Homebrew Sharkhaan Species Details
Aye, I was aboard the Balluga when they came upon that accursed wreck. I was there when ten sailors boarded her and went below deck. I heard their screams ring out and suddenly silence and you be damned sure when I tell you, I saw the look in the razor-toothed monster’s eye as it came out of the wreck and up onto our deck. It looked at us like we was fish at the market, sizing us up for its dinner.
Tales are told among mariners, of sharks who leap from the surf and attack sailors plucking the unsuspecting victims from aboard their boats. These tales are often of the Sharkhaan, a race of powerful and aggressive humanoid sharks who travel the oceans in tribes seeking food and defending their territory from those unwise enough to venture there. Despite the Sharkhaan being a single species, their appearance varies in as many ways as there are sharks, with the Tiger, Hammerhead, Mako and Great White making up the majority. The Sharkhaan have a strong sense of spiritualism, believing that their god’s blood flows through them and all shark kind. In the Sharkhaan religion, an evil ocean goddess corrupted the Sahuagin, cousins to the Sharkhaan, and drove them to their violent madness. Since then, the Sahuagin and Sharkhaan have been mortal enemies with a deep instinctual hatred of one another. Sharkhaan make their homes among rocks and coral along particularly in reefs, and coastal areas where fish are plentiful, rumours also exist of giant Sharkhaan living in the deep sea. Though not xenophobic, the Sharkhaan are naturally distrusting of many non-aquatic races. Landfolk such as Humans and Dwarves have been known to hunt Sharkhaan, mistaking them for monster or sharks, capturing them for slavery or sometimes “culling” them to remove them from hunting grounds. Because of this history, few but the Sharkhaan know the location of the tribal homes and fewer still have ever been there.
Adventurering
While most Sharkhaan prefer to remain among their own people, there those who answer the call to adventure. Some journey to explore unexplored stretches of the oceans, others seek out meaning or purpose in life, some Sharkhaan have even been known to fall in love with landfolk never returning to the sea. In the rarest of cases, some Sharkhaan have been exiled from a tribe, receiving a brand burnt upon their flesh to let all Sharkhaan know that their crimes are unforgivable. Despite their frightening demeanour and instinctual aggression, Sharkhaan are very open to working with other non-Sahuagin races for a common goal. Many see their strength and vast experience with the ocean a boon to any dockyard or aquatic vessel, though they may seem a tad superstitious. Making friends with a Sharkhaan is notoriously difficult, but doing so earns a lifelong friend and companion. This being said, it’s always a good idea to take care when travelling with a Sharkhaan, as they have few scruples regarding what or who counts as food. Few things give pause to the brave Sharkhaan, but the thing they fear above all else are Orcas, Killer Whales who feed intentionally upon their kind and can hunt down and devour entire tribes. Sharkhaan change their hunting ground frequently to try and stay well and truly away from Orca hunting grounds. Killer Whales have developed a natural talent for hunting Sharkhaan, with a single pod being able to decimate a Sharkhaan warband without suffering so much as a single casualty. Some Sharkhaan, given to madness, worship the Orca as an inevitable hunger that will one day be lead by an immense Orca Titan, "Skaar" to consume all Sharkhaan.
Sharkhaan Names
Sharkhaan are not born with a name, a school of youngsters is cared for until they come of age and go on their first solo-hunt. Once a child has reached adolescence, they must hunt prey large enough to feed themselves for a day alone, if they succeed, they are granted a simple name by the tribe based on outstanding achievements or quirks of the child. A child that hunted a large fish and has a strong appetite might receive a name like Trenchgutt, a fast child might go by Wavebreaker, a child that hunted at night could earn the name Mooneye and so on. Some examples of Sharkhaan names are;
Bite face, Bloody Legend, Chase, Chopper, Chum, Cutter, Deep Blue, Dent, Flapper, Frenzy, Hookjaw, Little Fin, Lucky Tail, Marlin, Ripplefin, Scarboard, Shredder, Stripeless, Thickhead.
Sharkhaan Traits
Your sharkhaan character has the following racial traits.Ability Score Increase
Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age
Sharkhaan age fairly slow, reaching maturity around the age of 25. They can live long lives, but given the violent nature of their aquatic life, they tend not to survive longer than 100 years.
Alignment
Fiercely honorable, they seek to live in harmony forming small communities that respect a single leader elected every seven years from the tribes. As violent as their natures can be at times, they also can be exceptionally tender. This leads them to being usually chaotic in nature, but loyal to those they care about.
Size
Sharkhaan are between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 200 and 300 pounds. Your size is Medium
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Your swimming speed is 30 feet.
Natural Armor
You have thick, sandpaper like skin. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Constitution modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
Hungry Jaws
Your fanged maw is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Powerful Build
You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Blood in the Water
On your turn, when you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack, you can move up to half of your speed and make a Hungry Jaws attack as a bonus action, and you gain temporary hit points (minimum of 1) equal to your Constitution modifier.
Limited Amphibiousness
You can breathe air and water, but must submerge once every 3 days to avoid suffocating.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and Aquan
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