Homebrew Skittermander Species Details

When vesk warships appeared in the sky, skittermanders across Vesk-3 were more than happy to get out of the invaders, way—not out of fear, but more because of their innate desire to help. Skittermanders instinctively recognized the Veskarium’s superior strength and felt they could best aid the empire by simply not being in the same location as its soldiers. In this way, skittermanders believed the vesk could quickly achieve their goals and move on. They didn’t understand the vesk’s aim was to subdue their world. Since vesk’s code of honor forbade them from shooting the cheerfully acquiescent skittermanders in the back, the invaders were confused and infuriated by the situation.

 

Skittermanders are an anomaly on the galactic stage, a very social species, they seek to work and help eachother as often as possible. When a project is finished, or the Skittermander feels the job is done, they will often go look for the next friend to help out. Skittermanders because of this are a strange addition to the Veskarium, but their helpful nature served them in the end, as many end up in Clerical positions where they can aid as many people as possible. 

Biological Information

Though skittermanders are mammals, they begin life in something akin to a larval stage. A skittermander whelp looks like a miniature version of an adult, but with more prominent ears and a tiny, secondary mouth on its abdomen. Once born, whelps are left to fend for themselves. They are truly omnivorous, capable of digesting fruits, leaves, raw meat, and seeds. Additionally, a whelp’s secondary mouth allows it to attach itself to large prey and feed at its leisure. Thanks to a numbing mucus secreted by this mouth, less intelligent animals rarely even notice the whelp’s samplings. A swarm of skittermander whelps has been known to bring down a trundling bovine monoux in a matter of minutes.

After 6 years, whelps mature into adult skittermanders, begin to walk upright, and lose their secondary mouths, but they maintain their taste for anything remotely edible. Skittermanders living in tropical climes have short, soft fur, while their arctic cousins grow tough, shaggy hair. Their coloration varies even more, with tones of blue, green, and violet being the most common, but with no obvious correlation to their surroundings. The average adult skittermander is 3 feet tall and weighs about 35 pounds. 

Helping Hands

Skittermanders are more than willing to help out, and any who are around them long enough will note they are cheerfully manic, with a goblin like flair to them minus any malice. Skittermanders don't value society or hierarchy much at all, and their carefree spirits and positive attitudes make them as much an asset as a headache for anyone who has to oversee Skittermanders in any job. Seeing as once they feel done, they will often move on to the next project. 

 

 

 

Skittermander Traits

Your Skittermander character will have a number of traits in common with other Skittermanders.

Languages

Skittermanders know Common, and one Language of your Choice

Size

Skittermanders are Small Humanoids

Age

Skittermanders are Adults by Age 6. A Skittermander can live for 30 years up to 60. 

Ability Score Improvement

Your Dexterity and Charisma Score increase by 2. 

Grappler

Whenever a Skittermander has to make a check involving grappling, they can roll 1d6 and add it to their result. The Skittermander is also proficient in Athletics. 

Hyper

Once per day, a skittermander can take an extra move action during their turn. 

Six Armed

Skittermanders have six arms, which allows them to wield and hold up to six hands’ worth of equipment. The Skittermander however can only hold the following combinations of weapons, One Handed and a Shield. Two Handed melee or ranged, or two light weapons. The Skittermander cannot make more attack than the normal amount even with extra weapons, and the other 4 arms can only be used to carry extra light melee weapons like daggers, or to carry items like ammunition or focuses. If the Skittermander is casting spells, they need at least 2 arms free to do so, though either or both of those hands could be holding focuses. 

The Skittermander also struggles with coordination if it is using multiple arms for different purposes. If the Skittermander tries to swap weapons they are holding, then they must drop their initial weapons to acquire different ones. If they try to put their weapons away and pull out a different one, it takes an action to do so. 

The Skittermander cannot benefit from it's Grappler Racial Feature if it has less than 3 arms free of any equipment.