Locathah
by Prince Phantom
Do you want to play as an actual, literal fish? Are Tritons and Sea Elves not cutting it for you? Then boy do I have a race for you. The Locathah are one of the most obscure races in 5e, coming from a charity promotion called “Locathah Rising”, but they are an official WOTC created and printed race. I suppose some DMs may have issue with the legality of this race, but those people are dumb and should feel bad. This race isn’t overpowered at all, and definitely fulfills the fantasy of being a fish better than any other option. It’s not overpowered, but it’s still potentially pretty strong, so let’s dive in!
Locathah Features
Swim Speed: 30ft: I should clarify that we do also somehow have a walking speed of 30ft, so you’re not helpless outside of water. Note that this speed is also separate from our walking speed, meaning it won’t be increased by things like a Monk’s Unarmored Movement.
Natural Armor: This is just Studded Leather, and is probably only relevant to Sorcerers who don’t want to spend a precious known spell on Mage Armor. Still, those Sorcerers should probably be taking a multiclass to get armor proficiencies, so this really won’t matter for most builds.
Observant and Athletic: Perception is the best skill in the game, and Athletics is a skill that many strength based builds leverage (get it) to perform combat actions like grapple and shove.
Leviathan Will: This is the big one (heh, fish pun). We have advantage on saves versus being charmed, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned, or put to sleep. That is a frankly unparalleled list of status resistances, though note that this feature does not help us on subsequent saves if we fail our initial save versus the effect. Still, hopefully with this you never need to make a second saving throw. If you’re playing a Locathah, this is the reason why.
Limited Amphibiousness: And here’s the catch. You must submerge in water every FOUR HOURS, or suffocate. Not take a level of exhaustion, SUFFOCATE. If you aren’t playing in a strictly underwater campaign, you have to plan for this. Sadly, as a medium sized race averaging 5-6 feet in length, it’s not as easy as carrying around a fish bowl. I’ve seen all manner of solutions to this problem, from your Barbarian friend carrying a barrel of water everywhere, to playing a Genie Warlock and filling your vessel with water that you take enough out of at the start of each day, to (probably the best one) using a Decanter of Endless Water. Sadly, the Create Water spell just doesn’t create enough to fulfill the requirements here. A level 2 Artificer can create an Alchemy Jug that can make 12 gallons of salt water each day, which might be enough to suffice, but remember that with all of these solutions you need to have them every four hours, not just once per day. This is a challenge to work around, though I know some players relish this sort of challenge so for some of you this may actually be a reason for you to pick this race, but I am writing a review so I have to knock points off for this.
The Locathah really comes down to whether or not you can play around it’s limitations, because if you can, it’s fantastic. If you can’t, you’ll be dead before the party leaves the first tavern. Just make sure you know what you’re doing with this one.
Final Rating: 2/5
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