Firenewt Warrior And Firenewt Warlock of Imix
Firenewts
In regions that contain hot springs, volcanic activity, or similar hot and wet conditions, firenewts might be found. These humanoid amphibians live in a militaristic theocracy that reveres elemental fire in its worst incarnation.Heat Seekers
Firenewts need hot water to live and breed. A firenewt becomes sluggish, mentally and physically, after spending a week away from an external source of moist heat. A prolonged lack of heat can shut down a firenewt community, as the creatures within go into hibernation and their eggs stop developing. Firenewts delve for sources of heat in the earth, such as boiling mud and hot springs, that make ideal places to settle. Through excavation and mining in the area, they fashion living space and obtain an ample supply of minerals for other uses, such as smelting, smithing, and alchemy. A firenewt lair features a network of channels and sluices to circulate hot liquid through the settlement. The alchemy practiced by firenewts focuses on fire. One of their favourite mixtures is a paste of sulphur, mineral salts, and oil. Firenewts chew this blend habitually, because doing so produces a pleasant internal heat and it enables a firenewt to vomit forth a small ball of flame. Most firenewts carry a container with this mixture in it.Religious Militants
Firenewt society and culture are based on the worship of Imix, The Prince of Evil Fire. This veneration of Imix leads firenewts to be aggressive, wrathful, and cruel. Firenewt warlocks of Imix teach that by demonstrating these qualities, a firenewt warrior in combat can become "touched by the Fire Lord", entering a nearly unstoppable battle rage. Warlocks of Imix command warriors and Giant Strider Riders to prove their worth by going on raids to bring back treasure and captives. The warlocks take the choicest loot as a tithe to Imix, and then those who participated in the raid divide the rest according to merit. Prisoners that have no apparent usefulness are sacrificed to Imix and then eaten. Those that are deemed capable of mining and performing other chores around the lair are kept as slaves for a while before meeting the same fate. When firenewts muster for war, rather than merely staging occasional raids, they take no prisoners. Their goal is nothing less than the annihilation of their foes-and they reserve their greatest animosity for others of their kind. If two groups of firenewts come upon each other, it's likely that they're in competition for the same territory, and a bloody battle is the usual result.Basic Information
Anatomy
Humanoid, Firenewt: Firenewts are about the size of a slim human. They appear like lizardfolk with simpler faces and larger, inky-black or deep crimson eyes. Their speckled, smooth-scaled skin appears eel-like, and is coloured dark reddish brown at their spines and faded to nearly white on their front sides. Their young are lighter in colour, but darken progressively as they mature. They have long feet, giving them the appearance of "reversed knees", which gives them an advantage while running or leaping.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Firenewts are a carnivorous species. They prefer to dine upon humanoids of almost any kind. Their preferences in order are humans, elves, dwarves, and then all other types of humanoids. They could survive on the meat of herd animals, wild beasts, or even rodents — but they only resorted to such fare when their preferred food was completely unavailable. Though they appreciated the large amounts of meat that mounts such as horses, camels, and elephants could provide. In some cases they would even resort to cannibalism of their firenewt enemies.
They delight in roasting their victims alive before eating them. In fact, their traditions held that brutally torturing a creature before its death made it tastier, though such tortures were never as brutal as their society's death penalty. The juiciest part of any meat was first served to their society's priests, then the rest were distributed among the members of a tribe. The offal from these victims was fed to their animals.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Due to their race's demeanor, firenewts are enemies or rivals of one another. Because of this any tribes living in close proximity of each other were almost never on good terms. They typically either ignored each other or engaged in vicious wars.
It is considered a tremendous honour for a raiding party to find the hatching chambers of a rival tribe and destroy their eggs. Because of this, firenewts keep their hatching grounds secret and closely guarded. Typically by a priest, a single elite warrior, and two giant striders, or one to three fire lizards.
Within these hatching grounds an egg would be placed close to some source of heat, such as lava vents. The eggs of their mounts are typically hatched in this same location. Eggs typically hatch after a period of six months. Hatchlings would be separated by their sex and assigned to groups of ten that were each raised and taught by two females.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
The blood of a firenewt can be mixed with the blood of a Red Dragon to create a broth used in enchanting Items.
Facial characteristics
They appear like lizardfolk, but with simpler faces and larger, inky-black, or deep crimson eyes.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
- Darkvision 120ft, (Penetrates magical darkness) (Warlock of Imix only),
- Passive Perception 10.
Civilization and Culture
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Societal Roles
The societal nature of firenewt tribes are best described as being militaristic theocracies.Priests
Clerics are an important element within firenewt society. They oversee many of the day-to-day functions within tribes. They decide which of their captives became meals, offered healing as needed, and attended to their tribe's welfare. Such as handling most criminal proceedings, training their mounts and making them into very capable combatants in their own right, torturing and preparing food, monitoring the activities of their hatching grounds, and ensuring eggs were properly hatched. On occasion they would engineer failed hatchings in order to end the bloodlines of their enemies.Overlord
Typically the most charismatic individual in a tribe, these make the major decisions in tribes. Only they have the authority to declare war, but in many cases they simply chose other actions that required fewer resources, such as harassing enemies with quick raids. They could also judge criminal proceedings if desired They evenly distributed gold from raids among members of a tribe, though clerics normally received the largest portion.Warlock
In firenewt societies where Imix was worshiped instead of Kossuth, a warlock took the role of a cleric. They often sent warriors out on raids for captives and treasures. They would take the choicest of loot for themselves as a tithe, then have the rest divided among the warriors according to their merit.Justice
Societal laws varied among firenewt tribes, though murder and food theft were the most commonly addressed concerns. Due to their race's demeanor, murder wasn't uncommon within many tribes. Often times when a firenewt was murdered the standard assumption was that the individual had just wandered away and failed to return. Otherwise, they would just let their rivals die in the heat of battle from their enemies. Only the fear of retribution from one's leader, priests, or the family of the slain kept it from being a common occurrence. The common penalty for those found guilty of murder was death. The condemned would first be tortured for a minimum of three days. Then various body parts would be removed, stabbed, or sliced open. Finally, the firenewt would be treated with the herb sarsson and fed alive to their own mount.Religions
Firenewts are primarily known to worship Kossuth. Their priests taught that he freed their race from the dominion of the Fire Giant's and imbued them with flame. However, some tribes instead worshiped Imix. Those who worship Imix are typically motivated to be aggressive, cruel, and wrathful. The warlocks of these tribes taught that by demonstrating such qualities, a warrior could become "touched" by the Fire Lord during combat and sent into a nearly unstoppable rage. Firenewts followed most of the same teachings as Kossuth worshipers elsewhere in Kelios — the belief that their souls were tempered by fire, that fire was the cleansing force of the multiverse, that only the strongest survived fire, and that they needed to test themselves with pain. However, firenewts could not test themselves with fire like other Kossuth worshipers. Thus they often sought to test their young's worthiness by submerging them in cold water for as close to a full minute as possible. Those who endured an entire minute without crying out were deemed worthy of priesthood, those who endured less than half were sacrificed to Kossuth, and the rest became warriors. However, unlike other Kossuth worshipers the firenewts only had one religious body entrusted with leading them in faith, The Chalices of Brass. They also believed that Kossuth was a firenewt made of living flame and each tribe had a golden idol in his image that varied in size. Once a large enough supply of gold was acquired from raids, clerics would melt their idol down and reforge it into a larger one. It was believed that the larger an idol, the greater the blessings that Kossuth would bestow upon a tribe. Small tribes often had idols worth at least 500 gold pieces, while larger ones had idols worth up to 5,000 gold pieces. Whenever a newborn could not tear free of their egg within a minute it was viewed as a sign that Kossuth was displeased with them. In such a case, a tribe's clerics would sacrifice the hapless newborn to their god. Though such a circumstance was rare. Beyond their own communities, more than a hundred firenewts could typically be found within temples to Kossuth acting as guardians.History
The exact origin of firenewts is a mystery in the Realms. Some scholars suggested that they had evolved from lizardfolk, while others believed they were the result of magical experimentation.
What's certain is that firenewts originated in the Firelands. Over time, raiding parties advanced into the Peaks of Flame through use of lava tubes that connected the Burning Rift with volcanoes above, then spread into the surrounding jungles.
Discovering them in the early days of their empire, The Yuan-Ti recognized their combat prowess and moved to enlist them in their armies. By the time their empire fell and great armies disbanded, the firenewts had spread throughout the world of Kelios, left as isolated colonies. A few firenewts would journey back to their ancestral homeland, and a few made new homes within the continent's deserts, but most settled in other volcanic peaks throughout Kelios.
Several hundred years ago, three prominent mercenary bands of firenewts approached a human-led branch of the Church of Kossuth to offer their services. This branch accepted their help and used the firenewts as temple guards, as well as escorts for their traveling clergy. The arrangement would continue until eventually the firenewts were fully indoctrinated into their faith as guardians, being seen as living examples of Kossuth’s mastery over fire.
Over the years, the desert tribes in Emidia began to devote enormous resources to seeking out and destroying any firenewt settlements they could find within their homeland.
Common Myths and Legends
One rumor claimed that several firenewts in the Peaks of Flame turned their backs on their tribes and were then taken in by a Couatl.
How firenewts came to acquire their race's primary form of mounts, the giant striders, was a matter of some speculation. Some among them believed they were a gift bestowed upon them by Imix because they were able to breath fire.
According to another legend, The Red Dragon Imvaernarhro was in search of fire-based creatures to serve him when he came upon the firenewt colony of the Peaks of Flame. In return for a large band of them, he offered the firenewts an immense pile of gold with which they could use to recast their statue of the deity Kossuth. But having looked upon knights and recognized how valuable mounts were to them in combat, the firenewts countered — in return for some beast they could ride and breed, they would give him fifty of their warriors. Imvaernarhro agreed to their terms and returned six months later with an immense bag, filled with giant strider eggs, and after quickly discovering their usefulness the firenewts honored their agreement.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Besides other firenewts, these creatures typically concentrated their raids against other humanoids. Such as Goblinoids, Orcs, and other mountain-dwellers. In most deserts, firenewts are a constant source of harassment for nomadic tribes. Firenewts view most other creatures as little more than food and thus were not often found living among them. Though if a tribe was ever slaughtered, the survivors would often join nearby mercenary groups.
They kept some creatures as slaves if they were deemed fit for mining or other chores around a lair, they were kept as slaves. If they were not deemed fit for performing such things were ritually sacrificed.
Giant striders were the only form of domesticated mount within firenewt society. They provided shelter and food for giant striders, as well as breeding grounds in their lairs. When a giant strider outlived its usefulness, which typically occurred after fifteen years of age, they were killed and eaten. Their hides are used for leathermaking and their bones are made into tools, for such things as saddles and signal horns respectively, while their tendons and ligaments are used to make saddle bindings.
Besides giant striders, firenewts domesticate fire lizards and use them to guard the hatching grounds of their lairs.
They sometimes acted as servants of, or were enslaved by Efreeti.
Origin/Ancestry
Humanoid (Firenewt)
Lifespan
30 to 60 years (Averaging 40 years of age).
Average Height
5ft to 6ft (Averaging 5ft 5").
Average Weight
170 to 180lbs.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Their speckled, smooth-scaled skin appears eel-like, and is coloured dark reddish brown at their spines and faded to nearly white on their front sides.
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Comments
Author's Notes
The Original Article from Volo's Guide to Monsters 5e By Wizards of The Coast (WoTc), and The Article firenewt from The Forgotten Realms Wiki.