Homebrew Buros Species Details

Naia dropped a pebble down one of the never-ending tunnels with a bored sigh and listened as it skipped down the earth until the sound was lost. Looking up, she saw a stream of light from the surface and let her mind wander to the strange group that had recently taken up residence there. This underground fortress has been all she'd ever known, never questioning the dangers and desolation that was said to be above. But now she wondered. The cavern walls felt tighter every day and the potential of possibility plagued her mind endlessly. In that moment, she decided. She was not meant to wonder. She was meant to wander. 

— Ka'in Eanne, Unearthed Legacies

 

The Buros are a reclusive race, driven underground by war and famine. When their land was conquered, they had the foresight to establish a way of life that was not dependent on bending the knee to the tyrannical ruler or finding scrap on the wastes they left. They abandoned the surface world and dug themselves an entire underground empire, settling in and evolving quickly through several generations. They are primitive but resourceful and take pride in the society they have built. They are slow to trust outsiders and try avoid interactions with them entirely. 

Precise Evolution

The Buros quickly evolved to adjust to life underground. In just a handful of generations, their stature shrank, leaving them at 2 to 3 feet tall, needing less space for the tunnels they dug and settled in. They are slight and petite, with long limbs and short torsos. Despite their small figures, they are surprisingly hearty. Their fingers are short and sturdy, with the tips pointed like claws, allowing for them to quickly burrow down into the earth.

They have varying skin tones, with shades of gray, blue, green and tan being the most common and all are muted tones that blend into the earth or shadows. They have large eyes comprised almost entirely of pupil, which dimly glow in the dark, in a color reflective of their skin tone. A very thin layer of hair covers their bodies, causing them to be sensitive to tremors in the earth. 

Practical and Reclusive

They are practical and enjoy simple pleasures rather than lavish lifestyles. Those that do put stock into finer things are prone to jealously guarding them and hide their treasures away. They will most often try to settle quickly on the most straightforward solution to a problem instead of spending time making intricate plans. 

Though they are particularly reclusive and attempt to avoid interacting with surface dwelling cultures, the bonds they have amongst themselves are tight and fierce. They view their entire society as a family. They usually only find themselves pushed into the adventuring life in dire circumstances or if they have done something to result in exile. While they are slow to trust, once that trust is earned, it is often paired with a deep and loyal bond.

Given their history, they can be sometimes be moved to help those threatened or ruled by others despite their desire to stay uninvolved.

Curious Innovators

While they are quite content with their simple life, they are naturally curious and driven to find solutions to problems quickly. It's difficult for them to turn away from something they don't understand and they will often get fixated on complicated problems. Life underground has driven them to find creative solutions to unique problems and they find great satisfaction in doing so. They find joy in broadening their understanding of the world and can sometimes be convinced to tread carefully out of their small zone of comfort in pursuit of something novel or unexplored. 

From their extended time underground, they have developed an in depth knowledge of pressure and force. They have found ways to wield that knowledge to harness the power behind it in constructing their vast cities and shielding themselves from the crushing power it exerts. 
 

HEARTH AND HOME

Having lost their home once already, Buros are extremely protective of the underground society they have built and thrive in. Even when they have formed bonds outside of their home and trust those folks implicitly, they will be loath to bring anyone not native to their race back to their home for fear of exposing it to unforeseen danger. 

The Buros culture is simple and primitive yet rich and thriving. The written word is unimportant to them and almost lost. Very few remain who are capable of writing in any language and their own language has no written form. Their language consists of just a handful of vowels and consonants, which easily carry through their tunnel cities. They often communicate through song and yodeling. Melodic echoes can often be heard resonating for miles throughout the tunnel systems as a way for the Buros to communicate over long distances.

The Buros are hard working yet find celebration just an important. They are quick to find reason to host a celebration, thus impromptu gatherings and revelries happen frequently. Because of the scarcity of resources in their land, food is not thought of when it comes to celebrations, and when seeing the focus of it in other cultures festivities, they are often confused by the waste. Their own celebrations are filled with music and dancing and story telling, decorating themselves and their surroundings with gems and paints and whatever can be found.

Exploring Opportunities

While naturally curious, Buros are often fearful and hesitant to consider a life above ground. They can be sometimes be driven to the adventuring life in cases of protecting their home, saving or supporting someone important to them, or in rare cases, exile. 

Buros Names

Buros have given names, but often times not until they are past infancy. Family names are not considered, as they view their entire society as one family. On occasion, to differentiate between two, they will be referred to by a physical feature. 

Male Names: Loe, Kamaile, Ka'eo, Alaka'i, Liko, Hale, Amosa, Lihau, Haku, Makaio, Iasepa, Ku, Manu, Kau'i, Pili, Kahekili, Manuku, Apikai, Milimili, Akiliano, Hokeo

Female Names: Kaiemi, Anela, Kanaloa, Alanna, Wailani, Ka'ili, Halia, Noelani, Noelani, Wana'ao, Uluwehi, Mamo, Mahina, Ho'ola'i, Peke, Kahue, Kei, Inoa, Ana

 

Buros Traits

Your Buros character has a number of traits in common with all other Buros.

Age

Buros mature and age very quickly, reaching adulthood and full mental maturity by 6 and typically living no longer than 40.

Size

Buros are between 2 and 3 feet tall and usually weigh no more than 30 pounds. Your size is small and you can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet. You have a burrow speed of 35 feet through non-magical, unworked earth and stone.

Enhanced Senses

The Buros' senses have been fine tuned by life underground and the delicate hairs covering their body help them detect tremors in the surfaces surrounding them. You have Tremorsense with a range of 30 feet. Your eyes have adjusted to seeing in a perpetual state of darkness and your vision is unaffected by a lack of light source. You can see in dim light and darkness within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light. You can discern colors in darkness instead seeing them in shades of gray. 

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Burosan. While fluent in Common, you feel much more comfortable speaking your native tongue and whenever speaking to yourself, switch back to it. The Buros do not have a written language and find books and letters burdensome. Their oral tradition, however, is very strong, and they immensely enjoy celebrating and communicating through song.

Evolutionary Enhancements

Your Intelligence score increases by 2 and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Sharp Mind

Building an underground society has called for the Buros to be particularly innovative and resourceful. You can choose between having a proficiency in Survival or Investigation. 

Innovative Resilience

In depth knowledge of the way force effects creatures and structures has given you resistance to being harmed by it. You have resistance to force damage and you have advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects that deal force damage.