Homebrew Gerudo Species Details

In the wide desert beyond highest mountain peaks — far beyond the slopes and plains where trees grow and where the sun sears those who travel under it — dwell the proud Gerudo. Few folk have the skill and stubbornness to find success in the lands these warriors call home, but many seek them out for their skill, might, and bravery, and perhaps to witness first hand what they may consider and exotic wonder. The Gerudo are almost all female, with birth rates for males so low that it is spoken that only one is born a century, though this claim may be an exaggeration. Their statuesque bodies look as if they are sculpted from bronze and give them great physical power. Their spirits are relentless and do not accept defeat, well suited to thrive where others cannot. Their hearts are infused with the heat of the burning sun, leaving each shining with the desire to earn a place in the tribe or die trying.

Driven and Proud

Every day brings a new challenge to a Gerudo. Food, water, and shelter are rare in the far desert reaches. A single mistake can bring doom to an entire tribe or bring calamitous hardships upon the Great Citadel, while an individual’s heroic effort can ensure the entire group’s survival, or even bring the entirety of Gerudo into prosperity.

Gerudo thus place a premium on self-sufficiency and individual skill in service to each other. They have a compulsion to keep score, counting their deeds and tallying their accomplishments to compare to others. Gerudo love to win, but they see defeat as a prod to improve their skills, and often seek to redeem past failures.

This dedication to competition has a dark side. Gerudo are ferocious competitors, and can hold grudges or refuse to accept limitations.  When faced with a task that seems beyond them, some may endlessly pursue what cannot be achieved.  If met with impossible opposition, the Gerudo may be left with an unshakeable belief that is was a personal failure and may be driven to more reckless behavior in search of redemption.  If a sense of inferiority to another festers, it could lead to senseless outright violence.

Survival on the Sand

For Gerudo, staying alive in their inhospitable homeland requires talent, dedication, ingenuity, and effort. Those factors are determine survival in their home territory far more than reliance on magic items, money, or other elements that can tip the balance. Gerudo happily rely on such benefits, taking every advantage one can find to survive, some even coveting great prizes for the adventuring life, but they are careful to remember that such an advantage can always be lost. A Gerudo who relies too much on them can grow complacent, or be easily outmaneuvered, which is a recipe for disaster in the desert.

This trait manifests most strongly when Gerudo interact with other folk. The entrenched systemic nature of peasants, warriors, and nobles puzzles most Gerudo. Among the desert survivors all must be trained warriors, and if a ruler lacks the intelligence or leadership to lead, then clearly someone more fit should either take charge to lead, or impose themselves into the duty of improving the current ruler. Gerudo rarely keep opinions on leadership to themselves, and will challenge any that abuse a society’s structures or rules to maintain power. Outsiders may find a Gerudo opinions hypocritical at times, seeing as their own ways can be rigidly based on ancient laws, some of which seem draconic or unfair.

Almost all Gerudo are well trained in combat. They are trained by the captain of the guard of the citadel from youth and must spend some time guarding the city to prevent any threats from entering. Gerudo guards also protect various outposts from the many monsters that could invade, and some patrol trade routes to ensure safe passage for caravans. Various training compounds exist where Gerudo warriors train against each other, and many greatly admire combat prowess as a trait in their fellow kin, as well as a personal goal.

Despite constant threat, many Gerudo have been known to show great humor, bright spirits, or even the occasional break in stoic demeanor for downright goofy amusements. While slow to trust and unyielding in beliefs, a befriended Gerudo can be one's closest ally, and outsiders can be summarily "adopted" by a tribe for showing admirable fighting spirit and dedication. In the end, all those who strive for survival of the group can be welcome, and those who falter while giving their best effort are worthy of protection.

Fortress Cities and Ancient Laws

Gerudo cities are fortress citadels teeming with life and activity, filled with open markets, rowdy canteens, and lively culture around every corner. There is much to do within the walls, many Gerudo openly sharing their trade and culture with outsiders with little required compensation beyond honest interest and effort. However such major population centers are restricted to only allow females entry, and all males must wait in a camp outside the walls, or a nearby secondary haven intended as a rest stop.  Males have used various methods of disguise to experience life within the walls of a Gerudo city, and while some residents may enjoy the novelty and boldness of a man who finds a way to sneak in, any guards will be quick to expel men forcefully.  Furthermore, Gerudo themselves pass their own judgement on who is and isn't considered female, and do not pass this judgement solely based on one's birth.

Those Gerudo who are male do not find such rules about life in the cities restrictive of discriminatory, as each finds life quite princely from outside in the settlements where men are allowed to congregate, doted on by their home community or tribe as a "century child" and considered noble for this fact alone. Most males are well educated, funded, and trained to act as emissaries, guides, and ambassadors to those who wish to meet Gerudo, some even treated as Kings even if never allowed inside their city. Gerudo males scoff at criticisms of of their social structure, and regard challenges to their masculinity tedious and childlike, though some relish in using violence to silence that criticism.

 

Gerudo Names

Every Gerudo has, at the very least, a name given by their mother that acts as their individual name, and can be anything that the mother chooses.  A mother who names her child shall have her choice respected without question, regardless of what issues the chosen name may bring up. Nicknames also may exist, usually given in some form of jest, but never as a means to avoid or disrespect a name given by a mother.  Purposefully altering or mispronouncing a given name as mockery is considered extremely disrespectful.

Surnames are created by adding the first two syllables of the mother's individual name to a suffix that denotes that connection, often ~dani  (daughter of~) for a female and ~duno (son of~) for a male, but with suffix variations allowed for alternate situations. In many situations where a surname isn't easily determined or known, many will be referred to by a descriptor that clarifies where a person might be known, such as "from the oasis camp" or "from the guard watch" or something of the like.  These descriptors are not names, and especially not a surname that has been honorably changed by the tribe, but simply a way to clarify who is being spoken of.

Surnames can be changed in a Gerudo's lifetime. The given names are maintained, but the surnames can be changed with the condition that the tribe decides whether someone can change surname, and they also decide what it will be. Criteria for the surname change is: if they have done something honorable, such as acted bravely a key player in a major battle, saved someone’s life, created something very useful and made life easier for the tribe, etc...). The tribe then creates a surname name based on their deed, which is then ceremonially declared publicly.  To be given a new surname by the tribe is considered a great honor, and the worth of such a name's meaning will be fiercely defended.

Given Names: Ekira, Runumu, Egola, Fevisa, Huviti, Riju, Ivol, Urbosa, Laikeati, Sigeku, Tatsa, Nafok, Huvuli, Kuroolo, Rautita, Nabooru, Buliara

Surnames: Ekidani, Runuduno, Egoldele, Fevidani, Huviduno, Ratisdalai, Ivoldani, Lufeduno, Laikeaduna, Sigedani, Tatsaduno, Nafokdonai

Changed surnames: Oridoryanux, Gorokata, Dragmire, Hairulesha, Gorolalaj, Dokikijdali, Samkirhjkar, Biasyatak, Kiabratjinra, Pehmerekata

Gerudo Traits

Gerudo share a number of traits in common with each other.

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

Gerudo have lifespans comparable to humans. They enter adulthood in their late teens and usually live less than a century, though some have exceeded that measure by decade or three.

Alignment

Gerudo society, with its clear roles and tasks, has a lawful bent, and even those that follow the old ways as desert thieves or raiders do so in bands with a well established internal structure. The Gerudo sense of fairness, balanced with an emphasis on self-sufficiency and personal accountability, pushes them toward neutrality.

Size

Gerudo are well over 6 feet tall, usually between 7 and 8 feet, and of a muscled build weighing between 250 and 300 pounds. Though imposing, your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 35 feet. Your long strides move with purpose.

Scion of the Seven

You have proficiency in the Athletics skill, along with glaives and scimitars. The skills and proficiencies of your ancestors were trained dutifully from an early age.

Dancing Raider

If you move at least 20 feet on your turn and use your action to attack an enemy with a melee weapon, you can make an additional melee attack as a bonus action. The desert shows no mercy to those who hesitate in battle, and the history of your people is one of blood soaked sands.

Child of the Desert

You gain resistance to fire and cold damage, and you don’t suffer the effects of extreme temperatures, as described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. The desert climate where you thrive is relentlessly hot during the day, and unyieldingly cold at night.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic.