Lizardfolk

Even though a feline humanoid, a wingless birdlike creature or a fishman look very different from a human, they all have something in common and can rely at least on their mutual understanding of such basic concepts as feelings, love for nice things and morals. In this, Lizardfolks are like aliens. They do not feel fear or love, they just acknowledge that something has to be kept away from them or it will cause harm, or that something has to be kept near because it brings an improvement in their life. When faced with a threat, a Lizardfolk lucidly assesses the situation and decides to follow the course of actions that will let him survive, no matter what. Their stringent logic may pass as cynicism, but they actually just perceive the world as a place where everyone is either a prey or a predator, in each and every moment. Even though it can be difficult to establish any kind of relationship with them, Lizardfolks are not dumb, they know that an ally can represent an advantage for the foreseeable future and they understand that, even though eating the fresh corpse of the slain dwarf can be momentarily satisfying, it would enrage his fellows, creating a danger for them, and thus they drop the idea of a tasty snack in favor of more future advantages. As disturbing as it may sound, it is the most that a warm-blooded race can achieve out of a Lizardfolk, though it's not as bad as it seems: once a Lizardfolk determines that an individual will always bring something good for him, he will act as the most loyal companion.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Lizardfolks resemble humanoid lizards, they have claws and a long tail, they can be green, grey or blue and everything in between.

Biological Traits

Thanks to their scales, they have a hard skin that protects them. Moreover, they can bite with their strong maw to cause severe damage in a fight. Lastly, since they are used to live near bodies of water, they can hold their breath for much longer, compared to humans.

Ecology and Habitats

Lizardfolks are apt to live in swamps and similar environments, though they do not have any difficulty in living in other places.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

All Lizardfolks dwell in the swamp west of Newhope, and since there are no other swamps on the known part of Kontonyus, they never made any attempts to colonize other places.

Average Intelligence

Though they are not more or less intelligent than the other races, their cold blood allows them to assess situations with a more logic approach, thus helping them better survive many different dangers.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Lizardfolk names are common names in their language that refer to a particular event they have lived in their life, so their language word for Axe might be used for a Lizardfolk warrior who used an axe to kill a particularly strong opponent, while a Lizardfolk born during a tempest might be called Storm. As such, Lizardfolks may change name during their lifetime, and they get to choose whether to accept a new name or keep the old one.

Major Organizations

Even though Lizardfolk live together, they don't have a leader or an organized form of government. Instead, they just assess the situation that may require a leader and either name one for the time he is required or find a different solution. When they first met the Tritons, almost all Lizardfolk travelled to Lake Wazar, which they called Sorairo, to announce their new neighbours that they were not going to eat them, at least for the time being.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Lizardfolk language is hard to pronounce and makes use of some feats only a Lizardfolk can reproduce; however, since not all of them intend to learn Common, many settlers tried to learn their tongue, even dropping those elements they could not reproduce.

Common Etiquette Rules

SInce Lizardfolks see everything in function of prey and predator, their logic can look like cynicism. They also don't understand feelings and that can upset most members of nearly every race. Nonetheless, they also value the importance of an alliance and sometimes try to emulate common etiquette and refrain from acting in a disturbing way. Since their meeting with humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes and halflings, Lizardfolks have been puzzled as to how similar races could survive in the wild, and almost feel pity for them, if they could feel something, of course. However, if they think some of them can prove useful for the Lizardfolks, they can arrive to fight for them, as to protect something that grants them an advantage of some sorts.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Lizardfolk seem uninterested in having a culture of their own, since it would just be a waste of time, but they sometimes appreciate what other cultures have developed and may attempt to emulate them, if that brings a betterment to their own life.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

It is normal for a Lizardfolk to not waste resources, and they have no form of respect for the dead, it's just fresh meat, or a religion, which is just a waste of time.

Common Taboos

Even if a Lizardfolk spends many years with other races, he will never change behaviour, always remaining a cold-blooded creature. As such, even though waste of food and resources might be seen as a grave crime, no Lizardfolk would ever do it.

Common Myths and Legends

The lessons that a Lizardfolk wants his offspring to learn are pretty straightforward and no myths or legends exist to teach anything to them.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Lizardfolks decided that Tritons make good allies, so they tend to endure their arrogant behaviour. They have many in common with Goliaths, though both races have no interest in meeting. Finally, they have nothing in common with Firbolgs and they dislike Tabaxi and Kenku, for they are too curious and make them waste their time.

Lifespan

Lizardfolks mature at 14 years and rarely live longer than 60-70 years.