Homebrew Yetaigan Species Details

Description

The Yetaigan resembles a lithe, graceful, athletic Goliath with a flat cat-like head and tail. They have beautiful black fur pelts that can range from brown to red under tones. They have sharp teeth and un-retractable claws, which are their primary weapons in combat. They are very tall and slender, and have eyes of white or bright yellow that glow in the dark and ears that stand at a foot tall. Like most fey, Yetaigan can change their gender at will depending on the situation and especially if one gender group is killed or dies off.

Personality

Yetaigan are a reclusive people who stick to their own kind and often avoid interaction with other intelligent races. Due to their rare and beautiful pelts they are often hunted and killed. However, as each Yetaigan possessed a specific animalistic trait, most have an innate hatred that compelled them to travel and seek out new prey and love the thrill of the hunt; in turn Yetaigan favor fey as their most hunted prey, but never remaining in the same place or drawing to much attention.

Because Yetaigan have been hunted for a very long time, they have an innate ability to hide in plain sight and don't care for rules. Yetaigan will do anything to get what they want and don't care for the consequences.

Not all Yetaigan were motivated by curiosity to leave their homeland, however. Some found safer ways to satisfy their fleeting obsessions by becoming assassins and bounty hunters, often accepting interesting artifacts and fey items as payment for their services.

Combat

Yetaigan are exceptional hunters and utilize those skills in combat. Speed and stealth combined with their natural camouflage meant that Yetaigan are particularly skilled at surprise attacks. Yetaigan are even known to disguise themselves in plain sight due to their undercoats and surroundings. Yetaigan's favored terrain is the forest where they are able to hide during mid-day with ease.

Their hunting skills and intelligence made them formidable tacticians. Groups would often drive prey into ambushes, sometimes playing with their doomed foe before killing them. Yetaigan packs are very close knit and don't normally split up. 

For weapons, Yetaigan favored simple weapons like daggers, javelins, and spears. These weapons would often be made from wood, bone or stone. Yetaigan are just as likely to use weapons as they were to use their claws and teeth. Their preference of simple weapons was due to a lack of capability and always walking on all fours.

Society 

 Due to their knowledge of hunting, intelligence and sense of smell, it was practically impossible to trap a Yetaigan causing them to be even rarer and sold for a higher price. 

Yetaigan society was built around close families. These groups are mostly made up of two adults and 3-5 children. Each group has two hunters who guard the family and go searching for food. Although Yetaigan lairs were sometimes just temporary, they were more often small villages with elders as the main head of the group. Yetaigan considered trade to be demeaning but in rare instances would use third party agents to trade for them.

Language

The Yetaigan Language is an ancient form of the Primordial language. Unlike many other races, Yetaigan speaks through telepathy due to the lack of fully formed vocal cords.

Religion

Some families worshiped Malar, god of the hunt. Most didn't have a god nor deity and followed their own path.                                                                                          

Interracial Relations

Yetaigan has many enemies and most groups would attack members of other intelligent species with the simple reason of revenge and hatred.                                            

Threats

Yetaigan were often hunted for their pelts. Each pelt could be sold for up to 500 gp. Elves and Drow could use Yetaigan skin and claws to enhance their strength. Young Yetaigan could be sold on the black market for around 225 gp normally used for breeding.

Yetaigan Names

Yetaigan's have personal names given to them at birth, as well as a family name they hold with high honor. Family names are normally a symbol of ones loyalty to its own kin and is passed down through generations to honor those who have been hunted down.

Birth Names: Nikki, Suzu, Keiji, Michio, Fozuss, Eiko, Mitsuru, Ryoko, Mika, Metos

Family Names: Glowreaver, Oatstride, Darkflower, Lawfield, Gloudward, Lochtree, Runewatcher, Solideye, Hillforge, Lunaore 

Yetaigan Traits

Yetaigan shares a number of traits in common with each other.

Ability Score Increase

Both your Strength and Dexterity scores are increased by 2.

Quadruped Speed

Your base walking speed on four legs is 50 feet.

Biped Speed

Your walking speed on your two hind legs is reduced to 30 feet due to not always walking on two legs but four.

Natural Hunter

You have proficiency in stealth, nature, and preception.

Darkvision

You have a cat's keen senses, especially in the dark. You can see in dim light within 120 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.

Cat's Claws

Because of your claws, you have a climbing speed of 40 feet. In addition, your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d6 + your dexterity modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Cat's Bite

Because of your strong jaw, your bite is a natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d8 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Natural Armor

Due to your large size, the shape of your body, and living in the fey wilds, you are ill-suited to wearing armor. Your fur provides a hard layer of fur on the outsize, however; it gives you a base AC of 17 (your Dexterity modifier doesn’t affect this number)

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Primordial.