Homebrew Armodion Species Details

" Over here, this is where they've been hiding all along.Their shells fetch for a high price in the markets, said to be able to block nearly anything. We'll have to catch them by surprise though, not only are they tuff to crack, but once they curl up, they'll roll outta here faster than a starvin' wolf chasing after its prey"

— Unnamed bandit

Once thought to be a race hunted to extinction, the Armodions have resurfaced from the lands in which they have secluded themselves within. Still weary of other races due to past events, the Armodions brave enough to adventure out into the world will judge for themselves whether a new age has been brought where their people can rejoin society without having to live in fear of being hunted down once more.

Tough and flexible

Armodions all share the same characteristics from birth, usually looking either brown or gray depending on the environment they grew up in. They do not change much physically with age other than height, growing more hair, and their shells becoming lighter in color.

Their most noticeable characteristic is their shells which are shown to not only be durable enough to shrug off most attacks, but also have small spaces between the shell which allow them to curl up into a ball to not only give them complete protection, but also allow them to roll away from danger if necessary. However, most see this as a curse as the reason they were forced to go into seclusion was due to other races hunting them down wanting to use their shells for themselves, mainly in the form of armor. Another helpful feature they have are their claws which, while not used for attacking enemies, are capable of allowing them to burrow holes large enough to cover their bodies which can be useful when dealing with extreme heat from the sun or to simply look for insects or smaller creatures to feast on. Though not completely blind, Armodions do have poor eyesight, but more than make up for it with their enhanced hearing and smelling with their snouts allowing them to hunt for food during the night while avoiding hostile creatures.

Peaceful yet weary

Armodions do not have many friendly relations with other races, though it's no fault of their own. Due to becoming secluded as a way to avoid other races from wanting to hunt them down to use their shells, they do not hold any connections to other civilizations, even with other Armodion tribes. Armodions simply wish to avoid any trouble if possible and in extreme cases would usually curl into their shells to defend themselves and roll away from any danger that approach them. When encountering someone from another race, Armodions will try to keep their distance and avoid eye contact. However, if they deem you as a friendly individual then they are more than willing to welcome you with open arms and help with any issue you may face. They are generally a peaceful race, though there will occasionally be troublemakers within their tribes who will act more aggressive such as attacking other creatures by ramming into them with their shells while curled up. These Armodions are usually the ones who will go out into the world for adventure, though rarely the more calm and peaceful Armodions will do the same to either collect knowledge or seek aid and resources for their tribe.

Relations to other races

Though Armodions haven't had much contact with those outside of their tribes, they still hold strong feelings over past events that led them to their seclusion and near extinction. Though, with enough time, they can learn to work with members of those races and even form strong friendships.

Humans and Dwarves: These two are the races Armodions fear and despise the most due to Humans being the primary hunters, wanting to hunt them down to sell their shells for gold and use them as armor and for other means, while Dwarves are the ones who would use the shells to craft armor and other supplies and would sometimes request these shells to use as crafting material.

Goblins, Orcs, and Half-Orcs: Armodions also fear and despise these races, but for different reasons. Goblins and Orcs have been known to raid the Armodion's homes and even take their lives for the sake of it through either sheer numbers or overwhelming strength, forcing them to abandon their homes and supplies such as food and valuables. While Half-Orcs are seen as carrying the worst traits from both parents by the Armodions, seeing them as having the anger and short temperament of an Orc and the greed and slyness of a Human.

Halflings, Elves, and Half-Elves: These races are most likely to be welcomed by the Armodion tribes as they are seen very positively by them. Halfings share similar wants with Armodions as they both wish to live a simple, peaceful life and are very friendly when first meeting with them leaving Armodions no reason to have any bad thoughts over them. Elves are highly praised by the Armodions as not only where they one of the few races that did not try to hunt them down, but were the ones who helped the Armodions escape the other races and preventing their extinction. If ever a war was to erupt between the primary races, the Armodions will most likely be seen siding with the Elves. Though Half-Elves share blood with humans, Armodions will usually act more friendly to them when compared to Half-Orcs and full blooded humans.

With other races, Armodions will usually have a neutral attitude towards them, not being rude and willing to cooperate but never fully trusting them until given a reason.

Armodion lifestyle

Due to past events, Armodions have been forced to find homes in areas that either provide great coverage for them to hide, or open areas with few obstacles allowing them to move with ease if necessary. Due to this, Armodion tribes will usually be found in tropical forests, grasslands, and even deserts, though it is rare of this to occur. They will usually make their homes out of the materials they find throughout or near their area, most of the time this will usually take the form of tents. Armodion tribes will look towards their elders for guidance most of the time and have a system in which the young stay in the village protected by designated guardians until they reach maturity while the other Armodions will scavenge for food and supplies. Any material they collect or personal belongings they may have will either be carried by hand or by a pouch if they have one and the item is small enough to fit inside. Due to Armodions being able to keep themselves warm while curled up in their shells, things such as beds and blankets are not required for Armodions and the young will usually sleep with one of the parents while they are curled up inside of the shell as they are small enough to do so. Though Armodions usually try to avoid danger, if they believe they can fight back then they would prefer to use either small weapons such as daggers or blow darts, allowing them to carry the weapon while curled up, or throwing weapons such as javelins and boomerangs despite their poor eyesight.

Armodion Names

While Armodions do not lack intelligence, they prefer to have a simple naming convention by naming the males after adjectives and naming the females after a body part which are granted to them when they reach one year of age.

Male Armodion Names: Rough, Tough, Husky, Lucky, Mighty

Female Armodion Names: Tail, Snout, Whiskers, Claw, Hide

Armodion Traits

Armodions have evolved traits to assist them in finding food, avoiding danger, and surviving attacks long enough for them to escape.

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

Armodions have been shown to age faster than most races as an Armodion is considered to reach the age of maturity at 3 when they learn to curl up into a ball and hunt, and reaches adulthood at the age of five. Rarely has there been an Armodion that has lived past 60 years of age.

Size

Armodions are more wide than they are tall with their height ranging from 4 to 5 feet. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a base burrowing speed of 10. Your walking speed is doubled when rolling.

Blindsight

Due to their poor eyesight, Armodions have evolved to enhance their hearing and smelling capabilities to not only help look for food, but avoid hostile creatures as well as allowing them to avoid any obstacles while rolling when they are curled up.

Heightened Ears and Nose

You gain advantage in Perception checks relying on sound or smell.

Poor Vision

You have disadvantage on Perception checks relying on sight.

Sturdy Shell

Armodion shells have been known to protect them from attacks that would've finished off any other race from behind. Armodions natural armor class is increased to 13 + your dexterity modifier and they gain resistance to bludgeoning and slashing damage when attacked from behind. However, due to the size and shape of their shell Armodions are ill-suited to wear armor, but if you are using a shield, you can still apply the shield's bonus as normal.

Curled Defense

Due to the spaces between an Armodion's shell, they are flexible enough to curl themselves into a ball giving them access to higher mobility and a complete defense along with reducing their size to fit into tight spaces if needed. As a bonus action, you can curl yourself up into a tight ball giving you the ability to roll, doubling your walking speed, cutting your size in half making your new size small, and covering your entire body making you completely resistant to bludgeoning and slashing damage. However, you cannot cast spells and you can only attack using unarmed strikes. You can uncurl yourself by using a bonus action, and you become uncurled if knocked unconscious.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Terran and Elvish, and can speak an old form of Common. Terran is the oldest language Armodions know as it was the first language known to them before they were forced to go into hiding. Due to the immense respect and gratitude Armodions have for the Elves, the elders have taught the younger generations how to speak, write, and understand Elvish. Though Armodions know basic Common language, they only know to speak an old form of it as they and do not have a complete understanding of modern Common words and phrases.