Homebrew Yeti Species Details

At the highest mountain peaks — far above the slopes where trees grow and where the air is thin, and the frigid winds howl — dwell the reclusive yetis. Few folks can claim to have seen a yeti, and fewer still can claim friendship with them. Yetis wander a bleak realm of rock, wind, and cold. Their bodies look like they are carved from mountain stone, giving them great physical power. Their spirits take after the wandering wind, making them nomads who wander from peak to peak. Finally, their hearts are infused with the cold regard of their frigid realm, leaving each yeti responsible for earning a place in the tribe or dying trying.

Driven Competitors

Every day brings a new challenge to a yeti. Food, water, and shelter are rare in the uppermost mountain reaches. A single mistake can bring doom to an entire tribe, while an individual’s heroic effort can ensure the whole group’s survival.

Yetis thus place a premium on self-sufficiency and individual skill. In addition, they have the compulsion to keep score, counting their deeds and tallying their accomplishments to compare to others. yetis love to win, but they see defeat as a prod to improve their skills.

This dedication to competition has a dark side. yetis are ferocious competitors, but above all else, they are driven to outdo their past efforts. If a yeti slays a dragon, he or she might seek out a more giant, more powerful wyrm to battle. Few yeti adventurers reach old age, as most die attempting to surpass their past accomplishments.

Fair Play

For yetis, competition exists only when it is supported by a level playing field. Round measures talent, dedication, and effort. Those factors determine survival in their home territory, not reliance on magic items, money, or other elements that can tip the balance one way or the other. yetis happily rely on such benefits, but they are careful to remember that such an advantage can always be lost. A yeti who depends too much on them can grow complacent, a recipe for disaster in the mountains.

This trait manifests most strongly when yetis interact with another folk. The relationship between peasants and nobles puzzles yetis. If a king lacks the intelligence or leadership to lead, the most talented person in the kingdom should take his place. yetis rarely keep such opinions to themselves and mock folk who rely on society’s structures or rules to maintain power.

Survival of the Fittest

No adult who can’t contribute to the tribe is expelled among yetis. A lone yeti has little chance of survival, especially an older or weaker one. yetis have little pity for adults who can’t take care of themselves, though a sick or injured individual is treated, as a result of the yeti concept of fair play.

A permanently injured yeti is still expected to pull his or her weight in the tribe. Typically, such a yeti dies attempting to keep up, or the yeti slips away in the night to seek the cold will of fate.

In some ways, the yeti drive to outdo themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A yeti would much rather die in battle, at the peak of strength and skill, than endure the slow decay of old age. Few folk have ever meet an elderly yeti, and even those yetis who have left their people grapple with the urge to give up their lives as their physical skills decay.

Because of their risk-taking, yeti tribes suffer from a chronic lack of the experience offered by long- term leaders. They hope for innate wisdom in their leadership, for they can rarely count on a wisdom grown with age.

 

Yeti Traits

Yetis share a number of traits in common with each other.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age

Goliaths have lifespans comparable to humans. They enter adulthood in their late teens and usually live less than a century.

Size

Goliaths are between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 280 and 340 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Natural Athlete

You have proficiency in the Athletics skill.

Snows Endurance

You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Powerful Build

You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Mountain Born

You have resistance to cold damage. You’re also acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Giant.