Homebrew Bruk Species Details

Lightless tunnels spiderweb through the frozen Hadrone mountain range, home to a labyrinth of abandoned mines, waterlogged caves, and subterranean monster dens. The bruk, commonly known as frost giants, are an ancient race that has dwelled in the dark caverns for millennia. Their rugged and merciless personalities mirror the harsh life of Mount Hadrone; no room for weakness or warmth.

Some bruk live in the Hills of Mork and Gork to the south of Mount Hadrone. There, they act as bandits who raid the unlucky souls who venture through their territory. No matter where they live, Frost Giants recognize the dragon Glacia as their lord and master, putting aside tribal schisms and serving her will when commanded.

Physical Description: Bruk are hard to ignore in a room, with a taut posture and large, imposing bodies. Frost giants average nine feet tall, with wide and sturdy lower bodies that support their hulking arms and shoulders. Their skin tends to be a pale and sickly gray-to-white, although bruk that live on the surface tend to have a darker complexion. Both males and females wear their dark hair in long braids and have copious body hair. 

Traits: Frost giants can live for as many as 250 years, though it is the lucky one who does so. Life for both males and females is often short and brutish, spent in the service of the tribe. While tribes are structured differently, most males labor as miners, while females make up a warrior class that oversees the activity of a tribe. 

Constantly faced with the threats of starvation, the elements, and an angry dragon, solitary bruk do not live long. Most rely on the tribe in almost every aspect of their life. They tend to be distrustful of other cultures and races, seeing them as too independent and unreliable.

Bruk tribes are matrilineal, and the duties of essential members of the tribe, such as shaman and war councilors, are passed down hereditarily. The boundary between tribe and family is very blurry. To keep the bloodlines strong, tribes trade promising young males with each other. Strategic marriages are set up by the war councils of each tribe to reward the talented and maintain social control.

Age: The bruk reach adulthood in their teens, when they are given their profession. Any over a century are respected as an honored elder, and typically live only another century.

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Bruk Traits

Bruk possess great natural bulk grow up in caves, serving the Glacian, and later Terran, Empires as peerless miners and warriors since time immemorial.

Size

Bruk tower between 8 and 10 feet tall and average 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Darkvision

You have superior vision in dim and dark 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.

Bruk Warfare

You have advantage on opportunity attacks made against a hostile creature you can see that moves out of your reach.

Bruk Weapon Training

You have proficiency with great weapons, including the greatclub, greataxe, and greatsword, maul, pike, and longbow.

Bruk Tool Proficiency

You have proficiency in the artisan’s tools of your choice: smith’s tools, leatherworker’s tools, or mason's tools.

Languages

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