Homebrew Minishka Species Details
"I have never seen such dexterity and precision! Their little hands move so quick you can barely keep up and their little legs move so fast I can barely hear them scurry!"
Minishka are tiny creatures most mistakenly took as giant mice. They can be found most commonly in plains, forest, and desserts, but have been known to settle in mountainous and coastal regions.
Tiny Yet Courageous
Standing no more than 2 feet Minishka are Tiny size creatures, and come in many shades of light tan to dark brown with dark lines creating an assortment of patterns through their fur. For typical adults, their whiskers extend off their cheeks by a good foot. Their eyes come in two colors; red or black. They have large round ears that make them quite adept at hearing, and bare tails that aid in steadying their gait as they dash about.
On Borrowed Time
Minishka have rather short natural lifespans compared to other races. Maturity is reached around 5 years with the average life span going to 20 years. Age related demise is commonly circumvented through rings and pendents that have been infused with life preserving magic. This jewelry is worn during the hours Minishka are awake, and taken off to charge in the rays of the morning sun. If the pendant or ring is worn while charging, various effects have been described from a tingling that covers the entire body, to losing the wearer's mind. For this reason, most Minishka dedicate this time during sunrise to prayer or meditation as this is the only time they truly age and mature.
It's a Big World Out There
A pendant or ring with a crystal embedded in it is typically gifted to young Minishka pups as a right of passage to adult hood. This is often a time when young Minishka yearning to explore the world leave home to begin their own adventures. These crystals are either handed down from family members who have passed, or are crafted a new by chipping a shard from a colony's Life Stone. This Life Stone is an immortal crystal that grows centrally in Minishkan colonies. To the typical passerby or novice geologist, these crystals may appear to be just ordinary quartz crystals, however, all Minishka have the ability to feel a nearby Life Stone resonate with their own Life Stone shard allowing them to navigate from colony to colony without the need of maps. This extra sense enables Minishka to be excellent rangers and guides through otherwise difficult treks.
Minishkan Names
Minishka often adopt a more mature name at their Life Stone ceremonies. It is typically easy for this transition as many Minishkan pups have a -y at the end of their name to drop off and don their adult name.
Pup Names: Niikaly, Aoury, Brenny, Calexy, Dovanny, Faley, Forlindony, Landeany, Maevy, Neity, Rassy, Tanfarnory, Wenny
Family Names: Almundur, Arlos, Casimpa, Cunovan, Gairten, Iaval, Katring, Loverich, Oakir, Widan
Subrace
TBA
Minishka Traits
Your Minishka character has a variety of natural abilities, some through instinct, some through years of rigorous training.Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity and wisdom scores increases by 2.
Age
Minishka reach maturity by 5 years of age. If it weren't for their life extending crystals, many would be expected to live to about 20 years of age.
Alignment
Minishka are generally straightforward and open. If you are not in their favor, they will let you know. If you are an ally to them, their allegiance is unyielding and they make the greatest of comrades on the battlefield for this fact. Because of this, many are lawful good, however the more common Minishkan citizens that don't go through combat training tend to stay neutral. Because of their need for efficiency, any form of chaos is snuffed out rather readily.
Size
Minishka range from 1 and a half to just over 2 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Tiny.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 20 feet.
Darkvision
Being primarily nocturnal, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Keen Senses
You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Life Stone Reliance
Minishka rely on their life stones to prolong their naturally short lives. This stone is recharged by the rays of a sun rise. A Minishka can go 3 days without charging their life stone before they begin to age normally again. A life stone's charge can be gauged by the color it is giving off, a bright orange indicates it is fully charged, yellow indicates it is about half charged, while red indicates it is low, and as it nears the end of its charge it peters out like an ember in a fireplace. This resemblance to fire is commonly used to describe life stones among Minishka, commonly greeting each other with "It's good to see your light today" and "keep your fire burning bright" when they bid each other farewell.
Quick Rest
Minishka do not require a full night's rest. Due to their naturally short life span, they recover much more quickly than a human would, gaining the benefits of a full night's rest in 4 hours as opposed to 8. This leaves them with time to spare on their own personal crafts, hobbies, and tasks while the rest of their adventuring party rests. This is also a common time for Minishka to recharge their life stones.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and Minishkan. Minishkan is rough and direct in order to stay as efficient as possible. Minishkan literature is mostly diagrams, manuals, and guides. Minishkan history is often orated as stories told before bed to young pups.
So Smoll
Your small stature can be a boon in certain situations. You can squeeze into tight spaces most humanoids cannot. Creatures large and greater in size have disadvantage on melee attacks against you.
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