Homebrew Zardak Species Details

Zardaks have the body of an extremely muscled human with the head of a squid. Instead of normal squid eyes, they have black, beady sensors. Instead of the normal tentacles, zardaks have one large proboscis protruding from their face with three jagged teeth on the inside. Also, their arms are longer and thicker than a human's. Their entire body is usually hairless but they can get wrinkly. These qualities make them look brutish and ugly to many other races.

Zardak history involves coming to the realms from a teleportation spell. A Zardak is like an extra-terrestrial. A Zardak's first memory was often fighting and training. Spawned as a mutation in the arena-like city of Guul' Mathk, the Zardak race started to battle in an arena at age 5. Once Guul' Mathk was erased from the Material Plane by a cult of wizards, a small number of Zardaks survived and migrated to the Forgotten Realms. After initial hostilities, slowly, Zardaks began to reform their culture with a few tweaks, becoming less martial based. Since then, Zardaks have largely adapted to this new place and settled with their own culture to this place they now call home. They have learned to trust and communicate with the other numerous races and societies populating the Realms.

Zardaks are treated the same way as tieflings. Human and elven shop owners would typically be skeptical of letting a Zardak in. Innkeepers may claim no vacancy when a Zardak requests a room. Their status as aliens makes them vulnerable to discrimination and, at the worst of times, xenophobic witch hunts. In Zardak culture, a Zardak "teenager" must prove himself by hunting an animal and sucking all the life out of the animal within 3 hours. This rite typically happens around 7 years of age. At the end of the time limit, if the Zardak returns empty-handed, he is looked upon as a lower rank and is forced to be a farmer, or have a similarly noncombatant job. This is very demeaning since they are an innately warrior-like race. If the Zardak returns with a completely drained animal, the whole Zardak tribe will have a feast and pronounce the young Zardak a true warrior. Zardak behavior is unlike regular thinking. Zardaks behave in a way that even the best psychologists do not understand. For example, a Zardak might think beyond what the regular mind does. Like, in fighting, they can use the space between a fighter and a sword, (which is, to many, apparently none) to predict the movement of the hand and the sword. Since a Zardak is blind, it has a special type of sensors for eyes that allow it to sense the boundaries of things.

Age. Zardaks can live to be 105 years old, and mature at age 7.

Alignment. Zardaks can mostly be any alignment, though it is rare to find a non-chaotic Zardak in the world.

Size. Zardaks can get very big but the largest ones are typically culled off due to their unwieldiness in battle. Your size is Medium.

 

Zardak Traits

A warrior race with an ugly face

Ability Score Increase

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

Blood Frenzy

Your proboscis is handy for sniffing out the wounded enemy. You know if a creature is below half its hit point maximum if the creature enters within 30 feet of you.

Suck Life

You can use an action to make an attack with your proboscis. The attack bonus is equal to your Strength score + your proficiency bonus. On a hit, you deal 3d6 necrotic damage. If the target has less than half its maximum hit points you deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage.

Blindsight

You can perceive your surroundings without relying on sight within a specific radius thanks to your sensors. You have a blindsight range of 90 feet but are blind beyond this radius.

Warrior Trained

You are a race trained to survive in the worst conditions of battle. You are proficient in the Survival skill.

Alien Build

Your creature type is technically aberration.

Language

You can speak, read, and write in Common.