Homebrew Cervitaur (fey) Species Details

Physical Description:
Cervitaurs have the lower bodies of deer and the upper bodies of youthful humanoids: indeed, even an old cervitaur will still have the appearance of youth no older than thirty. Though they can live to over 400, those on the prime material plane rarely live this long due to hunting. Cervitaurs are lithe creatures, quick on their hooves and flighty by nature. They tend to be much lighter in coloration than centaurs, both in the upper and lower parts of their bodies. Males are referred to as Harts or Stags and females are Hinds or Does. The terms Bull and Cow are often considered to be insults. Any Cervitaur not yet of adult age is a fawn, though elders will often refer to those younger than them as fawns.
The cervitaur race has a wide variation due to the variation among the deer species that was used to create the race. Examples range from the large moose, to cold loving reindeer, to elusive whitetail, to the tiny Muntjacs. This makes it hard to make generalizations about cervitaur physiology, although the following usually hold true: males are usually larger than females; for those who have antlers the males tend to be bigger and more imposing; females tend to sport smaller, straighter antlers; they are herbivores and almost always ruminants; the upper torso generally has spots of soft fur like the deer half, normally on the outsides of the arms, up parts of the sides and back, up the neck, and around the outside of the face; their ears tend to match the shape of the species of the lower torso but can also be pointed like an elf’s; their eyes tend to be larger than normal and can range the entire rainbow of colors, again showing off their fey ancestry; they have good vision at night and are usually good at jumping and moving through difficult terrain.

Movement:
Cervitaurs have a walking speed of 40 and in general suffer no movement penalty moving through difficult terrain if not due to rocky conditions or out cropping. Cervitaurs like all four legged creatures are fairly good at climbing steep hills but not so good at coming down them. Movement uphill even steep or difficult terrain is considered normal movement, but movement down steep hills is considered difficult terrain. If climbing involves hand over hoof movement like rope climbing, vertical, or sheer surfaces, Cervitaurs suffer disadvantage on these skill checks and each foot of movement costs an 4 extra feet of movement, instead of the normal 1 extra foot. 

Hair:
Most cervitaurs style their hair similarly to satyrs or fey. Most Hinds favor long, flowing hair with foliage decorating their locks. Harts tend to cut their hair in short, scruffy styles, sometimes messy or similar to mohawks.

Antlers:
Antlers of Cervitaurs often grow in as they mature, but unlike deer, they do not shed their antlers on a regular basis. Antlers can be shed and replaced over a one year period by the Cervitaur. This is most often done in the case of damage to the antlers. Not all Cervitaur have antlers. Of those who do, the Hinds (Females) have shorter smaller antlers then Harts (males.) Artificial antlers are often worn by Cervitaurs that can’t grow them. Mated Cervitaurs will often adorn their antlers with matching accessories.

Psychology:
Cervitaurs live in the moment. It is built into their very character. They express emotions - both positive and negative - in large, obvious ways. A cervitaur in love will woo the target of their affection constantly and might hurt themselves if their love is not returned, while an angry cervitaur will concentrate only on hurting those who have angered them. But once the emotion is gone, it will rarely be remembered, as strongly as it was orginally felt. see "the quickening."

The Quickening:
The quickening is both the revitalization and reproductive cycle of the fey. The fey being essentially one race regardless of their shape or size are capable of interbreeding with any other fey. The quickening is a period of two months which occurs approximately every 5-7 years in which fey are able to reproduce. It is usually in the fall and is marked by a severe increase in sexual desire and promiscuity. Some scholars have described it almost like a drug addiction with the need so great the fey can become aggressive if denied. It is thought this need is so high because of the high variability between physical appearances of the fey, something has to overcome the sometimes hideous appearance of some fey. The quickening assures all will have their time and place. A fey in the quickening is also highly desired by other fey due to pheromones that they produce during this time. Even if there was no attraction prior or after copulation.
The quickening also has a more complex purpose. It represents not just a new reproductive cycle but a revitalization. For the Cervitaur, the quickening maintains their youthful appearance. The fey seldom hold onto grudges or hatred from the past. The quickening is one reason for this, as most negative memories from the past are shed during this time. Sometimes forgotten completely, such memories are at the very least dulled and fuzzy. This allows the fey to continue in their unique style of living in the moment. Interestingly enough the quickening also increases memories of good times and experiences.

History:
Though they look like centaurs, cervitaurs actually hail from the Feywild. Indeed, they have more in common with the fey than any mundane race, in that while they have no natural arcane prowess, they possess a mind that's hard to comprehend to a humanhoid. Cervitaurs have almost completely adapted to the material plane, to the point that they are nowadays quite rare in their native Feywild. Cervitaurs have no history as a race per se: they do not build nor have they ever built nations or empires, they feel no need to record their deeds or attempt to make themselves famous, and they rarely if ever consider the long run. Cervitaurs celebrate the cycle of life and death, both the birth of a fawn and the death of an elder is considered cause for festivity. They also revere the past and their ancestry, passing the voice and memory of those who have passed as spoken stories. Each community's fawns are brought up by a storyteller, who memorizes all of the stories of the past, to pass them to the new generation and it is the job of the storyteller to instruct the young from the long litany of stories from their past.

They have little to show for the thousands of years of their existence in the material plane. This ties into their live-in-the-moment nature.  Cervitaurs also possess a fairly low level of technology unless they live close to a more stable society.

Affinity for Nature:
They feel a close kinship with wild animals, perhaps because of their own deer-like bodies, and delight in the feeling of running alongside herds and packs of other beasts. They live in harmony and peace with their surroundings and this includes how they deal with intruders to their secret realms. A cervitaur that is confronted far from its community will likely flee, but if confronted near its community they will fiercely defend their home. Even then, they prefer to use misdirection and confusion instead of violence. They believe that life is very precious and must be protected at all costs, even if that life is their enemy's. Unfortunately, this lack of a need to assert themselves has led cervitaurs into being cruelly mistreated in many parts. Their mindset means that cervitaur bands respond to aggression with fierce resistance, but the moment the offender leaves, the cervitaurs will not pursue. It's not that they forget: rather, they cease caring. This makes it easy for a tactical foe to abuse this tendency to destroy cervitaur populations.
However, the newest generation of Cervitaurs has begun to get tired of being walked on, tired of being peaceful and tired of letting the humanoids run them off their land. Many of them have formed new herds to try and take back the land that was once theirs. They use their knowledge of their terrain to gain the upper hand, they fight dirty and inspire chaos wherever they go. They are bringing change to the Cervitaurs, whether the elders like it or not.

Society:
Cervitaur society is arranged by gender, although again this might vary by phenotype. Males usually live alone or in small gatherings, while females live in larger herds with the fawns. An interested male will approach a herd of females and attempt to court them. A male will usually court around three to five of the females at once. If their affections are returned, the male will live with the herd for a while. While in no way monogamous, a male cervitaur with children will frequent the herds that contain their young, and will protect them as best they can and often sire more children at the same time. This only holds true for cervitaurs living solely with their own kind, however.
Cervitaur are most prominently found in large communities of up to 50 individuals wandering the wilds, far from the sprawling cities of man. Young cervitaur are highly protective of their communities, and an insult against one is an insult against everyone within their communities.
The Cervitaur tendency to harmonize with nature extends to the way they live. They build no farms or towns but wander across a well-defined home “range” in herds of ten to fifty. Throughout this territory, they build a number of simple but cozy “lodges,” often by simply expanding a natural shelter of some sort. These lodges are often given names reflecting the surrounding area – Cliffside, Lakefront, Stonewatch – these lodges are designed to shelter the whole herd during inclement weather or other times of need, but they are not permanent residences. Most of the time cervitaurs live off the land, grazing on whatever is in season and sleeping under the skirts of trees or hidden in tall grass. Their clothing, when worn, reflects this, dyed in natural colors, and sporting pockets and belts to carry all the tools they deem important enough to take with them.
When a herd becomes full, it is not unknown for young cervitaur who are coming to age to wander off in search of finding another community. Many of these cervitaur may never find another community, either returning to their home or finding a community in the presence of other races.
Cervitaur populations that live near other races will quickly adopt any positive features of their cultures. These populations are a breeding ground for cervitaur adventurers, a line of work the cervitaur mindset is actually well suited for. Cervitaurs are present-moment-oriented, adaptive creatures with a penchant for moving in small parties - all qualities of the archetypal adventurer.

Safety and Respect:
Cervitaurs consider themselves equal to all other living things, and are often confused when other races try to separate “animals” from “people.” They believe in respecting the way of life of all but this respect usually takes place at a safe distance. Cervitaurs have strong prey instincts, and they avoid anything that might decide to eat them. This often includes other races, who sometimes confuse them for the deer they resemble. When convinced to socialize, cervitaurs are not disturbed by others’ desire to eat meat, though they will shyly refuse if offered any. They see hunting as natural and necessary, just not for themselves.
This shyness does not extend to leather or other animal-derived goods. If peacefully approached, cervitaurs enjoy trading what they find for what others make, most often providing rare herbs or natural medicines in exchange for tools, fabric, sometimes even weapons and armor. Regular trading partners can slowly become friends, with the closest friends considered extended family. Cervitaurs are shyly loyal to these relationships, helping in whatever way their limited courage allows. If that trust is broken, however, it is broken completely, and the entire herd may decide to separate entirely from outside influences.

Cervitaur Names:
Cervitaurs often take fey names and are content with just a first name, made possible by the small size of their populations. Cervitaurs’ given names are often passed down through family lines. The name bestowed on a new faun is typically the name of the most recently deceased family member of the same gender, keeping alive the memory and, the cervitaurs believe, some shard of the spirit of the departed. Cervitaurs don’t use family names, but they often wear symbols that represent their family membership. These symbols might include graphical representations of plants or animals, printed mottos, braids and beads worn in the hair and tail, or even specific patterns of woven fabric.
Male Names: Artemis, Blitzen, Bramble, Buck, Comet, Cupid, Dasher, Donner, Harry, Hart, Ronno, Rudolf, Prince, Prongs, Sven, Yakul, Ailde, Eadan, Rònan, Odiane
Female Names: Dancer, Doe, Dot, Ena, Faline, Fauna, Flora, Grace, Holly, Jane, Kaliska, Mena, Nara, Nea, Ofra, Olive, Peace, Prancer, Rose, Shika, Snow, Velvet, Vixen, Willow, Eimhir, Donella, Ellette, Liliana

Cervitaur (fey) Traits

Fey, Elves, Centaur, Cervitaur, Nature,

Wilderness Survivor

Due to your strong association with nature and surviving in the wilderness, you have proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Medicine, Nature, or Survival.

Ability score increase

When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The “Quick Build” section for your character’s class offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You can follow those suggestions or ignore them, but you can’t raise any of your scores above 20.

(Original design suggestion: Dex +2, Char +1)

 

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one additional language.

Creature Type

Your creature type is fey, rather than humanoid. Spells that only affect humanoids do not affect you. Spells that affect Fey affect you as normal. Certitaurs have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put them to sleep.

Size

Cervitaur stand between 5 and 6 feet tall, with their cervine bodies reaching about 3 to 4.5 feet at the withers. Weight averages 150 pounds for males and 120 for females. Your size is Medium. 

There can be a wide variation of  2d10 inches and  3d10 pounds. Males tend to be taller and heavier but it is not a given.

Movement Speed

Cervitaurs have a walking speed of 40 and in general suffer no movement penalty moving through difficult terrain if not due to rocky conditions or out cropping. Cervitaurs like all 4 legged creatures are fairly good at climbing steep hills but not so good at coming down them. Movement uphill even steep or difficult terrain is considered normal movement, but movement down steep hills is considered difficult terrain. If climbing involves hand over hoof movement like rope climbing, vertical, or sheer surfaces, Cervitaurs suffer disadvantage on these skill checks and each foot of movement costs an 4 extra feet of movement, instead of the normal 1 extra foot.

Darkvision

Darkvision 60 feet. 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.

Homeland Knowledge

You are particularly familiar with your home environment and are adept at traveling and surviving in similar regions. Work with your DM to choose one type of terrain.

While traveling in the choosen terrain, you gain the following benefits:

• Difficult terrain doesn't slow your movement.
• You can't become lost except by magical means.
• Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
• If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.

Cervine Build

You cannot wear boots, pants, or anything that is worn on the legs or waist area except for belts and specially made armor and saddles. All armor you wear must be specially made to accommodate you, doubling the cost. You cannot ride mounts but you may serve as a mount for medium to small companions as long as they do not exceed your carrying capacity. Your carrying capacity is double what you can normally carry for your build.

Natural Weapons

Your antlers and your hooves are natural melee weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. You are proficient with your unarmed strikes. If you hit with your hooves, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier. If you hit with your antlers, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Dexterity modifier. 

The damage increases with level.

1-5 1d4

6-11 1d6

12-20 1d8

Charge

If you move at least 30 feet toward a target and then hit it with a melee weapon attack on the same turn, you can immediately follow that attack with a bonus action, making one bonus action attack against the target with either your Thunder Hooves or Antler Assault.

Children of Artemis

You have proficiency in the Shortbow and Longbow.

 

Communicating with nature

Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas with beasts. Retaining an innate connection to the creatures of the forest, your presence is calming to non-hostile animals. You can cast "speak to animals" a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier per long rest and have proficiency in Animal Handling.