Homebrew BLACKHORN Species Details

The phrase ‘never lock horns with a blackhorn’ refers not only to this race of humanoid beetle’s strength, but also their stubbornness and brutish behaviour. Their daunting carapaces can be up to six-inches thick in places, and cover their entire bodies like natural plate armour. An immense horn bursts out of their forehead which they use not only as a sign of prowess, but also to smash their opponents and toss them into the air.

Bulky Brutish

Their broad shoulders and thick armour make blackhorns daunting and soother races generally fear them. They are much taller and stockier than humans, standing at around 6 to 7 feet tall (or 7 to 8 feet tall when you include their prominent horn). Their heavy frame, thick muscle and dense natural armour means that they can weigh anywhere from 300 to 350 pounds. Male and female blackhorns both have the same stature and height, but female carapaces are often darker in their colouration.

The colour of a blackhorn’s shell is inherited from their parents – a child’s shell will take the colour of either their mother or father. Dark carapaces are some of the most common (hence the name ‘blackhorn’), but blackhorns can appear in any colour. Their shells can take on metallic, pearlescent, matte or sometimes even glossy qualities.

Born into Conflict

To live as a blackhorn is to know combat. When a blackhorn reaches adulthood at 12 years of age, they must partake in a brutal rite of passage known as an Ordeal, of which only seven in ten survive. Blackhorns have been known to live to around 60 years of age in some cases, but due to the perilous situations they often find themselves in, it is uncommon for one to die of natural causes.Strength is power in blackhorn society, so its people are constantly looking for new ways to prove themselves and create trophies from the mightiest of beasts. They are driven and determined; their promises and pacts last indefinitely, and are rarely broken. Because of this, each has a strong sense of honour.

A Network of Hives

Cavernous blackhorn hives stretch deep underground, often in hot scrubland or where there are rich sources of food. The hives are always growing and changing, but their deepest parts are reserved for important political and governmental hubs such as the palace and brood of the current matriarch or patriarch. Each hive is considered a tribe or clan, and fierce rivalries can form between different hives. If one hive’s leader defeats that of another in combat, the hive of the defeated leader is destroyed and its inhabitants are given a humbling choice: join the hive of the victor or leave for good and take their chances in the outside world.

Naming Conventions

Blackhorns are considered young until they have completed their Ordeal, normally around their twelfth birthday – this can include defeating a dangerous creature near to their hive or completing a test of extraordinary strength. Until they complete their Ordeal, they are only referred to by their mother’s heritage name. Not giving children an individual name prevents parents forming too strong an attachment until their child has survived this dangerous coming-of-age rite of passage.

When they enter adulthood, a blackhorn selects a name (from their native tongue, Elitra) that relates to their Ordeal in some way to make sure that they never forget the strength they showed on that day. They then combine this name with their heritage name to create their own unique moniker. For example, Groe’ban combines the name taken after their Ordeal ‘Groe’ (meaning Lion) and their family heritage name ‘Ban’ (meaning Purple). Heritage names can refer to particular features, colourations, shell qualities or horn size. There are no distinctions between male and female names.

Ordeal Names: Groe, Klik, Drec, Hukk, Loe, Zuq, Friek, Dax, Lom, Dred, Prea, Crun, Sma, Fyll, Prump, Cran, Dekk, Prip, Gant, Muke, Lav, Slukk, Uru, Osz, Terr, Ree, Qua, Zuu.

Heritage Names: Ban, Pul, Frimm, Galt, Puru, Enke, Feld, Gest, Dezz, Fili, Ruyy, Lopah, Dellz, Huar, Ekig, Mal, Festo, Jisz, Kikkiq, Jusp, Fentz, Uni, Esmu, Tell, Uim, Prih, Majeh.

BLACKHORN Traits

Your Blackhorn character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age

Blackhorn eggs take around two years to hatch. Once they have been born, blackhorns reach physical and mental maturity around age 11 and takepart in their Ordeal at age 12, after which they are considered an adult.A blackhorn can live up to 60 yearsof age naturally, but many die younger due to their brutish lifestyle and almost constant proximity to danger.

Alignment

Strength is law in blackhorn society, but their behaviour can differ from hive to hive. Their pacts and promises last a lifetime, and because of this some are sworn to lawfulness. Others, due to constant upheaval and change in leadership, tend towards chaos.They value courage and fortitude in all of its forms, so have more of a neutral leaning than specific draws towards good or evil. The greatest influence on their alignment is their upbringing under a certain hive leader

Size

Blackhorns range from 6 to 7 feet tall (or 7 to 8 feet tall when taking their horns into account) and have stocky, heavy builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet

Darkvision

Living in large underground hives means your eyes are accustomed to both light and dark conditions. 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 colour in darkness, only shades of grey.

Menacing

You gain proficiency in theIntimidation skill.

Gore

You can use your horn in combatand drive it towards your foe as an unarmed strike. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Charge

Once per turn, if you move at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hit it with a Gore attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 4  (1d8) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw (with a DC the same as your Strength score)or be knocked prone.

Hard Shell

Your hard carapace is up to six-inches thick in places and can withstand punishment that would easily kill other races. You gain a permanent +1 bonus to your AC

Languages

You can speak, read and write Common and Elitra. Elitra is a language made up from clicks, chirps and whistles that a blackhorn can make within their multifaceted vocal cords. The script uses a character-based system, with each character representing a word or syllable, rather than alphabet-based scripts more widely used by other races