Grungs are aggressive froglike humanoids found in rain forests and tropical jungles. They are fiercely territorial and see themselves as superior to most other creatures.
Tree-Dwelling Amphibians. Grungs live in trees and prefer shade. A grung hatchery is maintained in well-guarded ground-level pools. About three months after hatching, a grung tadpole takes on the shape of an adult. It takes another six to nine months for a grung juvenile to reach maturity.
Castes and Colors. Grung society is a caste system. Each caste lays eggs in a separate hatching pool, and juvenile grungs join their caste upon emergence from the hatchery. All grungs are a dull greenish gray when they are born, but each individual takes on the color of its caste as it grows to adulthood.
Green grungs are the tribe’s warriors, hunters, and laborers, and blue grungs work as artisans and in other domestic roles. Supervising and guiding both groups are the purple grungs, which serve as administrators and commanders.
Red grungs are the tribe’s scholars and magic users. They are superior to purple, blue, and green grungs and given proper respect even by grungs of higher status.
Higher castes include orange grungs, which are elite warriors that have authority over all lesser grungs, and gold grungs, which hold the highest leadership positions. A tribe’s sovereign is always a gold grung.
A grung normally remains in its caste for life. On rare occasions, an individual that distinguishes itself with great deeds can earn an invitation to join a higher caste. Through a combination of herbal tonics and ritual magic, an elevated grung changes color and is inducted into its new caste in the same way that a juvenile of the caste would be. From then on, the grung and its progeny are members of the higher caste.
Naturally Toxic. All grungs secrete a substance that is harmless to them but poisonous to other creatures. A grung also uses venom to poison its weapons.
Slavers. Grungs are always on the lookout for creatures they can capture and enslave. Grungs use slaves for all manner of menial tasks, but mostly they just like bossing them around. Slaves are fed mildly poisoned food to keep them lethargic and compliant. A creature afflicted in this way over a long period of time becomes a shell of its former self and can be restored to normalcy only by magic.
Grung Traits
Your grung character has an assortment of inborn abilities, part and parcel of grung nature.
Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age
Grungs mature to adulthood in a single year, but have been known to live up to 50 years.
Alignment
Most grungs are lawful, having been raised in a strict caste system. They tend toward evil as well, coming from a culture where social advancement occurs rarely, and most often because another member of your army has died and there is no one else of that caste to fill the vacancy.
Size
Grungs stand between 2 ½ and 3 ½ feet tall and average about 30 pounds. Your size is Small.
Arboreal Alertness
You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 25 feet, and you have a climbing speed of 25 feet.
Amphibious
You can breathe air and water.
Poison Immunity
You’re immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition.
Poisonous Skin
Any creature that grapples you or otherwise comes into direct contact with your skin must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. A poisoned creature no longer in direct contact with you can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
You can also apply this poison to any piercing weapon as part of an attack with that weapon, though when you hit the poison reacts differently. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or take 2d4 poison damage.
Standing Leap
Your long jump is up to 25 feet and your high jump is up to 15 feet, with or without a running start.
Water Dependency
If you fail to immerse yourself in water for at least 1 hour during a day, you suffer one level of exhaustion at the end of that day. You can only recover from this exhaustion through magic or by immersing yourself in water for at least 1 hour.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Grung.