Skum (Ulat-Kini) — Aboleth-Bred Aquatic Servitor

A hunched green-skinned skum with a broad fish-like head, clawed hands and an amphibious body emerging from black water.

An amphibious servant-warrior engineered for ancient aboleth cities, equally capable in flooded tunnels and on land.

The Skum, remembered by some elders as the Ulat-Kini, are an aquatic people shaped for service beneath the old Aboleth empires. Their broad fish-like heads, claws, powerful swimming muscles and ability to breathe both air and water make them ideal guardians, raiders and labourers in half-flooded ruins.

At a Glance

IdentityAboleth-bred amphibious warrior and surviving servant people.
Type by editionMedium Monstrosity in modern compatibility rules; Monstrous Humanoid in PF1e; Aberration (Aquatic) in D&D 3.5e.
TemperamentVaries by community; old aboleth conditioning often leaves strongly hierarchical cultures.
Combat roleLow-level amphibious bruiser with trident, claws and bite.
Signature powersAmphibious breathing, strong swimming and underwater stealth.
HabitatSunken ruins, cold seas, flooded caves and abandoned aboleth settlements.
CR by edition5.5e: 2 · 5e: 2 · PF1e: 2 · 3.5e: 2.

Run It Tonight

A skum encounter works best across the waterline. One warrior fights from the shallows while another disappears beneath black water and circles behind the party. Their advantage is not exotic magic but familiarity with terrain where most surface creatures move badly.

Rules by Edition







Skum

Medium Monstrosity, typically Lawful Evil

AC 14; Initiative +1 (11)
HP 39 (6d8 + 12)
Speed 20 ft., Swim 40 ft.

STR
16 (+3)
DEX
13 (+1)
CON
15 (+2)
INT
10 (+0)
WIS
11 (+0)
CHA
7 (−2)

Skills Perception +2, Stealth +3 (+5 underwater)
Resistances Cold
Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 12
Languages Aquan, Undercommon
CR 2 (450 XP); PB +2

Traits

Amphibious. The skum can breathe air and water.

Underwater Hunter. The skum has Advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks while fully submerged.

Actions

Multiattack. The skum makes two attacks, using Trident, Claw or Bite in any combination.

Trident. Melee or Ranged Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) Piercing damage in melee or 6 (1d6 + 3) when thrown.

Claw. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) Slashing damage.

Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) Piercing damage.

Skum

Medium monstrosity, lawful evil

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 39 (6d8 + 12)
Speed 20 ft., swim 40 ft.

STR
16 (+3)
DEX
13 (+1)
CON
15 (+2)
INT
10 (+0)
WIS
11 (+0)
CHA
7 (−2)

Skills Perception +2, Stealth +3 (+5 underwater)
Damage Resistance cold
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Aquan, Undercommon
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Traits

Amphibious. The skum can breathe air and water.

Water Stalker. The skum has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks while underwater.

Actions

Multiattack. The skum makes two attacks with trident, claw or bite.

Trident. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage in melee or 6 (1d6 + 3) when thrown.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) piercing damage.

Skum (Ulat-Kini) CR 2

A skum warrior carrying a trident through flooded ruins.

XP 600
LE Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +5

Defense

AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 20 (2d10+9)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +3
Resist cold 10

Offense

Speed 20 ft., swim 40 ft.
Melee trident +4 (1d8+2), claw +2 (1d4+1), bite +2 (1d6+1)
Ranged trident +3 (1d8+2)

Statistics

Str 15, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 6
Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 15
Feats MultiattackB, Toughness
Skills Intimidate +3, Perception +5 (+9 underwater), Stealth +6 (+10 underwater), Swim +15
Languages Aboleth, Undercommon
SQ amphibious

Ecology

Environment temperate or cold aquatic or underground
Organization solitary, brood, pack or cabal
Treasure NPC gear

Skum

Medium Aberration (Aquatic)

Hit Dice 2d8+2 (11 hp)
Initiative +1
Speed 20 ft. (4 squares), swim 40 ft.
Armor Class 13 (+1 Dex, +2 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple +1/+5
Attack bite +5 melee (2d6+4)
Full Attack bite +5 melee (2d6+4) and 2 claws +0 melee (1d4+2)
Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks rake 1d6+2
Special Qualities amphibious, darkvision 60 ft.
Saves Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +3
Abilities Str 19, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 6
Skills Hide +6, Listen +7, Move Silently +6, Spot +7, Swim +12
Feats Alertness
Environment underground
Organization brood (2–5) or pack (6–15)
Challenge Rating 2
Treasure none
Alignment usually lawful evil

Rake (Ex)

While attacking in water, a skum can make two rake attacks at +0 melee for 1d6+2 damage each.

Amphibious (Ex)

Although aquatic, a skum can survive indefinitely on land.

Behaviour

Skum communities are shaped by survival after servitude. Some still obey aboleths instinctively or through direct domination. Others occupy abandoned ruins, imitate the hierarchies they remember and distrust anything that arrives from the surface.

A skum patrol understands doors, weapons, alarms and ambushes. They should be run as organised humanoid enemies rather than as fish monsters that simply charge.

Signs Before Initiative

  • Trident marks appear on dock timbers below the normal waterline.
  • Footprints enter a flooded tunnel while webbed drag marks continue underwater.
  • Old aboleth symbols have been crudely repaired rather than abandoned.
  • Fish traps contain tools and armour pieces as well as food.
  • Watchers disappear beneath water before a surface patrol can approach them.

If Violence Starts

Skum fight across the boundary between land and water. One warrior pins enemies in a doorway while swimmers circle through flooded side passages. They use thrown tridents before closing and retreat underwater when the surface fight turns against them.

Counterplay

Force the fight onto dry ground and deny hidden water routes. Skum are amphibious, but their best mobility and stealth are underwater. Cold resistance also makes some obvious aquatic damage choices less useful in PF1e and the modern adaptations.

Legacy of the Aboleths

The Ulat-Kini were engineered to serve Aboleth cities as soldiers, labourers and intermediaries able to operate above and below the waterline. When those cities fell or withdrew, many skum communities were left with ruined infrastructure and social systems designed around masters who were no longer present.

That history does not make every skum identical. Some preserve old obedience, some resent it, and some have spent generations building identities that have little to do with their creators.

Using Skum in an Encounter

The abandoned outpost. An aboleth fortress is supposedly empty, but skum descendants still maintain the outer defences.

The drowned treaty. A coastal village has an old agreement with a skum settlement that neither side fully remembers.

The returning master. A community that has lived independently for generations receives a telepathic command from an aboleth thought dead.

The flooded road. Skum charge travellers to use a submerged tunnel that provides the only safe route beneath a mountain.

Related Creatures

See the Aboleth, Greater Aboleth and other aquatic threats in the World Bestiary.

Rules Sources and Licensing

The Pathfinder 1e Skum/Ulat-Kini statistics derive from open Pathfinder rules material. The D&D 3.5e Skum is Open Game Content from the Revised d20 System Reference Document.

The 5.5e/2024 and 5e/2014 panels are original compatibility adaptations and are not represented as official fifth-edition Skum statistics.

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