Homebrew Aroura Species Details

Rambunctious Rodent

The history of the Aroura is mostly lost and nobody knows for sure where they came from. From what the Arourn themselves have gathered their existence they have to thank to Loviatar, queen and servent of Bane. The demi-god had a special love for rodents, on which she often tried new ways of torture and agony. Many sages believe Aroura were made as a cruel punishment or joke, or as a new slave race in honour of Bane. inquisitive and yearning for information, these seemingly emotionless creatures were the perfect spies and mercenaries. 

The Ratfolk have little use for religion, profession or relationship. They live for the pursuit of knowledge and knowledge alone. Inquisitive and curious by nature, they do not know what drives their innate hunger for knowledge. They just know that they need to keep learning every secret and bit of lore of the multiverse. This closely placed them into the domain of the god Oghma, the Faerûn god of Wisdom and knowledge, and some Arouran clerics, palladins and other magic users devoted themselves to him. Some Auroran warlocks chose to form a bond with agents of the Archdevil Dispater in their search for knowledge.

Social Outcast

Arouran look like a hybrid of a skinny human and a rat. They are the size of a short human, and appear lenky and frail. They have heads shaped like a rat's, with an elongated skull, thin lips, a humanoid nose, and black orbs for eyes, and whiskers. They have dark thick fur, ranging in colour from light brown to pitch black. the have long elongated tails which they can use as an extra arm.

Because of their appearence and prejudice brought upon by sacred humans, who fear the Ratfolk will bring fort plagues and disease, the Arouran population have been driven from their homes, resorting to living in large, complicated sewer complexes and tunnels underneath cities and structures. Being completely closed off from the world above, yet strangely fascinated by it. They are often found in the underground cities as well, preferring the gentle light that reaches the lesser dark cities to the ever warm blackness of the underdark.

Life in the Shadow

Arouranhe have made a life for themselves where ever life can be had, dwelling in the sewers, alleys, and shadows of human cities. They are by habit secretive and cunning creatures. They are naturally introverted and inwardly drawn and prefer to spend their time on their own and, even in large crowds, try to make it clear they wish to be on their own. Even on their own, there isn't much room in the life of the Aroura for personal dreams or individualization. Because of their short lifespan, a Arouran will spend most of it's life learning, gathering and preserving knowledge.

Ratfolk know how to stick to walls and out of the public eye. They usually watch and learn from the shadows, resorting to methods of eavesdropping and theft in order to provide them with infprmation. This talent for stealth has made them highly valued thiefs and mercenaries among certain crime syndicates. That doesn't mean they spent their entire life in isolation. Ratfolk enjoy the company of elves and half-elves, often seeing them as the calmest and most sane of the civilized humanoid races. They have a disdain for humans, but harbor no real ill-will towards them. They have a great respect for dwarfs and gnomes and wish to learn from their technical and architectural advancements.

names

Many Aroura don't have any use for individual names and are often names after the city they reside in. After they are old enough to read, they usually adopt a moniker of a famous hero, story, monster or villain to be combined with their given name.

Arouran names: Isteval Waterdeep, Farideh Phandelver,  Tiamat Neverwinter, Volothamp Sundabar, Mordenkainen Sigil

Aroura Traits

Aroura (Ratfolk) Traits

Age

Arouran reach adulthood after 2 years and live somewhere between 30 and 40 years.

Keen smell

Arouran have advantage on Perception rolls relying on their sense of smell.

Scavenger

Arouran grow up in tough conditions, learning to survive along the way. They are taught how to scavenge for food at a very young age. Because of this, they are proficient in the Survival skill

Ability Score Increase

Despite their wretched visage, Arouran have nimble bodies and their minds are highly curious about the world they inhabit. Their Dexterity score increases by 2 and their Intelligence score increases by 1. Their Charisma score decreases by 1. 

Allignment

Their seclusion from civilisation has left the Arouran without the need to interact with the world above. Despite this, Arouran are innately curious and driven by a desire to learn interesting and new facts about the world they inhabit. They will scour libraries and temples looking for new truths they have not yet learned, longing for a deeper understanding of the world. How they come by new information is of no concern to the average Arouran. They will happily steal, bribe or murder to acquire what they wish to know. Most Arouran are Chaotic Neutral or true Neutral. Caring only for others when it's beneficial to their quest for knowledge.

Size

Arouran are about the size of a small adult gnome male, albeit lenky and very thin. They average is about 2 feet tall. your size is Medium.

Speed

Akin to actual rats, Arouran can move incredibly fast. Your base walking speed is 40 feet. They have a Climbing speed of 15 feet. they are also capable, if slow, swimmers. You have a swimming speed of 10 feet.

 

Languages

Arauras don't have the vocal chords necessary to speak a language. But they understand and write Common, Undercommon and one additional language of choice (usually dependent on where they have settled). 

Quiet as a Mouse

Arouran lack the vocal chords to produce any sound other than a soft squeek. Therefor they cannot speak any language

darkvision

because of their life underground, Arouran have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. They can see in dim light within 60 feet of them as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light.

Nimble Escape

Arouran count as one size smaller when trying to fit through an opening

Rodent's Resistance

Arouran have an iron stomach, partly because of their omnivorous diet. They therefore have immunity to disease and resistance to Poison.

Natural Weapons

Even when driven into a corner, Arouran know how to fight back with their natural weapons in the form of their sharp teeth and claws. Their claws deal slashing damage equal to 1d4. Their bite attack deals piercing damage equal to 1d6.

Prehensile Tail

All Arouran are born with some level of control over their prehensile tail. You have enough control of your tail for it to act as an extra arm. This tail is often 1 and a half times the length of their body and can be used to handle small objects that weight not more than 10 pounds, perform a weapon attack (granted the weapon is a light weapon) and you can perform a somatic component of a spell with your tail. Control of your tail does not grant you an extra action within your turn.