Homebrew Batha Badgers Species Details

Family-oriented and often living in large burrows with a long family line, Badgers are fiercely protective of their family and friends, even though it may take some time for people to be regarded with trust and respect. They often go out and adventure after they turn 13 for a few years before returning back to their family burrow, regarding a successful return as their entrance to adulthood. Badgers keep track of their family for generations, and often trust those who are their family however distantly immediately, even if they have never met before. They often don't care for the law, but for people.

Strong and Small

Cunning and fierce, Badgers are often fighters or druids despite their small size and are stronger than they look, being able to carry things that weigh as much as them. Badgers only weigh about thirty pounds and are one to two feet long. They also are survivors, living though things and events that bigger people didn't.

Badgers have fur covering them that is white, brown, and yellow. The shades of brown and yellow on them might vary, but it is uncommon for badgers to have entirely different colors than those three.

Unique life, Unique Outlook

While Bartha Badgers only live to be 100, they do have a unique outlook on life because they live far longer than normal badgers, but also don't live very long compared to species like elves. They are often reclusive and stay in their family burrows besides when on their coming-of-age adventure, but some choose to stay and adventure around the world for longer, with some even setting up their own family den. They don't trust other people besides family when they first meet them, but they do respect them and don't let them know that they don't trust them. They think of themselves as more like other humanoid species than other animal species, and are not wild animals. Badgers who become druids have even been known to have a human or elf as their wildshape form, and some badgers who do have human wildshape forms live their lives as humans and don't let anyone know that they are badgers.

Badgers are strong, protective, and stubborn. It may take you some time to convince them of something, but once you convince them they are often the most enthused over it and convince others that it is right. It also takes time to get their trust if you aren't family, but once you have it they'll always support you. If you betray one, its often impossible to get back their trust. They know when to admit they are wrong, but they also know when to stand their ground.

Badgers oftentimes have a strong cense of justice and don't forgive those who do something wrong, but don't listen to the laws. Badgers will protect those who are wronged or hurt, and a person who betrays one badger has betrayed their entire clan. They are often seen as chaotic for that, but they are also good people.

Clans and Burrows

Badger burrows sprawl beneath the earth, being the size of a village and fitting families that stretch generations long. Everyone in a family, no matter how distantly related, live together in one burrow, with them regarding a first cousin and a fifth cousin as close family. Children are communally raised, with everyone helping raise them together. Badgers don't spend all of their time underground despite living there, and often grow plants and hunt above ground. Badgers are known to be good hunters and potters and often trade meat, fur, and pottery with other species for things they don't catch. They mostly burrow in forests or places near other species settlements, despite not visiting those settlements often besides to trade. They also don't really have set laws, but badgers that do do something wrong like murder or betraying their clan will get cast out of their clan. It is not often that other species are welcome into a burrow after adulthood, as letting them into one is seen as them being made a part of the family, but badgers will adopt children or babies from other species and raise them as badgers. 

Badger societies are based off of clans, which are your family. Clans will stretch back for many generations, with them keeping meticulous family trees and records. A new clan gets started when a badger that had decided to adventure for longer makes their own burrow, and thusly is regarded as the head of a new family. Clans do keep track of what clans are related to each other and do trust other clans that are related even without knowing them, but your family is generally just thought of as your clan. They also worship Batha, their goddess who gave their ancestors their intelligence. If a badger gets cast out of their clan, they often are not seen as badgers anymore and are banned from other clans as well. It is seen as a fate worse than death, and does not happen except if a badger betrays the clan or does a wrong.

Badgers are seen as hunters and explorers, with Badgers often being hired by cartographers or adventurers by other people because of their hardiness and loyalty. They also will get hired to be scouts or to sneak into places for people.

Goddess, Clans, and Adventuring

Badgers who become adventurers might want to explore and meet new people before settling down, getting experience in life that they wouldn't have otherwise. After adventuring and exploring for a few years, they might return to their clan to become an adult or keep adventuring for a while longer before settling down and making a new clan. They often go our and adventure for around three years, starting at thirteen when they become a teenager but are still regarded as a child and returning at around sixteen as an adult. They also will go out and adventure to revenge someone or right a wrong someone else did. 

SLOW TO TRUST

Badgers respect other races and view them highly, but still take years to fully trust people. They won't trust someone who isn't family until they have seen them when facing hardship, triumph, disrespect, and other situations. They often will trust the people who they went on their coming of age adventure with, having seen them in many unideal situations far quicker than with most other people, and may even induct them into their family, the highest honor someone can get from a Badger. Once they do trust you, they would move the world for you, but it takes some time to get them to trust you.

 

Badger Names

Badger's names get chosen by the adults of their clan, with names often being reused through the centuries. They have a personal name and a clan name, which would be like first and last names for humans. Badgers don't let people they don't trust know their personal name, and only let them know their clan name until they trust them. Personal names are used by family and those who are trusted by them. If a Badger gets banished from their clan, they lose their clan name as well, which is seen as being forced to be on your own without the protection and help of family by forcing them to use their first name with those who they don't trust as well as those who they do. Once lost, a Badger cannot regain their clan name. A clan's name comes from the starter of their clan. They don't differentiate between names for girls or names for boys. They often reuse names of clan members, but will add something to the names of people who did something notable, believing that they did enough to have their name only be used by them but still naming others after them. Completely new names don't get used often, only happening once every few centuries.

Names: Naogen, Enert, Baun, Saob, Eta, Sebbet, Nobok, Gerx, Netagul, Jeneta, Wapa, Sinet, Sobgen, Ilkun, Saba, Netuk, Nuog, Enuog, Sunuk, Iokun

Batha Badgers Traits

Badgers have many traits and skills learned in childhood or that they are born with.

Mage Hand

You know mage hand so that you can function easily as a badger.

Claws

Your claws mean you deal +2 damage in unarmed combat.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution and Strength scores increase by 2.

Age

Badgers live about as long as humans, but are considered children until they come back from their coming-of-age adventure, after which they are considered adults. They live to be about 100 years old.

Size

Badgers are about one foot tall, one-two feet long, and weigh around 30 pounds. Your size is Small

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.

Darkvision

Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 100 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.

Badger Resilience

You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage (explained in the “Combat” section).

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, Giant, and Gnomish. Badgers don't have their own language really, but instead speak common with words from other languages mixed in.