Homebrew Cephelon Species Details
"I'm Cephelon, a fact of which I'm sure you're aware. Coloured skin, big eyes, what else would I be? What you might not know is that these tentacles of mine let me pick up pheromones from other beings, which I translate into an understanding of their emotional states. That's how I know you are terrified."
Cephelons were amphibious, capable of breathing both air and water. They were known to be capable of surviving in extreme environments. Their skin could be green, blue, gray, purple, orange, or yellow. One of their most notable features were their large, dark eyes, which were a product of evolution; through these eyes, they could spot details in lightless oceans.
Tendrills
Another notable detail were their long tendrils, which grew from their heads. These tendrils were chemical-sensing, and most notably used to detect pheromones. Cephelons could translate pheromones emitted by other beings into an understanding of a being's emotional state.
Warriors of Peace
The Cephelons were known as a peaceful race, and disliked unnecessary violence. However, when forced to fight, they were skilled warriors. They had great respect for what they called the "ocean spirit," which they believed existed to maintain the balance of nature on Vihinus. Cephelon society was prosperous, and they were generous in sharing their resources with others. The species was most comfortable underwater, preferring to be immersed in liquid.
The Cephelon language, Aquan, involved the use of pheromones to communicate. These pheromones could be used to convey complex ideas, including full sentences and map coordinates.
The Ocean Spirit
Cephelons lived underwater on their home planet of Vihinus. The first members of their species lived simply in caves, but over thousands of years, their society spread to encompass large areas of the ocean floor. At first, the Cephelons coexisted peacefully with their neighbors, the Crustaliens, but after some time the Crustaliens grew jealous of the Cephelons and began to threaten them and encroach upon their territory. In response to this, the Queen of the Cephalons warned the Crustaliens that their actions would anger the spirit of the ocean. The Crustaliens recognized that continuing to threaten the Cephelons could lead to war, and so they moved out of Vihinus's ocean and onto a large landmass.
The Cephelons continued to send ambassadors to the Crustaliens, warning them against upsetting the balance of nature, but their representatives were consistently sent away. Eventually, the Crustalien's desire to expand led them to build massive dams to hold back the ocean itself. According to Cephelon legend, this angered the ocean spirit so much that it brought down a storm to destroy the Crustalien empire and submerge it beneath the water. The Cephelons mourned that the Crustaliens had not listened to their warnings, and continued to live peacefully, keeping in mind the importance of the natural balance.
Strangers to the Surface
Given their love of water, most Cephelons have never been to the surface world. They struggle with the idea that they can’t easily move up and down out of water, and the changing of the seasons mystifies them.
Cephelon Quirks
| d6 | Quirk |
|---|---|
| 1 | You phrase requests as orders that you expect to be obeyed. |
| 2 | You are quick to boast your greatness. |
| 3 | You learned an antiquated version of Common and drop “thee” and “thou” into your speech. |
| 4 | You assume that people are telling you the truth about local customs and expectations. |
| 5 | The surface world is a wondrous place, and you catalog all its details in a journal. |
| 6 | You mistakenly assume that surface folk know about and are impressed by your people’s history. |
Cephelon Names
Cephelon names are quite varied. Some names are soft and melodic while others are more guttural and difficult to pronounce. The lengths of their names can also differ a lot, ranging from 1-3 syllables in both first and last names, resulting in some very short and very long names.
Female names tend to have more softer sounds, but the differences can be subtle in many occasions.
Female Cephelon Names: Lal, Si, Ne, Gien, Rhetia, Fuhlun, Wonnu, Rifitut
Male Cephelon Names: Bor, Rreer, Pinn, Sefeg, Widdad, Huspec, Wespreer
Cephelon Surnames: Rhodjet, Milanru, Voarell, Toss, Deejis, Falegdo, Minrozz
Cephelon Traits
Your triton character has the following racial traits.Ability Score Increase
Your Strength, Constitution, and Charisma scores each increase by 1.
Age
Cephelon reach maturity around age 15 and can live up to 200 years.
Size
Cephelon are around the same height as humans, averaging about 5'5" tall. Your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Amphibious
You can breathe air and water.
Control Air and Water
You can cast fog cloud with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast gust of wind with it, and starting at 5th level, you can also cast wall of water with it. Once you cast a spell with this trait, you can’t cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Darkvision
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.
Emissary of the Sea
Aquatic beasts have an extraordinary affinity with your people. You can communicate simple ideas with beasts that can breathe water. They can understand the meaning of your words, though you have no special ability to understand them in return.
Guardians of the Depths
Adapted to even the most extreme ocean depths, you have resistance to cold damage.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and Aquan.
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