Physical Abilities
Merfolk are natural predators. They are at the top of the food chain in the sea closely followed by sharks and orcas. They not only hunt with weapons such as tridents but they can also use their song to stun groups of fish to capture large schools in their nets. While their needle like teeth and strength are highly useful along with their agility and speed underwater, their predatory nature is not lost on land but due to their diminished physical prowess (See sub-species type for information about your chosen character type.) Limits the abilities greatly compared to that of the open waters. RP accordingly ie clumsiness, lumbering gait, struggling traveling long distances by foot.
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Hydration and Dehydration sickness: When Merfolk split tail and go on land, at first the time spend on land should be a short and very limited time and distance travelled from the sea. Merfolk begin to have a dehydration sickness which occurs the longer they spend away from water. Depending on if you RP a fresh water, salt water, brackish water, or all waters Mer you may not have suitable areas on a sim which you can fully hydrate in and return to tail form. For example, a Salt Water mer would only be able to remain hydrated fully in the sea/ocean/gulf. A fresh water river or pond would not be suitable for a salt water based mer to rehydrate in, and if they were unable to travel back to the sea within the cycle of high tide to low tide or low to high, they would dry out and die.
Dehydration sickness would begin several hours after a cycle has completed, a new mer for example would have a 2 hour RP window to split tail until they had to return to the sea. An older mer could remain out of the water for an entire tidal cycle, from High tide to High tide, without drying out or getting sick. Keep in mind there are devices with built in timers you can purchase on Marketplace as RP tools to help keep track, and some mer specific tools (necklaces) that will physically cause your avatar to faint and collapse until you are moved back into SL water.
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Physical Difference in body mass compared to landers is a huge issue for Merfolk to overcome. The bone density level of a Mer is double or triple the weight of a human when on land. This is the primary reason the Merfolk become slow, sluggish, clumsy, off balanced when in Land Walker form. This can be role played by making comments about your physical limitations when walking or balance issues when standing still for too long and needing to shift your weight or lean on fences, chairs, walls etc.