OK - this is supposed to be a species that has made it to my campaign world via a crashed Spelljammer.
I custom built this species for a player who wanted to play a "truly non-human" druid, although their character hasn't been introduced to the campaign yet - I have time to "tweak" the race.
I've never tried to create a custom species before - so I'm sure there's lots of room for improvement - but I do like the way it's starting to shape up.
Any suggestions, or constructive criticism is welcome :)
EDIT: 2018-07-30 - re-wrote the racial traits to reflect the discussions below.
The Ukotha are an intelligent bipedal reptilian species, descending from a line of hunting lizards somewhat analogous to the Komodo Dragon.
Of the species who travel The Flow, the Ukotha are one of the least encountered, least militant, least political, and most knowledgeable in the workings of other worlds.
They are unrivaled in their understanding of Nature, nature based magics, and the shaping and creation of species.
Ukotha Traits
The Ukotha are natural hunters and climbers from extremely hot tropical arboreal biomes, with a highly developed affinity for the regions which they develop, preserve, and use as hunting territories. This caretaker/predator nature is reflected in their natural abilities.
Cold Blooded with Equatorial Climate Origins
Originating in very hot - by terrestrial standards - environments, Ukotha have an increased tolerance for heat. They are, however, quite susceptible to the effects of cold. As such, they gain a bonus of +2 for saving throws involving heat, or Fire damage, but are penalized -2 on saving throws involving Cold damage and effects.
Thick Hide
Ukotha skin is thick and resilient with a rough pebbled texture, and conveys a +1 bonus to unarmored defense
Natural Climbing Ability
Ukotha gain a natural proficiency in in Acrobatics, which is reflective of their development in arboreal environments, and their natural tree climbing abilities.
Predator Sight
As natural hunters and predators, Ukotha have Darkvision to 60'. They also have the ability to voluntarily raise and lower a nictitating membrane over their eyes, which protects their eyes in face of smoke, particulates, or other airborne irritants. However, when this membrane is lowered, their visual range is cut by by 50%, and all perception rolls are made at Disadvantage.
Natural Bite Attack
Ukotha have the ability to deliver a Finesse bite Attack inflicting 1d4 + Dex Bonus damage.
Paralytic Poison
Once/long rest, Ukotha can voluntarily attempt to poison the victim of a successful Natural Bite Attack as a bonus action. This is treated as touch based Sleep spell, cast at first level: (5d8 of non-lethal "sleep damage").
If the poison is not sufficient to render the target unconscious ( for one minute ), the target is still made lethargic by the poison, and has Disadvantage on ability checks, and halved speed ( 2 points of Exhaustion ), until the end of the Ukotha's next turn/round.
Wise & Nimble
The Ukotha are highly attuned to their environment, and are natural climbers and hunters. As such, they enjoy +2 bonus to Wisdom ability scores, and a corresponding +1 to Dexterity ability Scores.
Nature Affinity
Ukotha have a natural affinity for communicating with the plants and animals of their territory. They usually develop an ability to either gather general impressions of events from plants, or to communicate simple concepts to small animals.
Commune With Plants
By concentrating on the plant life in a region, the Ukotha may gather impressions of what has occurred in the region, within 30' radius of their current location, and limited to events of the past 24 hours. Impressions are limited to weather changes, movement of creatures, or other macro effects. Information on the passage of creatures is limited to general types ( humanoid, large herbivores, predator animals ), general impressions of numbers, and time is accurate to within +/-3 hours.
OR
Speak with Small Beasts
Through the use of sounds and gestures, the Ukotha is able to communicate a single simple concepts to a single Small or Tiny sized beast. The beast must be within 30', be able to see and hear the speaker, and cannot have an intelligence higher than 3. The concept communicated must be described by the Player using no more than 5 words, and these words are limited to Nouns, Verbs, and physically based Adjectives. The beast is not compelled to cooperate or assist by this ability, but will at least attend the creature attempting to communicate so long as the actions and "words" of the speaker are not threatening or hostile. At DM discretion, the Ukotha Player may gain a Social skill roll ( Persuasion, Deception, Intimidation ) depending on the concept communicated.
Appearance
The Ukotha are an intelligent, omnivorous, bipedal reptilian species, descending from a line of hunting lizards somewhat analogous to the Komodo Dragon.
Adults stand somewhere between 5 and 6 feet in height, with a lithe muscular build. They walk upright in a bipedal gait - although their legs are constructed to support a Digitigradegait ( such as Cats or Birds ), and the tail - which reaches to knee height off the ground - is largely vestigial or used for balance.
Their digits do not have nails, but end in leathery gripping pads. As such, they are usually quite capable as tree-climbers.
Ukotha skin is thick and resilient with a rough pebbled texture. Their coloration tends to be of a single base color, with variations ( lighter coloration on the chest, stomach, and inner thighs, darker coloration toward the center of the back & the central skull ridge ). Coloration varies regionally from dark green to tan-brown.
The organization of their skull and facial features are surprisingly similar to hominids, although their lower part of their face is notably more blocky and muscular than in home sapiens, jutting forward as with chimpanzees. The nose is quite flat to the face, drawing air in through "side slit" nostrils.
The have no external ears, but have "ear openings" in the sides of their skulls.
Their eyes are surprisingly human in their appearance, save that the Ukotha have a nictitating membrane which they can voluntarily lower ( reducing vision distances to half, and putting perception checks at disadvantages ). There is little variation in iris color in the species, with all individuals having a dark grey-black iris.
Ukotha arms are slightly proportionally longer than those of humans.
Origin & Culture
The Ukotha originated in the deep jungles of their world of Okemos
They have a cultural organization similar to that of the great hunting cats of Earth. Individuals belong to loosely affiliated clan groups, which gather for ceremonial and cultural purposes, but individuals maintain private territories which support them through hunting and careful husbandry and shaping of edible and medical plants .
Status in the Ukotha culture is based on reputation, and reputation is based on demonstrated mastery, conservation, and knowledge of one's territory - as well as demonstrated ability in nature based magic, and the creation of new species or variations of existing ones.
There is no social distinction based around the amount of territory a single Ukotha maintains; but the skill and efficiency with which they manage it is tied to social prestige. Females of child bearing years necessarily tend to control larger personal territories, as is required to support their offspring.
Reproduction & Family Life
The Ukotha are viviparous reptiles, with a single live birth occurring no more than once per year as the norm. However, births are governed by clan policy, economic exchange, and availability of territory, and it is unusual for Ukotha to reproduce more than twice in their lifetimes. Twins are an extremely uncommon occurrence ( 1 in 60,000 ), with all such births resulting in identical twins. Multiple births are unknown.
Very young Ukotha are raised exclusively by their mothers and are initially educated by them, although between the ages of 12 and 21 are traditionally "apprenticed" to Ukotha of both genders for further training in hunting, plant and animal husbandry, understanding of the natural world, Ukotha culture, and in some rare cases with high-prestige mentorships - magic. Such apprenticeships typically last a period of some 1-2 years ( although training in Arcane arts, can last 2-3 times as long as a typical apprenticeship ) and a young Ukotha will typically serve 4-6 such apprenticeships until somewhere around the age of 21 they acquire their own territory.
Practical arrangements of such mentorships vary. With mentors occupying territory close to that of a young Ukotha's mother, they may still reside in their mother's territory, and travel daily to the territory of their mentor. With more geographically distant arrangement, they may reside in the territory of their mentor, making occasional journeys to their home territory.
Being petitioned as mentor is a mark of status within the Ukotha culture.
Adolescents end their apprenticeship phase by claiming territories held by an aging Ukotha, adopting a "caretaker" role of the elderly Ukotha. Such arrangements are governed by clan agreements, as are mating agreements and birthrates to carefully balance the Ukotha population to the available territory.
Familial bonds past adulthood and the acquisition of personal territory are casual, at best. Ukotha are aware of their lineage, but primary affiliation is to the clan. Clan tracking of the lineage and bloodlines of its members is extensive.
Political Organization
The basis of cultural interaction is the Clan Assembly. Typically governed by the Ukotha lunar calendar, a clan will gather every few lunar cycles in the neutral territory set aside for such gatherings. Care and management of the territory is held jointly by all clan members, and it is a mark of status and distinction to be asked to one of the caretakers of the region. Typically clan caretakers are chosen on an annual basis.
It is also a mark of status to be asked to contribute unique species of plants and animals from within an individual's private preserve to the clan territory.
Assemblies last for a span of 5-8 days, and are a mix of social gathering, celebration, political negotiation and discussions, legal court , economic exchange, and "shop talk". Assemblies typically culminate in the Speaking, which is a council where clan policies are brought before all adults in the clan, discussed, debated, and ultimately ruled on through a direct-democratic vote to which all clan members are bound. Disputes between individuals and groups are also brought before, and ruled on, by the Speaking.
Assemblies are also a place for individuals to demonstrate skill and knowledge, in ritual debates that - to a large extent - parallel the debate practices of Tibetan monks. Individuals will ritualistically "debate and present", matters of culture, philosophy, knowledge, magic, and nature. The format of these debates will vary from clan-to-clan, but they are one part ritual, one part contest, and one part "shop-talk".
Social prestige is also highly swayed by how well one performs in such debates. Young Ukotha who have recently claimed new territory are expected to participate in these contests - proposing and defending the positions and opinions they have formed during their apprenticeships.
Larger political organization comes through "assemblies of assemblies", with individuals being elected from assemblies to speak for the clan in larger assemblies. There is no set number of "levels" of government, and federations of assemblies rise, fall, and re-form fluidly on a regular basis.
Economic Organization
Cultural and economic exchange within the Ukotha culture is based on exchange of knowledge, expertise, labor, cultural services such as mentorship, mating agreements ( the concept of romantic love being almost completely absent from Ukotha culture), and valued plant and animal lines.
Inter-clan trading occurs regularly, and such proposed agreements are brought before clan assemblies. In some cases, a larger assembly composed of representatives from member clans, will rule on larger regional trade issues.
History
The Ukotha do not have a concept of "deep history", with the memory of individuals and clan assemblies only reaching back a few generations. While they maintain a rich oral traditional of legend and folk-wisdom, it is not the "objective" form of history held by modern western humans.
They have been the dominant form of life on their world, and its caretakers, for as long as they can remember.
Technology
Ukotha technology is almost entirely based on biology, ecology, husbandry of natural and created species, and artifacts which can be constructed from the products of such.
A few of the clans bordering on mountainous territory or the equatorial regions have expanded their areas of knowledge to encompass geology, mining, and metallurgy - and any metal based tools and ornaments in Ukotha culture originate in these regions, and disseminate through the Ukotha through clan-to-clan trading.
Ukotha understanding of metalworking is solid and of a practical nature. They lack sophisticated metallurgical knowledge, and decorative metalworking is all but unknown.
However, the Ukotha are quite sophisticated in their understanding and use of nature base magic.
A mistake that many of those who are only casually familar with the Ukotha make is to view them as technologically primitive - discounting the many species which the Ukotha have molded and created to fill the needs of their culture.
Conflict & Warfare
Direct physical conflict between Ukotha outside of childhood or adolescence is almost unknown. Personal physical violence within the Ukotha species is viewed as a deep social aberration, although as a hunter species, the Ukotha are certainly capable of "violence" to lesser species.
Physical contests between Ukothians definitely exist - even extending to "extra-legal" ritual forms of dueling to settle individual disputes - but such contests only inflict permanent harm through misfortune and accident.
Since weapons in the Ukotha are almost exclusively used for hunting purposes they tend to favor the atlatl, bow, lasso, snare, etc. Weapons whose development originates from large scale warfare - swords, crossbows, etc. - are unknown.
As befits their hunter species origins, the Ukotha secrete a paralytic poison which they can administer ( voluntarily ) through their bite. This bite is used for all hunting kills, by tradition. Use of such a bite in conflict with other Ukotha is considered taboo, and is an insult of the highest severity; treating an adversary as if they were a prey species.
Conflict between clan groups is almost always brought before an "assembly of assemblies", with representatives from as many clans as the disputing parties can convince to participate.
If this should fail, there are ritualized forms of inter-clan warfare - analogs to individual-on-individual dueling. Such conflicts are conducted with stylized and ritualistic "rules of engagement". While permanent injury and harm do occur more often as a result of such "duels" death is rare - although not unheard of.
Aberrations where individuals perform acts of violence outside the ritualized forms are dealt with quickly and harshly by the clan. Loss of any social status and exile in such cases is the usual outcome. Such cases are rare.
An entire clan violating the ritualized forms of inter-clan warfare will precipitate the quick and decisive reaction of all neighboring clans. Surviving individuals of such transgressor clans are exiled into widely separated territories so the clan can never reform. This has never happened within living memory, and such occurrences are relegated to dark cautionary legends of the Ukotha oral tradition.
Since first contact with beings from outside Okemos, there have been two known incursions of outside species trying to establish dominance over the Ukotha. In both cases, the Ukotha withdrew from the contested regions, and used their mastery over the flora and fauna to conduct indirect "ecological warfare" against the invading cultures. In both cases, the incursions were withdrawn within a generation.
The Ukotha have never demonstrated any interest in expanding beyond their world.
Participation in Wildspace and The Flow
Long centuries ago the Ukotha were contacted by the species travelling The Flow.
The Ukotha clans ceded the unused dessert territories of their equatorial regions to outposts maintained by outer world species, for purposes of trade and cultural exchange.
Agricultural and biological trade of the creations of the Ukotha form the basis of export trade from Okemos, and the Ukotha themselves have little interest in the import of physical goods. They do maintain an interest in knowledge and the artistic products of other cultures, however.
Direct Ukotha participation in inter-world trade and exploration is rare, and is conducted by Voyagers. These are individuals which have given up their personal territories to younger Ukotha, in order to travel other worlds. Voyagers are interested in expanding the base of Ukotha knowledge by studying the ecologies of other worlds.
Voyager Ukotha are highly sought amongst those exploring the fringes of the known regions of The Flow - as their quick understanding of the ecologies and dangers of new worlds has saved more than one expedition.
Typically Voyagers will eventually return to Okemos, where they are allowed to claim new territories by their clan, as the presences of a living Voyager within the clan is a fantastic resource for new knowledge for the clan. Such Voyagers enjoy a high level of prestige within their clans, due to their unique knowledge and experiences.
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I have issues with vulnerabilities. As a player, it can be incredibly frustrating to have a white dragon decimate you while your party members are still ok or have cold resistance armor make you lIke every other party member. Even the DMG concedes that vulnerability is a necessity, not a feature, of monster design and you should instead give the monster less hit points.
The additional poison damage should be 1d6 at third level I would add that the poison bite can paralyze the target.
Edit: Overall, it's very similar to lizardfolk and that could work just as well.
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
I'll have to give the vulnerability some thought. I thought that balancing it with a resistance would work for mechanical balance: As a player, it's probably pretty cool to be the one who can stand up to the red dragon while your party members are diving for cover, as well. The combination might mean learning to pick your battles? Like I said: needs more thought.
I have a hard time finding a plausible "in world" reason for poison damage to scale with level. Bite damage can scale with level skill, for sure, especially as mechanically it's a finesse weapon. Innate creature abilities tend to scale with age - but I realize that the scaling is a game mechanic balance thing, and might be inescapable.
As for flat out paralyzation ( which I like the idea of ) - that's not part of the ( incomplete ) point system I was using - but innate spell casting is. If I equate that to a Sleep spell, it's a 1/2 point buy, which is the same cost as was attributing to the poison as a "natural weapon" - so no problems swapping out the damage for paralyzation.
So how about this: Poison damage as a weapon vanishes, and goes straight for paralytic poison. As with sleep, the target must make a save vs a DC of ( 8 + Player Proficiency + Constitution Bonus ), or be paralyzed for a time. This allows the poison to scale with level as well. I think Constitution here as the "Casting Stat" as this is a natural bodily ability of the creature. Poison is usable once per long rest.
What about the idea of amplification, as the Blood Hunter class does? Player has the option of suffering 1d4 points of damage to double down on the proficiency component of the poisons DC ( 8 + 2xPlayer Proficiency + Constitution Bonus )? This represents them straining their system to pump out a whole lot of poison.
How long the paralysis would last is trickier. I'm of two minds: until the target succeeds in a save against the poison with saves being done once/minute, or a number of minutes equal to a die roll, with the die in question scaling with level as well ( 1d4 to 1d12, stepped with level ). I think either works - especially as the DC scales with the players rising proficiency stat.
Yeah - I really did get a "reskinned lizardfolk" vibe myself, save for the lore ( which, admittedly is all fluff, not crunch :p ). Not terrible in my setting, as the Lizardfolk aren't a thing in my campaign, but any suggestions on how to make them more "alien" and distinct are welcome :)
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First off, the flavor text is fascinating. I can tell you put a lot of thought into it, and it's enough to distinguish the Ukotha from lizardfolk by itself. The one thing I'd suggest here is that you describe a few exceptions to the Ukotha ways. What is it like to be a non-traditional Ukotha, a bad Ukotha, one who disdains a nature-oriented path? The description makes their culture sound very monolithic (which is also true of most of the standard race descriptions) and insular, which may make it difficult for players to imagine themselves as one.
As to the racial traits:
I'm inclined to say you should drop the resistance/vulnerability altogether. Is this meant to represent that komodo dragons are cold-blooded? If so, I'd suggest creating a new racial trait that represents this better. Maybe a bonus that only applies during the day or when the ambient temperature is high?
+2 AC is too much. Even +1 AC is very good as a racial trait. I'd suggest you lower this to +1 or instead give a bonus only to unarmored AC (like the lizardfolk's base AC 13).
It might make sense to grant Athletics proficiency to represent the Ukotha's natural climbing ability, especially because they don't get a bonus to Strength. Alternatively, you could grant them a base climb speed.
As of now, the druidic aspect of this race is somewhat poorly represented in its racial traits. Maybe you could add an ability that gives a touch of natural magic?
For the paralytic poison, I think sleep is a natural analogue. Though I'd say just make it sleep delivered by bite, once per long rest, and call it a day.
Thank you, these are all really good suggestions :)
I was especially taken by your observation that the race seems overly monolithic. I may look into not only detailing the Ukotha which are aberrant ( at least in the eyes of the main society ) , but also sub-racial variants. The Ukotha of the desert equatorial region, or who have spread into the small sub-polar tundra regions of their world are likely to show some variation - just as the Inuit, Australian aboriginal people, and Anglo-Saxon populations all have have recognizably different sets of traits within the Human species.
In practical terms, I may never really use much of that, as the race was really built for a single player-character who is the sole-survivor of a crashed Spelljammer on my campaign world - but I like it for completionist reasons :D
Because I'm using a points system, dropping the AC down a notch and granting Athletics balances nicely.I hadn't realized until your comment that a +2 bonus would include while armored - RAW - which wasn't my intention; I was envisioning a base unarmored score, similar to the lizard-folk.
I agree that sleep is a natural analog here, and it was how i have priced it out in the point system - as an innate 1st level spell. Taking it back from a Constitution/Paralysis save to a 5d8 "sleep damage" as per the spell seems to make sense - although in the case of a failure to paralyze or render unconscious I might still want to impose 2 points of Exhaustion for 1 minute, or 1d4 rounds. The reasoning here being that a sleep spell would just fail, but the victim of a poisoned bite still has the poison in their system - and I think that in the presence of the high activity/adrenaline of combat, the victim's system might break it down faster (1d4 rounds v.s. 10 rounds/1 minute).
Continuing in that vein ( pardon the pun ), removing the vulnerability/resistance seems to be a common suggestion. Perhaps simply have Ukotha roll a save daily in below freezing climates or suffer exhaustion is an option here. Advantage in such rolls can be given if suitably shielded from the elements ( Ukotha parkas! ) - but not abandoned, as the Ukotha aren't efficiently exothermic. I would also entertain dispensing with the roll entirely if they are able to spend an hour or so, every few hours, in a warm environment again - which when attempting to travel would slow their progress ( 2/3 speed perhaps - 2 hours travel, 1 hour warming ).
Giving them a natural Speak with Plants ability is an option, but it adds another 1/2 point to the build ( and they're already a bit pricey - not as bad as Elves, but a 1/2 point better than Humans ). Decreasing their speed by 5ft/round would balance this.
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Subraces are certainly a possibility. I'm interested to see what comes of that.
For the AC bonus: if it's an unarmored bonus, it's totally fine. Just change it to the standard wording so that it's clear. But I'd still add the Athletics proficiency.
For the paralytic poison: for an additional effect, two points of exhaustion until the end of the Ukotha's next turn makes sense, but I think anything more than that would push this past the 0.5 value.
For representing their sluggishness in cold conditions: simplify this to disadvantage on saving throws against extreme cold (in effect, the opposite of the Goliath's Mountain Born ability) and call it -0.5. A speed penalty feels unnecessary.
If I'm doing the math right, this keeps you at a 6.5. If you wanted to find a way to fit in speak with plants or to make the poison more potent, then maybe drop the unarmored AC bonus to 12 + Dex.
As a writer, I'm very impressed with your background information. I can only hope the Player will make full use of it (as some players tend to gloss over some details). You look like you gave this a lot of thought so I hope it's well-used.
All that being said, a few minor suggestions with regards to the mechanics:
1) As has been stated, the +2 AC is to high since the character can still use armor. It appears that you're already addressing this so 'nuff said.
2) You list the poison as Paralytic but it simply does damage. I would change it to represent something more akin to a Hold Person spell, complete with Saves etc. Instead of 3 times per Long Rest I would say that it can only be used once per hour. This means that it can only be used once per fight but if the party is doing some sort of all-day hit and run adventure then it might be available. Also, listing it as a Finesse attack seemed a bit odd to me since many bites are simply melee. Any particular reasoning for this?
3) The Resistance/Vulnerability thing is problematic to me because even a creature that can live in hot or cold climates can be killed by magic or a dragon's breath. I might suggest that instead of going with Resistance and Vulnerability, you change these to be +2 to Saves vs fire and heat-based attacks or any environmental effects (like heat stroke etc) and -2 for cold. So you CAN stick your hand into a fire but that doesn't mean you're going to like it.
Thanks everyone for the kind words, and suggestions :)
Here's the current working version:
+2 to Wisdom: +2 points
+1 to Dexterity:+1 point
+2 to Saving throws for Fire and Heat based attacks/effects: +0.5 points
-2 to Saving throws for Cold based attacks/effects: -0.5 points
60' Darkvision: +0.5 point
Acrobatics Proficiency: +0.5 point
Speak with Small Beasts: +0.5 point - this is not the equivalent of Speak with Animals, being more limited. ( 5 words, nouns and verbs ).
Natural Weapon ( bite, 1d4 ): +0.5 point
Paralytic Poison ( Sleep Spell, by touch, once/long rest ):+1 point
That puts the total at 6 points, or "human equivalent".
As for Finesse vs. Melee - I'm not really attached to either flavor - but I am influenced by seeing house-cats hunt. Their bite is more about knowing where and how to bite prey than raw power, and that's kind of what I'm thinking here.
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One point that came out of discussion of the latest revisions with the player, is the request for the inclusion of an Impressions from Plants ability as an optional alternate choice to Speak with Small Beasts - made at the time of character creation.
I think it's a reasonable option, and seems in line with the Ukotha background lore.
Also - so-as not to make the Ukotha "instant Ranger trackers" with the ability to read local plant life, I pulled the use of Speak with Small Beasts / Impressions from Plants back to 3 / long rest.
Impression from Plants
By concentrating on the plant life in a region, the creature may gather impressions of what has occurred in the region, within 150' radius of their current location, and limited to events of the past 24 hours. Impressions are limited to weather changes, movement of creatures, or other macro effects. Information on the passage of creatures is limited to general types ( humanoid, large herbivores, predator animals ), general impressions of numbers, and time is somewhat hazy, perhaps +/-3 hours.
Speak with Small Beasts
Through the use of sounds and gestures, the creatures is able to communicate simple concepts to Small or Tiny Beasts, where the concept can only be described by the Player using no more than 5 words which are limited to Nouns, Verbs, and physically based adjectives. The beast is not compelled to cooperate or assist by this ability, but will at least attend the creature attempting to communicate so long as the actions and "words" of the speaker are not threatening or hostile.
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OK - this is supposed to be a species that has made it to my campaign world via a crashed Spelljammer.
I custom built this species for a player who wanted to play a "truly non-human" druid, although their character hasn't been introduced to the campaign yet - I have time to "tweak" the race.
I've never tried to create a custom species before - so I'm sure there's lots of room for improvement - but I do like the way it's starting to shape up.
Any suggestions, or constructive criticism is welcome :)
EDIT: 2018-07-30 - re-wrote the racial traits to reflect the discussions below.
Ukotha
Pronunciation: yew-KOTH-ah
Created using the Race Creation Guide by James Musicus.
Racial "Musicus Score": 6.5
The Ukotha are an intelligent bipedal reptilian species, descending from a line of hunting lizards somewhat analogous to the Komodo Dragon.
Of the species who travel The Flow, the Ukotha are one of the least encountered, least militant, least political, and most knowledgeable in the workings of other worlds.
They are unrivaled in their understanding of Nature, nature based magics, and the shaping and creation of species.
Ukotha Traits
The Ukotha are natural hunters and climbers from extremely hot tropical arboreal biomes, with a highly developed affinity for the regions which they develop, preserve, and use as hunting territories. This caretaker/predator nature is reflected in their natural abilities.
Cold Blooded with Equatorial Climate Origins
Originating in very hot - by terrestrial standards - environments, Ukotha have an increased tolerance for heat. They are, however, quite susceptible to the effects of cold. As such, they gain a bonus of +2 for saving throws involving heat, or Fire damage, but are penalized -2 on saving throws involving Cold damage and effects.
Thick Hide
Ukotha skin is thick and resilient with a rough pebbled texture, and conveys a +1 bonus to unarmored defense
Natural Climbing Ability
Ukotha gain a natural proficiency in in Acrobatics, which is reflective of their development in arboreal environments, and their natural tree climbing abilities.
Predator Sight
As natural hunters and predators, Ukotha have Darkvision to 60'. They also have the ability to voluntarily raise and lower a nictitating membrane over their eyes, which protects their eyes in face of smoke, particulates, or other airborne irritants. However, when this membrane is lowered, their visual range is cut by by 50%, and all perception rolls are made at Disadvantage.
Natural Bite Attack
Ukotha have the ability to deliver a Finesse bite Attack inflicting 1d4 + Dex Bonus damage.
Paralytic Poison
Once/long rest, Ukotha can voluntarily attempt to poison the victim of a successful Natural Bite Attack as a bonus action. This is treated as touch based Sleep spell, cast at first level: (5d8 of non-lethal "sleep damage").
If the poison is not sufficient to render the target unconscious ( for one minute ), the target is still made lethargic by the poison, and has Disadvantage on ability checks, and halved speed ( 2 points of Exhaustion ), until the end of the Ukotha's next turn/round.
Wise & Nimble
The Ukotha are highly attuned to their environment, and are natural climbers and hunters. As such, they enjoy +2 bonus to Wisdom ability scores, and a corresponding +1 to Dexterity ability Scores.
Nature Affinity
Ukotha have a natural affinity for communicating with the plants and animals of their territory. They usually develop an ability to either gather general impressions of events from plants, or to communicate simple concepts to small animals.
Commune With Plants
By concentrating on the plant life in a region, the Ukotha may gather impressions of what has occurred in the region, within 30' radius of their current location, and limited to events of the past 24 hours. Impressions are limited to weather changes, movement of creatures, or other macro effects. Information on the passage of creatures is limited to general types ( humanoid, large herbivores, predator animals ), general impressions of numbers, and time is accurate to within +/-3 hours.
OR
Speak with Small Beasts
Through the use of sounds and gestures, the Ukotha is able to communicate a single simple concepts to a single Small or Tiny sized beast. The beast must be within 30', be able to see and hear the speaker, and cannot have an intelligence higher than 3. The concept communicated must be described by the Player using no more than 5 words, and these words are limited to Nouns, Verbs, and physically based Adjectives. The beast is not compelled to cooperate or assist by this ability, but will at least attend the creature attempting to communicate so long as the actions and "words" of the speaker are not threatening or hostile. At DM discretion, the Ukotha Player may gain a Social skill roll ( Persuasion, Deception, Intimidation ) depending on the concept communicated.
Appearance
The Ukotha are an intelligent, omnivorous, bipedal reptilian species, descending from a line of hunting lizards somewhat analogous to the Komodo Dragon.
Adults stand somewhere between 5 and 6 feet in height, with a lithe muscular build. They walk upright in a bipedal gait - although their legs are constructed to support a Digitigrade gait ( such as Cats or Birds ), and the tail - which reaches to knee height off the ground - is largely vestigial or used for balance.
Their digits do not have nails, but end in leathery gripping pads. As such, they are usually quite capable as tree-climbers.
Ukotha skin is thick and resilient with a rough pebbled texture. Their coloration tends to be of a single base color, with variations ( lighter coloration on the chest, stomach, and inner thighs, darker coloration toward the center of the back & the central skull ridge ). Coloration varies regionally from dark green to tan-brown.
The organization of their skull and facial features are surprisingly similar to hominids, although their lower part of their face is notably more blocky and muscular than in home sapiens, jutting forward as with chimpanzees. The nose is quite flat to the face, drawing air in through "side slit" nostrils.
The have no external ears, but have "ear openings" in the sides of their skulls.
Their eyes are surprisingly human in their appearance, save that the Ukotha have a nictitating membrane which they can voluntarily lower ( reducing vision distances to half, and putting perception checks at disadvantages ). There is little variation in iris color in the species, with all individuals having a dark grey-black iris.
Ukotha arms are slightly proportionally longer than those of humans.
Origin & Culture
The Ukotha originated in the deep jungles of their world of Okemos
They have a cultural organization similar to that of the great hunting cats of Earth. Individuals belong to loosely affiliated clan groups, which gather for ceremonial and cultural purposes, but individuals maintain private territories which support them through hunting and careful husbandry and shaping of edible and medical plants .
Status in the Ukotha culture is based on reputation, and reputation is based on demonstrated mastery, conservation, and knowledge of one's territory - as well as demonstrated ability in nature based magic, and the creation of new species or variations of existing ones.
There is no social distinction based around the amount of territory a single Ukotha maintains; but the skill and efficiency with which they manage it is tied to social prestige. Females of child bearing years necessarily tend to control larger personal territories, as is required to support their offspring.
Reproduction & Family Life
The Ukotha are viviparous reptiles, with a single live birth occurring no more than once per year as the norm. However, births are governed by clan policy, economic exchange, and availability of territory, and it is unusual for Ukotha to reproduce more than twice in their lifetimes. Twins are an extremely uncommon occurrence ( 1 in 60,000 ), with all such births resulting in identical twins. Multiple births are unknown.
Very young Ukotha are raised exclusively by their mothers and are initially educated by them, although between the ages of 12 and 21 are traditionally "apprenticed" to Ukotha of both genders for further training in hunting, plant and animal husbandry, understanding of the natural world, Ukotha culture, and in some rare cases with high-prestige mentorships - magic. Such apprenticeships typically last a period of some 1-2 years ( although training in Arcane arts, can last 2-3 times as long as a typical apprenticeship ) and a young Ukotha will typically serve 4-6 such apprenticeships until somewhere around the age of 21 they acquire their own territory.
Practical arrangements of such mentorships vary. With mentors occupying territory close to that of a young Ukotha's mother, they may still reside in their mother's territory, and travel daily to the territory of their mentor. With more geographically distant arrangement, they may reside in the territory of their mentor, making occasional journeys to their home territory.
Being petitioned as mentor is a mark of status within the Ukotha culture.
Adolescents end their apprenticeship phase by claiming territories held by an aging Ukotha, adopting a "caretaker" role of the elderly Ukotha. Such arrangements are governed by clan agreements, as are mating agreements and birthrates to carefully balance the Ukotha population to the available territory.
Familial bonds past adulthood and the acquisition of personal territory are casual, at best. Ukotha are aware of their lineage, but primary affiliation is to the clan. Clan tracking of the lineage and bloodlines of its members is extensive.
Political Organization
The basis of cultural interaction is the Clan Assembly. Typically governed by the Ukotha lunar calendar, a clan will gather every few lunar cycles in the neutral territory set aside for such gatherings. Care and management of the territory is held jointly by all clan members, and it is a mark of status and distinction to be asked to one of the caretakers of the region. Typically clan caretakers are chosen on an annual basis.
It is also a mark of status to be asked to contribute unique species of plants and animals from within an individual's private preserve to the clan territory.
Assemblies last for a span of 5-8 days, and are a mix of social gathering, celebration, political negotiation and discussions, legal court , economic exchange, and "shop talk". Assemblies typically culminate in the Speaking, which is a council where clan policies are brought before all adults in the clan, discussed, debated, and ultimately ruled on through a direct-democratic vote to which all clan members are bound. Disputes between individuals and groups are also brought before, and ruled on, by the Speaking.
Assemblies are also a place for individuals to demonstrate skill and knowledge, in ritual debates that - to a large extent - parallel the debate practices of Tibetan monks. Individuals will ritualistically "debate and present", matters of culture, philosophy, knowledge, magic, and nature. The format of these debates will vary from clan-to-clan, but they are one part ritual, one part contest, and one part "shop-talk".
Social prestige is also highly swayed by how well one performs in such debates. Young Ukotha who have recently claimed new territory are expected to participate in these contests - proposing and defending the positions and opinions they have formed during their apprenticeships.
Larger political organization comes through "assemblies of assemblies", with individuals being elected from assemblies to speak for the clan in larger assemblies. There is no set number of "levels" of government, and federations of assemblies rise, fall, and re-form fluidly on a regular basis.
Economic Organization
Cultural and economic exchange within the Ukotha culture is based on exchange of knowledge, expertise, labor, cultural services such as mentorship, mating agreements ( the concept of romantic love being almost completely absent from Ukotha culture), and valued plant and animal lines.
Inter-clan trading occurs regularly, and such proposed agreements are brought before clan assemblies. In some cases, a larger assembly composed of representatives from member clans, will rule on larger regional trade issues.
History
The Ukotha do not have a concept of "deep history", with the memory of individuals and clan assemblies only reaching back a few generations. While they maintain a rich oral traditional of legend and folk-wisdom, it is not the "objective" form of history held by modern western humans.
They have been the dominant form of life on their world, and its caretakers, for as long as they can remember.
Technology
Ukotha technology is almost entirely based on biology, ecology, husbandry of natural and created species, and artifacts which can be constructed from the products of such.
A few of the clans bordering on mountainous territory or the equatorial regions have expanded their areas of knowledge to encompass geology, mining, and metallurgy - and any metal based tools and ornaments in Ukotha culture originate in these regions, and disseminate through the Ukotha through clan-to-clan trading.
Ukotha understanding of metalworking is solid and of a practical nature. They lack sophisticated metallurgical knowledge, and decorative metalworking is all but unknown.
However, the Ukotha are quite sophisticated in their understanding and use of nature base magic.
A mistake that many of those who are only casually familar with the Ukotha make is to view them as technologically primitive - discounting the many species which the Ukotha have molded and created to fill the needs of their culture.
Conflict & Warfare
Direct physical conflict between Ukotha outside of childhood or adolescence is almost unknown. Personal physical violence within the Ukotha species is viewed as a deep social aberration, although as a hunter species, the Ukotha are certainly capable of "violence" to lesser species.
Physical contests between Ukothians definitely exist - even extending to "extra-legal" ritual forms of dueling to settle individual disputes - but such contests only inflict permanent harm through misfortune and accident.
Since weapons in the Ukotha are almost exclusively used for hunting purposes they tend to favor the atlatl, bow, lasso, snare, etc. Weapons whose development originates from large scale warfare - swords, crossbows, etc. - are unknown.
As befits their hunter species origins, the Ukotha secrete a paralytic poison which they can administer ( voluntarily ) through their bite. This bite is used for all hunting kills, by tradition. Use of such a bite in conflict with other Ukotha is considered taboo, and is an insult of the highest severity; treating an adversary as if they were a prey species.
Conflict between clan groups is almost always brought before an "assembly of assemblies", with representatives from as many clans as the disputing parties can convince to participate.
If this should fail, there are ritualized forms of inter-clan warfare - analogs to individual-on-individual dueling. Such conflicts are conducted with stylized and ritualistic "rules of engagement". While permanent injury and harm do occur more often as a result of such "duels" death is rare - although not unheard of.
Aberrations where individuals perform acts of violence outside the ritualized forms are dealt with quickly and harshly by the clan. Loss of any social status and exile in such cases is the usual outcome. Such cases are rare.
An entire clan violating the ritualized forms of inter-clan warfare will precipitate the quick and decisive reaction of all neighboring clans. Surviving individuals of such transgressor clans are exiled into widely separated territories so the clan can never reform. This has never happened within living memory, and such occurrences are relegated to dark cautionary legends of the Ukotha oral tradition.
Since first contact with beings from outside Okemos, there have been two known incursions of outside species trying to establish dominance over the Ukotha. In both cases, the Ukotha withdrew from the contested regions, and used their mastery over the flora and fauna to conduct indirect "ecological warfare" against the invading cultures. In both cases, the incursions were withdrawn within a generation.
The Ukotha have never demonstrated any interest in expanding beyond their world.
Participation in Wildspace and The Flow
Long centuries ago the Ukotha were contacted by the species travelling The Flow.
The Ukotha clans ceded the unused dessert territories of their equatorial regions to outposts maintained by outer world species, for purposes of trade and cultural exchange.
Agricultural and biological trade of the creations of the Ukotha form the basis of export trade from Okemos, and the Ukotha themselves have little interest in the import of physical goods. They do maintain an interest in knowledge and the artistic products of other cultures, however.
Direct Ukotha participation in inter-world trade and exploration is rare, and is conducted by Voyagers. These are individuals which have given up their personal territories to younger Ukotha, in order to travel other worlds. Voyagers are interested in expanding the base of Ukotha knowledge by studying the ecologies of other worlds.
Voyager Ukotha are highly sought amongst those exploring the fringes of the known regions of The Flow - as their quick understanding of the ecologies and dangers of new worlds has saved more than one expedition.
Typically Voyagers will eventually return to Okemos, where they are allowed to claim new territories by their clan, as the presences of a living Voyager within the clan is a fantastic resource for new knowledge for the clan. Such Voyagers enjoy a high level of prestige within their clans, due to their unique knowledge and experiences.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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I have issues with vulnerabilities. As a player, it can be incredibly frustrating to have a white dragon decimate you while your party members are still ok or have cold resistance armor make you lIke every other party member. Even the DMG concedes that vulnerability is a necessity, not a feature, of monster design and you should instead give the monster less hit points.
The additional poison damage should be 1d6 at third level I would add that the poison bite can paralyze the target.
Edit: Overall, it's very similar to lizardfolk and that could work just as well.
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"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
I really appreciate the feedback :)
I'll have to give the vulnerability some thought. I thought that balancing it with a resistance would work for mechanical balance: As a player, it's probably pretty cool to be the one who can stand up to the red dragon while your party members are diving for cover, as well. The combination might mean learning to pick your battles? Like I said: needs more thought.
I have a hard time finding a plausible "in world" reason for poison damage to scale with level. Bite damage can scale with level skill, for sure, especially as mechanically it's a finesse weapon. Innate creature abilities tend to scale with age - but I realize that the scaling is a game mechanic balance thing, and might be inescapable.
As for flat out paralyzation ( which I like the idea of ) - that's not part of the ( incomplete ) point system I was using - but innate spell casting is. If I equate that to a Sleep spell, it's a 1/2 point buy, which is the same cost as was attributing to the poison as a "natural weapon" - so no problems swapping out the damage for paralyzation.
So how about this: Poison damage as a weapon vanishes, and goes straight for paralytic poison. As with sleep, the target must make a save vs a DC of ( 8 + Player Proficiency + Constitution Bonus ), or be paralyzed for a time. This allows the poison to scale with level as well. I think Constitution here as the "Casting Stat" as this is a natural bodily ability of the creature. Poison is usable once per long rest.
What about the idea of amplification, as the Blood Hunter class does? Player has the option of suffering 1d4 points of damage to double down on the proficiency component of the poisons DC ( 8 + 2xPlayer Proficiency + Constitution Bonus )? This represents them straining their system to pump out a whole lot of poison.
How long the paralysis would last is trickier. I'm of two minds: until the target succeeds in a save against the poison with saves being done once/minute, or a number of minutes equal to a die roll, with the die in question scaling with level as well ( 1d4 to 1d12, stepped with level ). I think either works - especially as the DC scales with the players rising proficiency stat.
Yeah - I really did get a "reskinned lizardfolk" vibe myself, save for the lore ( which, admittedly is all fluff, not crunch :p ). Not terrible in my setting, as the Lizardfolk aren't a thing in my campaign, but any suggestions on how to make them more "alien" and distinct are welcome :)
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
First off, the flavor text is fascinating. I can tell you put a lot of thought into it, and it's enough to distinguish the Ukotha from lizardfolk by itself. The one thing I'd suggest here is that you describe a few exceptions to the Ukotha ways. What is it like to be a non-traditional Ukotha, a bad Ukotha, one who disdains a nature-oriented path? The description makes their culture sound very monolithic (which is also true of most of the standard race descriptions) and insular, which may make it difficult for players to imagine themselves as one.
As to the racial traits:
For the paralytic poison, I think sleep is a natural analogue. Though I'd say just make it sleep delivered by bite, once per long rest, and call it a day.
Thank you, these are all really good suggestions :)
I was especially taken by your observation that the race seems overly monolithic. I may look into not only detailing the Ukotha which are aberrant ( at least in the eyes of the main society ) , but also sub-racial variants. The Ukotha of the desert equatorial region, or who have spread into the small sub-polar tundra regions of their world are likely to show some variation - just as the Inuit, Australian aboriginal people, and Anglo-Saxon populations all have have recognizably different sets of traits within the Human species.
In practical terms, I may never really use much of that, as the race was really built for a single player-character who is the sole-survivor of a crashed Spelljammer on my campaign world - but I like it for completionist reasons :D
Because I'm using a points system, dropping the AC down a notch and granting Athletics balances nicely.I hadn't realized until your comment that a +2 bonus would include while armored - RAW - which wasn't my intention; I was envisioning a base unarmored score, similar to the lizard-folk.
I agree that sleep is a natural analog here, and it was how i have priced it out in the point system - as an innate 1st level spell. Taking it back from a Constitution/Paralysis save to a 5d8 "sleep damage" as per the spell seems to make sense - although in the case of a failure to paralyze or render unconscious I might still want to impose 2 points of Exhaustion for 1 minute, or 1d4 rounds. The reasoning here being that a sleep spell would just fail, but the victim of a poisoned bite still has the poison in their system - and I think that in the presence of the high activity/adrenaline of combat, the victim's system might break it down faster (1d4 rounds v.s. 10 rounds/1 minute).
Continuing in that vein ( pardon the pun ), removing the vulnerability/resistance seems to be a common suggestion. Perhaps simply have Ukotha roll a save daily in below freezing climates or suffer exhaustion is an option here. Advantage in such rolls can be given if suitably shielded from the elements ( Ukotha parkas! ) - but not abandoned, as the Ukotha aren't efficiently exothermic. I would also entertain dispensing with the roll entirely if they are able to spend an hour or so, every few hours, in a warm environment again - which when attempting to travel would slow their progress ( 2/3 speed perhaps - 2 hours travel, 1 hour warming ).
Giving them a natural Speak with Plants ability is an option, but it adds another 1/2 point to the build ( and they're already a bit pricey - not as bad as Elves, but a 1/2 point better than Humans ). Decreasing their speed by 5ft/round would balance this.
Excellent feedback! Thank you :)
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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Subraces are certainly a possibility. I'm interested to see what comes of that.
For the AC bonus: if it's an unarmored bonus, it's totally fine. Just change it to the standard wording so that it's clear. But I'd still add the Athletics proficiency.
For the paralytic poison: for an additional effect, two points of exhaustion until the end of the Ukotha's next turn makes sense, but I think anything more than that would push this past the 0.5 value.
For representing their sluggishness in cold conditions: simplify this to disadvantage on saving throws against extreme cold (in effect, the opposite of the Goliath's Mountain Born ability) and call it -0.5. A speed penalty feels unnecessary.
If I'm doing the math right, this keeps you at a 6.5. If you wanted to find a way to fit in speak with plants or to make the poison more potent, then maybe drop the unarmored AC bonus to 12 + Dex.
As a writer, I'm very impressed with your background information. I can only hope the Player will make full use of it (as some players tend to gloss over some details). You look like you gave this a lot of thought so I hope it's well-used.
All that being said, a few minor suggestions with regards to the mechanics:
1) As has been stated, the +2 AC is to high since the character can still use armor. It appears that you're already addressing this so 'nuff said.
2) You list the poison as Paralytic but it simply does damage. I would change it to represent something more akin to a Hold Person spell, complete with Saves etc. Instead of 3 times per Long Rest I would say that it can only be used once per hour. This means that it can only be used once per fight but if the party is doing some sort of all-day hit and run adventure then it might be available. Also, listing it as a Finesse attack seemed a bit odd to me since many bites are simply melee. Any particular reasoning for this?
3) The Resistance/Vulnerability thing is problematic to me because even a creature that can live in hot or cold climates can be killed by magic or a dragon's breath. I might suggest that instead of going with Resistance and Vulnerability, you change these to be +2 to Saves vs fire and heat-based attacks or any environmental effects (like heat stroke etc) and -2 for cold. So you CAN stick your hand into a fire but that doesn't mean you're going to like it.
All in all, very well done.
Thanks everyone for the kind words, and suggestions :)
Here's the current working version:
That puts the total at 6 points, or "human equivalent".
As for Finesse vs. Melee - I'm not really attached to either flavor - but I am influenced by seeing house-cats hunt. Their bite is more about knowing where and how to bite prey than raw power, and that's kind of what I'm thinking here.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
Whoops! Forgot the natural armor:
So that pushes them to 6.5 points - still reasonable.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
6.5 points seems fine. Nothing I see there looks breaking and the -2 to the Cold Save is a good balance IMHO.
One point that came out of discussion of the latest revisions with the player, is the request for the inclusion of an Impressions from Plants ability as an optional alternate choice to Speak with Small Beasts - made at the time of character creation.
I think it's a reasonable option, and seems in line with the Ukotha background lore.
Also - so-as not to make the Ukotha "instant Ranger trackers" with the ability to read local plant life, I pulled the use of Speak with Small Beasts / Impressions from Plants back to 3 / long rest.
Impression from Plants
By concentrating on the plant life in a region, the creature may gather impressions of what has occurred in the region, within 150' radius of their current location, and limited to events of the past 24 hours. Impressions are limited to weather changes, movement of creatures, or other macro effects. Information on the passage of creatures is limited to general types ( humanoid, large herbivores, predator animals ), general impressions of numbers, and time is somewhat hazy, perhaps +/-3 hours.
Speak with Small Beasts
Through the use of sounds and gestures, the creatures is able to communicate simple concepts to Small or Tiny Beasts, where the concept can only be described by the Player using no more than 5 words which are limited to Nouns, Verbs, and physically based adjectives. The beast is not compelled to cooperate or assist by this ability, but will at least attend the creature attempting to communicate so long as the actions and "words" of the speaker are not threatening or hostile.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.