Homebrew Ahooling Species Details

These are the children of the winged terrors of the Underworld, the ahool. Compared to their elders they are considerably smaller and seem less of a threat, but many denizens of the depths would disagree. The demanding life of ahool society irons out the failings and weaknesses of these youthful creatures quickly, but when one is led too far astray or abandoned by their tribe, they pursue whatever path life provides for them (sometimes never reaching their full primal potential). Small collectives of ahooling are said to live outside the brutal societies of the predatory ahool, eschewing the bestial traditions of their greater cousins.

History

The origins of the ahool are as mysterious and widely attributed as their strange transformations, but some facts are known to the most knowledgeable Underworld scholars. During the Forging of the Dvergr, the devils of Hel granted great power to the gitwerc but not without garnering the attentions of their demonic counterparts. The fiends capered about the endless caves, corralling vast swarms of lesser creatures—bats, crabs and rats, depending on where the demons found themselves—together into vast caverns prepared for the simple beasts arrival. When all was ready, they collectively engaged in a complex, wild, grand two-stage ritual. First, they morphed thousands of the tiny minds into singular souls, and then they infused each with the essence of a primordial air spirit born in the core of Aventyr—the resulting creatures were the true ahool, predators supreme of the Underworld. The fierce, primal minds of the swarming creatures, melded with the predatory instincts of the aether spirits, created a race that easily rivaled the gitwerc. Unlike the changes wrought by the devils, however, the means of continuation for these powerful Underworld creatures was not so simple.

When killed, these powerful beastmen dissipated into swarms of demonic bats, crabs and rats, fleeing from whatever felled them to infest the endless caves as infernal creatures. When the lesser demonic vermin interacted with any other of their kind, each attributed a swarm and eventually—through an extremely gruesome and painful transformation—created the first ahooling. Those that survived are the ancestors of today’s ahool, carrying on the varied traditions required to catalyze their lesser forms and realize the true potential inherent in every ahooling.

Demons are said to occasionally create a new true ahool when the mood strikes them, but most of the originals have been destroyed by wayward adventurers or the infernal dwarves. The rivalry between ahool and gitwerc remains strong today—the beastmen crave the blood of the devilish stout ones, savoring what they believe to be the sweetest blood in all of Aventyr. A scant few of the true ahool still roam the Underworld (seemingly immortal) and are said to influence the events of all their lesser kin in a manner mysterious enough to be fitting for their kind.

Physical Description

Ahooling are not considerable in size, though they tend to be very lean and well-muscled. Each bears marks of what it may grow into as the ahooling ages, but the creatures are remarkably adaptive and their bodies evolve to suit their behaviors and environments. Still, they all bear some similar traits—long, piercing fangs that peek from out of their mouths, bodies covered in fine, coarse dark brown hair, vestigial wings that jut out of their shoulders, taloned hands, and large ears that rise from their narrow skulls in short triangular folds of flesh. The irises of ahooling are predominantly yellow—the eyes of nocturnal predators.

Society

The core of their being demands a diehard approach to life from the ahool, and even their lesser cousins, the ahooling, lead brutal, hardscrabble lives. They collect trophy fetishes, though only the strongest wear them openly; duels for assuming the spoils of victory from another are commonplace.

Ahooling treasure the drinking of blood; the more types of creatures one can legitimately claim to have succored from heightens their social status. Thus the most respected of the beastmen are either fierce combatants or purveyors of their most valued cultural tradition: vino sanguinis (blood wine). While few in number, ahooling moss caverns (which are located on the floor of a cave rather than on the ceiling, unlike the ahool’s moss gardens) are always ruled over by a native that has traveled the Underworld and returned ascended, a full ahool. When found by their more bestial cousins, these conclaves are quickly subsumed, whittled down until only the toughest ahooling remain. Their warriors are as much hunters as anything else, but the lesser beastmen show greater reverence for the arts and magics, allowing for their settlements to survive hidden from their stronger cousins.

Relations

Ahooling are respected and feared by other underworlders, regarded as powerful—albeit dubious—allies. Some can be quite civilized, but they are natural cutthroats. Most explorers remain wary of the ahooling; they avoid killing captives, instead subjecting them to long, torturous existences as preferred livestock for the vino sanguinis brewers.

Alignment and Religion

Ahooling are predominantly chaotic and evil, but not exclusively so. More than a few of the true ahool’s demonic lesser forms were discovered by adventurers that cleansed them, creating good impurities in the creatures before letting them loose once again. Sometimes these impurities surface in an ahooling, creating a beastman devoted to the purest ideals and goals. Though quite rare, paladin ahooling (and ahool) are spoken of in hushed tones by the malicious elder denizens of the endless caves, and hunted down whenever a true ahool learns of their existence.

Adventurers

The demanding lives of ahooling turn them into exquisite hunters, effective scouts, deft warriors and brutal barbarians. Those that leave their home cavern exemplify the drive and focus of their race—these explorers find their primal urges prove invaluable as they travel across Aventyr. While they are normally best suited to bear a weapon, some take to spellcasting and make powerful sorcerers or oracles.

Names

Male Names: Asht’haht, Gympth, Kolschak, Riktha, Rorsk’haht, Tek’ta’kaht, Worlpth

Female Names: Errell’atht, Fisscourth, Graix, Nedrazt, Preall’atht, Sol’kla, Syrralth, Vanes’satht

Ahooling Moss Caverns

The homes of ahooling are expansive networks of caverns overgrown with moss that hangs from the ceiling and traps in moisture, making the interior warm and inviting compared to the cold passages of the Underworld. Were it not for the greater respect that lesser beastmen show for magic, these settlements would never survive. A PC that succeeds on a DC 20 Intelligence (Nature) check can determine from the tribal markings shown around an ahooling moss cavern just how barbaric and dangerous its residents are likely to be. A moss cavern of ahoolings typically becomes an ahool moss garden (suspended in the air) after whatever initial founder’s influence passes into the annals of history.

 

Ahooling Traits

These are the children of the winged terrors of the Underworld, the Ahool. Compared to their elders they are considerably smaller and seem less of a threat, but many denizens of the depths would disagree.

Ability Score Increases

Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Ahooling mature slower than humans; they’re considered young until the age of 32. On average, they live about 120 years.

Alignment

Most Ahooling are chaotic evil, believing in a cut-throat, savage and predatory view of the world and all within, valuing power and survival above all else.

Size

Ahoolings stand between 5 and 6 ft. 5 in. tall and average about 185 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Ahooling Wings

By flapping your vestigial wings, you can slow your descent to 60 feet per round. You do not take falling damage and land on your feet. If you are incapacitated, paralyzed or petrified before reaching the ground, you begin falling normally. To use this ability, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor.

Bite

You can use your bite as a simple melee weapon with which you have proficiency. Your bite has the finesse and light properties, a reach of 5 ft. and deals 1d6 points of piercing damage.

Light Blindness

Abrupt exposure to bright light blinds you for 1 round.

Minor Blood Thirst

Ahoolings must drink the blood of others to fuel their metabolism. Every week, you must consume one gallon of blood per Hit Die or suffer from level 1 exhaustion. For every additional day without feeding, you increase the exhaustion level by a further +1. This exhaustion cannot be alleviated by any means apart from consuming blood equal to one gallon per exhaustion level incurred. If an ahooling manages to drink one gallon of blood, they reduce their exhaustion level by 1. A Medium-sized, healthy humanoid generally is assumed to have about 1. 2 gallons of blood, though extraction of a whole gallon of blood is fatal to a single individual. Medium creatures drained for more than 0. 5 gallons of blood suffer from level 1 exhaustion. For the purpose of this ability, assume creatures to have twice as much blood per size category above Medium, half as much per size category below Medium.

Radiance Vulnerability

You are vulnerable to radiant damage due to your dark heritage.

Sunlight Sensitivity

While in sunlight, you have disadvantage on attack rolls as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Superior Darkvision

Accustomed to life in the lightless depths, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 ft. 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.

Underworld Resistances

You are accustomed to the harsh conditions of the underworld. You gain your choice of either cold and thunder resistance.

Languages

You can speak read and write Infernal and Common and generally can understand the basics of Draconic. Ahoolings generally tend to converse in hissing, visceral-sounding Infernal.

Subraces

Three subraces of ahooling are found in Aventyr: aquatic fledgling, terrestrial fledgling and vampiric fledgling ahoolings. Choose one of these subraces.