Homebrew Garolph Species Details

The old, battle hardened gladiator brandished their sword in the air, shouting out with a booming voice, "Do you yield, warrior!?"

The gem-studded man kneeling on the ground spat blood on the sand before standing as he spoke. "I do not yield. I will never yield!" 

the gems on the man's arms shined as his eyes glowed, before a blue aura became visible around them, causing the incoming slash of the gladiator's sword to bounce of the blue energy surrounding the man before he charged at the gladiator, holding his halberd in both hands with the wrath of the very Earth itself.

-Thorres the Wisened One, A Prideful Arena

 

Tall humanoids with skin of brown, spots of a singular kind of gem scattered around the body, with hair and eyes matching the color of their gem. They are trained to be warriors, with a hierarchy determined by how well one fights in their typically underground village, though a few have made their village along the slopes of mountains on the surface of the Material Plane. Having a fondness for honorable combat, they refuse to harm those unable to defend themselves. When they unleash the wrath of the earth, a visible aura surrounds their body also matching the color of their gem(s). 

Of Earth and Men

Having said to be originally born due to a human courting a being from the Elemental Plane of Earth thousands of years ago, they are gifted with a heightened connection to the Material Plane's natural magic, enhancing parts of them while also separating them from their ancestors. This magic connection caused them to forever be born with gems on their bodies like as if they were a human's freckles. At first, it was thought that only the colors of their eyes and hair were affected by the gems throughout their body. However, when they picked up a culture revolving around fighting, it was discovered that their aura not only became visible when their connection to the natural magic of the Material Plane strengthened, but was also the same color as their gem. However, while their connection was strengthened, it was found to be impossible for them to concentrate on anything but the fight and their survival, making it also impossible to cast magic ironically enough. This connection is not entirely harmful for the Garolph despite that. While they were incapable of concentrating or casting magic, their connection to the Material Plane's natural magic strengthened their now visible auras, giving it form and making it act as a mystical barrier to shield them from harm.

Garolphs were similar to humans in how they matured and aged, but due to their magical connections, they had lifespans reaching over 200 years, as their bodies aged much slower past their thirties compared to humans. Garolphian Men upon reaching adulthood were typically weigh between 160 to 230lbs with a height of around 6 to 8 feet tall, while Garolphian Women typically weighed between 140-190lbs with a height of 5'9" to 7'8". Despite this, there were some outliers recorded in their history, with a few Garolphian men being shorter than most Garolphian women. On rare occasions, a Garolph would be born with two or more gems on their body, resulting in their aura, eyes and hair all being a mix of all the colors yet distinctly separated, with two gems demonstrably resulting in heterochromia instead of each eye having the same amount of each color. No matter how many gems they were born with however, every Garolph was born with brown skin.

The Culture of Warriors

Having a connection to the ground of the Material Plane, the Garolphs always preferred to build their villages underground or along the slopes of a mountain their families favored. Those whose villages were underground dug and carved to make their villages, while those that chose the slopes of Mountains built off the slope, with platforms and beams used to keep buildings on an equal elevation despite the slope. But both groups of Garolphs had one major thing in common: their love of honorable combat. Instead of raiding rival villages or settlements, they would send a messenger to issue a challenge to a combat held in an underground arena, fitted with pits and spikes made entirely out of stone. This arena would also be used to settle disputes inside a village, and no person outside of those chosen to represent the village or sides of a dispute was allowed to enter the arena's fighting grounds. 

This tradition of honorable combat is one of their oldest and most famous traditions, as their entire hierarchy revolved around who won the most fights in the village, with the one with the most victories being given the title as the village's leader. Alongside this tradition, they had a code that forbids the intentional harm towards those determined to be incapable of defending themselves. This included civilians, children, and elders, and it spread to even their rival villages. Any who was found to have done so was given three options: a trial by combat in the arena, being executed in the center of the village, or being banished from the village, never to return lest they be killed on sight. Sometimes, two or more villages will agree to hold a contest in one of their arenas for the glory of their village, where a few Garolphs of each village will be chosen to compete in fights for their village's honor and glory. This tradition has led to some Garolphs training specifically with the goal of becoming one of the chosen to represent their village. The fights are a series of combats in various styles in the arena, usually going until all but one side surrenders or the first death of each losing village occurs, with the victor going home with a wreath made of various metals.

Garolph Names

Garolphs use both Human and their own naming conventions. The Garolphian naming convention consists of names that are related to land, stone, gems or other natural phenomena found underground. Both are used interchangeably, no matter their place of origin, causing villages to typically have a mix of names.

Garolph Traits

As a Garolph, you have the following traits:

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

Garolphs mature at the same rate humans do and reach adulthood around the age of 18. They live much longer than humans, however, often exceeding 200 years.

Size

Garolphs are taller than most humans, ranging from 6 to 8 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

Thanks to your Garolphian blood, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Fearless

You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened, and magic can’t make you run away from creatures, both friend and foe.

Martial Training

You have proficiency with two Martial weapons and two Simple weapons.

Wrath of the Earth

Your wrath is strong enough that your very blood flows with the strength of an erupting volcano. Once per long rest, you can use your action to gain a bonus to your AC equal to your Strength Modifier for 1 hour. During this time, you can't cast or concentrate on spells or other effects requiring concentration. This effect ends early if you are incapacitated, dead or choose to end it with an action.

Special Training

As a Garolph, you were trained in one of two ways. Choose between having 15ft of Blindsight, or a Climbing and Swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Terran, and one extra language of your choice.