Mazohk (5e Race)
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Mazohk
| “ | The name is from a dead language of our ancestors - humans and mazohk. It means ‘people of the Mana.’ Our clans and the temples still have names in the old tongue, and our given names come from it too. | ” |
| —Kaara Kon'sa, Beyond Pain | ||
Since the ancient times, the forming of the pact between Mortals and The Mana, magic has deformed humanity. The stronger one's connection, the more they began to change. Simple things at first: small white horns on the forehead, tougher skin, longer life, sharper senses. It wasn't until the creation of The Seal of Existence, at the beginning of The Age of Agony, that true mazohk began to appear. The clans of ancient families formed tribes and claimed land, and their demonic traits manifested within a single generation.
Whether their lands changed them or the other way around, humans took to calling them "demon-kin" for their odd skin colors and black horns. The divergence of magic, between those still human who could summon, and the mazohk who still had access to true magic in some form, only deepened the racism and resentment between the races. When the Seal was finally broken, it became clear that the mazohk were cemented in the world; none returned to their human forms, and to this day their ancestral homeland can warp any mortal baby born and raised there.
Living Sculptures
Mazohk are aberrated humans and, as such, retain their height and weight variations. Skin color, on the other hand, can vary wildly between clans, detailed below. Regardless of clan, however, some things remain consistent. Mazohk bones are extremely hard and dense when compared to their human counterparts, and are black in color. When exposed to the air, often the bones appear as if roughly carved from obsidian. Furthermore, their nails, teeth, sclera (the whites of the eyes), and the flesh inside their eyes, mouth, and the rest of their body is an oily black. Even muscle and organs are not free from this change. They have sharper senses than humans, but not so sharp as to make them beyond the realm of human possibility. Sustained by The Mana, they do not need to eat or sleep as often as humans either. Because of their tough skin, they often refuse to wear clothing of any kind; only the most considerate mazohk will wear even light and flexible clothing.
What further sets mazohk apart from humans is their age. The stronger a mazohk is, the longer they may live, up to hundreds of years at the long end. A result of this longer lifespan and tougher body is that they do not have children often. Though mazohk children are slightly quicker to mature than humans, they are expected to gain wisdom over a much longer period, and find most of their education from clan storytellers.
Finally, mazohk are all capable of magic in some form, usually based on their clan heritage. This magic is always colored the same as their aura and irides (the colored section of the eye). Mazohk never have a visible pupil because the only time their eyes have color is when they glow - when performing magic or under the influence of intense emotion. Members of the same family might all have different eye colors and aura colors.
| Height & Weight | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Base Height | Height Mod | Base Weight | Weight Mod | Average |
| Mazohk | 4' 6" | +2d12 | 90 lbs. | x (2d6) lbs. | 5' 8" 146 lbs. |
A Reflection of Their Lands
Mazohk society has always been one of tribal simplicity. Some clans wander, while others settle in villages. Those who are nomadic still remain on their lands. Because of their lower demand for food, whole clans were able to get by with just a few appointed hunters. Even the En'qo, a single tribe of all its members, relies on two hunters each generation. Since their race solidified, mazohk have been subject to raids and wars with humans. The very last war, a generation before The Seal was broken, nearly wiped them out. Though mazohk magic is powerful, humans are capable of summoning powerful, ethereal creatures to bolster their numbers. This flood of magical beasts proved to be effective on more than one occasion, but once the mazohk were perched on a cliff of extinction, humans finally saw fit to leave them alone.
The clans of mazohk have existed since ancient times, and even modern humans of their homeland can trace heritage back to a clan. In an effort to distance themselves from the "demon-kin" mazohk, humans abandoned their clan names and instead used names relating to location, profession, or status.
Throughout their several millennia long history, mazohk culture has been shaped by special individuals during each generation: "Living Aspects of The Mana." Life, Death, Light, and Darkness defined their lives and interactions, even when clans feuded with one another, though it was rare. The Aspect of Life was often a figure who traveled to each clan when a child was born to them, to heal the baby of any defects. The Aspect of Life was also an invaluable weapon, for nothing short of decapitation could kill them. The Aspect of Death performed the mirror duty: visiting clans when a member died unexpectedly. By calling on the spirits of the recently dead, clans could speak with members who had passed away within the previous year. The Aspect of Death also became known as the voice of The Mana, as they could commune with the energy in all things, even the ground. The Aspect of Light was seen as a great teacher, with their ability to mirror any magic cast in their presence, even a human's summoning. Lastly, The Aspect of Darkness became a figure shrouded in mystery, as a secret kept by all mazohk. Their ability to infuse magic into objects, to create weapons of unimaginable power, meant that they could never be captured by humans - they became viewed as even more valuable than the items they created.
The other four Aspects went unknown to their race, very much by design it would seem, and lived among them as nothing more than interesting figures or legends.
Details of each clan follow, including the translation for their name, where they live, defining features, and cultural notes.
Shelter of Magic
Mazohk are generally a product of where they live. Their bodies are altered by their surroundings over a generation, which changes their physique and the innate magic they all possess. Where the Kon'sa may live in barren wastes with brambles and weeds, they will create straw huts and mold supports from sterner materials with their chain magic. A Doku'qi from the mangrove swamp will have hanging homes to stay dry at night, but a Toshi'ba in the sand desert will use their earth magic to solidify sandstone huts. It is feasible for a mazohk to live in harmony with nature, regardless of what that nature is. In their homeland, however, there is no winter, nor snow or ice. As they have never been exposed to such conditions, their ability to withstand them or live in colder places is uncertain.
Followers of The Mana
All mazohk know The Mana's teachings, usually vaguely rather than formally. One of the cornerstone principles is to seek knowledge and avoid stagnation or ignorance. Willful ignorance is a vice in their culture; the average mazohk will adjust their view of the world as they learn and grow. With this virtue of "Discovery," a traveling mazohk is one who has completed their lessons from the tribe historian and decided to seek greater wisdom. Almost every mazohk travels to some degree in their lifetime - some out of necessity, but most on at least a temporary journey to attain worldliness.
Mazohk Names
Mazohk names are derived from knowledge of an older language attributed to The Hollows, a race of stone beings that once lived in the north. The language is similar to Japanese, Chinese, or Korean, in that it has very set syllables and rules, and uses ideographs combined with a syllabary. When in the middle of a word, the K is often changed to a Q, though this can also be done before most vowels except A (as in Ka'en). Below are some examples of naming, to demonstrate how the meaning shows importance to mazohk.
Mazohk sounds much like Japanese, due to its syllabic nature, but with a distinct lack of the hard consonants found in Japanese (っ/ッ). The language is mostly stolen and evolved from an older language that has been lost. As a result, Mazohk isn't a fully spoken language; rather, it's a method of reading complex ideographs left behind by the race whose language it once was. The meaning of the ideographs can be deciphered, and in some cases there are unique Mazohk words for things, but most often it is simply used for naming things like people, clans, and important places.
Mazohk lacks the syllabary of Japanese, making it more like Chinese when written. In return, symbols always have two distinct "sound" sections that can be as simple as a single stroke, so that they can be read aloud. As a result, as long as one knows the pieces, a symbol or word can be said aloud, even if the meaning is not known due to the other parts of the letter. Like Chinese, there are about two thousand letters, but the upper three-fourths are made using the bottom quarter more basic symbols. Reading, then, is learning to decipher what symbols mean when combined into a single letter.
Male Names: G'yo-rin Sui'bu (Great Scaled One), N'yajo Qi'qu (Tolerant Young One), Mo-ohk'sha En'qo (He Who Dwells Within Death), Sou-pa'ne Gen'qen (Wings Of A Leader), Musa'bo Shin'toku (Dreams Bleached White), Aqi'ra Kon'sa (Dazzlingly Bright Skin), Kami'shiro Sui'bu (Castle Of Deific Glory)
Female Names: Kaara Kon'sa (Whose Skin Is Loved By Fire), Sa'qu Ka'en (Blooming Energy), Sam'eqo Sui'bu (A Cold Heart Warmed By This Child), Qyuuka Shin'toku (Nine Petals), Roroka Ka'en (Many Skulls Aflame), Xinon Toshi'ba (Warm Peace), Shizume Toshi'ba (Sunken Eyes)
Family Names: Ka'en, Kon'sa, Doku'qi, Yu'mai, Qo'eba, Toshi'ba, En'qo, Gen'qen, Shin'toku, Qi'qu, Sui'bu
Mazohk Traits
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- Creature Type. Humanoid
- Ability Score Increase. Constitution +1
- Age. Mature by age 16 to 18, but death of old age only comes after 160 years. Add 10 years for every character level.
- Alignment. Typically neutral, but varying tendencies based on clan.
- Size. Mazohk range from 4'6" to 6'6" with few exceptions. Your size is Medium.
- Speed. Your base speed is 30 feet.
- Sharp Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
- Sustained by Mana. You only need food and drink once a week in order to avoid starvation. You also do not need to sleep more than once per week, but cannot gain the benefits of a long rest unless you do.
- Subrace. You must choose a subrace from one listed below. For each, you learn a spell-like effect for your Clan Magic. Your spellcasting modifier when using these is Constitution, and any saving throws are equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier.
- Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Mazohk Mazohk is syllabic, using ideographs and sound symbols when writing. Descended from a dead language, Mazohk is mostly spoken and read, with less than one hundred capable of writing it.
Subraces
Ka'en
The Witch Fire
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution increases by 1.
Obsidian Skin. You have resistance to fire damage. Furthermore, you can swim in lava as if it were water.
Clan Magic - Judgment Arrows. You gain knowledge of the Fire Bolt cantrip. The color you choose for the flames is the color your eyes glow when casting it as well.
Ka'en Notes
- Domain
"The Burning Lands." The Ka'en live to the north and northwest of the great volcano, home of the Sanctum of Fire. Their lands are often subject to ash fall, geysers, lava flows from minor eruptions, and acidic waters.
- Appearance
The energy of the volcano has made them one of the most corrupted from their original human form. Their horns are knife-edge, sharp on the bottom and blunt on the top, tapering to a a fine point at the tip. They typically extend from the hairline, from above the far edges of the eyebrows. They can be a short as a single finger bone or as long as a hand from wrist to fingertip. They have skin as hard as stone, and appear to be roughly carved out of obsidian, though they retain the flexibility of other mazohk.
- Culture
Ka'en are ruthless hunters, all. They swim in acidic waters and lava flows, both to intimidate and surprise interlopers and prey manabeasts. With their fire magic, they are the second most powerful clan in direct combat. This strength of body and magic has made them harsh and unforgiving, valuing great strength of body and stubborn persistence above other traits. Nomadic, their tribes are often nebulous, forcing the clan to answer to a single Elder at any given time.
- Carvings
Ka'en have a unique practice of carving runes into their obsidian skin, then using white paste to stain the runes. Names of friends, their own names, names of defeated enemies or accomplishments - the older a Ka'en, the more hidden they are behind runes, the more well traveled or experienced they are... And therefore more respected.
Kon'sa
The Spirit's Chains
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma increases by 1.
Stern Mind. You have advantage against effects that cause charmed or on rolls to resist being possessed.
Clan Magic - Spirit Chain. As an action, an ethereal chain in a color you choose extends to 60 feet to strike a target. If it is a creature, make a ranged spell attack and, on a hit, pull it 15 feet closer. If the target is an object, the chain attaches and hangs like a rope for climbing. The chain persists until you dispel it or use this trait again.
Kon'sa Notes
- Domain
Inside the Sealing Roads, east of the great volcano. The Kon'sa live just east of the volcano, on lands of harsh cracked ground and bramble bushes.
- Appearance
Kon'sa have alabaster-white skin. Their conical, devil horns typically extend from the curve of the skull above the ears. Because of their usual curve, they often do not have a height from the skull further than the width of a hand.
- Culture
They make huts from thatch and obsidian bars, which they form using special techniques only possible with the magic of their clan. Their tribes are often strict on each other, maintaining a code of honor and respect more tightly than any other of their kind.
Doku'qi
The Poison Breath or The Skull Demons
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution increases by 1.
Tough Carapace. You have advantage on Constitution saves against the poisoned condition and have resistance to poison damage.
Clan Magic - Toxic Surge. As an action you expel a poisonous gas. This spell sprays as a gas from the soft joints on your body, filling a sphere with a 10 foot diameter, centered on you. Each creature in the area of the gas must make a Constitution saving throw. A creature takes 2d6 damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. Once you use this feature, you must complete a short rest before you can do so again.
Doku'qi Notes
- Domain
Southeast of the Undercroft of Death. Doku'qi live in a land quite alien to most other mazohk. A mangrove forest and swamp full of strange and dangerous creatures, as well as a host of poisons and diseases. Travelers in their lands often use only the Sealing Roads to avoid the waters below.
- Appearance
Doku'qi have a brown, chitin-like carapace with soft joints. Their horns extend from the forehead and have two sections, often angled sharply upward then downward, giving them the appearance of insect antennae.
- Culture
Doku'qi live partially submerged almost constantly, from knee-high to chest-high waters, shadowed by their forest. Their villages are well hidden, and closely guarded. Often, when they hunt and travel, it's to maintain a presence that is visible to the other clans and nothing more. They keep to themselves, and live in relative peace.
Yu'mai
The Oil Dancers
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity increases by 1.
Slippery. You have advantage on checks to escape being grappled or restrained and are unaffected by the oil of your clan magic as described below.
Clan Magic - Dancer's Domain. You can cast the Grease spell as an action. Once you do so, you must complete a short rest before you can again.
Yu'mai Notes
- Domain
East of Kon'sa, west of Qo'eba. The Yu'mai live on sparse wetlands and the grassland between. North are the mangroves of Doku'qi, and northeast are the peat bogs of the Qo'eba, making the Yu'mai the intermediary between such places and the dry lands of the Kon'sa.
- Appearance
Yu'mai skin can vary in color, but always has a smooth, oiled shine to it. Yu'mai are perpetually slick to the touch, and have a crown of horns around the curve of their skull.
- Culture
Yu'mai settle in villages and travel between their tribes fairly often. The clan as a whole is tightly knit for the most part, and tribes trade often. Where possible, villages are created to include lakes of groundwater. Yu'mai tend to avoid conflict, due to their magic being better suited for tracking foes and escaping capture, and their personalities can be similarly passive. Exiles of the clan, however, are often found to be the direct opposite, rivaling Ka'en in their aggression and ferocity - as well as their creativity in combat.
Qo'eba
The Sludge Masters
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity increases by 1.
Sure-footed. You ignore difficult terrain you have created with your clan magic as described below.
Clan Magic - Tar Lake. As an action, you summon a tar pit on the ground within 30 feet of you. The tar pit has a radius of 5ft, which increases to 10 feet at 11th level. Targets who start their turn in this area, or who move into it for the first time, must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or have their speed reduced to 0 until the start of their next turn as their feet sink into the tar. The tar requires your concentration to persist, up to 1 minute, and its area is difficult terrain for this duration. Once you use this trait, you must complete a long rest before you can do so again.
Qo'eba Notes
- Domain
East of Yu'mai, south of Toshi'ba. The Qo'eba live in peat bogs with frequent tar and mud pits. The ground is ever churning and difficult to traverse, making the Qo'eba lands nearly impenetrable to outsiders of any kind.
- Appearance
Qo'eba most often have brown skin with a faint blue fungus that grows on it. The fungus is tiny - little more than the hairs on a humans arm - but it wreathes a Qo'eba in sky blue and makes their outline fuzzy. Their horns are like those of an impala: very long and spiraling, extending from the forehead almost as high as their arms can reach at the long end.
- Culture
Rather than be defensive themselves, the Qo'eba are actually quite welcoming. They ferry guests, even humans, throughout the lands' harsher sections wherever they'd like to go. This is, however, in contrast to their tolerance for hostility. Requiring aid to travel in their domain means that any who violate their code of respect or demonstrate hostility are easily dealt with. They are as elusive as they are generous, and rightly feared for their highly adaptable nature.
Toshi'ba
The Earth Masters
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom increases by 1.
Desert Ancestry. You are not harmed by dust or sandstorms, and you have resistance to radiant damage.
Clan Magic - Earth Wall. As an action, you cause a section of dirt, sand, mud, or stone to extend into a solid wall perpendicular to the surface you choose. The wall can occupy a space equal to a number of 5 foot cubes multiplied by double your proficiency. At 1st level, 2 proficiency x 2 = 4 total 5 foot cubes, for example. Each 5 foot cube has hit points equal to double your Constitution score. If it is separated from the originating surface, such as by destruction of all the source cubes, it crumbles to dust. Once you use this trait, you must complete a long rest before you can do so again.
Toshi'ba Notes
- Domain
The sand sea in the north, near the Gallery of Earth. The Toshi'ba live among rolling sand dunes and dust storms. These dust storms often blow east, to the lands of other clans.
- Appearance
Toshi'ba have skin the color of eggplant, a purple so dark it could be mistaken as black. Their horns are like that of a ram, curling from the forehead back over the top of the head and down in front of the ears.
- Culture
Toshi'ba villages can emerge and disappear overnight, as the waves of sand roll across their territory. They alone can weather the dust storms of their lands, thanks to their ability to use clan magic and solidify the sand into stone huts and domes. Caught between the En'qo, Gen'qen, and Qo'eba, the Toshi'ba have become great mediators and storytellers. The tribes know well of each other, but are very much separate families.
- Tattoos
The Toshi'ba use intensely concentrated Mana to brand their skin in patterns of lines, curves, and dots. The meaning of this is known only to them, and is often more detailed the older a member becomes.
En'qo
The Abyss Gazers
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence increases by 1.
Dauntless. You have advantage against effects that cause you to be frightened.
Clan Magic - Melting Shadow. As long as you are in dim light or darkness, you may use a bonus action to sink into the ground while you move. Your movement does not provoke opportunity attacks so long as you do not pass through bright light during this movement.
En'qo Notes
- Domain
North and northeast of Toshi'ba, west of the City of Darkness, north of Shin'toku lands. The En'qo live in barren wasteland and salt lakes to the far north. Between the sea and the lands of the other clans, they alone dare to venture into - or even near - the City of Darkness.
- Appearance
En'qo are the only clan without horns. In return, however, they have digitigrade feet, a fleshy tail about as long as an arm, and only three fingers aside from their thumbs. They have ash-gray skin, like the Gen'qen and Shin'toku who migrated to form the clan.
- Culture
The En'qo wander as a single unit of over one hundred members. They and their ways are largely unknown by all others in the world, and they do not tolerate half-bloods of any kind from their clan. If a Toshi'ba or Gen'qen manage to have a child with an En'qo, that child is quickly abandoned on the offending clan's lands and disowned. The En'qo follow their Elder with devotion, avoid mingling with other clans, and watch the City of Darkness without rest. By night, the entire clan has been known to vanish without a single footprint in the dust. It is said that they alone know what lies beyond the seas.
Gen'qen
The Disaster Eyes or They Of Withering Sight
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence increases by 1.
Eyes Within The Mana. You may cast Detect Magic. You must finish a short rest before you can do so again.
Clan Magic - Disrupting Vision. You gain knowledge of Dispel Magic when you reach 5th level. Once you cast it, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.
Gen'qen Notes
- Domain
South of Toshi'ba, En'qo, and Shin'toku, west of Qi'qu. The Gen'qen lands are much like the Kon'sa, dry and cracked with occasional caves and brambles. Manabeasts here typically keep to the caves and only emerge when they've grown too large to be comfortable underground.
- Appearance
One of the ash-gray skinned clans, the Gen'qen are recognizable by their lack of expression and apparent lack of horns from a distance. Up close, it becomes obvious that their horns have replaced their eyebrows, limiting how well they can emote with facial expressions. These tiny, conical horns grow only out to a centimeter or two. The Gen'qen also possess the ability to move each eye independently without losing visual resolution.
- Culture
The Gen'qen have often become front-line warriors thanks to their incredible clan magic. A simple prolonged glance can prevent all but the best casters from even using magic. Because of their extremely sharp vision and magical disruption, only the Qi'qu dare feud with them. The lack of facial expression has made their tribes very vocal about emotions and empathetic, and their view into The Mana gives them unique insight into each others' aura.
Shin'toku
The True Virtue or They Who Fell Gods
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom increases by 1.
Storm's Rage. You are immune to detrimental effects of strong winds and rain and, during a storm, add damage equal to your character level to any lightning damage you deal. You are resistant to lightning damage.
Clan Magic - Falling Skies. Even on a clear day, you can call down a bolt of lightning as an action with a slash of your hand. A target you choose within 500ft must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 2d6 lightning damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. Once you use this trait, you must complete a short rest before you can do so again.
Shin'toku Notes
- Domain
Southwest of The City of Darkness, north of Gen'qen and Qi'qu. Shin'toku lands are often prone to approaching hurricanes and dust storms, from the east and west respectively. The tumultuous weather has created a dead land, and the City of Darkness only makes it worse. Travelers fleeing the temple are always killed, and the Shin'toku do not disturb the bodies - leaving them to rot down to the bone as warning to future travelers and pilgrims.
- Appearance
One of the ash-gray skinned clans, their skin can be tinged with purple or pink when viewed up close. What makes them recognizable, even a symbol among mazohk, are their impressive horns. Smooth, tall horns curve from the sides of their skull just above and between the temples and ears, and grow almost as high as their arms can reach. Only the Qo'eba have horns so tall, but the Shin'toku grow horns thicker and stronger than the Qo'eba.
- Culture
The Shin'toku have had two vastly different cultures over their history. The original clan was very much like the En'qo: elusive, intolerant of half-bloods and outsiders, and downright cruel when on a hunt or in battle. This elder clan was once wiped out entirely, after being the most powerful and feared of all for thousands of years. In the aftermath, as a single half-breed had survived, the clan was recreated and returned to glory. This new Shin'toku lineage included blood of the Kon'sa and Sui'bu directly, as well as migrants from the Gen'qen and Qi'qu whose children evolved and grew into new Shin'toku over a generation. Their culture became much more wise, to remain passive until provoked, striking with speed and power like the lightning magic they were always known for.
Qi'qu
The Mana Eaters or They Who Devour Mana
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution increases by 1.
Devour Magic. You have resistance to force damage. You also have advantage on concentration checks once per round.
Clan Magic - Mana Absorb. You gain knowledge of Counterspell when you reach 9th level. Once you cast it, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.
Qi'qu Notes
- Domain
Northeast of Sui'bu, east of Gen'qen, south of Shin'toku. The Qi'qu lands are home to a great deal of strife. Not only is the clan fairly aggressive in their own right, but they often have issues with their members leaving the tribes to become slavers. On their southern border lies the only city where humans dwell on mazohk lands, The Ruby of Water. This abhorrent place is the hub of slave trade on the island-continent, and is well guarded by all manner of folk.
- Appearance
Distinctively pink-skinned, the Qi'qu are another clan that highly dislikes half-bloods. They grow a single horn from the center of the forehead that curves upward to point into the sky. Some curve more gradually than others.
- Culture
The Qi'qu have never managed to reign in their assertive and boisterous behavior to become liberators like the Sui'bu. Instead, they often squabble with the Gen'qen over prey and with The Ruby. Qi'qu of any tribe often grow up in fear that a relative may one day kidnap them to be sold in The Ruby, and Elders must be harsh and wise to maintain control of their tribe to any degree. The nature of their Mana-stealing spells makes them unusually resilient to physical pain, making them fearsome warriors.
Sui'bu
The Water Dancers
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength increases by 1.
Amphibious. You have a swim speed equal to your walking speed, and you can breathe underwater.
Clan Magic - Breathe Clearly. As an action, one creature you touch gains the ability to breathe underwater for 10 minutes. Affected creatures also retain their normal mode of respiration. Such a creature also has advantage on Constitution saves versus the poisoned condition for 10 minutes. Once you use this trait, you must complete a short rest before you can do so again.
Sui'bu Notes
- Domain
Easternmost, near the Plaza of Water. The Sui'bu lands are the barrier between the ocean and the cracked lands of the Qi'qu and Gen'qen. The ground is honeycombed with submerged tunnels filled with water and coral, and the ground is often sandy and damp.
- Appearance
The Sui'bu have skin in all colors of ocean water, from seafoam green to deep ocean blue. They are the only clan with even the possibility of a green-tinted skin color. What makes them most impressive, however, is their tendency toward being paragons of mortal strength and physique. They are often tall, well muscled, and capable of running and swimming great distances. Their horns grow from the center of the forehead and the bony bridge of the nose, curving sharply up in the shape of a claw.
- Culture
There are two Sui'bu tribes with vastly different culture. Although both are composed of free spirits with loud mouths and big smiles, one prefers to avoid conflict while the other seeks it out. The peaceful clan wanders in the north and keeps strictly within Sui'bu territory. They venture into the sea and caves mostly for food and not much else, making them the weaker of the two clans. The aggressive clan has branded themselves as the enemy of all slave-trade, and will regularly travel into Qi'qu lands to thwart slave traders bound for The Ruby. They are the only clan, the only tribe, known to successfully raid The Ruby as well. Both clans are often free of judgment, and embrace all manner of peoples and cultures, so long as they are given the same respect and freedom.
Suggested Characteristics
When creating a mazohk character, you can use the following table of traits, ideals, bonds and flaws to help flesh out your character. Use these tables in addition to or in place of your background's characteristics.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I refuse to wear clothes of any kind. They're stuffy, hard to move in, and the idea of indecency is stupid if everyone has the same anatomy. |
| 2 | I hate slavery and oppression to an unhealthy degree. I will derail my journey entirely if I see a solid chance to set people free. |
| 3 | I idolize my ancestors, and I seek the same level of power they had, before magic was painful. |
| 4 | I've never lived outside my tribe's land. Everything beyond that is entirely new and exciting, or even frightening. |
| 5 | I was raised as a monk, and have no clan name in keeping with the monastery's practice. I seek to control my reactions and ignore my body and brain unless I choose otherwise. |
| 6 | I was once a slave myself, and I'm now wary of anyone, even my own people. |
| 7 | I was a hunter for my tribe, and not a thing in the world is more frightening than the alpha manabeast every one hundred moons. |
| 8 | I was born a half-blood and left with my mazohk mother. I know I look more human, and all the more disturbing to others as a result. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Freedom, like that in my homeland, is something everyone deserves. |
| 2 | Respect, taught by my clan, has specific rules... But a lot of wiggle room. |
| 3 | Virtue, derived from The Mana's teachings, is something I must strive for. |
| 4 | Power, through greater tolerance for pain, will never fail me. |
| 5 | Bonds, like those I have with my clan, bring me strength. Friends are the family you choose. |
| 6 | Knowledge, of magic and the world, will benefit my family should I ever return. |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | My clan, of like blood, understand me and brought me up. |
| 2 | My tribe, my extended family, mean the most to me. |
| 3 | My homeland, where my ancestors remained and were altered, feels most like home. |
| 4 | The temple, closest to my village, and its virtue are what I most identify with. |
| 5 | The monks and monastery, who raised me as their own, are my family now. |
| 6 | The oppressed, like the slaves my people are often made into, call to me most strongly. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I know no shame, in any situation, and will not only speak my mind at every turn, but will also proudly flaunt my best qualities. |
| 2 | I don't understand money at all, having never used it in my life. |
| 3 | I received no education beyond my clan's customs. I am by no means unintelligent, just uneducated. |
| 4 | The monks taught me to ignore my body, allowing me to endure intense pain that would cripple others. Ignoring that pain makes me reckless. |
| 5 | In my quest for virtue, I don't realize my greatest vice. |
| 6 | I see magic as normal and acceptable - part of each day - and can't understand those who are frightened of it or me. |
| Ability Mods | Con +1 + |
| Author | Max7238 + |
| Canon | true + |
| Constitution | +1 + |
| Features | Age +, Alignment +, Size +, Speed +, Sharp Senses +, Sustained by Mana +, Subrace + and Languages + |
| Identifier | 5e Race + |
| Is Race | true + |
| Race Name | Mazohk (5e Race) + |
| Rating | Undiscussed + |
| Size | Medium + |
| Subrace | true + |
| Summary | A hardy race of aberrated humans, strong in magic and tribal in culture. + |
| Title | Mazohk + |
| Type | Humanoid + |
