Homebrew Wombles Species Details

 

Underground, overground, wombling free!

The Wombles of Wimbledon common are we.

Making good use of the things that we find, 

things that the everyday folks leave behind!

-The Wombling song of the Wombles of Wimbledon

 

The Wombles are a race of small rat-like beings that possess a fluffy fur coat known for its warmth. Living in burrows, the Wombles at first glance may appear to be like that of the halflings but on closer inspection a womble's more interesting features arise.

The Everyday Womble

Wombles are essentially burrowing animals. They have retractable claws (like cats), but as they mostly live in long-established burrows, they rarely use these for digging. They are described as "short, fat, and furry", roughly between three or four feet in height.Wombles are herbivores and are very fond of mushrooms. They eat a variety of plants, fungi, and tree products that human beings cannot (or will not) eat, so daisy buns, acorn juice, fir-cone Soufflé, elm bark casserole and grassbread sandwiches are part of the Womble menu – augmented by any food left behind other races. All Wombles are strong swimmers and can even survive for long periods in ice-cold water.

The Wombling

Wombles care for and educate their young at a communal level. Like human children, immature Wombles are taught reading, writing and athletic skills, which they learn by playing a game called "Wombles and Ladders". (Some older Wombles play this game too, though most regard it as childish.) Below a the age of 18 all Wombles are nameless; upon being deemed to be of working age, a Womble chooses his or her name by looking through Great Uncle Bulgaria's large atlas until they find a name that suits them in a process known as the "Wombling". Some  "merely shut their eyes tight and point and hope for the best." They then leave "Womblegarten" and join in the communal work of the burrow, which is mostly clearing up and recycling refuse from other races.

Lives of Secrecy

Wombles are very careful to keep their existence secret from human beings fearing that discovery of their existence will lead to the Great Womble Hunt. For the most part, adult Human Beings rarely take notice of them, or fail to distinguish them from humans.

Wombles generally have a low opinion of other animal species, though they are never unkind to them. They have a poor opinion of humans in general, though there are exceptions such as royalty. They also have a respect for human literature; the Wimbledon Wombles maintain a large library of books left by humans on the Common, and some are fond of reading such literature.

The W

Womble society is rule by the cleanest of the all, known as "the W". This ruling womble determines what is trash and what is not. Commanding all within this society to be clean, by disposing of all that the W demands with bags marked with an ornate "W".

When the W dies of old age or through some other way, another is chosen as "the W" through a thorough inspection of every womble in the burrow which is done all within a week.

Womble Names

A womble only has the name given to them during "the Wombling" these names are determined by an atlas.

Name Examples: Bulgaria, Bungo, Adelaide, Cairngorm, Orinoco

Subrace

There are three main kinds of Wombles; Plains, Snow-White and Water Wombles. Choose one of these subraces or one from another source.

Wombles Traits

Your Womble character has a number of traits in common with all other Wombles.

Ability Score Increase

Your Wisdom increases by 2 and your Constitution increases by 1.

Age

A womble reaches working age at around 18 and generally lives up to 400 years old.

Alignment

Wombles are work-heavy and tend to follow orders to the utmost degree. Because of this, they tend to lean towards lawful alignments.

Size

Wombles range between roughly 3 feet to 4 feet tall. Your size is small.

Proficiencies

As a Womble, you have a knack for survival and the past, along with being inventive with tools. You gain proficiency in the Survival and History skills along with proficiency with improvised weapons. Due to their  athletics training in their youth by playing constant games of "Wombles and Ladders", you also have proficiency in athletics.

Speed

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

Furry Hide

Your furry hide provides you with a resistance to cold damage. It also provides you protection against cold climates.

Retractable Claws

A Womble has a pair of retractable claws within their hands that were probably used for digging, but are rarely used. Your unarmed strikes deal 1d4 slashing damage. They can be retracted or sent out as a bonus action on your turn.

Trash Resilience

Your life of cleaning has provided you with a natural resistance to garbage. You gain advantage on constitution saving throws against bad smells and foul odors along with poison saving throws.

Languages

Wombles generally speak Common. Wombles do have their own language, yet it is rarely used unlike common, which to them has almost become their only language.