Homebrew Yeti Species Details

When Aeor fell into Foren, the impact threw a monolithic, purple crystal miles away from the crash site. The stone pierced the body of an abominable yeti named Allowak, but the crystal's magic preserved the yeti's corpse and absorbed Allowak's soul. When other yetis touched the crystal, their intellect increased and their innate desire to slaughter faded away. A society of the monstrosities living in huts and keeping mammoths for food sprung up around the crystal. These peaceful yetis abhor their more savage kin.

 

A Secret Place

The yetis of Allowak's Sanctuary keep their home a secret, for they worry that outsiders might try to steal the crystal. Although the crystal's effects seem permanent, the yetis fear that if it were removed from Allowak's remains, they would lose their newfound intelligence. If outsiders get close to the village, the yetis patrolling the village's borders approach and act like the more common and savage members of their species. The yetis of Allowak's Sanctuary do not kill unless forced to, but they will cause injury to guard their secret.

 

In recent years, the yetis have acquired books and journals from explorers who died close to their camp. The tomes gave the yetis an understanding of the world beyond Eiselcross.

 

Description

A yeti's windborne howl sounds out across remote mountains, striking fear into the hearts of the scattered miners and herders that dwell there. These hulking creatures stalk alpine peaks in a ceaseless hunt for food. Their snow-white fur lets them move like ghosts against the frozen landscape. A yeti's icy simian eyes can freeze its prey in place.

Keen Hunters. Folk of the high peaks travel in groups and go armed, knowing that yetis can smell living flesh from miles away. When it finds prey, a yeti moves quickly over ice and stone to claim its meal, howling to the thrill of the hunt. Even in a blizzard, the scent of its quarry draws the yeti through the cold and snow.

Yetis hunt in solitude or in small family groups. When creatures flee from a yeti or engage it in battle, other yetis might catch the scent of blood and close in. The territorial yetis fight one another for the spoils of such battles, and yetis slain in the fight are also eaten, amid euphoric howls.

Terrifying Howlers. Before an avalanche, a blizzard, or a deadly frost, the yetis' howls sweep down the mountain slopes on the icy wind. Some people of the alpine peaks believe that the voices of loved ones killed in avalanches and blizzards sound out in the wails of the yetis, crying warnings of ill omen. More pragmatic folk attest that the yeti's howl is a reminder that, despite the great accomplishments of civilization, the civilized become the hunted in nature's untamed domain.

Brutal Rampagers. When mountain herds are abundant, yetis stay clear of humanoid realms. Driven by hunger, they attack humanoid settlements in waves, breaking down gates and stockade walls that once might have daunted them, then devouring the creatures within.

Devious mountain folk sometimes use the yetis as unwitting weapons. A warlord might lay down slaughtered sheep or goats to draw yetis into an enemy's camp, sowing chaos and thinning the ranks before battle. Mountain clan chiefs, wanting to expand their territory, overhunt local game to diminish the yetis' food supplies, inspiring attacks on humanoid settlements that are swiftly annexed in the aftermath.

Abominable Yetis. An abominable yeti is larger than a normal yeti, standing three times as tall as a human. It typically lives and hunts alone, though a pair of abominable yetis might live together long enough to raise young. These towering yetis are highly territorial and savage, attacking and devouring any warm-blooded creatures they encounter, then scattering the bones across the ice and snow.

 

Yeti Traits

Your Yeti character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

Yeti reach adulthood at age 12 and live up to 80 years.

Size

Yeti are between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 300 and 450 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 40 feet. You have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed. 

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.

Long-Limbed

When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.

Powerful Build

You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Sneaky

You are proficient in the Stealth skill.

Surprise Attack

If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Yeti, which is a variant of Giant.