Tuesday, April 7, 2020

OSR: Playable Races of Nukaria (part 1)

This is the first part of a series detailing the playable races of Nukaria.  Additionally, if you want to randomly generate a town or NPC but can't decide on a race, select the appropriate table and roll there.

One other detail: the Reroll Stat means that when you create your character and roll 3d6 for Stats, depending on your Race, you may reroll one particular stat and choose either result. 

Common Races in the Northern Lands:

1d8

Elfmen               
Frogfolk           
Lizarians           
Crocolings           
Jelly-Eyes
Goatlings           
Oxmen               
Morcai

                                                         by Dropdeadcoheed

Elfmen   

You look like the pop-culture conception of Elves.  Basically, you are a human, but taller and more attractive, with perfect hair and straight, white teeth.  You have shaved legs and armpits and almost always smell of flowers.       

Elfmen play the same role wherever the Handsome Men go; acting as stewards, valets and bodyguards, going where there masters will not and preparing the way for them.  Also, before we continue, a warning: Elfmen are not their own race.  They are created by the Handsome Men by surgically and magically modifying a member of another race, usually a Human or something that looks a lot like one of the Handsome Men.  The Elfmen generally resemble the popular view of Elves; beautiful, somewhat aloof, hippie-dippie types who wear revealing clothes and always have shampooed hair and washboard abs.  However, this beauty comes at a great cost.

Elfmen look quite beautiful on the outside, but are actually riddled with cancers and disease on the inside.  They cling to their Masters, because without the magic of the Handsome Men, they would swiftly degenerate and die.  Yet despite the fact that they are totally reliant on the Handsome Men for survival, Elfmen are generally far more sane than their mercurial masters, who are prone to madness, delusion and irrationality.  As such, the Elfmen do everything in their power to ensure that no one does anything that might bother their masters, as a Handsome Man who is angry is an incredibly dangerous thing.            

Reroll Stat: CHA

Ability: Elfmen can, 1/Day, release a pheremone cloud that makes them much more appealing.  Anyone caught up in this cloud (30') will be charmed into feeling more positively toward you.  Additionally, the more they like you, the more they will like you.  Finally, they will like you in the same way that they did before- so if they were your friend, now they are your best friend.  Similarly, if they had a crush on you, now they are head over heels (at least temporarily) and might want to drag you into a back room and rip your clothes off. 

Weakness:
Elfmen's bodies are only maintained through regular infusions of special chemicals and spells from the Handsome Men.  If an Elfman goes without these for too long, his body will begin to degenerate and he will be eaten alive by cancers, if he doesn't succumb to some other illness or die because his newfound infirmity prevented him from from escaping some more mundane danger.

                                                         from suwarnabumi

Frogfolk   

You look like a Frog but anthropomorphic, with huge liquid eyes and bowed legs.  Your skin is moist to the touch.  You come primarily in shades of green and brown, with white bellies, but you can also come in other, brighter colors.  These colors are rare or missing in certain families and common in others.  Among Froglings, exotic colorations are treated like blonde or red hair in humans.   

Frogfolk are a humble, industrious race, who build rambling villages in or near bogs and swaying cities along the coast.  They revere hard work and tradition, with many Frogfolk possessing dozens of names, almost all taken from the history of their family or city.  Frogfolk generally occupy the lower echelons of society, but this is usually accepted with a shrug and a "what can you do" attitude.  Due to their long relationship with the Handsome Men as a client race, the Frogfolk are very accepting of hierarchy and being ruled by foreigners.  They are also very kind to the mad, as many of the Handsome Men are, quite possibly, insane.   
       
Reroll Stat: DEX

Ability: Frogfolk are excellent jumpers.  A Frogfolk can leap a distance up to 3x their STR score as an action.  This leap can be almost straight up or like a long jump.   

Weakness:
Frogfolk need to keep their skin moist.  This isn't a problem in humid environments, but whenever they take fire damage or spend an hour outside in a low-humidity or arid environment, they take 1 CON damage unless they dampen themselves with water.  This CON damage returns at a rate of 1 point per day.

                                            by Sycra

Lizarian

You look like a Lizard but with ape-like proportions.  You are stocky and stumpy-tailed, covered in glossy scales with muscles bunching beneath.  Lizarians come in many colors, usually varying based on their geographic origins.  Most tend towards yellow or mud brown; greens of a lighter or darker shade; or their scales are entirely covered in bright colors.   

Lizarians are a reptilian race.  They are generally highly cerebral and possess a "cold-blooded" attitude.  They are a culture that values intellectualism, industry and individualism.  Lizarians are encouraged to make something of themselves, to hone their skills then return to benefit the community.  The focus is not on collaboration, but on rising up so that you do not become a burden on society.  Lizarians also possess a fierce pride and tend to be quite prickly.  They are best with things that do not need a delicate touch.    
           
Reroll Stat: COG

Ability: Lizarians can reroll any failed saves against a mental effect, whether that be Charm, Fear or something else.  They are keen-sighted and very perceptive. 

Weakness: Whenever a Lizarian takes cold damage or is in a cold environment for more than an hour, they must save.  On a failure, they take 1 DEX damage.  If this DEX damage reduces them to zero, they cannot move faster than a walking pace until they warm up.  This DEX damage returns at a rate of 1 point per half hour in a warm place.

                                             from World of Eradu

Crocolings   

You look like an anthropomorphic crocodile, huge and muscular, with an unreadable expression.  Though for some reason, it always looks like you're smiling.  You are covered in layers of green scales and have a soft, white belly and a long, muscular tail. 

Crocolings are a race of warrior-poets and farmer-philosophers, known for their great intellectual and spiritual traditions, even though they lack the raw genius of some other races.  Crocolings are a primitive people, scorning most of the trappings of civilization.  They value asceticism and minimalism.  Wealth and opulence are shameful to them, signs of weakness.  They are also a martial race, highly skilled in the taking of lives.  Crocoling Warriors are known to usually be of exceptional quality and their greatest are immortalized in famous songs, scaly blurs in broad hats and colorful robes, shortspears flashing and swords dancing, leaving heaps of corpses in their wake.  For the Crocoling, to die is scary, as per any mortal, but they try to train themselves to be stoic and look towards it with humility.  They tend towards fatalism.    
       
Reroll Stat: STR

Ability:
Crocolings can make a ferocious bite attack that can splinter spear shafts and catch arms.  Anyone bitten by a Crocoling is also grappled (Referee's discretion).  This bite attack does 1d8+STR damage. 

Weakness:
Crocolings exhaust themselves easily.  They can be very quick in short bursts, so do not attempt to flee from them in a zig-zag manner, as this will only make them more likely to catch you.  After any fierce exertion or short battle, the Crocoling receives -2 to any check or Saving Throw based on STR or DEX until you get a chance to rest.  This bonus stacks with others. 

                                                         by unknown

Jelly-Eyes

You look like a Salamander, perched on narrow legs.  You are tall and spindly, with an incredibly flexible body that moves and shifts like a boat being rocked by the waves.  In coloration, your smooth skin is splotched with colors, usually brown and green; black and some bright color; or a pair of bright colors, such as bright blue and red-orange.   

Jelly-Eyes are known for their patience and their loyalty.  They are race more accustomed to dealing with myriad groups, given their semi-nomadic life-styles.  Jelly-Eyes travel around in caravans or small family groups.  Some are herdsmen, but many more take careers that involve a lot of traveling.  Because of their transient nature, Jelly-Eyes are often unwelcome guests, so they tend have adopted certain strategies to deal with locals.  For one, they are almost incorruptibly honest.  A Jelly-Eyes who breaks his word is as uncommon as a Goatling who keeps his.  They also adopt a type of masculine ethos where men are expected to always be on guard for signs of trouble.  This is combined with an iron-clad family and clan structure that makes the Jelly-Eyes difficult prey, as their young men are always ready to fight and if they lose a fight, they'll come back with all their relatives and take savage revenge.  Despite their long, slippery bodies and whiplike tails, they are known to be highly inflexible in terms of ideology or principle.  

Reroll Stat:
DEX

Ability: You have a spine that is composed of multiple segments, allowing you to bend your body in ways that most people can't even imagine.  You get +4 to any check made to be flexible, squeeze through a narrow space, perform some sort of gymnastic or acrobatic stunt, or evade something that would require DEX.   

Weakness: Your skin is sensitive to the touch of non-Reptilian races ( ).  If anyone touches you for more than a moment (10 or more seconds), you must make a CON save.  On a failure, you develop "Man Pox", which gives you a -1 to any checks or saving throw based on STR, DEX or CON for a week or until the succeed two CON checks in a row.  Additionally, if they touch you for longer periods, you may receive penalties to their saving throw (Referee's Discretion).

                                                     by unknown

Goatlings   

Goatlings are a clever race, possessing silver tongues and silky fur, their appearance halfway between distressing and cute.  Goatlings are a merchantile race, highly interested in selling.  They are a non-prejudiced bunch, to them, all non-Goatlings are the same.  They can be very friendly, but often, they use their charm to bilk you.  Goatlings are often persecuted or mistrusted because of their sharp minds and fast tongues.  Goatlings rarely stoop to common criminality, they have too much pride for that, but they are very fond of other forms of manipulation.  They have a great fondness for politics and often find positions as treasurers, administrators and accountants.  Even when they achieve legitimacy and power though, they are always watched.  It may sound unfair, but generally, never trust a Goatling.  
       
Reroll Stat: CHA

Ability: You are an astounding climber.  As long as your hooves can find purchase on a surface, you can easily scale near vertical cliffs without crampons or fear of falling.  You can also move easily over most difficult terrain (Referee's Discretion). 

Weakness:
Goatlings are widely known to have a reputation for being slick negotiators and skilled with words.  They are also known to break their promises.  As such, unless someone knows you and believes you to be honest, they will generally expect you to break your promises, try to cheat them and generally be selfish. 

                                                            by unknown

Oxmen       

Oxmen are a race of bulky, broad-shouldered individuals who possess enormous strength and sturdy forms.  They are able to lift and move much more than most other races.  This makes them a terror on the battlefield, for when Oxmen fight, they wrap themselves in armor and wield enormous blades that crush and smash with near-impunity.  For this reason, they are often scary, especially to frailer creatures.  For this reason, Oxmen prize benevolence and kindness.  Even Oxmen who are not generous or great-hearted still make attempts to appear as such, so that they do not become objects of terror.  Oxmen are not a warlike species, despite their obvious talent as men of war.  They value providing for oneself, but do not prize money for its own sake.  To Oxmen, money is only a tool.  Once your needs have been satisfied, there is no further need of it.  They generally believe that it is better to live morally, rather than working towards some goal.  The Oxmen who hold this position generally become farmers, builders and laborers.  The Oxmen who do not share this belief, those who desire more than a simple life of family and community, often become merchants and soldiers.   
       
Reroll Stat:
STR

Ability: If you take a running start when coming in for an attack, you may add +1d6 damage to any roll you make.  This requires a sufficient amount of space (Referee's Discretion) to run and get up to speed. 

Weakness: You are much larger than creatures from other species.  As such, all your armor and clothing must be custom made for you, unless you are living in an area where larger races are common, such as Bearmen or Elephantmen.  You will also find it much more difficult, if not impossible, to fit into small spaces that others could squeeze themselves into.

                                                              by Ian Joyner

Morcai   

You are a Reptilian creature, covered in scales of light brown or a shade of yellow, anything from dark gold to sandy yellow.  You are covered in fine scales and have small horns that emerge around the crowns of your head.  You have sharp teeth.  However, unlike other Reptilians, you have a flattened muzzle like a Human, and stand straight up and down, possessing a stiff spine.  They are also about as tall as Humans, though generally not as muscular.     

Morcai are wild reptilian folk from the Desert to the Far Southwest.  Morcai are known to have matriarchal cultures and their culture is considered highly undeveloped, though it is thought to almost entirely nomadic, based on herding flocks of animals.  They are also aggressively militant, revering violence and martial honor.  Even their females fight, often being the match of the males of other species.  Most of the Morcai who travel East are exiles and criminals, or scouts looking for new lands to plunder.             
                   
Reroll Stat: CON

Ability: X times per day, where X is their CON modifier, Morcai can inject venom through their fangs into a creature they are biting.  Males also have the ability to spray it out in a short (15') cone.  Morcai venom absorbs through the skin and causes incredible pain in anyone who is exposed to it.  Those exposed to it take 2d6 non-lethal damage each round they try to attack or move.  This venom affects creatures for 10 rounds (1 minute) - their CON Modifier.  Ex: A creature with a CON modifier of +3 is only affected for 7 rounds.   

Morcai are immune to their own venom, as well as the venom of Morcai they are related to, distantly or otherwise.  When exposed to venom of a Morcai from another clan or part of the Desert, the Morcai has a 4-in-6 chance of being immune to it.  Otherwise, the venom works as normal.   

Weakness: Morcai absorb heat from their environment like all reptilians.  However, this effect is always active.  Thus, when the in the presence of something superhot (a Salamander- the monster, an Elemental from the Court of Magma or Lava, Dragon's breath, etc) they must succeed a CON save or be stunned by the heat.  A stunned Morcai can move and act, but gets -4 to all attack and defense rolls, as well as any task requiring delicacy.  If the Morcai is a spellcaster, they must reroll all spellcasting dice and choose the worse result (Referee's Discretion) when stunned.  This stunning effect wears off once the Morcai has a chance to cool themselves off.    

                                                        by unknown

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