Homebrew Garri Species Details
Emerging from the Underdark, the gárri are a winged race of bat-like people. Highly social, they have a strong sense of community and duty, working to maintain balance within their large clans. Usually avoiding direct confrontation, they scavenged for food in the Underdark, occasionally ambushing smaller beasts or raiding successful colonies of other species, and trading salvaged and crafted goods. Outside their place of origin, they still believe that quick thinking and moving are key to survival- along with teamwork- and they reside in caves and gloomy forests, and dim alleys of crowded cities. In most places above ground the gárri are shunned for their looks and branded as evil, though they are no more inherently evil than any other race, and this has led to many gárri wanting to prove themselves by questing. And, with a knack for swift action and keen senses, they are well equipped to find and prove themselves true companions.
Size
The gárri are medium in size, having hollow bones and being wiry and athletic with deep chests; they stand at around 4'10"-5'8" tall, and their weight is in the range of 85-135 lbs.
Appearance
The gárri have bat-like heads with large ears and soft noses, and have bat-like wings that can stretch out to the side, but they are overall humanoid in silhouette. They have short, dense fur that is usually black or a dark earth tone in color, but seldom a golden brown or ever rarer, white. Their hands have short but sharp and tough claws, and their mouths have prominent front fangs. They have a short tail that comes down to the back of their thigh, webbed feet with short claws, and eyes that are a deep brown, black, amber, or sometimes red in color.
Age
The gárri age and grow somewhat quickly, maturing at around fifteen years, but can potentially have long lives of over 150 years or longer, though most are considered elderly at around a hundred.
Alignment
The communal and collectivist nature of gárri colonies give them Lawful tendencies, which help them to navigate their complex social structures, which are matriarchal and have warrior, mystic, merchant, scavenging, ruling, and other classes; whether they lean more Good or Evil depends heavily on the leaders of their colony, and it is lone gárri wandering in search of a suitable clan or home range that are most relatively likely to have a Chaotic or rigidly Neutral bent.
Language
The gárri speak Ijálla, known in Common as Gárrish, which is a relative of the Undercommon language that has a system of tones. Ijálla is a highly isolating and analytic language which has a deep inventory of noun cases, two different registers for formality, honorifics, and a grammar that is deceptively simple and relies heavily on context. Some examples of the more common honorifics are:
- -čor, an impolite and informal honorific when addressing a stranger.
- -pishu, a polite and informal honorific used when addressing a close friend or coworker.
- -njoll, a polite and formal honorific used when addressing an authority figure.
- -jarr, a polite and informal honorific used when addressing a stranger.
Names
The gárri have a given name and a clan name, as well as a caste name, which relates to their roles within the colony; gárri will usually address others by their clan and caste names in formal settings, though this would be considered odd or potentially offensive in an informal setting. Some examples of given names are: Geathi, Golli, Čoganea, Borresta, Árrvola; Čáppat, Bátni, Fámolaš, Viisis, Šearrat. Some examples of clan names are: Ránji, Vodi, Hollu, Beavelotin, Mánnu, and Lávlla. Some caste names include: Meacásteadji, Geačči, Sálvia, Ráthjeadji, Skáppo, and Jothaši.
Garri Traits
The garri are agile and surprisingly tenacious.Darkvision
Living in caves and shaded forests, the Gárri have excellent sight in dim conditions. You have Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Keen Hearing
Among their sharp senses, the large ears and sensitive hearing of the Gárri stand out. You have advantage on Perception checks that rely on hearing.
Bat Wings
Gárri are able to fly using their wings, though they are not long distance fliers, and generally only take wing to access difficult to reach places or flee threats.
At level 5, you have a flying speed equal to your walking speed. You can use it for up to proficiency x10 minutes, all at once or in several shorter flights, each one using a minimum of 1 minute from the duration. If you are flying when the duration expires, you descend at a rate of 30 feet per round until you land. You regain all your spent flying time after a long rest. You can't fly while wearing Heavy or Medium armor.
Echolocution
Ijálla is an offshoot of Undercommon that is the native tongue of the Gárri. They are not quite mutually intelligible, and it would be easier for a speaker of Ijálla to learn Undercommon than the reverse. You can speak, read, and write Undercommon.
Poison Resilience
Gárri have a strong constitution that enables them subsist on whatever is available to them. You have advantage on saving throws against Poison and Disease, and resistance to Poison damage.
Quick Claws
The claws of the Gárri are keen and durable, used for scratching away at tough ground and rock, and for apprehending small beasts.
You have a claw strike with your Dexterity that deals 1d4 Slashing damage. In addition, you can treat your unarmed strikes as though they have the Nick mastery property.
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