Lizardfolk

Lizardfolk are an embodiment of the the most primal spirit of the wilds. With their reptilian features and deep connection to their natural surroundings, they evoke a sense of ancient beastial instincts and survival prowess.
Lizardfolk vary in size, but typically stand taller than than humans. Their scales come in an array of earthy hues, blending seamlessly with their environment. Their reptilian eyes often possess a cold and calculating gaze; the lack of emotion in their stares belige their true intentions.
Born and bred in the heart of the densest marshes, swamps, and other watery habitats that men rightfully fear to tread. Their settlements, made from mud, reeds, and natural materials, blend almost seamlessly with the ecosystems around them, making them a danger simply by their existance.
Lizardfolk exhibit a purely pragmatic and utilitarian disposition. They are creatures of beastial instinct and unfettered survival, completely uncaring and unburdened by the complexities of civilization. Their priorities revolve around securing food, shelter, and safety for their tribes. This pragmatic approach extends to their social interactions, as they value contributions to the community over personal ambitions.
Deeply attuned to the rhythms of the natural world, Lizardfolk revere their patron deity, Semuanya, as a spirit of their core essence of survival and propagation by any means necessary. Rituals and traditions performed on behalf of their patron deity often involve ritualized feedings and self-sacrifice to the tribe when use, old age, and infertility plague an individual until they are a point of detriment and their death is the only thing left to insure the success of the tribe.
In times of danger, Lizardfolk warriors rise to the occasion with primal ferocity. Their fighting styles are raw and ruthlessly efficient, often utilizing ambushes and the terrain to their advantage. The weapons they craft are often derived from materials they find in their surroundings, showcasing their resourcefulness.

Basic Information

Genetics and Reproduction

Females lay clutches of eggs that are reared in a tribe's communal lair.

Growth Rate & Stages

Lizardfolk are consider mature five years post-hatching. As lizardfolk age, their bodies slow down and most that crest over sixty years tned to spend their days laying on warm rocks in the sun. Although they age much the same and have a similar lifespan to humans, it is rare for lizardfolk to grow old, one of the eldest recorded lived to about eighty years, as they usually die in combat long before those advanced ages.

Ecology and Habitats

The reptilian-nature of the Lizardfolk makes them dependant on external heat and moist, watery environments. As a result, Lizardfolk are ecologically trapped in the swamp and marshlands of warmer regions in Kalbela and that of Greater Trorune as they need to keep their skin moist; this causes them to actively avoid, if not outright fear, desert environments.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Lizardfolk are omnivorous, but strongly favor meat whenever they can get it and are quick to consume anything edible. According to rumor, to the lizardfolk, the most delicious meat is humanoid flesh, especially that of humans, but this claim is more-or-less unfounded. However, many tribes will consume captives and enemies slain in battle, but more "civilized" tribes often resist this practice when in the company of non-Lizardfolk. The race does also perform ritualized cannibalism of deceased tribe-members as a standard custom.
When hunters bring prey back, adult lizardfolk eat first, taking what they wish and the young are usually left with the scraps, and more often than not subsist themselves on edible plants foraged from around the tribe's lair, this often leads to increased juvinile mortalities.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Lizardfolk tribes are patriarchal and are tribal in their structure, with clear delineations between the sexes. Males hold all the power and status, defending their status through acts of strength, though challenges to usurp this power are very rare as any elongated period without a defined leader left the tribe highly unorganized and vulnerable to destruction from outside forces.
Tribes are led by a single warrior, who is supported by two leuitenants and sometimes a tribal shaman; tribal shamans rarely take leadership positions and by-and-large only offer advice under the guidance of their patron deity, Semuanya.
Females are purely responsible for hatching eggs, raising young, and maintaining the camp. All the females in the tribe work together to raise the young and monitor the hatchlings closely, as the young are often difficult to handle and tend to wander off, away from camp and into the wilderness often to their death.

Average Intelligence

As Lizardfolk lived in near isolation from other sapient races, knowledge-gathering was not prioritized if it is not of practical nature. As result, most Lizardfolk are illiterate outside of a tribe's leader, lieutenants, and shamans.

Civilization and Culture

Average Technological Level

Lizardfolk tend to be at a primitive crafting level of advancement, making tools, weapons, and other nessacities out of natural objects: bones, rocks, sticks, and animal parts. Should they have implements that are made of metals, they are most likely the result of barter, scavenging, or raiding. These rarities are almost always claimed by the tribe leaders.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

The Lizardfolk have no traditions of farming, cultivation, or animal raising, so food is acquired through fishing, hunting, scavenging, or stealing. Those that dwell near other humanoids will often raid their neighbors for food, supplies, and even slaves.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Lizardfolk perform ritualized cannibalism on their dead.
Their shamans, per their deity, are highly encouraged to breed, should a shaman show signs of infertility, they begin to notice their magic potency decline over the course of several months; this leads the overwhelming majority to perform a ritualized suicide on behalf of Semuanya for they can no longer pursue his most sacred ideals.

Scientific Name

Homo lacerta

Lifespan

40-70 years

Average Height

6-7 feet

Average Weight

180-250 lbs