Homebrew Doggen Species Details

Doggen are a people filled with the life and exuberance of the Feywild from which they originally hail from. Like their Vulpes siblings, Doggen only relatively recently stepped out into the material plane. There, they found a new world to explore, and while somewhat lacking compared to the natural beauty and wildness of the Feywild, it was clear that the material plane had its own unique qualities to enjoy and discover. 

Descendants of Galdoran

Before ascending to godhood, Galdoran long served as the leader of a great pack of beasts and led his pack on marvelous hunts while protecting them from the dangers of the mortal world. While leading his pack of wolves on one such hunt, Galdoran came across a wounded and lost fey creature in the form of a great stag. The beasts moved to take down the creature, putting it out of its misery and relishing in the fresh blood and meat it would leave behind, but Galdoran recognized this creature as not some simple stag and stopped his pack from striking. Galdoran recognized the stag's otherworldly beauty and vowed to protect her until she could recover enough strength to return home. The once great hunter set about protecting the stag while it recovered, hunting only what was necessary to survive, the pack stopped growing. A young upstart within the pack grew tired of this easy life and thirsted for the great hunts of their past. This canine, and a small faction of followers, betrayed Galdoran and struck at him and the stag in the dead of night. Galdoran was able to push back the betrayers and keep them at bay until the rest of his pack could join the fight and aid him, but even though they were able to fend off the betrayer's faction, both Galdoran and the Stag were grievously wounded. Both of them lay dying when the stag finally spoke to Galdoran, knowing her end was near and returning the unasked for kindness that Galdoran had given her, she merged her spirit with his own and while both died, a new forest spirit had been born that day. Galdoran was given a new life as a guardian spirit and led his pack into the fey wild where his descendents would eventually grow to become the doggen who still greatly revere their forefather and now god. 

One of the more aggressive creatures within the pack, a canine by the name of Yeenoghu and his followers wanted to slay the powerful beast, feasting on its lifeforce so they might become strong. Galdoran fought to defend the stag, but Yeenoghu and his followers were 

Home is Where the Pack is

While the doggen people as a whole are incredibly diverse, coming in many shapes and sizes, their sense of family is more apparent than among any other race across Korre. doggen tend to form small pack-structured familial units in which each member fulfills a vital role important to the pack's overall well-being. Doggen living in urban areas usually do not live in organized packs of other doggen, considering instead that a society of which they are a part fills that role, even if it does not mostly consist of others of their kind. Those living in untamed parts of the world, on the other hand, live in complexly structured family packs governed by a respected leader known as an Alpha, who usually is appointed to that station because of both their general wisdom and combat prowess. When an Alpha becomes too old to physically protect the pack, he will carefully appoint his successor, assume the title of Omega, and provide guidance and advice to the new Alpha until the day of his passing. Regardless of who a doggen considers as its pack members, they can be sure that it will remain a loyal friend until it takes its last breath; no label is more dishonorable to a doggen than that of traitor. Few doggen, especially those of a smaller breed, are capable of surviving on their own and tend to seek out a new pack, whatever that may be.

Many Breeds, One People

Perhaps more so than any other known race in the realms, doggen vary greatly in their relative physical appearance. The doggen race has greatly changed since arriving in the material plane, in part due to the pack-family structure lending itself to something of a selective breeding practice, as well as the race's natural adaptive qualities lending itself to helping each pack develop in ways to suit the environment they find themselves in. This has led to many doggen packs developing into specialized breeds. A doggen's breed not only determine's its size and appearance, but also its abilities and personality. As such, doggen are typically able to thrive in just about any climate and can be found in almost every corner of the world. 

Natural Protectors

When a doggen notices a creature in need, they feel compelled to rush to their aid, but the form of that aid may vary wildly. Those who have the builds to fight for the weak often do, while those of a less muscular build prefer to provide emotional support. Regardless of their breed, most doggen feel compelled to give aid to those in need, going out of theirr way to help those in trouble if it's within their power to do so, and sometimes even when it is not. Doggen paladins and clerics commonly revere Galdoran, but even those who don't will usually pledge themselves to a god who also prioritizes charity work and the forcible defense of the weak.

Enemies of Gnolls

The first betrayer of Galdoran was known as Yeenoghu, a vengeful and bloodthirsty canine who led a midnight rebellion against Galdoran as he protected a forest spirit. Yeenoghu was able to eat of both the flesh of the stag spirit as well as Galdoran before he was run off by the rest of Galdoran's pack. Yeenoghu's betrayal and constant thirst for power led him to bargain with the fiends, eventually joining their ranks and rising as far as a demon prince in his own right. Yeenoghu became the lord of gnolls and drove their blood-thirst on for generations. Few gnolls that live in modern times don't know the touch of Yeenoghu's dark influence, led on by a constant hunger that drives them forward to ravage and destroy. As a result of this great betrayal, few doggens can abide the sight of a gnoll who they see as a traitorous and violent lot. There are some among the doggen who hunt gnolls down, intent on purging their betrayal from the world and eliminating Yeenoghu's influence in the mortal world. Other doggen look down on the gnolls as a sorry and abused lot who can be broken of Yeenoghu's influence. Most doggen are at the very least untrusting of the gnolls and keep a wary eye should they be near. 

Doggen Names

Doggen aren't especially picky when it comes to first names and tend to pick up names based on the region they are originally from. For this reason, it is not uncommon to meet a doggen with a dwarvish name if their pack hails from an area with a high dwarven population or a human first name if they were born into a human community. Many Doggen go by nicknames they earn as pups which might describe a physical attribute, personality trait or an accomplishment. Doggen surnames are taken a bit more seriously however, as these names refer to the pack from which a doggen is from. A doggen that doesn't belong to a traditional doggen pack might take on the surname of the city or settlement in which they live, basing it on the community they call their pack. A doggen with no surname is a doggen without a pack. 

Nicknames: Biter, Bandit, Chaser, Howl, Patch, Socks, Sparky, Spot, Tiny, Thunder

Surnames: Cloudrunner, Greenherder, Long-walk, Redpaw, Three-Moon

 

Doggen Traits

Your Doggen character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Doggen reach physical maturity more quickly than humans, typically reaching adulthood around 13-15 years old. Despite maturing more quickly, they have a life expectancy equivalent to that of a human. 

Alignment

Doggen tend toward good alignments, with those who focus on the pack leaning into a lawful alignment. 

Darkvision

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.

Born to the Hunt

You have proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Athletics, Intimidation, Perception, or Survival.

Languages

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

Breeds

Due to their natural adaptive qualities and the selective breeding that is practiced by the various greater packs, doggen vary greatly in appearance. Despite this, three main sub-categorizations of doggen are recognized: lesser doggen, greater doggen and lupen.