Homebrew Gerudo Species Details

     "The Gerudo are a tribe composed exclusively of women who have built a prosperous settlement in the Gerudo Desert. The Gerudo have brilliant red hair and brown skin. They are taller than Hylian women and have a more muscular build. With training, they are easily some of the fiercest warriors in Hyrule. They have their own unique language and, because they are a society isolated by a vast desert, their own deeply rooted culture and customs."

     - Creating a Champion

 

     - Image Credit: Txikimorin

Proud Women of the Desert

     Gerudo Town is the remnant of what was once a powerful civilization. The ancient, expansive kingdom has been claimed by the sands, but the last vestiges of stability still support a thriving community of fiercely prideful women.  Gerudo Town is the jewel of the desert, a home for young women, eldery, and all that breathe in between. A natural spring under the settlement is filtered into an aqueduct that flows through the streets, supporting life in the desolate heat. Men are not trusted by the Gerudo and are thusly banned from the Town. However, outside the closely guarded walls can be found a city of tents and make-shift villas sprawling out from the ruins of old Gerudo City to the north. These "Out Markets," as they are called are where the men of the other races of Hyrule gather, participating in local trade, looking for women, or otherwise settling down as merchants.  Many of the more permanent fixtures have given rise to organized professions, ranging from gambling to exotic trading, and even deadly gladiatorial combat.  The upper crust of the Gerudo regard this development as toxic, and the Royal Guard keeps a harsh watch on who goes and who stays. They make attempts to squash the undesirable activity that has cropped up in the Out Markets, but in spite of this, adventurous young women steal out into the night to seek thrills.

Culture

     The Gerudo are tall and muscular and adorn themselves with bright silks and lace their brawn with fine golden jewelry. The warriors who serve in the military favor long spears and make themselves known on the battlefield by their enthusiastic and imposing battle cry. The Gerudo carry a tradition since ancient times that if the young girls of their tribe spend too much time around men, then disaster will brew.  For this reason, men are banned from the inner city, where the seat of power resides.  Women instead learn of the men of Hyrule in school and as they approach maturity may choose to set off into the great expanse of Hyrule beyond the desert in search of a man to marry, if not purely for the thrill of adventure. They have preserved what heritage they haven't lost by telling tales of legends and heroines in their ancient language.  They worship the Seven Heroines of their tribe, deified warriors lost to history that are remembered as Divine Guardians.  Equally, the Gerudo revere the Goddess of the Sands, a Deity with whom they relate to more closely.  This goddess is also known to the Gerudo as the Arbiter of Justice, and the temple of her worship is kept by a sect of priestesses known as the Diviners across the Desert to the south.  Few are the pilgrims who brave the deadly heat of the desert by day and freezing cold by night, for the Gerudo do not advertise widely their Goddesses. They are protective of their culture and do not wish to risk further erasure by the erosion of time or war or intrusion.

Gerudo Traits

Your Gerudo character has certain traits deriving from your Gerudo ancestry.

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

Gerudo mature a little slower than Hylians, reaching adulthood around age 25. They age somewhat slower than Hylians and are rarely longer lived than 130 years.

Alignment

Gerudo are cultured toward a lawful nature but it is hard resist the chaotic allure of adventure, resulting in a varied mixture of alignment tendencies among the Gerudo.

Size

Gerudo are somewhat larger and bulkier than Hylian women, and they range from 5 to well over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Menacing

You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

Wasteland Endurance

When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Savage Attacks

When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Hylian and Gerudo. Gerudo is spoken from the throat, with particular emphasis on the hard consonants and sharp s's. The Gerudo Language has its own typography, consisting of twenty-six letters, two numerals (1 and 5) and four forms of punctuation.

The Blessings of the Seven

The Gerudo revere the Seven Heroines, divine guardians of the Desert. It is said that each Heroine possessed a different power: Skill, Spirit, Endurance, Knowledge, Flight, Motion, And Gentleness. At the start of each day, you may pray to the Heroines and choose two of the following skills: Combat, Charisma, Constitution, Intelligence, Strength, Dexterity, and Wisdom. For each of the two traits chosen, you gain one point of inspiration that can be used on any checks or saves that rely on that skill trait. Choosing inspiration in this way for combat will allow you to roll at advantage when making an attack of any kind in combat. The inspiration can be declared after a roll is made. The inspiration fades overnight, regardless if you sleep through it or not.