Homebrew Camazotz Species Details

The Camazotz are one of the world’s least-known races, mostly due to their self-imposed solitude. Indeed, most Camazotz live in the world’s mountains, specifically in isolated, craggy valleys.
The Camazotz are humanoid bats. Their torsos and upper legs resemble that of a human’s, but that is where similarities end. Their lower legs are those of a bat’s, with the ability to grip tight onto various surfaces. Their arms are leathery wings, which end in a single finger which, although dexterous, is hardly a substitution for the five fingers of a human or elf.
A Camazotz’s head is roughly humanoid, but their hair is usually in very pale colors or completely white. On top of that, Camazotz also spot two tall leathery ears on top of their heads, like a bat’s.
The Camazotz use their ears to navigate. They let out subsonic shouts from their mouths, and the sound waves produced ricochet off their surroundings and return to their ears. Thanks to their ears’ size, they are able to pinpoint the location of each sound wave, to the point that they can reproduce the layout of the area they are in solely inside their minds.
This is why the Camazotz prefer to live in mountainous regions. The terrain is jagged and ragged, leading to their soundwaves bouncing off everywhere, allowing them to perceive their surrounding far easier. There are Camazotz that make their living in other areas too – cities and deep forests offer the same advantages as mountains, for examples. But a Camazotz living in a flat field, for example, is a sight rarely seen, precisely because their echolocation is functionally useless in such areas.
The Camazotz live in small communities, usually numbering around two to three hundred members, although larger ones do exist. In general, however, living on the mountains is rough, and smaller communities are preferred, since they can guarantee that everyone is fed far easier.
Those small communities usually have a single leader, most often the eldest Camazotz – if they desire the position. This is because more than everything, such communities require experience to survive. In terms of buildings, the Camazotz prefer to live inside the mountains, either making their homes in preexisting caves or carving out new tunnels from the mountain rock. Since the latter option is pretty difficult to do, many Camazotz houses are in a kind of in-between state, where half the house is built out of wood and stone as most buildings everywhere are, and the other half is dug into the mountain.
The Camazotz are mainly hunters. The mountains aren’t particularly conducive to producing crops, although some communities do maintain small farms. The Camazotz prefer to hunt at night. During that time, they use their echolocation to find their way around. More importantly, the sounds they make for their echolocation are not perceived by most animals, meaning that they are able to sneak up on their prey with relative ease.
For hunting, the Camazotz use mainly spears and javelins – weapons they are able to manipulate with their sole finger on each arm. They are almost completely unable to use a bow. However, more than spears and javelins, the Camazotz use magic.
Indeed, a visitor to Camazotz lands might first perceive the race as pretty simplistic in terms of civilization and accomplishments – after all, they live in ordinary villages. However, one has to see Camazotz magic only once to understand just how advanced they are in that regard.
The single finger the Camazotz possess on each arm is not enough to wield a weapon competently, but it is more than enough to perform the somatic movements required for spells. The Camazotz realized this centuries ago, and have been practicing magic ever since. Each community has its own resident mage or mages, and many more of them live solitary lives higher up on the mountains, free to practice their experiments.
Camazotz can specialize in all kinds of magic. Some villages choose to focus on a specific kind – transmutation, for example. No matter what kind of magic the Camazotz wield, however, they have a distinct preference for spells that produce sound. For example, spells like Shatter are favorites of many among the race, as they stimulate their ears and echolocation.
As such, many Camazotz mages have focused on creating spells solely focused on sound. Such research is privy to only a few mages however, and they are unwilling to share with anybody else unless they trust them completely.
Although the Camazotz are quite isolated, they do maintain some contact with the rest of the world. Traders who make the journey to the Camazotz communities are rewarded with exceptional furs and pieces of ore, and are only too happy to share news of the rest of the world in return.
Although the Camazotz are kept abreast of world developments, most are primarily concerned only with news that might affect them. For example, if their homes are in a mountain range that separates two states about to go to war, then they take action to keep themselves safe during the conflict. In such cases – and in any other such events where the Camazotz live near states that have some influence over their homes – neighboring communities unite to send representatives to the Downlanders, as the Camazotz call everyone who lives below the mountains.
Finally, some Camazotz – like people of all races – simply want to see the world and leave their homes to do just that. Most who do so are at least novice mages, able to lend their talents to adventuring parties or perhaps go study in some magical academy.

Camazotz Traits

Camazotz are humanoid bats.

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence or Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age

Camazotz age a lot faster then humans reaching maturity at the age of 13. Camazotz typically live to the age of 100 but can live to almost 200.

Size

Camazotz range from 4 to 5 feet tall and have bony builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Echolocation

You have blindsight out to a range of 30 ft. You can't use this trait while deafened

Keen Senses

You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Winged Arms

Camazotz have wings for arms with a single apposable finger. Due to their weight, they are unable to achieve flight but can use their wings to dampen falling from heights. When you fall and are not incapacitated, you can subtract up to 50 feet from your fall when calculating your fall damage and can move horizontally 2 feet for every 1 foot you fall.

Also because of their arms they have disadvantage with all weapons.

Language

You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice