Homebrew Ysoki Species Details

The Ysoki are a race of size small creatures that appear to be humanoid rats. They originate from the red world of Akiton, though they maintain that they arrived many generations ago from beyond the sky. Skilled craftsmen and thinkers, Ysoki are renowned for their ability to reverse engineer the futuristic technology of Verces and such have helped the world of Akiton enter a new renaissance of technological innovation. You can find many Ysoki busy hawking their wares and inventions in the Hivemarket as this is where they maintain their greatest degree of freedom.

 

Physical Description: Ranging from 3 to 4 feet tall, ysoki resemble humanoid rats who walk upright, complete with fur, long incisors, constantly twitching noses, and partially prehensile tails that help them keep their balance and maneuver in zero gravity. Their small, dexterous hands are perfect for working on delicate electronics, and their keen noses often allow them to identify complex chemicals by smell. Male and female ysoki are difficult for other races to tell apart, as they have similar body types and favor similar fashions.

            Society: Ysoki society is chaotic and freewheeling, and a typical warren is full of half-finished projects and multiple ysoki talking over each other. Regardless of their role in society, nearly all ysoki hold a deep and abiding love for technology and gadgets, whether it be an engineer’s love of taking machines apart or a fighter’s appreciation for her armor’s construction. While they traditionally take on roles and societal niches other races view as unpleasant, acting as junkers or squeezing through tunnels too small for medium creatures, this is due not to a lack of pride, but rather an abundance thereof—ysoki are so sure of their own worth that living in subpar conditions doesn’t shame them.

 

            Relations: Ysoki maintain cordial relations with Akitonians, though they remain wary of those that would abuse them for their technological prowess. Ysoki particularly enjoy the company of Egremir and find their flat personalities fascinating. Ysoki regard all off-worlders as “targets”, those who are likely willing to spend a greater share of their gold on the junk they peddle from the scrap heap.

            Alignment and Religion: Larger races’ tendency to underestimate or pick on ysoki has left them fiercely loyal to their friends and families—both ysoki and otherwise—and a ysoki presented with a gross injustice often feels the need to fling himself teeth-first at the problem, consequences be damned. As a result, the most common ysoki alignment is chaotic good, though they can easily be tugged toward the evil alignments by loyalty or a need to strike back at perceived oppression (or even simple disrespect). Though most Ysoki don’t practice traditional worship they do maintain a deep respect for their ancestors and practice a form of reverence for their familial lines.

            Adventurers: Though ysoki form strong bonds with their friends and families, these connections are as likely to take them off-world as to keep them at home. Many curious young ysoki sign on with starship crews from Verces to see the universe or find their fortunes, and soon adopt their shipmates as a second family. Their natural aptitude with machines most often leads ysoki to become Artificers, but they also enjoy the gloriously complicated weaponry employed by some Rogues and Fighters, and many appreciate the quick-witted patter of Bards.    

            Names: Ysoki names tend to be short, and even those given longer names inevitably shorten them for informal use. Nicknames are often as important to ysoki as their actual names, and they tend to give both other ysoki and their non-ysoki friends monikers that refer to their personality or physiology, such as “Snack,” “Sparks,” “Twitch,” “Boom-Boom,” or “Dirtbath.” While some ysoki take family names, many use the names of their ships or home settlements instead. Some sample ysoki names include Bena, Coponisa, Cors, Goba, Ketch, Kib, Lolo, Niknik, Quig, Resk, Sim, and Twik.

           Age: Ysoki reach adulthood around the age of 5 and live at most half a century.

           Size: Ysoki are small creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

           Speed: Ysoki have a walking speed of 25 feet.

Ysoki Traits

Ysoki Racial Traits

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 2, your Constitution increases by 1.

Devoted Scavager

Gain proficiency in Investigation and your choice of either Sleight of Hand or Survival.   

Underfoot

Ysoki can move through the space of any enemy more than 1 size larger than themselves and do not provoke attacks of opportunity when doing so.  

Cheek Pouches

Ysoki can store up to 1 cubic foot of items weighing up to 20 pounds in total in their cheek pouches, and they can transfer a single object between hand and cheek as a bonus action. A Ysoki can disgorge the entire contents of their pouch onto the ground in his square as an action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Ysoki gain advantage on Stealth checks made to conceal items in their cheek pouches.