Crustacheae (5e Race)

Crustacheae

“

What creatures must they be to possess this obscene quality of intelligence and ugliness!

”

Physical Description

From Futurama

Crustacheae appear like humanoids covered in a a series of small plates that make up their skin. These plates are sectioned so as to allow for mobility and are made primarily of chitin. The plates tend to have a variety of colors, from red, to salmon pink and brown or dark blue. Instead of hands, they have two pincers, like crabs, which are very strong. Their heads appear to be roughly human shaped, with large, buggy eyes. However, they lack a nose and definitive ear orifices, and have a series of tentacles on their upper lip that hang like a fleshy mustache. This is used to help them filter food from water. They have stocky bodies and only two toes per foot, of which they have two.

History

The crustacheae originate from creatures said to come from the deepest depths of an extraterrestrial ocean that resembled large crab things. They are believed to have been cousins of the mi-go, which were fungoid crab creatures. These aliens landed onto the land and changed accordingly to better adapt a form acceptable to the many humanoids that populate the realm. Unlike the mi-go, theses were friendlier creatures not intent on stealing people's brains. Rather, they came looking for new diseases and illnesses to cure. They display a high aptitude for the medical arts and are very intelligent. The crustacheae embody them in present day, after their evolution went as far as it could. They have largely spread out to inhabit underwater cities or coastal areas in small groups called casts.

Society

Crustacheae reside in casts along shorelines and deep underwater cities. They are common sights in the provinces of merfolk and triton, often being a minority. Within their own casts, they function like a group of scholars with a technocratic rule of the oldest and wisest. Crustacheae grow until they die and constantly shed. Therefore, those who live to a ripe age tend to be rather big. Their blood is also an interesting ingredient to many of their cures, as it makes them immune to most diseases that afflict humanoids. As such, greedy minds have sometimes pursued the peaceful crustacheae to harvest their blood. This has driven the race into deeper waters and isolated many from the land dwellers. Some are still brave enough to venture forth in search of uncured illnesses in the steps of their forebears. Many find great business as traveling doctors and apothecaries.

Temperament

The crustacheae are a rather friendly bunch. The tentacles over their lips are used to make unique sounds when communicating to one another, but it can garble their speech when speaking to other races. They are thus perceived as socially awkward and inept at speech. To a crustacheae, many of the land dwellers suffer from odd afflictions that are foreign to them, and easily curable. To demonstrate the medical advancements, they thus desire to rid the world of much of its disease. This is not to say they are an egotistical race, but they do often believe their methods to be more efficient. Due to their inability to always elucidate on their plans, however, it does not always come across as the most helpful, and often can seem confusing to watch them work. As such, crustacheae have developed the habit of acting without bothering to explain anymore.

Crustacheae Names

Traditional names for crustacheae have two syllables in their names, separated by a short pause, represented by an apostrophe. Names ending in 'e' and 'u' are considered masculine, whereas names with a, 'o' and 'i' at the end are feminine.

Male: Fi'ne, We'tzu, An'ne, Ru'te, Ti'ye, Fe'ru, Ba'ke, Mi'ye, Es'te, Ne'yu, Zo'Bre

Female: Ko'cha, En'to, Fa'ro, At'ri, Be'kko, A'tto, Re'ma, Al'ya, Et'zo, Re'ni

Crustacheae Traits

Crab-like beings that are healers
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age. They will typically reach maturity by the age of 20 and live to be 200 years. They never stop growing.
Alignment. Due to their alien heritage, a crustacheae will typically be chaotic, but neutral and lawful crustacheae aren't unheard of.
Size. Crustachean'e start of rather short, then grow to be as tall as 7 feet. Your size is Medium.
Speed. You have a base walking speed of 30 feet. You have a swimming speed of 20 feet.
Darkvision. Like your mi-go cousins, the darkness does not bother your eyes. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Amphibious. You can breath both air and water.
Medicine Man. Like your ancestors, you are highly adept at the arts of medicine. You are proficient in the Medicine skill.
Horseshoe Blood. Whatever it is that runs in your veins makes you immune to many normal illnesses. You are immune to diseases.
Carapace. Your body is covered in tough chitinous plates. While unarmored, your Armor Class is equal to 12 + your Dexterity modifier. You may use a shield and still gain this benefit.
Pincers. Your strong pincers help you grab and hang on. You have advantage in Strength checks to grapple other creatures.
Languages. You can speak, read and write in Common and Aquan.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 8''	+3d12	160 lb.	× (2d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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