Homebrew Zocudae Species Details

Zocudae are a nocturnal, arctic race of moth-like humanoids. Known mostly for their expert weaving of the silk they weave, these creatures often are seen as merchants for textiles in the Achana region. Some however feel the call for adventure, despite their nocturnal nature, and heed the call. 

Zocudae also speak Mothspeech which is mainly a language of transmitted pheromones, with few body language, and because of this it can't be written. Also, it is impossible for other creatures besides moths, butterflies or Zoducae to comprehend this language (although it is possible with magic), and many won't even notice when you use it. Using Mothspeech, you can communicate simple ideas to moths and butterflies, and understand their "speech". Because of the limited vocabulary of this language, most zoducae speak through both Mothspeech and Common.

Age: Zoducae larvae mature into moths after around ten months, at which point they show the physical and mental age of a three-year-old human child. They mature at age 15, and are known to live up to 90 years.

Alignment: Zoducae tend towards chaotic alignments, as they grow with little amount of rules to bind them and, experiencing various cultures through their travels, they create their own set of moral laws. They almost never fall into evil alignments, as they respect other cultures and treasure the company of other people and the beauty of the world.

Size: Zoducae range in height from barely 4 feet to more than 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Moth Wings: Your moth wings grant you a flying speed of 20 feet. To be able to use this speed, you mustn’t be wearing heavy or medium armor.

Light Sensitivity: You are not accustomed to unlight on the daily, and thus your eyes are sensitive to the light. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks when you are in direct sunlight conditions.

Zocudae Traits

As a Zocudae, your moth-like features grant the following traits:

Darkvision

Darkvision 60 (greyscale)

Extra Limbs

You have a second pair of arms, which are smaller and weaker than your normal arms, but that can still carry out tasks with precision. Those arms cannot wield weapons or shields, nor perform somatic components of spells, but can hold and use a spellcasting focus or any other small object, weighing up to 3 times your strength score.

As a bonus action on your turn, you can use your extra limbs to interact with one additional object or feature of the Environment during your movement or action.

Language: Mothspeech

Mothspeech is mainly a language of transmitted pheromones, with few body language, and because of this it can't be written. Also, it is impossible for other creatures besides moths, butterflies or Zoducae to comprehend this language (although it is possible with magic), and many won't even notice when you use it. Using Mothspeech, you can communicate simple ideas to moths and butterflies, and understand their "speech". Because of the limited vocabulary of this language, most zoducae speak through both Mothspeech and Common.

Weaver of Silk

You gain proficiency with the Weaver’s tools. Also, you can use your action to produce up to 5 feet of a thin, silky thread. In order to do that, your mouth and two of your hands must be free (you can use your secondary arms for this action). The amount of silk you can produce is a number of feet equal to 5 times your Constitution score. Once you have produced the maximum length of silk, you cannot produce any more until you finish a long rest. The thread produced in this way is thin and breaks easily, but you can use some weaver’s tools to make cloth out of it, which is instead warm, comfortable and resistant.

Zoducae Personality

Even if zoducae can adapt to human society, they will never lose some of the characteristics they share with moths, resulting in them standing out from the common crowd because of this (as if four arms and wings weren’t enough). 

You can use the zoducae Quirks table to determine a personality quirk for a zoducae character or to inspire a unique mannerism.

d8	Quirk
1	You hate all kinds of artificial light, the only one you appreciate being that of the sun, the moon, or the stars.
2	Artificial lights charm you as much as the ones of the moon or the stars. You can often be found staring at a torch or a lantern, bewitched.
3	Common sleep schedules aren’t your thing: you always try to convince your companions to sleep during the day and travel at night.
4	You always leave a thin silky string wherever you go.
5	When nervous you start fiddling with your antennae.
6	You’re easily angered when you see someone mistreating any kind of insect.
7	When talking, especially when using Mothspeech, your second pair of arms expressively gestures on its own/ Some of those gestures may be incomprehensible to other people than you though.
8	You carry some butterflies or other insects with you, and sometimes chat with them. Other people usually don’t notice this, and think you are talking to yourself.