Homebrew Zora Species Details

The Zora, from the legend of zelda series.

The Zora, sometimes referred to as Nayru's Chosen and often confused for a multitude of other sea dwellers by the people of Toril.

The Zora live all throughout their unnamed home planet but mainly live within their capital city called the Zora's Domain in the land known as Hyrule, the Domain resides in a massive cavern, the large city stands above a great lake suspended by dark-blue stone above the water, the domiciles of the Zora are either built into the walls of the Domain both above and below the water or are small castle like structures upon the main platform where the main districts of the city resides, the Domain is hidden from the world via a massive waterfall that hides a secret entrance which can only be opened via the performance of a secret Song known only to the Zora nobility and the Hylian royal family, however this main passage is not often used by the Zora who prefer to travel via the many waterfalls, rivers and under water tunnels that lead into the city, one of these tunnels leads towards the great lake Hylia while another leads towards the moat that surrounds Hyrule Castle, a final river and one most traveled by Zora daredevils leads to the top of a great mountain and the infamous diving spot Shatterback Point.

The Zora appear as tall and slender humanoids with an unmistakable resemblance to sharks, They are scaled, have gills upon their necks and the sides of there torso just above the waist, they also have large fins on their spines, forearms and calves as well as webbed hands and feet, finally they have large tails on their backside, all of these things giving them excellent swimming capability and the power to breathe under water or on land. There are two types of Zora, River and Ocean Zora, the only noticeable difference is the colour of the scales and their eyes, Ocean Zora have lighter skin tones and are most commonly a light blue colour that shines under direct light alongside having pitch black shark like eyes, River Zora usually have darker skin tones and have a larger variety of colours from red to blue and even some greens as well as having human like eyes that are the colour light yellow or light blue. Despite these differences Zora of both river and ocean variety have a striking resemblance to sharks made all the more prominent by their sharp shark-like rows of teeth. most noticeable of Zora traits however is their "hair" or rather what can be referred to as "hair", on their heads in the guise of hair and more rarely facial hair Zora have Fins, Tails or sometimes tentacles in the place of hair, funnily enough they actually have the ability of consciously control this "hair", some Zora have taken to slapping there backs to show appreciation or excitement with these hair tails, some more rude and temperamental among them even slap other people with these tails.

Zora reproduction is abnormal, they have male and female sexes but as opposed to intercourse the female Zora will lay a multitude of tadpole like eggs usually about 30-50 which the male will then fertilise externally, over the course of a year the eggs will then hatch under-water as tadpole like creatures shaped like musical notes, then in another years time the eggs will reach childhood exiting this stage and becoming humanoid like toddlers, Zora take only one partner whom they marry and usually will mate for life lest something draw them apart, usually not falling out of love as the emotional bond is far too strong for that but more commonly the death of the partner, Zora rarely remarry after the death of their partner and usually don't live too much longer after a lovers death.

Zora aging is also highly abnormal, most Zora commoners will live to about 1000 years old, however many have managed to live longer, the previous king of the Zora died aged 4006, interestingly Zora also don't ever stop growing as they age, by age 60 a Zora will be around 5ft to 6ft tall and medium sized, by age 100 they are typically 6ft to 7ft and medium in size, however depending on what a Zora eats, how often it does so and how well exercised they are a Zora could reach a great height and width by age 500, the aforementioned previous king a 20ft tall and 20 ft wide juggernaut of a Zora and Gargantuan size, the current king being in his immense shadow only 10ft in height and width and large sized at age 500. The Zora also have a different perception of aging, a Zora will be considered a child and unable to truly care for itself until aged 100 in which they will be considered an adult. it is undocumendted how long or how large Zora can grow to, hypothetically out there in the middle of the ocean a true titan of the Zora might be found. 

Due to how many Zora could potentially be born to a family, The Zora do not have a normal hierarchy, government or royal family, instead of firstborn succession, the members of a family will gather together to vote for the next head of a family, on a larger scale the king is chosen from the royal family not just by an internal vote, the nobility also has a say in who amongst the royal family is voted king or queen, they also vote for who the successor will be all-though the title of Zora princess/prince is usually more of a respect thing rather than binding, after the rulers death another is chosen as King or queen and while it is common for the prince/princess to be elected sovereign for life it doesn't always happen, the sovereign will rule from the Water temple, also known as the Black-Blue palace and the Temple of Nayru located in the Zora's Domain.

Zora have the natural Ability to magically control water, taking the form of the Shape Water Cantrip for the younger or more inexperienced amongst the Zora, and summoning full on whirlpools or rocketing through the waves for the older amongst them, as one may expect this power gives their already incredible swimming ability a supernatural swiftness that makes them unrivaled in racing, however out of respect and cordiality Zora in racing competitions with other species and peoples will choose against using there powers to keep things fair, very few indeed can beat them anyway.

Zora culture is very conflicting, older Zora tend to be polite, precise and calculated, its always very hard to figure out what is troubling or exciting a Zora Elder, in stark contrast from this restrained and wise personality younger Zora especially those who have just become adults are loud and emotional, being driven by their passions and their hearts more then anything else. Old or young all Zora hold three things in high regard as the most important aspects of their identity and their status, these being Knowledge, Swimming and Music. Zora worship the Triforce and are the children of the Goddess Nayru, one of the three creators of the world, she holds power over the domains of Wisdom, Music, Learning, Order, Water, Magic and Peace. As such the Zora hold these things in great import within their people, most Zora will choose two or three passions that will control their entire life as they barrel into them with unbridled enthusiasm, the favoured passions of the Zora are Music and swimming, every Zora is a skilled swimmer by both love of the art and necessity, Most if not all Zora know how to play at least one musical instrument. popular instruments are the Guitar, drums, piano, harp, zither, saxophone, trumpet, violin, bass, double bass, the voice and flutes of all kinds. Zora also have a long history of swimming as a sport, what sports? all of them, Diving, Races and Synchronised swimming are all incredibly popular amongst the Zora who hold the most skilled and talented amongst them in great status and pride. Some Zora are known to take an academic approach to life, their are no small number of magicians amongst them, the most common magic practiced is of course Hydromancy, that is the manipulation and control of water as both a supporting force and a weapon, Healing magics are also common, one less practiced but still used magic is of course Aerotheurgy, also known as wind magic, pyromancy or fire magic is viewed with fear and confusion and is outlawed in most of polite Zora society, on the more scholastic side students and teachers of medicine and history show up normally and the ever famous Zora politician or philosopher is welcome in any court.

Much like my Goron homebrew before this i do not of course, own the rights to any of this content, and most of the lore i have written here i non-canon and entirely custom, i have however this time around figured out the creator of the artwork used, they go by the name "DrunkenFist17" and i found this artwork on pinterest so this name may be inaccurate as of the time of writing or viewing, thank you for reading, more Zelda content coming soon, not sure what though, maybe Gerudo, id love to hear what any who views this want's to see-Lord Bellathar.

Zora Traits

Tall, slender fish-like people with extremely long lifespans a natural talent for music and a passion for their history, alongside innate magical powers to control waters and heal some wounds.

Size.

The average Zora ranges between being 6ft tall to 7ft tall and are medium creatures, however a Zora never stops growing with age, so depending on what and how much a Zora eats they could potentially grow to the size of large by age 500 but some could be even bigger.

Zora are born from eggs like tadpoles and while they are within there first year of life are Tiny sized but quickly grow to small by the end of there first year of life, Zora tadpoles look like musical notes.

Age.

Zora live an exceptionally long time, on average a commoner Zora could live to 1000 years and the elites amongst them have managed to live longer, it is undocumented how long a zora could really live with the oldest amongst them dying at the age of 4006.

As such Zora also have a different perception on aging with all Zora being viewed as children until the age of 100 at least despite their appearance or experiences.

Talented swimmers.

Zora have a long storied tradition of swimming as both an art form and a sport, one location well known amongst them is shatter back point, a cape jutting out from a large mountain overlooking a small lake where only the most experienced of Zora athletes attempt to dive from the top.

Your swimming speed is 40ft and you are unaffected by the swimming penalties of wearing medium armour and only suffer half the penalty of heavy armour.

Choose to gain proficiency in either athletics or acrobatics.

Speed.

Zora have a walking speed of 30ft.

Darkvision.

Zora have Darkvision thanks to thousands of years traversing the water, They see dim light as if it were bright light and pitch black as if it where dim light, they cannot discern colour only shades of gray, this Darkvision extends for 120ft any further than that is pitch black.

The Children of Nayru.

The Goddess Nayru's blood courses through the Zora, giving them access to many innate magical powers.

All Zora have the ability to manipulate water freely which they use constantly for daily life. They have access to these powers immediately from birth although many of the more advanced techniques take time to learn and master.

Starting from level one you can manipulate water with ease innately and at will, as if you were using the Cantrip Shape Water. You also can use some special abilities with this power.

Jet Stream. While in water or rain you can use a bonus action to Dash as you use your magic to burst yourself around and cause you to practically fly under the ocean or glide short distances while in the rain, you can also use this bonus movement speed to leap out of the water like a dolphin or a rocket. This ability does not allow you to fly or levitate while in rain just move very quickly in one direction, the moment you stop using this ability in the air you will begin to fall.

Air Pocket. As an action, Create a small 5ft by 5ft pocket of air in water or in the rain allowing you to breathe as if on land while your head is in it.

Water Blade. As a Bonus action, Use the water around you from the rain, open water, a bottle, etc. to create a blade of pressurized water, this blade uses your wisdom modifier for to hits and damage rolls, this blade does 1d6 Slashing damage at level one and increases to 1d8 at level three and 1d10 at level five. You can use your action to make a melee weapon attack or a ranged spell attack with 80ft of range and dealing the same damage as the melee attack. This weapons damage is magical.

At level two you gain a superior understanding of your power gaining access to one more ability.

Oceans Might. As an action while submerged in water, spin around in a 30ft circle rapidly, creating a temporary whirlpool within the location of your spin, all creatures enemy and ally alike must make a Strength saving throw with a DC of 8+Wisdom+Proficiency, on a failure the creature is dragged towards the centre of the whirlpool or as close as they can get to and they take 2d8 magical slashing damage, on success they fight the whirlpools strength and do not get dragged and only take half damage. Until the end of your next turn the Whirlpools zone becomes difficult terrain for everyone but you.

At level three you become almost a true master of your powers gaining access to one final ability.

You'll drown down here. As an bonus action once per combat encounter and while under water grab a creation by the leg, the target must make a DC 8+Wisdom+Proficiency strength saving throw or be dragged the remainder of your movement speed downwards under the water alongside yourself.

I highly recommend talking to your DM about these abilities, i also recommend making new ones entirely, these powers are only guidelines as to what the Zora can do with there magical powers, one could make the argument that at level seven the Zoras innate magic becomes strong enough to mimic the 4th level spell Control Water.

Passion for Life.

Almost as much as their wisdom and temperance drives them to study and organise, Zora are often Ruled by their passions and emotion, among most notable of these wants is the Zora desire to make songs and study history.

You are proficient in one Instrument of your choosing, common and popular instruments for the Zora are Guitars, Drums, Pianos, Harps, Ocarinas and the Voice.

You Also gain proficiency in either performance or history, You Choose.

Zora take their Instruments wherever they go, whatever Instrument you chose you start with at character creation.

Finally Zora can make any performance or history checks with there wisdom instead of the standard modifier if they choose to.

Water Breathing.

Zora have the ability to breathe under water thanks to their fish like biology, they can breathe under water naturally, they can do so even if unconscious.

The Tools of The Domain.

All Zora are expected to know how to Fish and how to Defend themselves by age 20.

You have proficiecy with Spears, Javelins, Pikes and Tridents.

You also have proficiency with the Fishing Tackle Tool.

Languages.

Zora can speak, read and write Common, Aquan and one more language of your choice.

I recommend the languages of Celestial, Primordial or Draconic, As it makes their Goddess Nayru who holds domain over Knowledge and water would know the languages of the gods, elements and magic, and with her blood flowing through them it's likely a Zora would attempt to learn one.

But logically for you i recommend choosing a language that helps most for the setting or campaign you are in.