Homebrew Armarillan Species Details

Friendly buggers the lot of them, their underground homes may not be the same as my ancestral hall but they know how to work stone and make nice jewelry. Don't come to close to the little ones though, the adults are very protective and their claws aren't only for digging.

- Borindar, dwarf miner

Physiology

The Armarillan are humanoid beings and have plates of bone armor covering their entire torso and tail and most of their neck and head. These bone plates also cover their shoulders and upper legs. Only their arms and lower legs are not covered by these plates. Armarillan have a light to dark brown colouring, their bone plates tending to be darker than their non-plated body parts. Although most Armarillan have a brown colouring, some may tend more toward black, light yellow or light reddish colouring. Their hands and feet have thick, short claws which enables them to dig efficiently and can be used as weapons if need be. They have long pointed ears and an elongated snout. Their sense of smell has developed greatly and use this to find food that is hidden underground like roots, worms , etc. . The Armarillan live inside burrows within forests, mostly near water. Living underground, Armarillan have learned to recognise unstable structures.

Society

 They are a peaceful race who value family and are very protective of kin, especially young Armarillan. They protect the surrounding forests to preserve their territory. The Armarillan have an oral culture, which means they don't write anything down because they do not use trees to make paper. This does not mean they are illiterate as they use books traded with other races to learn to read and write and such books are well taken care of. Although they protect the forest in their territory they do not see why they cannot use paper from trees that other races have cut down, as long as these trees were not within their territory. When close to other races, like elves, the Armarillan will try to make an alliance and make rules (most concerning the forest they live in). Armarillan have a "live and let live" attitude and will at first try to resolve conflicts in a peaceful manner. If peaceful means fail, the Armarillan are not shy to protect what they hold dear.

Their society is a patriarchy where the oldest male assumes the role of leader, subsequently leadership is mostly given to males. Although exceptional females can be granted leadership over a male. The Armarillan are gatherers and gather food and other resources in groups (mostly containing 5 Armarillan of which 2 are guardians tasked to protect the 3 gatherers). The Armarillan do not have much contact with other races, but if they do, they will trade medicinal herbs they have gathered or medicine they have crafted. They also trade gems and crystals they dig up from the underground. While they do not value money as much as other races do, they do see its use and will keep some gold in times of famine or crisis to buy watherver it is they need. They also craft jewelry from the crystals and gems they dig up and value such trinkets and jewelry. When trading with other races they will mostly ask for luxury items they have no means to create such as books, leather, fur and wooden products and special foods like cakes, cookies and bread.

While magic is not unknown to Armarillan, it is uncommon in Armarillan to have the ability to cast magic. Armarilllan who have magical capabilities mostly become druids or bards although some may become clerics (choosing a god of nature or the like) or sorcerers (wild magic). Armarillan without magical capabilities mostly become fighters, barbarians or rangers. Other classes are not excluded but are less common.

Call to Adventure

 An Armarillan does not have much reason to leave his or her home. Besides of being forced out, because of some misdeed, some Armarillan aquire a wanderlust. Those who go out on adventure to see the world eventually return to their home to share their experiences. Another reason for an Armarillan to leave is when they are tasked to find a new home by the elder leader. When an Armarillan tribe gets too big the elder leader may decide to split a portion of the tribe to find a new home, when this happens a few of the most capable warriors are sent out to find a new home. When an Armarillan burrow is destroyed, wether by a force of nature (earthquake or powerful creature) or by a conquering race, lone survivors become hermits or wanderers.

 

 

Armarillan Traits

The Armarillan are in tune with nature and have developed a sturdy build. Depending on their senses and endurance to survive.

Ability Score Increase

Your wisdom score increases with 2 and your constitution score increases with 1.

Age

Armarillans reach maturity around age 5 and live up to 60 years.

Alignment

Most Armarillans are neutral good. They have a philosophy of live and let live but will not think twice of defending themselves, kin or their home. Some Armarillans may tend more to lawful good if other races live nearby or neutral if they live in more inhospitable or dangerous places.

Size

Armarillans are bulkier but generally shorter than humans generally being 4 to 5,5 feet tall and can weigh up to 250 pounds. Your size is medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a burrowing speed of 30 feet.

Claw

Your claws are a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Artisan

Armarillans love trinkets and jewelry and often find crystals and gems while digging out their homes. Many make their own trinkets and jewelry with the gems and crytals they find this way. You are proficient with the jeweler's artisan tools.

Natural Armor

You have tough, bone plates. 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.

Natural Architects

Living in burrows Armarillan have developed a keen sense of detecting structural weaknesses in buildings, caves and the like. As such they can estimate wether a building, cave, etc. is safe to enter or on the verge of collapse. You get advantage on perception rolls concerning the structural safety of buildings.

Outstanding Smell

Armarillans can smell food up to 4 feet underground. Needless to say that aboveground their sense of smell can be used to even greater effect. When rolling for perception checks that rely on smell, you have advantage on those rolls and gain a +2 bonus modifier on those rolls.

Languages

You can speak, read and write Common and one other language.