Homebrew Caphocon Species Details

"A group of Caphocons is called a Blight. If that doesn't explain it, nothing will." -Histrio, former slave.

 

Adaptive, space-faring, and relentless. Caphocons have spread far and wide through the cosmos, leaving Blights on world after world to soak up whatever resources they can find. They bleed whole worlds dry and care not for the future, for all that matters is their present indulgences. 

Strange Strangers

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Bulbous eyes with nictitating membranes and diamond-shaped pupils, smooth skin, long coiled prehensile tails, webbed appendages and a mouth full of incredibly sharp teeth built for breaking crystals with ease- these are the features of the humanoid yet distinctly alien Caphocons, with three fingers and a thumb to match their four-toed feet. Their eggs have two forms depending on whether they're submersed in water or on land- the former being clear like fish eggs while the latter has a soft thin semi-translucent shell. It is during this tender time in their lives that Caphocons determine their coloration; they do this instinctively, matching their colors to their environment. Their hair takes on the coloration of the most common plantlife in the area, while their skin takes on the coloration of the water or land itself. For example, a Caphocon who hatches in murky water with high levels of algae may have army green skin with brown hair, while a Caphocon who hatches in a savannah grassland may have faded yellow or red skin with light brown or white hair. Another, brighter example would be a Caphocon who hatched in crystal clear water surrounded by pink coral- bright blue skin and pink hair! But that begs the question: What would happen if a Caphocon hatched in an area devoid of sensory input? Total darkness, with no signals to tell the unhatched Caphocon what their surroundings consisted of? Simple: their colors could be ANYTHING, and will very likely be unnatural-looking.

Society

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To be a Caphocon is to be one of many. All start as equals, and the only way to make a name for yourself is to outshine your competition. Some do this with gambling prowess, others with hedonistic exploits, and others still with physical effort. The goal in Caphocon society is to amass as much monetary wealth as possible, by nearly any means necessary. That being said, while everything else is on the table, turning against your own kind is the worst of crimes.

Despite their chaotic, selfish, gratification-centric lifestyles, Caphocons remain organized in the way their Blights function, even going so far as to ensure each settlement is built in an orderly grid-like manner, their buildings ranging in size and material but always being built in a truncated pyramid structure. In short, Caphocons embody "Organized Chaos"

Those who manage to amass wealth within their Blights tend to flaunt it as boldly as possible; elaborate hairstyles, shimmering homes, amassing slaves/pets [They prefer beings that either can't back-talk or, even better, are willing to grovel and complement their Caphocon masters], and, most garish of all, genetically engineering their offspring to have a certain desired unnatural webbing color. Such a thing is achieved by carefully covering the egg in your pigment of choice. This, in the wild, would be a detriment to the offspring's survival, but to wealthy high-society Caphocon parents it is a badge of honor to be able to afford to affect their offspring in such a way. That being said, altering the webbing color is as far as one is allowed to go; a Caphocon that has obviously been deprived of sensory input in its formative stage is looked upon with shock and horror by other Caphocons, and whomever is responsible for it, should they be caught, will be punished to the highest degree.

The one with the most wealth in a Blight is the Autarch, and their word is law. An Autarch only submits to another, more wealthy Autarch.

While perfectly capable of eating "normal" food, Caphocons are accustomed to eating the simple crystalline nourishment their abilities provide. Each Blight typically has at least one storage room filled with black crystals of varying sizes that get divvied up to each member of the Blight as needed, though more can also be bought should it be desired.

Unlike most other races, Caphocons do not see the value of common [copper, silver, gold, etc] currency, instead using Goldstone as their currency, since it is not a useful material but it looks very pretty. 5 Red Goldstone is worth 1 Blue Goldstone, and 5 Blue Goldstone is worth 1 Green Goldstone. If you'd like to convert these into "common" coinage, it'll be 5 Copper for 1 Red Goldstone, 2 Silver & 5 Copper for 1 Blue Goldstone, and 1 Gold & 2 Silver & 5 Copper for 1 Green Goldstone.

Religion

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 Caphocons far and wide worship The Thorned Rose, a god of hedonism in the least altruistic sense, considered to be an ancient and powerful being that caters to the core of every Caphocon. This practice is so widespread that it is common for Caphocons who train themselves for battle do so with a specialized thorned-rose-motif weapon reminiscent of a scythe. The Caphocon Scythe is dangerous at four different points- the scythe blade is obvious, though on the other side the blade becomes a blunt bludgeoning tool in the shape of a Caphocon fin, then, extending past the blade and at the opposite end are two piercing implements, one designed like a heart while the other is designed like a thorn.

Bonus: Slabs!

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 The most popular game you'll find in a Blight is Slabs- a simple form of gambling using small sturdy stone slabs [roughly the size of a Hershey's Pip not sponsored] in a set of 40, putting your Goldstone on the line for the chance at walking away with more than you arrived with. The slabs all look the same face down, but on the face up side they have differently colored diamond designs that denote their "worth" in the game, with 10 different colors the diamond can be. Black is worth 2 points, Yellow is worth 3, Orange is 4, Red is 5, Pink is 6, Purple is 7, Light Blue is 8, Dark Blue is 9, Light Green is 10, and Dark Green can be either 1 or 11. 

To win, have a hand that totals higher than the dealer's, but doesn't total higher than 21. Then the dealer deals 2 slabs face up to each player, with 1 slab face up and 1 slab face down to themselves. If your two face up slabs total 21 you automatically win 1.5-times your bet from the dealer and you're done for that round. Otherwise, the dealer asks if you want another slab, to which you either shake your head no or nod your head yes.There's no limit to how many slabs you can ask for, but once your hand totals higher than 21 you break and the dealer gets your bet. Once the dealer has gone around the table, they flip up their face down slab. If your total is 16 or lower, they have to draw another slab. If it's 17 or higher, they have to stay with their hand. If the dealer breaks, every player still in the round wins twice their bet. If the dealer doesn't break, only the player whose hand is higher than the dealer gets twice their bet, and everyone else loses their bet.

Caphocon Traits

As a Caphocon, your racial traits can be devastating when used in groups.

Amphibious

You can move, breathe and see just as well underwater as you can on dry land.

Innate Spider Climb

You can walk on walls and ceilings at will. (Most stable on all fours)

Transmutation

You are capable of altering materials in the ways listed in the tables below. The first table illustrates your capabilities at different character levels, while the second table illustrates the conversions you can do. For conversions not listed in the table, please confer with your Dungeon Master. Be aware that, while unusual among Caphocon society, the conversions are reversible. However, living beings are the exception to this rule; reverse a black crystal made from a living being and all you get is a glob of raw meat or plant matter.

 

Level	Conversion	Usages
Lv1	1ft cube to 1 fist size	Once per day.
Lv2	1ft cube to 1 fist size	Once per day.
Lv3	1ft cube to 1 fist size	Once per day.
Lv4	1ft cube to 1 fist size	Once per day.
Lv5	1ft cube to 1 fist size	Once per day.
Lv6	1ft cube to 1 fist size	Once per day.
Lv7	2ft cube to 6inch cube	Once per day.
Lv8	2ft cube to 6inch cube	Once per day.
Lv9	2ft cube to 6inch cube	Once per day.
Lv10	2ft cube to 6inch cube	Once per day.
Lv11	2ft cube to 6inch cube	Once per day.
Lv12	2ft cube to 6inch cube	Once per day.
Lv13	3ft cube to 1ft cube	Once per day.
Lv14	3ft cube to 1ft cube	Once per day.
Lv15	3ft cube to 1ft cube	Once per day.
Lv16	3ft cube to 1ft cube	Once per day.
Lv17	3ft cube to 1ft cube	Once per day.
Lv18	3ft cube to 1ft cube	Once per day.
Lv19	3ft cube to 1ft cube	Once per day.
Lv20	5ft cube to 2 ft cube	Once per day.

 

 

Level	Starting Material	Ending Material	Affect
Lv1	Black/Brown Soil	Black Crystal	Food [1 fist size satisfies 24hrs]
Lv1	Living Organic Beings	Black Crystal	Food [1 fist size satisfies 24hrs]
Lv1	Yellow Soil	Grey Crystal	+1 Con Mod for 24hrs
Lv1	White Soil	White Crystal	Acid Immunity for 24hrs
Lv1	Green Soil	Purple Crystal	+1 Piercing/Slashing when chewed and applied to weapons as paste that crystalizes after application. Breaks off when you hit your target.
Lv1	Blue Soil	Blue Crystal	Explosive.
Lv1	Blue Soil	Sulfur
Lv1	Red Soil	Iron
Lv1	Sand	Glass
Lv1	Sand	Silica
Lv1	Silica + Copper	Red Goldstone
Lv1	Silica + Cobalt	Blue Goldstone
Lv1	Silica + Chromium	Green Goldstone
Lv1	Lead	Gold
Lv1	Copper	Silver
Lv1	Sulfur + Copper	Teal Crystal	POISON. Can be ground up and mixed with saliva to create a paste to apply to a weapon that then crystalizes, breaking off when you hit your target. Can be ground into a powder and hurled at your enemies to inhale, or slipped into their food/drink. Doesn’t damage on contact alone.
Lv13	Gold	Yellow Crystal	Basically 7thLv Regenerate Spell
Lv20	Seawater	Gold