From publisher blurb:
I have started working on a new campaign setting that will be called tentatively called “The Ancient Lands”. I intend to draw from Amazon mythology, as well as the mythology of other native Americans such as the Inuit. I feel like the native Americans have a rich mythological tradition that does not get enough attention. I would like to introduce the old-school gaming community to some of the myths and legends of the native Americans by including them in my campaign and blending them with the euro-centric mythology that is already richly found in the game.
This opens the game up to more opportunities for unique adventures such as underwater adventures or travel to different planes. Like any journey, it must be completed one small step at a time. I put this document together to introduce the Half-Yacuruna as a playable race to the game. A friend of mine requested that I do fey blooded races, namely the Half-Dryad, Half-Silenus, and Half-Satyr so I decided to combine them into one document since the Yacuruna can be seen as a type of fey. Since most readers probably already know what a Dryad, Silenus, and Satyr are I will not say more on them.
To understand what a half-yacuruna is you must first understand what a yacuruna is. Yacuruna come from amazon mythology and are a humanoid underwater race that are often described as riding on giant black alligators and keeping giant pythons as pets. They are complicated figures, on the one hand, there are stories of them enslaving people, transforming people into aquatic humanoids of various types, and impregnating people, on the other hand, they are also said to sometimes share the secrets of healing magic with shamans. Some people have claimed that the Yacuruna are the inspiration for H.P. Lovecraft’s story “The Shadow over Innsmouth” as well as the classic 1954 movie “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”.