Homebrew Geckofolk (Aquatic) (1.0) Species Details

Alien Minds

The geckofolk’s reptilian nature comes through not only in their appearance, but also in how they think and act. Geckofolk experience a more limited emotional life than other humanoids. Like most reptiles, their feelings largely revolve around fear, aggression, and pleasure.

Geckofolk experience most feelings as detached descriptions of creatures and situations. For example, humans confronted by an angry troll experience fear on a basic level. Their limbs shake, their thinking becomes panicked and jumbled, and they react by instinct. The emotion of fear takes hold and controls their actions. In contrast, gecofolk see emotions as traits assigned to other creatures, objects, and situations. A geckofolk doesn’t think, “I’m scared.” Instead, aggressive, stronger creatures register to the geckofolk as fearsome beings to be avoided if possible. If such creatures attack, geckofolk flee, fighting only if cornered. Geckofolk aren’t scared of a troll; instead, they understand that a troll is a fearsome, dangerous creature and react accordingly.

Geckofolk never become angry in the way others do, but they act with aggression toward creatures that attack and corner them and that can’t be dealt with in some other manner. They are aggressive toward prey they want to eat, creatures that want to harm them, and so on.

Pleasurable people and things make life easier for geckofolk. Pleasurable things should be preserved and protected, sometimes at the cost of the geckofolk’s own safety. The most pleasurable creatures and things are ones that allow geckofolk to assess more situations as benign rather than fearsome.

Cold and Calculating

Most humanoids describe cold-blooded people as lacking in emotion and empathy. The same label serves as an apt depiction of geckofolk.

Lacking any internal emotional reactions, geckofolk behave in a distant manner. They don’t mourn fallen comrades or rage against their enemies. They simply observe and react as a situation warrants.

Geckofolk lack meaningful emotional ties to the past. A geckofolk who lives among other humanoids can, over time, learn to respect other creatures’ emotions. The geckofolk doesn’t share those feelings, but instead assesses them in the same clinical manner. Yes, the fallen dwarf might be most useful to attract a meal, but using the body as bait provokes aggression in the other humanoids and makes them less helpful in battle.

Utility and Survival

The geckofolk mindset might seem unnecessarily detached, but it helps them survive in a hostile environment. The swamps they inhabit are filled with a staggering variety of threats. Geckofolk focus on survival above all, without sentiment.

Geckofolk assess everyone and everything in terms of utility. Art and beauty have little meaning for them. A sharp sword serves a useful and good purpose, while a dull sword is a dead weight without a whetstone.

Geckofolk see little need to plan more than a season or so into the future. This approach allows them to maintain their current level of influence in the world, but it limits their growth. Geckofolk have no interest in developing writing, making long-term plans, or cultivating other methods to progress beyond their simple existence.

Un-adapted Fleshy Ones

At their core, geckofolk view other humanoids with an indifference verging on pity. Born into the world lacking useful adaptations such as camouflage and burdened by emotions , it’s a wonder they have managed to survive for so long. The typical human would barely make it through a day in the swamps.

Still, if other creatures prove useful to geckofolk, those creatures can trigger a protective response made all the stronger by their apparent weakness. The geckofolk assess such beings as hatchlings, young ones incapable of protecting themselves but who might prove useful in the future if they receive care.

Geckofolk (Aquatic) (1.0) Traits

Your Geckofolk character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

One ability score increases by 2, and another score increases by 1.

Age

Geckofolk reach maturity around age 14 and can live up to approximately 120 years.

Alignment

Most geckofolk are neutral. They see the world as a place of predators and prey, where life and death are natural processes. They wish only to survive, and prefer to leave other creatures to their own devices.

Size

Gecko type Lizardfolk are taller than halflings but shorter than humans, between 4 feet and 5 1/2 feet tall. You weigh between 50 and 80 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

You feel at ease both on land and in the water. You are most comfortable when both are in abundance nearby.
Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.

Amphibious Survival

Your physiology provides you many survival advantages in the harsh environments you find yourself in.

Mucous Membrane:
Your skin is capable of secreting a thick, slick mucous.
Once per long rest, you can secrete your mucous membrane as either an action or as a reaction to an attempt to swallow or grapple you.
When used as a reaction to a grapple or swallow attempt, you can move up to your full speed without provoking opportunity attacks. Furthermore, if the attacker is the same size category as you, or smaller, it's speed is halved until it spends a round clearing off this substance.
The mucous membrane acts like an oil slick in a 5 foot square when on the ground.
After 1 minute of exposure to air the mucous membrane becomes tar-like and begins to solidify; 2 minutes and it fully hardens like glue.

Self Regeneration:
You are capable of regrowing lost body parts.
This feature is limited to limbs, extremities, and your tail (you cannot regrow your head, body, or say an eye).
The process can take between 1 week to 1 month depending on the severity of the injury sustained (DM's discretion). 
Your wounds and injuries heal in days, rather than weeks, and never leave scars.

Malleable Skeleton:
Your malleable skeleton allows you to fit in tighter spaces than people would think you could.
You are considered one size smaller for the sake of fitting into objects, between objects, through openings, etc.

Unassuming Presence

Your stature and appearance, though intriguing, are anything but threatening. Intelligent creatures are unlikely to view you as a threat and are more likely to just ignore your presence. That is... unless you do something to provoke them.
If an intelligent creature is starting to become aggressive towards you, you can challenge this shift in aggression by taking on a submissive posture. Roll a Deception vs. the target's Insight. if you are successful, the creature rethinks its position and deems you "not an immediate threat" or "not worth the effort".
This effect lasts until you provoke them further.
You can only use this feature against any one creature, once a day.

Amphibious Adaptation

When in the water you can dash as a bonus action (similar to the Rogue's Dash granted by Cunning Action)
You can hold your breath for a number of minutes equal to 5 + (3 times your CON Modifier) minutes.

Amphibious Lore

You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival.

Poison Skin

Unlike your more land-based brethren, your skin doesn't provide any bonus to your AC, but that's not to say you're unprotected. 
Whenever you are touched by another creature, you can choose to have them make a DC 13 CON save.
On a failed save, they take poison damage equal to your character level and are considered poisoned until the end of their next turn.
On a successful save they take half that damage (rounded down, minimum 1 damage).
Any creature with resistance to poison has advantage on the save.
Any creature with immunity to poison automatically succeeds and takes no damage.

Special Diet

You have adapted to a special diet of plants, fruits, & insects. You are not used to fermented substances, and cannot eat meat unless it is shredded or ground.
You have advantage on saves dealing with eating plants, fruits, & insects.
You have disadvantage on saves dealing with consumption of alcohol and meats.

Languages

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