Homebrew Barbagezie Species Details

While exploring the great Kraqethet Mountains, I was caught in something I had the fortune to not happen upon before - and avalanche. It sounded similar to heavy snow falling on thin wood, only a hundred times over, and it buckled the very trees. I was between two ridges with the avalanche roaring down upon me, and before I could find a rock to hide behind (I had no former experience on how to avoid being annihilated by avalanches) I was enveloped with the snow. I woke up some time later in a small wooden hut, no more than 5 feet high, and shaped like the inside of a boat. I had been rescued by a race I read of but once, the Barbagezie.

-- Roran Woodsoul, A Collection of Knowledge

At the edges of the world, where the sun dissapears for months at a time and the world is white and unbending, dwell the equally white barbagezie. Barbagezie exist only in myth, rumored to be spirits of snow or starters of avalanches. Covered in thick, white fur to protect them from the cold, the barbagezie can surf over avalanches with their thin feet, almost as long as they are tall - and they aren't. They are shorter than gnomes, and there language can sound to those unfamiliar with it like the howling of wind. They keep to themselves, and only interact with others to redirect them to warmer places.

Strength in Numbers

Food is scarce in the frigid reaches of the world, and the few animals that live their are fierce and unyielding. Barbagezie work together, forming colonies of thousands, dotting the otherwise white planes with small wood huts like overturned boats. Though they can survive the cold of the deepest winter in the coldest places, they don't go too deep into the arctic, as they rely on wood to melt snow into water and cook their food.

A barbagezie on their own would quickly succumb to hunger, so they must live together. They groom each other's white fur, and a sleek, groomed look is the pride of the race. They rely on numbers for all, and hunting parties are large and gather much food for the colony. One who doesn't contribute by choice will be shunned, but the sick, old, and injured are given much care.

 

Arctic Saviors

Barbagezie find joy in surfing down the sides of snowy mountains, starting avalanches to ride the great waves of snow. If a traveler happens to be in the path, they hoot and whistle to warn them and dig them out and direct them to warmer places if they are caught. Adventurers recount experiences of waking up after an avalanch with food in their pack, far inland from the icy places they ventured to. Some, after succumbing to the cold, thinking they will die, gain consciousness with a fire next to them.

Frosty Manes

The pride of the barbagezie, as said before, is there thick white hair, which the groom and comb daily, males with beards reaching to their toes and females with flowing hair on their heads. Though some may call this vanity, barbagezie see it as art.

Instead of a fashionable cloak or jewlery to set them apart from others, they fashion their hair into designs and let them freeze in the cold air of their homelands, some with icy horns, others with large whiskers or capes. Their hair is always frozen in some way while in their homelands, and music is replaced with the clinking and tinkling of dancing barbagezie.

Barbagezie Names

 

Barbagezie take names that sound to outsiders like the winter wind, but to them each is unique. The names may be hoots or whistles or hums, but all can be replicated by other races with enough practice. 

Rarely, if ever, a barbagezie will choose to live with other humanoids, and in that case they may choose any name they please, usually similar to the names of the humanoids they are with.

Barbagezie Traits

Your barbagezie character has certain qualities in common with all of the other snow-bearded folk.

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

Barbagezie mature much faster than humans, reaching adulthood at around age 10. They age very slowly after that time, and can live up to 450 years.

Alignment

Though not necessarily good, barbagezie will always help those in need, tending towards neutral or good alignments. Their life in arctic places allows no room for inconsistency, leading most barbagezie to be lawful in nature. 

Size

Barbagezie are similar to gnomes in stature, though they tend to be lighter, ranging from 3 to 4 feet tall and weighing about 30 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and all barbagezie can dig quickly in snow if needed. You have a burrow speed of 30 that only works in snow.

Polar Adaptation

You gain proficiency in the Survival skill.

Arctic Fur

You have thick, white fur that gives you the following qualities:

• You gain a resistance to cold damage.
• You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide in snowy terrain.
• When you are exposed to extreme heat or cold, as described in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide, your fur counts as heavy clothing.

Keen Vision

Adapted to snow whipped up by the wind, your can see through areas lightly obscured by snow, sand, dirt, and other airborne debris.

Foot Pads

You have thick fur on the soles of your feet that allows for surfing over the surface of snow. While on a decline covered in snow, you can use a bonus action to slide up to a distance equal to twice your walking speed.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Barbagezie, a language consisting of hoots and whistles that are often mistaken by outsiders to be wind. The written form of Barbagezie is a complex structure of perpendicular and parallel lines that appear alien when compared to most other forms of writing.