Undine

Undine

(Creature)

Type

Outsider
(native)

CR

By character level

Environment

Any land

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Adjective

Undine

Images of undines

Source: Bestiary 2, pg(s). 275

This article might have further canon details available on StarfinderWiki.

Undines are genie-kin descended from the union of mortal humanoids and creatures of elemental water.

Appearance

Senethar, an undine summoner.

Undine appear as humanoids with distinctive coloration that resembles bodies of water such as lakes or oceans. All undines have blue eyes, but their skin color ranges from pale blue-white to deep blue or green. They have fin-like ears, webbed hands and feet, and straight, thick hair of a darker shade than their skin. However, they lack gills and cannot breathe underwater. Some undines can change their skin to blend with humans or underwater terrain.

In order to facilitate swimming, undines wear little clothing, tie their hair into tight knots, avoid necklaces or shoes, and prefer weapons that are equally effective on land and in water.

Adventurers

Undines raised on the Plane of Water in their parent's courts often develop their skills as bards. Undine clerics usually serve water gods, while most undine sorcerers possess the elemental or genie bloodlines.

Ecology

Undines are the result of unions between a humanoid and a faydhaan, or less commonly a water mephit, ooze mephit, triton, or nereid. They remain capable of breeding with humans but view themselves as a separate race.

Undines tend to be more perceptive and agile than the average human, but are generally more lithe with less muscle mass. They are natural swimmers, have darkvision, and are naturally resistant to cold. All undines have the magical ability to move water once per day, similar to the hydraulic push spell, and are quite adept at water magic.

Habitat

Undines are the most common geniekin to found communities of their own. From a young age, they are instinctively driven to seek out bodies of water, but ironically cannot live within it due to their inability to breathe water. Most undine settlements are built on shore or consist of flotillas of ships bound together into a haphazard floating town. Each community is governed by an elected council whose members can hold their position indefinitely, but are often pressured to resign when people are unhappy. Undines consider themselves protectors of their habitat and work with their neighbours to watch over the water's health.

Undine communities sometimes establish their own semi-autonomous quarters within other races' settlements, as long as they and the water are respected. They often become anxious when separated from bodies of water for long durations.

Undines are the most common of the humanoids who migrate from the Material Plane to the Plane of Water. These undines are often magic users or descended from such ancestors. They either live in small, insular communities scattered across the plane, or become ferry operators, travel guides, merchants, or diplomats. One exception is the undines of Vialesk, who call themselves maridar, and maintain the city as a neutral trading outpost. Due to their mercurial nature, undines are often distrusted by the Plane of Water's natives. They are rumoured to be planning to band together to become a planar power in their own right.

Society

Undines frequently trade with numerous other races and hold no prejudice against any of them. They are especially friendly toward elves and gnomes, who share their goal of protecting the water environment, share many interests with non-evil humanoids, and most commonly trade with humans and dwarves for resources.

Undines are usually neutral-aligned, focusing on the welfare of themselves and their people over all else. They become adventurers for various reasons: some wish to defend their community's body of water, others seek to learn about their ancestors, and yet others are simply possessed of a wanderlust, or are forced to take up adventuring after being exiled from their home.

Religion

Undines are naturally spiritual and take well to religious life. Gozreh is the most commonly worshipped deity, followed by Hanspur in the River Kingdoms, or Desna and Besmara in western Avistan. Those who seek strength and revenge on judgemental societies are drawn to Kelizandri, and another subset venerate Ragadahn, but only the most depraved undines can stomach him.

Languages

Most undines on Golarion speak Common tongues as well as Thalassic.

Variants

Mistsouls, or vapor undines, look ephemeral and vaporous, have rounded features, move deliberately and gracefully, and prefer soft, high-quality, neutrally-toned clothing and simple jewellery. Gentle and contemplative, yet resilient and earnest, they are drawn to water's mystical aspects and often seek out politically fractured places like Brevoy.

Rimesouls, or frost undines, are usually pale, with translucent or blue-tinged skin, and prefer austere, crisp clothing. Representing the solidification of change, they are usually ordered, conservative, imperious and aloof, and take well to individual pursuits. They prefer sparsely populated areas or disciplined cities.

On Golarion

An undine pirate.

On Golarion, undines are most common in Kelesh, Vudra (particularly Jalmeray), around the Inner Sea, and to a lesser extent along the eastern coast of the Arcadian Ocean. In the deserts of northern Garund, they are often accepted by villages who believe that they can bring water and rain, or can make an easy living as pirates on the River Sphinx.

Undines can be found as north as Outsea. Due to the elemental water influence, undines in Outsea often display aquatic races' physical features, and serve as liaisons between the ruling aquatic races and land-dwelling commoners. They are also common in Druma, and the authorities of Detmer prefer them as dockworkers due to their efficiency in servicing ships. Due to the high wages, some undines invest in their own businesses after leaving the job.

Wanshou is home to a growing undine population; it is unknown if these undines owe their existence to the kraken overlord Zhanagorr or to celestial benefactors who can only intervene by sending these undine heroes to undermine Zhanagorr's influence.

In Casmaron, an unusual amount of undines reside in the Karazh city of Ular Kel near the vast reserves of the Water Houses. For some unknown reason they are particularly common in the Songsouk district.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.