Kuo toa

Publication history

The name "kuo-toa" was created by Gary Gygax, co-creator of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. In their original appearance, kuo-toa are described as having once lived on land, but were driven underground by humans and other land-dwellers. However, their presentation has evolved to be more similar to the Deep Ones, creatures that appear in H. P. Lovecraft's novella "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". For example, the kuo-toa were first described as worshiping a lobster-headed sea goddess named Blibdoolpoolp; later versions have them worshiping a being called Dagon, a being that is also associated with the Deep Ones.

The kuo-toa are considered "Product Identity" by Wizards of the Coast and as such are not released under its Open Gaming License.

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

The kuo-toa first appeared in dungeon modules D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, and D3 Vault of the Drow. The first D&D manual that the kuo-toa appeared in was the original Fiend Folio.

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

The kuo-toa appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989), and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000–2002)

The kuo-toa appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (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 (2008–2013)

The kuo-toa appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008).

Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition (2014–)

The kuo-toa appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2014).

Description

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

Society

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

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 aquatic race.

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.

Additional reading