Homebrew Ysoki Species Details

"Small and furtive, the ysoki are often overlooked by larger races. Yet through wit and technological prowess, they’ve spread throughout the solar system, giving truth to the old adage that every Spelljammer needs a few rats."

— unknown

Physical Description

Ranging from 3 to 4 feet tall, ysoki resemble humanoid rats who walk upright, complete with fur, long incisors, constantly twitching noses, and partially prehensile tails that help them keep their balance and maneuver in zero gravity. Their small, dexterous hands are perfect for working on delicate electronics, and their keen noses often allow them to identify complex chemicals by smell. Male and female ysoki are difficult for other races to tell apart, as they have similar body types and favor similar fashions.

Home World

While the term “ysoki” originates from the planet Hobbiton, where the race has long been a vibrant and respected culture, populations of ratfolk (as they’re sometimes called) existed on several worlds for millennia before spaceflight became common. Whether these different populations were examples of convergent evolution or they shared a common ancestor is anyone’s guess, but today most of these cultures now identify as part of the overarching ysoki race. This is due partially to the wide variation in ysoki heredity, which makes ethnicity (and often even immediate family connections) almost impossible to determine by sight or genetics, but even more so to the fact that ysoki have done more than any other ratfolk group to demand and maintain the respect of larger races.

Society and Alignment

Ysoki society is chaotic and freewheeling, and a typical warren is full of half-finished projects and multiple ysoki talking over each other. Regardless of their role in society, nearly all ysoki hold a deep and abiding love for technology and gadgets, whether it be an engineer’s love of taking machines apart or a soldier’s appreciation for her armor’s construction. While they traditionally take on roles and societal niches other races view as unpleasant, acting as junkers or squeezing through the innards of starships, this is due not to a lack of pride, but rather an abundance thereof—ysoki are so sure of their own worth that living in subpar conditions doesn’t shame them. Larger races’ tendency to underestimate or pick on ysoki has left them fiercely loyal to their friends and families—both ysoki and otherwise—and a ysoki presented with a gross injustice often feels the need to fling himself teeth-first at the problem, consequences be damned. As a result, the most common ysoki alignment is chaotic good, though they can easily be tugged toward the evil alignments by loyalty or a need to strike back at perceived oppression (or even simple disrespect).

Relations

Friendly and talented, ysoki integrate easily into most civilized societies, sometimes in all-ysoki neighborhoods and other times living side by side with alien cultures. The large size of ysoki families and their tendency to travel also means that a ysoki is shockingly likely to have a cousin or other contact in just about any major settlement. Of the other galactic races, ysoki get along best with Gith, with whom they’ve traded for millennia, though they appreciate humanity’s pluck and dwarven devotion to community, even if the latter are a little too calm for ysoki tastes. They identify with tiefling defiance in the face of prejudice, but they find elves too aloof and dragonborn too obsessed with displaying dominance. Regardless of others’ races, ysoki pride themselves on being quick judges of character, and members of many other races have been surprised to find a ysoki fighting on their behalf after no more than a conversation in a crowded bar. Quick to rile and quick to forgive, fond of laughing at misfortune (both their own and others’), ysoki can sometimes be exhausting, but they are rarely boring.

Adventurers

Though ysoki form strong bonds with their friends and families, these connections are as likely to take them off-world as to keep them at home. Many curious young ysoki sign on with starship crews to see the universe or find their fortunes, and soon adopt their shipmates as a second family. Their natural aptitude with machines most often leads ysoki to become artificers, but they also enjoy the stealth and secrecy of rogues, and many appreciate the quick-witted patter of bards.

Ysoki Traits

Ysoki have seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm, and rarely pass up a chance for some excitement.

Age

Ysoki reach full maturity at age 10 and live between 60~80 years on average.

Ability Score Increase

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

Size

Ysoki resemble humanoid rats who walk upright, standing at about 3ft tall. Your size is Small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Thanks to your rodent heritage, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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.

Cheek Pouches

Ysoki can store up to 1 cubic foot of items weighing up to 10 pounds in total in their cheek pouches, and they can transfer a single object between hand and cheek as a free action. A ysoki can disgorge the entire contents of his pouch onto the ground in his square as a bonus action.

Moxie

 Ysoki are scrappy and nimble even when the odds are against them. A ysoki can stand from prone with 5ft of movement. Additionally, this intrinsic nimbleness coupled with their small size grants them proficiency with Acrobatics, and advantage on Acrobatics checks to end the restrained condition

Scrounger

Savvy and street-smart wherever you are, you adore technology in all its forms and love taking devices apart to see how they work. Gain proficiency with tinker's tools and the survival skill

Languages

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