Homebrew Evrani Species Details

         I wandered in the desert, thirsty and lost, my fur full of sand and my pride was even more broken than this elven bow that I just bought. What a bad day! The group of cats I recently picked up were exhausted. I thought “So this is the end of my story…i wish i could go to a tavern one last time”, i prey to the gods "I just one to drink one more booze before i die!". When suddenly I saw a caravan in the distance. At first I thought it was a mirage, then I said to myself, "Mirages only make you see water, you moron!". So I went to meet these people. It was to my surprise a group of evrani. These nomadic jackal folk were rare, very rare even, rarer than promises that I keep. They had just killed a wandering undead with their scimitar. I knew that these people hated necromancy and stuff, and that they were talented oracles, but it was the first time that I saw their talents. One of them come to me and whisper.
- "You're not going to die in this desert, not yet..."
I was not sure if it was a menace or a warning for my future. This pissed me of, so i was tented to insult him, but he offer me water. This wasn't the booze i asked for but i was still happy. So, indeed, i didn't die yet, and so my adventure continue.

— Dra'jin the mighty, legend of a tabaxi, chapter 4

 

Few can venture into the desert, but there are a nomadic people who call this inhospitable place their home. Evrani, disdainfully called "Death Hounds" by some, are puny jackal-men and generally thin, but they are much tougher than they appear. Skilled with blades and an unparalleled survivalist, these mysterious people live in a small nomadic community and fear neither sandstorms nor the desert climate. They harbor a hatred for necromancers and undeads, for reasons long forgotten due to the nomadic way of life and the lack of written records of their history.  Some have moved on, abandoning these traditions older than their memory, but others have continued to hunt the undead. Whatever their opinion on this subject, they all inherited from their ancestors some powers related to death particularly effective to fight against the undead.

Strong sens of community

The nomadic tribes of this people lead a way of life based on mutual aid among their members. Each tribe has its own secret words, making it difficult to understand their language. They work, survive and fight as a single individual. They roam the dunes in search of places to settle temporarily, before resuming the eternal journey that is their life. Each tribe is led by an "Eye of Death", a shaman who enforces their religious rites and ensures that any dead found can find eternal rest and not return as undead. From an early age, the children of the tribe are trained by their parents. They learn to wield the scimitar and survive in the wilderness. These nomads are generally opportunistic and take advantage of every opportunity that life has to offer, but they are also ready to help unknown travelers lost in the desert and any member of their kind in need. They rarely come to human town and prefer to roam the wild lands.

The hate of the undead

They harbor a hatred for necromancers and undeads, for unknown reason. The wisest among their kind speak of an ancient curse from which their people have managed to escape. This curse was probably related to the undead, but the why and how is now lost in oblivion. Their community differs on how to deal with their old tradition. Some say that this curse was cast by an undead, in which case their people have learned to fight them to free themselves. So these traditions would be important in case it happens again. But others say their ancestors thoughtlessly swore an oath to a god who asked them to serve as hunters of the undead. This oath concerning only their ancestors, they would no longer have any reason to practice the old customs. In any case, these people are very good at fighting necromancy and all its creations.

Evrani Names

The names of the Evrani are of Egyptian or Arabic origin (given that this race was inspired by the Egyptian god Anubis). You can slightly modifies these names to make feel them less "human" and more close to what we could imagine for a mystical creature, but real Arabic name work fine.

Male Names: Asar, Menes, Yamanu, Ramesses, Iah, Ammon, Amir, Naël, Aban...

Female Names: Lina, Inès, Inaya, Aya, Yasmine, Noûr, Dalida, Isis, Tal...

 

Evrani Traits

Evrani are jackal folk use to surviving in the desert and fighting the undead.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity, Wisdom and Intelligence score increases by 1.

Age

Evrani doesn't mature at the same rate as humans. 7 human years are 1 years to them. They have an adult appearance from their 70s, but they actually take 126 to reach adulthood. They can't have children before this, and they usually have two children maximum in their life. They can live up to 700 years.

Size

Evrani are usually about the same size as humans but are slightly leaner. Your size is Medium but a evrani could be small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Nomad Toughness

You gain advantage on any Constitution saving throw caused by disease, hunger, thirst, heat, cold, sandstorms and desert weather effects.
Plus, you gain proficiency in Survival.

Bane of undead

You have resistance to necrotic damage and you can cast "Gentle repose" at will without materiel component or spell slot.
Plus, you can't be charmed or frightened by undead.

Jackal bite

Your maw is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. Your bite attack count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. If you target a undead creature with this attack, you gain advantage on the attack roll.

Sense of death

You have advantage on perception check based on smell. You can use your smell to tell if a creature is sick, poison, wounded, very old (anything related to a possible near death).
You can easily smell the scent of the undead, so when you make a perception check to smell a undead creature, you had your proficiency bonus (if you are already proficient or have expertise, you add once again your proficiency bonus)

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common. You can speak Evranir, but not read it or write it because your people have no writing because they transmit everything orally.