Homebrew Velkarak Species Details

A race of skyborne humanoids who live in archipelagos near large continents. They are scholarly folk, valuing intellect and wisdom over strength and dexterity, and history is an important thing to them.

They are scholars, poets, readers, and writers, all with an insatiable hunger for knowledge that consumes most of their lifespan.

The Great Story of the Velkarak

Our story starts with an ancient god who was born with a constant aching drive that filled his every being to learn, write, and think. It was this motive along with his determination that caused this ancient god to work to make his own grand library, filled with books and literature of all kinds. To assist him in this task, he decided he needed helpers to manage his library as he wrote. He took a piece of regular paper and inscribed on it the will of a new race and its laws that it would live by. The last word wrote on the piece of paper was the inscription at the bottom stating, “~These beings are to be named, the Velkarak.” The ancient god then folded the piece of paper into the form of a creature similar to himself. What we’d say to be humanoid in appearance. The paper creature, or, who is to be known as the first Velkarak was picked up by the ancient god and taken to his quarters where a magnificent hearth had lie. He flicked his fingers,creating blueish green fires igniting into place. He set the origami creature just outside of the fire, allowing for only the radiant heat to lick up and touch the creation. The paper corners closest to the fire started to curl up and away from the fire until, and within an instant, the paper construct shot up and jumped away from the fire. With new life given to the paper construct, it did as it was willed, the only thing it knew how to do which was to manage the grand library. More Velkarak workers were made overtime as the ancient god’s collection grew. With being in the presence of this god and his work that he put parts of himself into, the Velkarak started to passively develop. Gaining minds and knowledge but not free ones. They were still eternally held down to what was written within them and that was the sole defining law of the race itself up until the first “hero” came along. In a rush to create another Velkarak worker, which at this point is a simple practiced action, the ancient god, when putting the paper figure by the fire, slipped up. The flames were to big and the paper too close. A loose ember of burning wood popped out and floated slowly to the Velkarak paper. When the burning ember collided with the dry smoothness of the paper, it instantly caught alight. The Velkarak instantly sprung to life and attempted to stop the fire burning across its leg. In a fit of fear and determination the Velkarak tore its own leg off and after a moment of it thinking that it was safe, the Velkarak fell back into the fire behind it with no leg to hold it up. The fire burned away the paper and words but it could not kill the life that had been given to it. The soul escaped its own body and traveled to possess another piece of paper, this one blank and clear. With no will to hold it down though, the Velkarak completely had free will to do as it wished. It hid itself away in the far depths of the library, studying the others of its kind and the ancient god himself. It also stole books from time to time from the shelves which was not as easy a task as it would seem but it was done nevertheless. It read many books but they mostly consisted of concepts like philosophy, knowledge, and freedom. Looking from the outside perspective of the ancient god writing about freedom while enslaving and using his own race as nothing more than mindless workers sickened him. It was now that the lone Velkarak “hero” plotted his revenge. The first “hero” took its time to grow and become more powerful to the point where it was able to create a weapon itself able to kill a god. It seems that, left unmanaged in the grand library, knowledge itself alone proves to be powerful enough to cut the flesh of gods or at least that is how it seems. There was a few flaws in the creation of the Velkarak that were never fixed. The reason that they still grow but never outgrow their will is because they are an incomplete species in the first place and with the ambient energies in the midst of a god, that energy likes to flood into and fill up inside the Velkarak like a sponge. They are still incomplete though so the energy cannot be expended but when an opportunity arises where they do become a complete species, all of that saved up energy will be immediately thrown into use, and after that supply is gone it will continue using up energy to grow at the same pace as it had before. This is why when the first “hero” stabbed the flaming dagger of rebellion into the back of the ancient god and his blood leapt from his body, when the Velkarak workers came running to assist him, they soaked in some of the god’s blood and became whole. After getting this small taste of power their will seemingly broke and they became wild animals. Jumping at the ancient god and tearing him to shreds with their combined effort, consuming his flesh completely, not even leaving a body. When the feast stopped along with their growth all of the Velkarak collapsed from exhaustion. When they awoke, they looked similar to how they look today. They absorbed the traits of their god that they consumed, such as its magnificent wings, eyes and body but most importantly, its free will. There are a few things that stayed similar though. The color of skin was dictated by the particular color of the parchment that they were made up of, mainly ranging from whites to greys. The hair color was based off of the ink color used in the now broken will. Immediately upon gathering themselves back together they realized what they had done and the dawning of the realization as to the consequences of their actions became apparent as much as to make some cry in horror. Not only were they branded with horns signifying what they had become but they had also absorbed their master’s worse trait of all. His insatiable thirst for knowledge that cannot be quenched. To top it all off though, in their creators final moments there is one thing that he did just to spite them for what they had done. Knowing that his unquenchable hunger for knowledge would be passed onto them, he removed one bit of knowledge from the world that would leave Velkarak tossing and turning for the rest of their life as the sleep so solemnly. The ancient god, with his last bit of strength, removed his name from writings, memory, and most of all, history. Not knowing their own creators name while juggling this newfound freedom and responsibility to learn, this drived some mad but this marks the beginning of our history. This is when old records start to pop up of the Velkarak’s trials and tribulations after becoming fully independent. With the first hero seeming lost in time, more heroes were born and lived out their tale. There was one constant that never left though through all this time passing. Every moment, every name, every action, was documented and saved. Our society grew in archipelagos and adapted through industrial changes with ease. Our involvement in the lives of other races is minimal but we keep everything kind and as face value most of the time when interacting with others. We do share a deep rivalry with the dwarves though and have went into many debates with elves over how industrialization and expansion should be done. Having a very narrow isolationist point of view, our Velkarak species as a whole doesn’t delve all too deep into other race’s history, instead we like to keep that within ourselves and not extend all to far out with other race’s histories. There are Velkarak who move to foreign lands to learn and study though which is only thought of as being bad if that Velkarak doesn’t come back to share the information that they had learned. Alone though, the base ingenuity of our race has made it easy for us to overcome any large scale disaster so far but for how long will that last without upheaval? Only time can tell. ~ As written by Lorekeeper Asher Gretova the Second of Cyclades.

Paper and Ink

Velkarak have skin colors of grey, blue, and purple, and most colors are light and desaturated, with a few exceptions. They have natural horns and spikes adorning their joints, mainly the elbows, shoulders, knees, head, and their majestic wings. Their hair is naturally spiky, and its colors are always a shade of grey, with a tendency for the darker spectrum.

Outside Relations

They are mostly kind to other races, though they have a deep rivalry with dwarves with roots that stretch deep through both races’ history, and well there have been more than a few disagreements with some elves over industrialization that comes from the Velkaraks constant drive for new creations, they are generally on good terms. Velkarak rarely move largely out of their archipelagos and have never been very imperialistic. This allowed them to bypass stepping on a lot of toes for expansionism. They do freely share their information but  most will have to come to the Velkarak's islands to study. Even though there has been great consideration towards educating the world outside of their islands, it tends to fail or fall through in the end.

History and Religion

History is a very important aspect of the Velkarak culture, and records along with historical events are recorded by them with vigor. One important distinction to make though is that the Velkarak story is not considered history although it is what is widely accepted as fact among many. It was created using many primary documents left behind by the first to gain sentience. It was noted though that even in these primary accounts, the first few Velkarak all wrote to themselves at times that their view of the world was muddled and strange during the events that transpired so the validity does need to be questioned. There are a lot of basic facts and details missing, the biggest one being the hero and that he seemingly couldn't be found after the creator's death. This is why the Velkarak's history only officially start after the story and what happens in it. Most see history as starting when the Velkarak actually gained sentience which does also line up with the stories end. After the death of their god though, Velkarak mostly follow philosophies, but a few have adopted the gods of the other races in place of the one who was lost many centuries ago.

VELKARAK DEBATE ON THE HERO

 

Among the Velkarak in the modern day there are different interpretations on the "hero" in the Velkarak Story. Some now question if this one Velkarak should really be called a hero for his actions. Some think that possibly, if never given free will and this insatiable need for knowledge and lore, they would be living in blissful happiness right now as assistants to a higher cause. The people who support that view point are of the few more radical believers in the old dead god. Statistically they also tend to be older Velkarak who are deeper in political power so this view is pretty spread. Other points include how even the killing of a tyrant is still murder and that it should still be looked down upon. This is something that has been debated strongly though and both sides have their own ideals and thoughts on the matter. This can create a somewhat aggressive divide in modern day Velkarak society.

Great Purpose

 

When a Velkarak leaves their island home there's normally two reasons among other possibilities. Most commonly Velkarak will leave to go and study abroad. This is normally only temporary though unless they go to a very lore and culture rich area. They would normally move from place to place as studying nomads. These journeys tend to end in two ways though. Either the Velkarak grows old and come back home to fill the libraries with all the lore, history, and works that they have gathered, or they die on the trip in some horrific event. The second most common reason for a Velkarak to leave is being exiled. This tends to only be for extremely heinous crimes like murder or the secreting away of information with no intent of revealing it. The later has been a law in place ever since the old one's death by the hands of his own creations and people don't take to kindly to it. These exiles though tend to be able to come back at any time depending on a few different things. They must be reformed, this is tested heavily with psychological tests engineered for the specific person in question along with two peer trials, one with and the other without people who knows the subject in question. The returned exile must also understand what they did and feel grief towards their actions. This is normally accompanied by some sort of atonement towards whoever was affected by the action causing the exile in the first place. If it was an exile because the criminal party failed to share information, they would have to forfeit if they ever hope to re-enter society. 

Velkarak Names

Velkarak naming traditions consist of a family name chosen by the parents, which they use until they come of age, after which they choose their own name, and a third ‘Caste’ name is given to them based on their greatest accomplishments and status in society. Chosen names and family names are usually a combination of references to historical heroes and legends of old, and both genders have similar names, usually changing only the last few letters. A Lorewriter is considered a hero of the Velkarak and is only granted to those who make history, not record it, and a Lorekeeper is one of the few Velkarak who has memorized and rewritten all of the history and legends of the species.

Male Family/Chosen Name Examples: Arimus, Asergus, Bedelan, Calamus, Darrim, Farian, Ferlanus, Gerkus, Helmus, Javan, Lesak, Mecal, Merigus, Nasidan, Olas, Peramus, Selemus, Taman, Terhas, Valusim, Vergimus, Waranus, Zelar.

Female Family/Chosen Name Examples: Aala, Arima, Aserga, Balgara, Calama, Cera, Esera, Faria, Ferlana, Gamina, Helma, Kulana, Lamis, Mecala, Maligan, Nasida, Perala, Selem, Tamana, Terhal, Valusia, Vergima, Zela.

Velkarak Caste System

Velkarak society is based upon a caste system of recognition and advancement, and as they value intellect above all, the status of each Velkarak depends on what ideas, philosophies, books, and poems that they have created.

(Highest Rank to Lowest): Grand Lorewriter, Lorewriter, Grand Lorekeeper, Lorekeeper, Grand Paragon, Paragon, Grandmaster, Master, Grand Creator, Creator, Contributor, Apprentice.

VELKARAK BACKGROUNDS

Backgrounds that are most appropriate for velkarak include the sage, the far traveler, and the investigator.

The Velkarak develop large societies based on archipelagos located all around the world. They tend to create cities bigger than their own population in hopes of visitors coming to stay and granting new history and knowledge unheard of before. Velkarak will venture outside these islands but most plan to return before their death to share their stories.

Velkarak Traits

Due to the circumstances that the Velkarak were created, they all have traits in common with each other. (Make sure to ask your DM before playing a race like this with the ability to fly at level 1. It requires a little bit more preplanning from the DM’s side so at least give them a heads up!)

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score by 1.

Age

Velkarak live about 3 centuries, and are considered adults at 80.

Alignment

Velkarak accept law and chaos in equal measure, but have a good-natured society and strive for improvement and helpfulness, making them tend toward a good alignment.

Size

Velkaraks tend to be taller and slimmer than most other races, standing over 6 feet tall and with a weight averaging 130 pounds. Your size is medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Flight

You have a flying speed of 50 ft. You cannot fly while wearing any armor that you are not proficient in, excluding heavy armor which you are completely unable to fly in. Along with that, being over-encumbered also stops you from being able to fly.

Darkvision

You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Languages

You know Common and one other language of your choice.

Keepers of Lore

You have proficiency in the history skill.

Society of Creators

You have proficiency in 1 type of artisans tool of your choice.