Homebrew Dark Sun, Mul Species Details

 

 

Sterile crossbreeds of humans and dwarves, muls are well-known for their outstanding stamina. Accordingly, templars, noble families, and merchant houses breed them as slaves.

Combining dwarven toughness and human ingenuity, muls inherit the best features of both races. Although muls can serve in many ways, most find their lives shaped by a noble’s desire to create a worthy champion or a merchant’s calculated investment in a gladiator for the arenas.

Squat and Brawny

Muscular and fit, muls resemble powerfully built humans. Standing between 6 and 7 feet tall and weighing about 300 pounds, these half-dwarves bear heroic proportions — broad shoulders, powerful thighs, and thick arms. Both genders are hairless and hint at their dwarven ancestry, with strong, stern features and small, swept-back ears that come to subtle points. Mul skin and eye colors are as varied as they are inhumans, but many muls have a copper or deeply bronzed complexion, and few have noticeable gold flecks in their eyes.

Muls have little collective racial identity and adopt the dress and fashion of their homes. As products of the city-states where they are bred, they have no culture of their own. Some escaped slaves make a home for themselves among the desert tribes, but because no mul can start a family, they have no place to call their own.

Born into Slavery

All muls begin their lives as slaves. Slave holders throughout the Tyr Region have long known that tremendous hardiness and stamina result from mixing human and dwarven lines.Since muls make outstanding gladiators, slave warriors, and heavy laborers, enduring toil and hardships that would kill lesser folk, they are often most-sought.

Born to the slave pens, the task master’s whip takes the place of loving parents and family. For this reason, muls develop violent reactions. But when they perform well in the arena, they receive the most pampered treatment of any slaves. Consequently, some don’t see slavery as that a great hardship. However, those who have tasted the sweet air of freedom will fight to retain it.

Lust for Freedom

Muls who set their hearts on freedom are difficult to keep in chains. Some escape to the wilds and become raiders or join tribes of ex-slaves, wheras others who escape become mercenaries and sell their fighting skills to whomever they can. Muls who don’t flee captivity can win their freedom in the arena or by completing a dangerous task for their masters. A few highly prized gladiators receive so many privileges and comforts that they are effectively free, enjoying great latitude to go where they want and do as they wish.

Gruff and Taciturn

Muls are hard, driven, pragmatic folk with little remorse or sympathy in their hearts. Many grow up under the lash, subjected to brutal training for the arena or grinding toil in fields or quarries. As a result, muls have a hard time offering friendship and trust to anyone. More than a few muls, scarred by the hardships of their upbringings, spend their days as bitter, violent misanthropes. Others are suspicious, grasping mercenaries who have learned never to lift a finger on behalf of another person without establishing what they will gain from providing aid.

Despite their tendency to be sullen or self-centered, muls don’thave a particular enmity for any people and can learn to work alongside others. Growing up in the slave pits and the underclass of society taught them how to figure out who to trust, who not to, and how to gain favor and reputation among others, slaves or free people; their survival demanded nothing less.

Mul Names

Muls favor one simple name, generally a human one or variants. They don’t have families, so they don’t get to pick a last name, but sometimes they use place names to denote their place of origin, like “Mersten of Nibenay” or “Tomak of Tyr”.

Male Names: Aram, Borthomar, Bost, Darok, Darus, Durn, Eben, Erekard, Gard, Harask, Marok, Morg, Rikard, Sanozar, Tomak, Uskan, Zedath, Zorus.

Female Names: Aisa, Aivel, Brithis, Callia, Demosis, Elina, Faivel, Himithis, Laivi, Mersten, Narisel, Raina, Reshel,Saditha, Tirshel, Uisel, Zerima.

 

 

 

 

 

Dark Sun, Mul Traits

Your dwarf character has an assortment of inborn abilities, part and parcel of dwarven nature.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength and Constitution scores are both increased by 2.

Age

Muls mature at the same rate as humans, reaching adulthood around 18. They seldom live past 85 years, though.

Size

Muls are taller and broader than humans, and they range from 6 to 7 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of yourself as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.

Inexhaustible

You have advantage on all saving throws made to resist exhaustion. In addition, as an action you can reduce your current exhaustion by one level. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Relentless Endurance

When you are reduced to 0 hitpoints but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. Once you use that trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Superior Resilience

You have advantage on saving throws against disease and poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.

Languages

You speak Common and one extra language of your choice.