Homebrew Carix Species Details

Carix are tall, wiry humanoids with a crown of horns sprouting from their head and face. In their rocky homes, they bound across chasms and spring up nearly sheer cliff faces. These hardy hill folk are famed raiders and thrive in adventuring parties.

 

Personality: Carix lean heavily on family for support in their early years but often grow rebellious in adolescence and strike out on their own.  Carix family life is centered around a dominant male, and his word is law. As younger family members reach adulthood, it is not uncommon for them to marry into another family, or journey into the wider world to escape a tyrannical head of household. Carix will go to great lengths to protect their own, but are rarely concerned with the wellbeing of outsiders.

 

Description: A typical carix is a head taller than most men, but the difference is all in the leg. Most stand between 6 and a half and 7 feet tall and weigh between 180 and 250 pounds. Males tend to be at the larger end of the spectrum with females at the lower. Carix have light brown skin that has minor variations from tan to chestnut. The men grow long facial hair and have close shorn heads They have manes of mottled white and brown starting around the neck and shoulders and continuing to the small of their backs. Other body hair is short and soft. By far the most dominating feature of the race is the crest of bony nobs around the head and face. In adults, these become full-fledged horns, with racks of antlers or thick curved horns seen as signs of masculinity and short, sharper horns close to the head seen as attractive on females.

Carix men are fond of small vests and baggy pants, while the women are usually dressed in strappy halter tops and long, flowing skirts. Scarves, piercings, and ribbons are favorite decorations for both genders, and both will wear heavy cloaks when the weather is bad. Carix never wear leather or other “dead animals,” but are fond of wools and plant materials.

 

Relations: In a carix village, strangers are rarely welcome. Humans, dwarves and halflings are generally tolerated so long as they benefit the clan in some obvious way. Gnomes, goliaths, elves and githzerai will rarely be turned away out of hand, but are usually shunned until they have proven useful.

Carix have a general mistrust of all flesh eaters, but absolutely despise any being that will consume another intelligent creature. Thri-kreen, manscorpions, wemics, gnolls, illithids, trolls, ogres, giants, kobolds, orcs, goblins and bugbears are never welcomed by a carix. Indeed, gnolls and ogres are usually attacked on site.

 

Alignment: Carix have a tendency toward lawful alignments. Even though they have flexible family arrangements and small communities, carix crave companionship and would generally be happy following a strong leader. Carix have a slight preference for evil over good, since among the hill clans, watching out for your own is the safest path to survival, and because to lead, they must unseat their predecessor.

 

Society: In and around the village, affairs will be dominated by heads of extended families. These patriarchs govern the affairs of their brothers, sons, nephews, and on down, to a degree that many races have a hard time understanding. The word of a patriarch is law for his clan, and so is the word of a father within his family. Status for a carix is based on influence, wealth, number of wives, past accomplishments, and reputation of any mature offspring. It is not uncommon for a successful carix to have a dozen wives while a less accomplished male is usually unable to find more than a single mate, and sometimes none at all. Love matches do happen, but generally marriages are arranged by the fathers or patriarchs. Females usually lose all ties to their former family and are accepted entirely into the new one, but sometimes the roles are reversed, usually in the case of outcast males being adopted into the family.

Carix live in family groupings with a male surrounded by several wives and many children. Most work, and all menial tasks, are performed by the women or delegated to the children. The pulling of plows and other field work, crafting of basic goods and tending of livestock all fall to the females. Males concern themselves mostly with trade, government, defense, and various leisure activities. This is not to say that the male carix are lazy, just that they are above such base tasks.

A typical carix village is built in the nexus of several fertile valleys. It is here that grains are milled, goods are brought to market and festivals are celebrated with neighbors, much like in human lands. What is different is the lack of animals and animal products. Carix society considers killing animals for food or skins a deplorable act, and it is the rare carix who uses goods of leather or other animal products. This is not to say carix will not use animal products. They maintain herds of sheep, llamas and goats from which they gain milk and wool, but never for meat. Indeed, most carix won't even trade their livestock to other races except in the most dire of circumstances.

 

Lands: Because they require large-scale agriculture for their settlements, the hills and valleys where Carix live are often more developed than the territories of other races. Most clans of Carix settle in small villages or hamlets. Typically, they grow grains and vegetables, and often keep smaller herd animals such as sheep or alpacas. Their homes are generally of piled stones or sod with some woodwork. In larger towns and cities, the carix are fond of two story buildings with stone for the lower floor and wood for the upper, often with a small cellar.

The Carix found in lands of other races are often fleeing unfavorable family situations. These lone Carix are commonly quick to ally with a new group to replace their missing familial social structure.

 

Religion: The spirits of the hills are all familiar to the carix and are paid homage with numerous festivals and frequent offerings. When a carix clan goes to war, the warriors prepare their own graves ahead of time with their own hands. These stone cairns can become quite extensive if the combatant survives a few campaigns and are often decorated with trophies of war as well as tokens from more peaceful times. Carix clerics are less common than shamans or even favored souls. The shamans venerate local or ancestor spirits while favored souls and clerics are more likely to worship one of the greater spirits.

 

Language: The carix have only a spoken tongue, but the learned are often able to write in the script of dwarves. It is not uncommon for carix to be familiar with the languages of their neighbors. Many speak dwarf or human languages and commonly get by with forms of pidgin.

 

Names: Every carix has a birth name assigned by the newborn's mother and father and a clan name. It is considered exceptionally familiar to call any carix by only their birth name. Indeed, it is one of their more sophisticated insults to address one another without clan names or to call one “of no clan,” or “of no family.” When introducing themselves carix always use the clan name/given name construction. If an honorific is used, they make every effort to translate it into the listener's language so as to ensure its recognition and use the honorific in place of their given name. Carix traveling among other races often address others by clan or family name rather than use given names.

 

Male Names: Authoth, Burin, Dathor, Fral, Hrah, Keth, Movih, Nerath, Ordat, Pithal, Quin, Roth.

 

Female Names: Baka, Dothira, Ecana, Gyona, Keoni, Lona, Mavei, Mivoi, Thotha, Vikala.

 

Clan Names: Achi, Atyro, Dyti, Gyda, Khati, Minun, Neichos, Nugraf, Roas, Rovati, Tinuklai, Vrach.

 

Adventurers: Traditionally, the most common carix to become adventurers are females fleeing the attention of an older male, but young males are not uncommon either. The males are more likely to return to carix lands when they get bored, while the females are far more likely to settle in other societies. Carix are often rangers, fighters, barbarians or bards, though they are capable of becoming any class.

Carix Traits

Your minotaur character has the following racial traits. These traits are also suitable for minotaurs in other D&D worlds where these people have avoided the demonic influence of Baphomet.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Alignment

Most carix  lean toward lawful alignments. Those whom aspire to leadership often have evil alignments.

Size

Carix average over 6 feet in height, and they have light, wiry builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Horns

Your horns are natural melee weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing or bludgeoning damage (as appropriate to your horns)damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Clash of Honor

Immediately after you use the Dash action on your turn and move at least 30 feet, you can make one melee attack with your horns as a bonus action. This attack deals 2d6 + your Strength modifier damage rather than the usual 1d6 + Str.

Great Rack

You have proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Intimidation or Persuasion. If you gain proficiency in the same skill from another source then you may add double your proficiency modifier to that skill.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Carix.

Herbivore

Carix are true herbivores. They cannot gain sustenance from animal matter and must eat only vegetation to survive. A carix is able to graze on common vegetation, and often does so to supplement his diet, but finds fruits, cooked vegetables and breads to be the most enjoyable.