Carillion

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Disturbing things, them. More than that, relentless and ruthless. I've heard rumors that some of 'em aren't all bad, but no one's risked their hide to find a good one. -Yonder Tarrasque, explorer of the deep

The Carrilion are the only sentient race to inhabit the underground caverns of Alreni. Followers of an ancient evil, they kill and devour the weakest among their race and build slaves of whatever surfacers they don't find it in their impulses to kill. Their opaque exoskeleton and large, mostly transparent grey eyes are enough to send chills through most brave adventerurs, but the lack of noise while moving ensures that for most that meet one, their chilling appearance is the last thing they see.

Tall and Sleek

The general appearance of a Carrilion draws strongly from their abberation ancestors, abnormal carrion crawlers that accidentally found their way through from the Far Realm. They are quite tall, towering over many they meet of outside races. Their bodies are naturally armored with exoskeletons which are colored in opaque flesh tones. Their eyes are a nearly transparent grey color, allowing the fluids inside to be somewhat visible in the light. The jointed areas have prickly grey or brown hairs poking through, which both provide some basic protection as well as allow them to crawl on smooth surfaces.

Carrilion have no facial hair, or head hair. Their faces have two teardrop shaped nostrils, and tunnels set into dish shaped indents on the side of their heads. Their clothing, while basic and tribal in design, often bears paintings to show status and job descriptions. Their exoskeletons are treated with acid in certain patterns to show their name, gender, and family in symbols and patterns the others of their race can understand.

A Carrilion's eyes are long, wrapping around from the middle of their face back to their temples. Along with these elongated eyes, they have no lips but pincers between 1 and 1 1/2 inches long that sit comfortably along the openings to their fang filled mouths. While they don't carry poison, these pincers do serve for holding food as well as creating most of the clicks and trills that form their language.

Swift and Silent Lives

Carrilion only live to be around 45 years old before death, and they do what they can to leave as many offspring as possible with the strongest mates available. Because of this, there are never fewer than 1,000 per clan as they procreate yearly, and never birth less than five children. This quick life of theirs causes them to be somewhat short-sighted, jumping at new opportunities for food and extra space without thinking of viable long term plans.

Carrilion are a naturally silent race, as the hairs in their exoskeletons cushion much of the noise they make. They hold no true traditions for the most part, worshiping Y'Chak, the Violet Flame, inspires them with madness. They seek to spread this madness, and hope to bring enough power to the Violet Flame that they might tear a portal between their world and the Far Realm from which their ancestors came. Opposing clans exist which worship Bolothamogg, an equally madness inspiring old god that seeks to hold fast the barrier between planes, believing the Far Realm would be tainted by a permanent connection to the Inner Realms.

Individual Carrilion are unpredictable at best, and terrifying enemies at worst. While prone to simply murdering outsiders for food, they may also enslave, or even befriend them on their impulses. Though, rare are those who willingly call a Carrilion "friend" as most often it is done with the understanding that doing so may be the only way to live long enough to escape.

Clans and Nests

Carrilion clans are built using rocks and silk torn from spiders, which serve as ample protection for the eggs which bear their young. Not much for digging, they tend to cover caverns all along the ceilings and walls, leaving the floors open for the pillars which hold the sacred violet flames used to commune between clans, as well as pulsate similar to clocks on each hour, and gatherings to worship Y'Chak.

Most Carrilion are evil in nature, following impulses born of insanity and survival instinct. While entirely capable of civilized behavior among one-another, they rarely engage in such acts. Instead prefering carnal pleasures, or cannibalistic sacrifices when they aren't fighting to the death to cull the weak.

Those Carrilion who are not evil in behavior are still far from sane. Worshipers of Bolothamogg only have enough lucidity to drive them towards a common goal with their god, to keep the realms separate. These Carrilion still tend to be neutral at best, when their sanity allows it.

Order to the Madness

While their minds are addled with insanity, the Carrilion still have a taste for culture in some ways. They often craft intricate designs out of harvested spider silk, rocks, or the corpses of prey to impress one another with their thoughtfulness for their eggs and individual strength.

No Carrilion is incapable of working with others, and they will do so without hesitation for a common goal. Most of these goals have poor outcomes for their targets, but each clan has a series of clicks and trills they know by instinct which are used in battle to coordinate and recognize friend from foe.

Likewise, their beds and nests being kept off of the cave floors is no accident. Many a would-be explorer has met a fateful end by a swooping Carrilion, merely from the victim's mistaken assumption that spiders dwelt ahead.

Carrilion Names

Carrilion names are pronounced in clicks and trills, but those few who have friendly interactions with outsiders choose one or two syllable names to keep things simple.

Features

Darkvision
Accustomed to life underground, 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.
Blindsense
You can perceive the world by creating high-pitched noises and listening to their echoes. This gives you blindsight to a range of 40 feet. The echo-producing noises are too high-pitched to be heard by most creatures, and can only be detected by dragons, other creatures with this ability (such as bats), and creatures with hearing-based blindsense or blindsight. You cannot use this ability if you are deaf, and cannot detect anything in an area of silence. Wrap-Around
Your exoskeletal carapace is able to flatten itself together, allowing you to take one action to squeeze into a crack or crevice so long as the length allows for your height.
Madness Accustomed
You were born into insanity, and baptized in it upon your birth. While making your character, roll a trait for your background and an additional trait from the Indefinite Madness table. In addition, you roll on the Long Term Madness table after every long rest, and spells or effects that cause madness only make you re-roll on this table. Madness causing spells, effects, and events apply the same.
Scopula Pads
The tufts of hair that protrude from your joins are closely related to that of a spider, allowing you to climb walls and naturally made webs with ease, and quiet your movement. You gain advantage on all stealth rolls. You have a climb speed of 30 feet.

Languages. Common, Deep Speech