Gillman

The Gillmen, also known as the Low Azlanti, are amphibious humanoids who live in and around the Arcadian Ocean, Steaming Sea, and Inner Sea. They are believed to be one of the last direct descendants of the vanished Azlanti people.

Description
The Gillmen of the Inner Sea region most closely resemble the now vanished inhabitants of ancient Azlant. They have their forebears' pronounced and haughty facial features, and exotic, purple eyes. Their hair is generally dark and they have pale skin from years of living far from the sun's rays. Three piscine gills on both sides of their neck, just above their shoulders, give them the ability to breathe underwater, even though they can also breathe air. Gillmen cannot survive long away from sea or freshwater; they quickly develop organ failure if they are not submerged in either fresh or salt water for more 24 hours.

History
Most of the human inhabitants of ancient Azlant died during Earthfall, either burnt to death in the infernos caused by the meteoric impacts, or drowned in the earthquakes and tidal waves that swallowed their mighty empire. A few were saved by the Azlanti's original masters, the mysterious Aboleth, who took in a small number and fleshwarped them to survive in their aquatic domain far below the waves. Strangely, once this transformation was accomplished, the Aboleth seemed to lose interest in the Gillmen, leaving them to freely form their own society in the following millennia. Despite this ancient abandonment, some Gillmen still serve as spies for their Aboleth masters.

Thousands of years later, a contingent of Gillmen visited the newly established democratic nation of Andoran. They presented the government with the keystone of the Arch of Aroden, which they had dragged there from the bottom of the Hespereth Strait, symbolizing their support for Andoran's commitment to freedom and equality.

Society
Because of the race's origin, Gillmen still have a strange connection to the Aboleth. Although particularly resistant to enchantment magic, they display a distinct vulnerability to Aboleth enchantment, a legacy of the early control their aberrant masters had over them. In addition, the Aboleth seem to have implanted some form of racial post-hypnotic suggestion in all Gillmen, giving them the theoretical ability to exert control through key words or images.

Gillmen on Golarion
The town of Escadar (located on the Isle of Kortos and within the domain of Absalom) is the only terrestrial city with an embassy of the Low Azlanti. It can be found in the House of the Cresting Wave, locally known as Wet-House. The Gillmen offer information on the sea, meet with officials from Absalom's Low Council, and train the hippocampi instructor for the city's Sea Cavalry. The Gillmen are often seen worshipping at the Azlanti ruins at the town's center, or partaking in Escadar's many warrens of vice.

Besides Escadar, Gillmen can also be found in the nearby surface cities of Diobel, and in the Absalomi neighborhood of Gilltown, and much further afield in the aquatic River Kingdom of Outsea, and the undersea canyons of sunken Azlant.