Homebrew Svanja Species Details
"The svanja are a people who laugh loudly, fight passionately, love completely, and live as if any moment could be their last. I have nothing but respect for them, and I would rather face a horde of orcs than a single svanja who was defending her home or family."
The svanja are a boar-like race who inhabit the rocky western lands of the subcontinent of Thurinvald. They are more numerous and openly gregarious than their neighbors, the Burendain and Ulven, and they show little interest in ruling or matters of war. They are more than capable fighters when they must be, but they generally seem to prefer an agrarian lifestyle of peace and living the good life. Their passions run hot, however, and a svanja with their blood up is a terror to behold.
Living Life Full-Measure
Svanja live their passions with an exuberance that could make an elf blush. Anything they think is worth doing, they throw themselves into it with all their heart. As a result, they often learn a number of skills before settling on something and driving themselves to be the best example of that they can be. They organize into clans, and each clan is made up of many families. Within a family, there is often an occupation which dominates, such as smithing or wine-making, but all Svanja are encouraged to follow their freedom and passions, so it's not at all unsual to find a cobbler in a family of farmers, and adventurers can come from any family or clan.
Svanja are very proud of their tusks, much as dwarves are their beards. They will often have their tusks scrimshawed in designs that echo their deeds, and they are fond of wearing tusk-bands of precious metals, or even having small gems set into the tusk itself. They also braid and dye their thick fur into patterns and create designs in colors that stand out in their natural colors, like crimson, turquoise, kelly green, indigo, and violet. They tend to favor loose clothing that compliments their stout and hardy physiques, for though they average shorter than many humans, they are on average broader as well.
Like the Burendain and the Ulvar, the Svanja believe their race was lifted up from feral creatures by the Primal Spirits, and they give veneration to them gladly. Some have come to know of the religions of nearby Velnar, and worship of the triad of gods called the Tinavri has gained some popularity among their clans. Indriathna the Binder, as a goddess of both nature and civilization, is of particular interest to them.
Svanja Names
Svanja names are handed down through clans, and most Svanja will give you their first and clan names before they share their family names with you. The name of one's family is considered more personal and is usually only shared with close friends.
Male Svanja Names: Davi, Fyllip, Ivar, Lukka, Marko, Matej, Petar,
Female Svanja Names: Anaja, Emala, Lana, Marta, Mya, Pytra, Saraj
Svanja Clan Names: Broadflank, Gladeye, Ironhide, Seashield, Stonestride, Thicktusk
Svanja Family Names: Antunovar, Babakel, Bozoth, Bumbaryk, Hokvath, Kovachevyk, Novaryk, Zadyar
Creating Your Character
At 1st level, you choose whether your character is a member of the human race or of a fantastical race. If you select a fantastical race, follow these additional rules during character creation.
Creature Type
Every creature in D&D, including each player character, has a special tag in the rules that identifies the type of creature they are. Most player characters are of the Humanoid type. A race tells you what your character’s creature type is.
Here’s a list of the game’s creature types in alphabetical order: Aberration, Beast, Celestial, Construct, Dragon, Elemental, Fey, Fiend, Giant, Humanoid, Monstrosity, Ooze, Plant, Undead. These types don’t have rules themselves, but some rules in the game affect creatures of certain types in different ways. For example, the cure wounds spell doesn’t work on a Construct or an Undead.
Life Span
The typical life span of a player character in the D&D multiverse is about a century, assuming the character doesn’t meet a violent end on an adventure. Members of some races, such as dwarves and elves, can live for centuries. If typical members of a race can live longer than a century, that fact is mentioned in the race’s description.
Height and Weight
Player characters, regardless of race, typically fall into the same ranges of height and weight that humans have in our world. If you’d like to determine your character’s height or weight randomly, consult the Random Height & Weight table in the Player's Handbook, and choose the row in the table that best represents the build you imagine for your character.
Svanja Traits
Your svanja character has certain traits deriving from your ancestry.Creature Type
You are a Humanoid.
Size
Svanja are somewhat shorter than humans on the average, but they are broader, denser, and weigh more. Your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Keen Smell
Thanks to your sensitive nose, you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception), Wisdom (Survival), and Intelligence (Investigation) checks that involve smell.
Natural Armor
You have tough skin that isn't easily cut. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 12 + your Constitution modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
Relentless 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.
Tusks
You have prodigious tusks that you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with it, the strike deals 1d6 + your Strength modifier piercing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
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