.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for your character.
Source: Volo's Guide to Monsters, Mythic Odysseys of Theros, Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse