Homebrew Gerudo Species Details

Power Above All
Standing much taller than the average hylian and with a
powerful build, gerudos are an intimidating sight. Large
green or amber eyes, hard bronze skin, fiery red hair,
and a sharp beak-like nose sets them apart.
Gerudos disdain males of any race, hunting for mates
only to procreate. They produce daughters almost exclu-
sively, with a male gerudo born only once per century.
Ironically, such a male is predestined to become king of
the gerudos and lead them in war and conquest.
Twinrova, goddess of the sand, is the gerudos’
unrelenting patron deity. She is depicted as a colossal
gerudo with a giant cobra draped around her shoulders.
Gerudos with an affinity toward sorcery seek out the
goddess’s favor in pursuit of unleashing the latent
powers their spirits might contain.

Remorseless Raiders
Every day brings new challenges to a gerudo. Food,
water, and shelter are rare in the innermost reaches of
the wastelands they call home. A single mistake can
bring doom to an entire tribe, while an individual’s
heroic effort can ensure the whole group’s survival.
With so few resources at their hands, gerudos have
adapted to taking what they need from others. They raid
and pillage without remorse, seeing their methods as
means to their own survival. Saddlebags laden with
spoils, they venture back to their homeland before
enemy militias can cut them off. Gerudos returning to
their tribe with valuable treasures earn the greatest
prestige. Such treasures take the form of exotic
food and drink, quality gold and steel, and
slaves. Horses and other trained mounts,
such as donkeys and camels, are highly valued
as well. All gerudos have a natural affinity with
such beasts, taking great care in their well-being,
as the gerudos’ own survival depends on it. It is said
gerudo horses are the best quality breed in all the lands.

Survival of the Fittest
Gerudo homes are large encampments, usurped
fortresses, or temples carved in the mountainside. Their
main concern for survival being fresh water, permanent
settlements remain rare. Drought often plagues their
lands, forcing the gerudos to follow the herds. It isn’t
unusual to find ancient gerudo temples and other
structures half-buried and forgotten among the canyons
and desert sands they call home.
Gerudos place a premium on self-sufficiency and
individual skill. They have a compulsion to keep score,
counting their deeds and tallying their accomplishments
to compare to others. Gerudos love to excel, taking on
defeat with grudges and self-loathing. Those who
subdue or kill their opponents in combat rise as
champions and chieftains, while those with a knack for
magic become a tribe’s spiritual leaders.

Exiles and Outcasts
Communities of gerudos don’t exist in Hyrule, though a
lone gerudo may be found here or there. Such
individuals are often exiles or outcasts, constantly
having to prove their trustworthiness and requiring a
community or influencial Hyrulean to vouch for them in
order to be accepted. Even then, the gerudo faces
constant glares at best, or violent persecution at worst.

Gerudo Traits

Gerudo Traits

Gerudo traits

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

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score
increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age. Gerudos mature a little faster than most races,
reaching adulthood at 15. They live less than a century.

Alignment. Most gerudos are neutral. They see the
world as a place of predators and prey, kill or be killed,
in which only the strong survive.

Size. Gerudos range from 6 to more than 7 feet in
height, retaining a lean yet muscular build. Your size is
Medium.

Here’s how to determine your height and weight
randomly, starting with rolling a size modifier:
Size modifier = 2d8
Height = 6 feet + your size modifier in inches
Weight in pounds = 160 + (2d4 x your size modifier)

Gerudo fortitude

Gerudo Fortitude. You have advantage on all
Constitution saving throws.

Desert Dweller

Desert Dweller . You have advantage on Strength
checks when attempting to escape from quicksand.
You’re also naturally adapted to hot climates.

Expert explorer

Expert Explorer . You gain proficiency in the Survival
skill, and moving across sand does not count as difficult
terrain for you. Additionally, whenever you make a
Wisdom (Animal Handling) check related to mounts and
other beasts of burden, you can add twice your
proficiency bonus, instead of any proficiency bonus you
normally apply.

Saving Face

Saving Face. Gerudos are careful not to show
weakness in front of their allies, for fear of losing status.
If you miss with an attack roll or fail an ability check or
a saving throw, you can gain a bonus to the roll equal to
the number of allies you can see within 30 feet of you
(maximum bonus of +5).
Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you
finish a short or long rest.