Homebrew Yergal Species Details

There are many facets of Yergal society. Though this will attempt to explain some facets of it, it is not known to the outside world. Many drow, duergar and svirfneblin don't even know of their existence. It is a rare occurrence to see them.

Social

Socially the Yergal speak yergal to each other. The name of the language is the name of the creature. The language doesn't have a written form. Instead it is a combination of various light sounds combined with hand signs and gestures. The reason for this is obvious. If a Yergal is speaking Yergal you have to look at them to know what they are saying. If you aren't looking at them it is usually quiet enough that it is much harder to hear and recognize that it is a language to those that don't know it. Mechanically a perception check to notice Yergal by a non-Yergal speaker is +5 difficulty.

Yergal don't have a large city; they are comprised of many small communities throughout the underdark. Along the top of the vast caverns of the underdark are where you would find their communities. There communities rarely if ever surpass 50 members in size. Usually they are a collection of close knit families.

Yergal building are difficult to notice by design. Usually they are built into the rock faces in such a way that it is easy to mistake a Yergal home for the cave wall.

Each community usually has one or more village elders that control the goings on in the village. It differs depending on the community but they can be organized where an elder controls everything or a council of elders. This is built on a bit of respect toward the elderly and what they have experienced in their lifetime. Hunters and shamans are usually highly regarded in Yergal society. Yergal are unique in that they seem to have a knack for becoming spellswords as every yergal seems to have aptitude for controlling the ether in some way.

Socially they are taught to do everything that is a past time if they can hidden. In this way Yergal hide all activities from the outside world. Being loud in any way is thought to be a near crime in Yergal society. Yergal that are loud without a good reason are punished. Those that even are loud for a good reason are chastised later by the elders in Yergal. This is for an obvious reason. The settlements that weren't quiet were raided by the Duergar, Drow, and Illithid for slaves. If an outsider finds themselves into a Yergal settlement the settlement usually disbands for another location if the outsider isn't Yergal themselves.

Yergal hunters and gatherers have a very important and burdensome responsibility. They must hunt silently so that no one notices them. The hunters more so because they must kill a beast without making a sound. Then bring the beast back up to the settlement without anything noticing. Yergal can be fierce hunters working in tandem as there is a portion of their language used when hunting that is nothing but hand signs and gestures. They can quickly and in tandem stalk a beast and surround it to do a unified attack without it noticing.

Yergal have an unusual naming convention. Usually but not always Males have a name that begins in a Y while females have a name that begins in an X. Yergal names are usually very short like Ym or Yd or Xo or Xm.

Political

Politically Yergal are very close to being hermits and usually are xenophobic. There however have been some cases of Yergal establishing contact with other races in the underdark; Usually svirfneblin or flumph. They are typically used as scouts due to their amazing eyesight. There is only one known community of Yergal that works with Drow and aren't slaves in any capacity. Those drow are followers of Eilistrae.

Economic

If the drow didn't enslave them they would basically suppress them economically. Yergal commonly don't have a decent grasp of currency. Within Yergal communities all you would have to do is make a sufficient case of something and they would give or trade it to you. There are certain svirfneblin communities that have taken advantage of Yergal in this way. Often buying the land to their community before the Yergal realize what has happened.

Religious

Yergal usually go one of two ways. They either have a shamanistic view where they believe that spirits and essence inhabits everything. Since they have an affinity to manipulating ether this reinforces their beliefs. This is until contact with the outside. If outsiders come and bring a religion and the Yergal don't leave to where they can't be found; the Yergal typically adopt this religion. This is especially if they see the powers of a cleric.

So because of this Yergal can be found that worship Drow, Svirfneblin, Duergar, or any type of creature's gods.

Military

Yergal only consist of a collection of communities that don't really talk to one another. For this reason they don't have much of a military. However if the force is small you would be remiss to underestimate them. There have been bands of Drow or other creatures that were surrounded, ambushed, and killed to the last man if they are sufficiently small. One thing that Yergal do not have a concept for is mercy for enemies if they have the advantage.

Yergal Traits

Yergal can vary in size and shape these are the characteristics that most share.

Ability Score Increase

Yergal get an increase of 2 to their wisdom. Their wisdom score comes from having to constantly be vigilant of dangers in the underdark.

Size

Yergal are usually small in size.

Potent Darkvision

Yergal have better darkvision than most and can see in dim light within 180 feet of them as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. Furthermore they can see in darkness as if it were bright light for the first 30 feet in front of them. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Natural Camouflage

Your fur blends in well with the cave walls. You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks when in a rocky or cave like environment.

Languages

 Yergal speak yergal and undercommon.

Keen Senses

You have proficiency in the perception skill.

Sunlight sensitivity

You have disadvantage on attack rolls and wisdom(perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.

Fur Protection

You don't need any additional clothing to shield you from naturally frigid climates. You don't have resistance to cold but you can comfortably live in areas with temperatures around freezing.

Natural Weapons

A Yergal's claws are very sturdy and sharp, and give a climbing speed of 20 feet. Thay can climb vertically, upside down, and on basically everything but a frictionless surface. They can use their claws to make unarmed strikes and treat them as a weapons that deal 1d4 slashing damage. They are treated as magical weapons in regards to their effect on stone. Their claws can stay embedded in material even when sleeping allowing for them to sleep in an elevated position.