Lizardfolk
These primordial reptiles have held themselves apart from the mammalian masses for eons, secure in their customs as self-sufficient hunters, naturalists, and warriors. But as younger civilizations have encroached ever deeper upon the lizardfolk’s ancestral lands, isolation has ceased to be an option for this pragmatic society. Now, for the first time in centuries, a younger generation of lizardfolk is venturing outward to trade, study, adventure, and do what their people do best: endure.
Lizardfolk are consummate survivors, heirs to empires considered ancient even by the elves.
Lizardfolk move through the societies of other humanoids with the steely reserve of born predators. They have a well-deserved reputation as outstanding rangers and unsentimental fighters. Though lizardfolk have adapted to many different environments, many of them still prefer to remain near bodies of water, using their ability to hold their breath to their advantage. As a result, lizardfolk usually prefer equipment that is not easily damaged by moisture, eschewing leather and metal for gear made of stone, ivory, glass, and bone.
Physical Description
Lizardfolk vary depending on their environment, but share toothy snouts and long and powerful tails. Those from temperate or desert regions tend toward gray, green, or brown scales that aid in camouflage, while those from tropical climes are brightly colored. Many sport dorsal spikes or garish neck frills that hint at their clan lineage. Lizardfolk reach physical adulthood at age 15 and live up to 120 years. The average lizardfolk stands 6 to 7 feet tall, but grows throughout their lifetime, gaining strength and size with age.
Society
Lizardfolk are raised communally from the moment they break from their shells.
They have an oral tradition stretching back thousands of years, brought to life through epic poems, evocative carvings, and ancestral rites performed among fields of fossilized bone.
Lizardfolk are passionate astrologers with one eye on the future. If they seem slow to act, it is because their long history has taught them the value of patience.
The simple villages most outsiders associate with them are the homes of migrants in outlying regions. True lizardfolk settlements are often overlooked, as they are partially or mostly submerged in water. These glass and stone complexes bear the mark of every generation of lizardfolk that lived within them, and lizardfolk bones often adorn the walls, as many lizardfolk believe these remains can be animated by ancestral spirits when the residents are in danger.
Lizardfolk Astrology
Lizardfolk civilizations were among the first to master telling time and navigating via the stars, and their shamans and sages ardently pursued the art of astrological prognostication, often studying side by side with green dragons and naga diviners. Today, astrology is integrated into the fabric of life, and lizardfolk hesitate to make major decisions without performing auguries first.
Alignment and Religion
Most lizardfolk are unconcerned with heavy questions of morality and are therefore usually neutral in alignment. Adventuring lizardfolk who leave their people to travel might have any number of reasons for doing so and can be of any alignment. Lizardfolk religion plays a large role in their culture, but it is heavily practical, blending animism and ancestor worship with druidic rites. Lizardfolk may call upon powers devoted to ancient wyrms, astrology, nature, rivers, and might of arms.
Adventurers
Some background options are particularly suitable for lizardfolk.
Wilderness or martial backgrounds like the animal whisperer, hunter, scout, or warrior are ideal. Living at the margins of human civilization means an lizardfolk might have grown up as a hardy street urchin, traveled as a nomad or sailor, or found work as a laborer or gladiator.
Lizardfolk’s ties to the wilderness make them excellent rangers or druids. Their outstanding strength serves them well if they select the barbarian, fighter, or monk classes, though they can also strike from stealth as a rogue. Lizardfolk also have a strong oral tradition kept alive by lizardfolk bards and sorcerers.
Names
Lizardfolk names come from their ancient language and tend to be traditional.
Names are typically chosen by the clan’s astrologer in accordance to omens and which star signs are ascendant when an egg hatches, though occasionally an lizardfolk’s parents may name a hatchling for an ancestor or a beloved historical hero.
Sample Names Arasheg, Barashk, Essaru, Enshuk, Gishkim, Hazi, Inishish, Kutak, Nasha, Shulkuru, Tizkar, Utakish, Zelkekek
Lizardfolk Heritages While most lizardfolk prefer wetlands, eons of evolution and cultural adaptation enable them to live in more challenging environments. Choose one of the following lizardfolk heritages at 1st level.
CLIFFSCALE LIZARDFOLK Source PLOCG
Your toes are adapted for gripping and climbing. You gain the Combat Climber feat as a bonus feat, and as long as you aren’t wearing footwear, you can use the sticky pads on your feet to climb, leaving your hands free. Additionally, if you roll a success on an Athletics check to climb, you get a critical success instead.
FRILLED LIZARDFOLK Source PLOCG
You can flare your neck frill and flex your dorsal spines, Demoralizing your foes.
When you do, Demoralize loses the auditory trait and gains the visual trait, and you don’t take a penalty when you attempt to Demoralize a creature that doesn’t understand your language. You also gain the Threatening Approach action.
Threatening Approach [two-actions]
You Stride to be adjacent to a foe and Demoralize that foe. If you succeed, the foe is frightened 2 instead of frightened 1.
SANDSTRIDER LIZARDFOLK Source PLOCG
Your thick scales help you retain water and combat the sun’s glare. You gain fire resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1). Environmental heat effects are one step less extreme for you, and you can go 10 times as long as normal before you are affected by starvation or thirst. However, unless you wear protective gear or take shelter, environmental cold effects are one step more extreme for you.
UNSEEN LIZARDFOLK Source PLOCG
You can change your skin color to blend in with your surroundings, making minor shifts with a single action and dramatic changes over the course of an hour. When you’re in an area where your coloration is roughly similar to the environment (for instance, forest green in a forest), you can use the minor, single-action application of this ability to make localized changes that help you blend into your surroundings, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks until your surroundings change in coloration or pattern.
WETLANDER LIZARDFOLK Source PLOCG
Your family is descended from the most common lizardfolk heritage, and you are accustomed to aquatic environments. You gain a 15-foot swim Speed.
Lizardfolk are consummate survivors, heirs to empires considered ancient even by the elves.
Lizardfolk move through the societies of other humanoids with the steely reserve of born predators. They have a well-deserved reputation as outstanding rangers and unsentimental fighters. Though lizardfolk have adapted to many different environments, many of them still prefer to remain near bodies of water, using their ability to hold their breath to their advantage. As a result, lizardfolk usually prefer equipment that is not easily damaged by moisture, eschewing leather and metal for gear made of stone, ivory, glass, and bone.
Physical Description
Lizardfolk vary depending on their environment, but share toothy snouts and long and powerful tails. Those from temperate or desert regions tend toward gray, green, or brown scales that aid in camouflage, while those from tropical climes are brightly colored. Many sport dorsal spikes or garish neck frills that hint at their clan lineage. Lizardfolk reach physical adulthood at age 15 and live up to 120 years. The average lizardfolk stands 6 to 7 feet tall, but grows throughout their lifetime, gaining strength and size with age.
Society
Lizardfolk are raised communally from the moment they break from their shells.
They have an oral tradition stretching back thousands of years, brought to life through epic poems, evocative carvings, and ancestral rites performed among fields of fossilized bone.
Lizardfolk are passionate astrologers with one eye on the future. If they seem slow to act, it is because their long history has taught them the value of patience.
The simple villages most outsiders associate with them are the homes of migrants in outlying regions. True lizardfolk settlements are often overlooked, as they are partially or mostly submerged in water. These glass and stone complexes bear the mark of every generation of lizardfolk that lived within them, and lizardfolk bones often adorn the walls, as many lizardfolk believe these remains can be animated by ancestral spirits when the residents are in danger.
Lizardfolk Astrology
Lizardfolk civilizations were among the first to master telling time and navigating via the stars, and their shamans and sages ardently pursued the art of astrological prognostication, often studying side by side with green dragons and naga diviners. Today, astrology is integrated into the fabric of life, and lizardfolk hesitate to make major decisions without performing auguries first.
Alignment and Religion
Most lizardfolk are unconcerned with heavy questions of morality and are therefore usually neutral in alignment. Adventuring lizardfolk who leave their people to travel might have any number of reasons for doing so and can be of any alignment. Lizardfolk religion plays a large role in their culture, but it is heavily practical, blending animism and ancestor worship with druidic rites. Lizardfolk may call upon powers devoted to ancient wyrms, astrology, nature, rivers, and might of arms.
Adventurers
Some background options are particularly suitable for lizardfolk.
Wilderness or martial backgrounds like the animal whisperer, hunter, scout, or warrior are ideal. Living at the margins of human civilization means an lizardfolk might have grown up as a hardy street urchin, traveled as a nomad or sailor, or found work as a laborer or gladiator.
Lizardfolk’s ties to the wilderness make them excellent rangers or druids. Their outstanding strength serves them well if they select the barbarian, fighter, or monk classes, though they can also strike from stealth as a rogue. Lizardfolk also have a strong oral tradition kept alive by lizardfolk bards and sorcerers.
Names
Lizardfolk names come from their ancient language and tend to be traditional.
Names are typically chosen by the clan’s astrologer in accordance to omens and which star signs are ascendant when an egg hatches, though occasionally an lizardfolk’s parents may name a hatchling for an ancestor or a beloved historical hero.
Sample Names Arasheg, Barashk, Essaru, Enshuk, Gishkim, Hazi, Inishish, Kutak, Nasha, Shulkuru, Tizkar, Utakish, Zelkekek
Lizardfolk Heritages While most lizardfolk prefer wetlands, eons of evolution and cultural adaptation enable them to live in more challenging environments. Choose one of the following lizardfolk heritages at 1st level.
CLIFFSCALE LIZARDFOLK Source PLOCG
Your toes are adapted for gripping and climbing. You gain the Combat Climber feat as a bonus feat, and as long as you aren’t wearing footwear, you can use the sticky pads on your feet to climb, leaving your hands free. Additionally, if you roll a success on an Athletics check to climb, you get a critical success instead.
FRILLED LIZARDFOLK Source PLOCG
You can flare your neck frill and flex your dorsal spines, Demoralizing your foes.
When you do, Demoralize loses the auditory trait and gains the visual trait, and you don’t take a penalty when you attempt to Demoralize a creature that doesn’t understand your language. You also gain the Threatening Approach action.
Threatening Approach [two-actions]
You Stride to be adjacent to a foe and Demoralize that foe. If you succeed, the foe is frightened 2 instead of frightened 1.
SANDSTRIDER LIZARDFOLK Source PLOCG
Your thick scales help you retain water and combat the sun’s glare. You gain fire resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1). Environmental heat effects are one step less extreme for you, and you can go 10 times as long as normal before you are affected by starvation or thirst. However, unless you wear protective gear or take shelter, environmental cold effects are one step more extreme for you.
UNSEEN LIZARDFOLK Source PLOCG
You can change your skin color to blend in with your surroundings, making minor shifts with a single action and dramatic changes over the course of an hour. When you’re in an area where your coloration is roughly similar to the environment (for instance, forest green in a forest), you can use the minor, single-action application of this ability to make localized changes that help you blend into your surroundings, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks until your surroundings change in coloration or pattern.
WETLANDER LIZARDFOLK Source PLOCG
Your family is descended from the most common lizardfolk heritage, and you are accustomed to aquatic environments. You gain a 15-foot swim Speed.
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