Homebrew Chameleon Species Details

If you’re considering taking a scaled one along on an adventure, remember this important fact. The strange, inhuman glint in its eyes as it looks you over is the same look you might give a freshly grilled steak.

— Tordek, dwarf fighter and adventurer

 

Lizardfolk

Only a fool looks at the lizardfolk and sees nothing more than scaly humanoids. Their physical shape notwithstanding, Chameleon's have more in common with iguanas or dragons than they do with humans, dwarves, or elves. They possess an alien and inscrutable mindset, their desires and thoughts driven by a different set of basic principles than those of warm-blooded creatures. 

Alien Minds

The lizardfolk's reptilian nature comes through not only in their appearance, but also in how they think and act. They experience a more limited emotional life than other humanoids. Like most reptiles, their feelings largely revolve around fear, aggression, and pleasure.

Lizardfolk experience most feelings as detached descriptions of creatures and situations. For example, humans confronted by an angry troll experience fear on a basic level. Their limbs shake, their thinking becomes panicked and jumbled, and they react by instinct. The emotion of fear takes hold and controls their actions. In contrast, lizardfolk see emotions as traits assigned to other creatures, objects, and situations. A lizardfolk doesn’t think, “I’m scared.” Instead, aggressive, stronger creatures register to the lizardfolk as fearsome beings to be avoided if possible. If such creatures attack, lizardfolk flee, fighting only if cornered. Lizardfolk aren’t scared of a troll; instead, they understand that a troll is a fearsome, dangerous creature and react accordingly.

Lizardfolk never become angry in the way others do, but they act with aggression toward creatures that they could defeat in a fight and that can’t be dealt with in some other manner. They are aggressive toward prey they want to eat, creatures that want to harm them, and so on.

Pleasurable people and things make life easier for lizardfolk. Pleasurable things should be preserved and protected, sometimes at the cost of the lizardfolk’s own safety. The most pleasurable creatures and things are ones that allow lizardfolk to assess more situations as benign rather than fearsome.

Chameleons

Chameleons are just as colorful as they are crafty, witty, and stealthy. Most tend to fend for themselves, while others are super helpful and wish to do only good or are destructive and want to commit nefarious evil. Their physical form might be humanoid but they are more like a reptile than they are a human. While some may call them an alien, odd, or weird looking, chameleons try to understand and befriend other races; especially others that might also stand out or be helpful to the task or mission at hand. Making a chameleon your friend isn't a mistake and might even prove useful in the right situations.

Reflect and Evaluate

Chameleon's are relatively peaceful compared with other types of lizardfolk. Chameleon's move a bit slower than other lizard races and they tend to assess situations before acting to avoid unnecessary conflict or risk where possible. Why fight when you can simply disappear and save your energy for something more critical?

Solitary

Chameleon's are usually solitary creatures and do not tend to live in family groups or tribes. Although they are normally self sufficient,  some Chameleon's make an effort to understand and, in their own manner, befriend people of other races. Such lizardfolk make faithful and skilled allies.

Physical Qualities

A chameleon looks a small bulky lizardfolk with a solid crest on its back. Its mouth is large with a long retractable tongue used to catch preys. The eyes are big and prominent, with stereoscopic vision. The head is protected by a bony crest, and in some subspecies ornate with little horns or spikes. The tail is long and prehensile. Arms and legs are more or less equally long, and both have opposable thumb, making chameleons together with their tail excellent climbers. The skin is scaly and is able to alter its color, giving them great stealth.

Playing a Chameleon

Even if they can have another deity, all Chameleons worship the Chameleon god, the Great Invisible Observer. being many times slaves under other races who tried to erase their faith, Chameleons fought a lot for it, and this gave Chameleons a bad reputation to be fierce religious zealots. However, if a chameleon is respected about this it will not give problems. Chameleons share with their Lizardfolk relatives a curious attitude, but they can easily go fierce if harmed or annoyed.

Chameleon Characteristics: Skillful, agile, suspicious, ferocious, calm, proud, religious

Male Names: Hollow Tooth, Cut Mouth, Broken Hands

Female Names: Curled Tail, Smooth Skin, Round Eyes

Chameleon Traits

Your lizardfolk character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Chameleons reach maturity around age 14 and rarely live longer than 60 years.

Alignment

Most Chameleons are neutral, while some may tend to the extremes of lawful good or chaotic evil. Most see the world as a place where life and death are natural processes and wish only to survive. Most Chamaeleans prefer to leave other creatures to their own devices.

Size

Chameleons are a little bulkier and taller than humans, and their colorful frills make them appear even larger. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet, and you have a climbing speed of 25 feet.

Strong Grip

You have didactyl hands and feet, and your tail is a prehensile appendage that you can use to grab and hold small objects and to anchor yourself to terrain.
If you are gripping an object with your hands, feet, or tail you have advantage on STR and DEX checks to keep your hold. This applies to situations where you are gripping an object for stability or situations where you are attempting to stop someone from taking an object out of your grip.
Objects that are being held with your tail can't be used and you can't use your tail to cast spells.

Tongue Reach

So long as the use of your tongue is not inhibited, your tongue is considered to have the Reach property. You can make minor interactions with your tongue, such as activating buttons, casting touch spells or retrieving small unheld items, from a distance of up to 10 feet.

Hunter’s Lore

You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival.

Natural Armor

You have tough, scaly skin. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity 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.

Adaptive Camouflage

Your skin can change colour to match your environment, giving you a natural advantage when trying to travel unseen. You can also take the Hide action so long as you are adjacent to any opaque object or solid surface to blend into your surroundings.

While in this hidden state, creatures have disadvantage on all attacks and ability checks made to detect you that rely on sight. When a creature can’t see you, you have advantage on Attack rolls against it. If you are hidden—both unseen and unheard—when you make an Attack, you give away your location whether the Attack hits or misses.

Physiological Color Change

The colour of your skin naturally shifts a bit when you feel nervous as well as when you are excited. When you are nervous, your skin tends to take on a darker colour, and when you are excited, your skin tends to shift to a slightly brighter appearance. You can try to hide this colour shift if you notice it in time, but you may not always be successful.

• You have disadvantage on CHA checks that involve Deception when you are in a nervous or excited state.
• Those interacting with you have Advantage on Insight checks when you are in a nervous or excited state.

Stereoscopic Vision

You have independently focusing eyes, giving excellent stereoscopic vision and depth perception. You can see in all directions, and enemies are at a disadvantage to sneak up on you and don't gain combat advantage when flanking.

Languages

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