Homebrew Buzpons Species Details

-"They're...bees?"

-"They're people?"

-"...Beeple...?"

-"Actually, we're fey, but beeple is something I could get used to."

—a conversation between travelers and their new buzpons friend

Hailing from the border between the Feywild and the Elemental Plane of Air, Buzpon society values its community and the individuals that make it up. It is those individuals who become the proud adventurers that seek true beauty in the world. Their "hives" can range in size from a few, close-knit friends sharing an abode to bustling vertical cityscapes adorned with the kind of architecture that can only be described as their own. Whether hierarch, gourmand, or solitaire, each type of buzpons yearns for the chance to venture outside the hive and learn about the wonders of the world beyond.

Yes, the Bees

Buzpons are similar to centaurs in build. Their two-armed humanoid upper halves have insectoid features around the head while a bee-like lower half with wings and four legs support the rest of them. Their top halves are slender by nature though it isn't uncommon for them to be as pudgy as their lower halves, which hold most of their weight. Two sets of wings help the buzpons fly; a larger pair for takeoff on their humanoid backs, and perpendicular to that is a smaller pair for stability on their thorax. When not in use, these wings make the buzpons seem like they're wearing a cloak. Small antennae that form a distinct, almost V-shaped crest on their foreheads and compound eyes with an iridescent sheen mark their lineage to their bee brethren. Some buzpons even have a natural fur collar around their necks and shoulders. What they lack in a stinger, they make up for with mental prowess, being able to communicate with others through telepathic means.

Buzpon Society

The term "Buzpon" (always capitalized) refers to their civil structure and what comes from them, much in the same way people refer to things as "dwarvish" and "elven". The plural of "buzpons" is the same as its singular form: buzpons. Buzpons are distinguished by three different types of community members: hierarchs, gourmands, and solitaires.

Hierarchs are the lawmakers, architects, and civil leaders of the hive; the backbone of society. Rarely are they on their own whenever they travel, surrounded by companions of all different races. While in their hearts, home is where they truly belong, hierarchs venture outside of the hive for various reasons; making a name for themselves by founding a new city, finding someplace with plenty of resources to bring back home, creating new trade routes, etc. Hierarchs always value the needs of the many before the needs of the few, sometimes even if it means at a cost to themselves. After all, the greatest shame that can be brought to a hierarch buzpons is failing to support their large, adopted (and sometimes literal) families.

On the flip side, solitaires are those who decide to strike out on their own, forming bonds as they see fit. While to the outside observer, this could mean becoming a lone wolf with no friends, in reality, they are much more outgoing than that. While a solitaire's true allegiance is only to themself, how they express that depends on the individual. Some will think about themselves first, others keep a small yet trusted group of comrades nearby (or, alternatively, at arm's length). Yet others realize that a group is formed by many individuals, and those within a group can still have individual thought. Any want of a larger community is on a much smaller scale than hierarchs, oftentimes agreeing on peaceful anarchy as opposed to a de facto ruler. Hierarchs found grand cities; solitaires found small towns and villages. Perhaps owing to their fey roots, these buzpons are the most fickle of the bunch, forming the blood of society.

Plenty to Go Around

The third member of Buzpon society forms the heart and soul of the hive: the gourmands. True to their name, they excel in the culinary arts, but they don't limit themselves there. Gourmands are also engineers, builders, and business owners. All of this serves to showcase their commitment to providing the best hospitality to everyone around them. The chefs in particular play an especially important role among other buzpons: to help guide the youth into becoming the member of the hive they aspire to bee. The chef gourmand's greatest responsibility is to create the kind of jelly that buzpons youth consume in large amounts during their later formative years. Royal Jelly aids in the development of hierarchs, helping their bodies become more fertile and live longer to govern their domains for as long as they can, at the cost of making them a little pudgier. Aromatic Jelly helps hone the senses so a gourmand can better judge the quality of their work. Homestyle Jelly is the "regular" jelly, as consuming this kind (or even none at all) is how solitaires are formed. Whether in a hive proper or in a different kind of community, gourmands strive to nurture those around them as best they can.

Buzpons Names

Buzpon names tend to include syllables with a humming sound, as if to mimic the buzzing of bees. Aside from that, they are also likely to have harsher-sounding consonants. Buzpons typically find no need for a surname. Fully-fledged hierarchs like to adopt a more regal-sounding nickname to show off their status.

Buzpons Names: Viixy, Zeev, Queee, Shivv, Qora, Exzyarlos, Ogori, Beeds, Huhr, Raxada, Morinn, Egko, Woodz, Ylleo, Rusz, Beebo, Zelzior

Buzpon Hierarch Names: Monarki, Reejent, Qweenje, Popa, Zurpr, Chiifden, Bohs, Empros

Buzpons Traits

Ever flighty, ever in search of the next noteworthy sight, your buzpons character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and one other ability score increases by 1.

Age

Buzpons mature into aduthood at age 15 and usually live 200 to 250 years, or 300 for a hierarch; there's a lot of work to be done in those extra decades.

Alignment

Buzpons run the gamut of neutrality; those who value lawfulness flock together in bigger communities while those who lean towards chaos are content in keeping a trusted few around. These communities have a sporadic tendency to side with either good or evil, even though individuals within the community may not always share that affinity.

Size

The shortest adult-sized buzpons are about 4 and a half feet tall, whereas the tallest ones are no bigger than 5 and a half feet. Their humanoid halves are thinner than their apian lower halves, and their relatively lightweight bodies weigh between 120 and 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Fey

Your creature type is fey, rather than humanoid.

Flight

You have a flying speed equal to your walking speed.

Hivemind Transference

Your strong connection to the hive community lets you extend that psychic link to others. You can communicate telepathically with any creature you see within 30 feet of you. The creature must share a language with you, and can't answer back. This range is extended to 60 feet for other buzpons. You can also cast speak with animals an unlimited number of times with this trait, but you may only target insects that fall under the beast category (Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell). Finally, you gain resistance to psychic damage.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Auran, and Sylvan.