Antilonoid (5e Race)

Antilonoid

"Excuse me but... is that venison you're eating, friend?" asked the strange creature. "Yeah... oh..." these were the last words the barbarian said.

Physical Description

Antilonoids are a rare kind of humanoid horned creatures that bear a remarkable resemblance to antelope and other similar animals, other than the fact that they go around on their hind legs. They typically are lean in build, with short muzzles and hands with three short, somewhat stiff fingers. They are digitigrade and have small, three-toed hooves in place of normal humanoid feet. They come in at about the height of the average human. Normally their fur is tan, but after several generations, integrated antilonoids can be born with abnormal fur colors and patterns such as white, piebald, and even calico or tricolor.

History

Antilonoids have a rich oral history, only part of which has been translated from their native tongue. Most of it revolves around what they refer to as 'The Days of Fear,' when they had no fire and were hunted by predators just as frequently as their four-legged counterparts. Reportedly, a young member of their species, with distinctive black fur, first figured out how to make fire for them and spread this gift around to as many of the herds as he could, who, in turn, he asked to spread the knowledge to other herds. Since then, their society has advanced greatly, with the light and heat from their flames allowing them to travel long distances, day and night, without fear of being hunted. The first contact between Humans and antilonoids was made nearly a century ago, and since then they have largely integrated into modern society.

Society

For antilonoids, there are mainly two branches of society. There are those that still follow the old ways, living in nomadic groups called herds, and then there are those that choose to integrate with modern society. Adventurers come from both lifestyles, and each has distinct enough attributes that the roles they fill in parties can vary widely. On the Nomadic side of things, clerics in the species draw power not from gods but ancient dragons. Typically female, the clerics are often given an opportunity to take their draconic patron as a temporary lover. Most of these couplings result in sorcerous children bearing distinctive fur colors reminiscent of their father. These children hold higher status in the tribe then 'plains' but not as high as clerics. Also, in the Nomadic herds, mating is sacred. When a couple is ready to take the final step, they forge a ring for their partner that fits on their horns. The female ring sits mid horn while the male's horn fits towards the base. When a partner dies, the remaining member bears both rings on the left horn and rarely take another mate without what they take as a sign from their mate expressing approval. With integrated members, mating is slightly more loose, with members occasionally forming polygamous or interspecies relationships, although homosexuality is seen as iffy at best. They tend to focus on scholarly things, trying to learn as much as possible in their relatively short lives. Often they become moderately powerful wizards, with a trend towards enchantment for solving conflicts peacefully.

Antilonoid Names

Antilonoids tend to name themselves in their native tongue, which is largely unpronounceable to most humanoids, due to the restrictions of having differently shaped pallets and shorter tongues. As such, they tend to introduce themselves by nicknames based on fur color and pattern, the herd from which they hail from, or a feat they have achieved in their lives. Alternatively, parents from families that have integrated themselves into societies outside of their own may ask to name their child based on the names of other races, with minor differences in pronunciation.

Antilonoid Traits

Being prey does not mean being weak.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Age. Antilonoids reach maturity in their early teens and rarely live past seventy.
Alignment. Antilonoids tend toward good and neutral alignments, rarely being evil. Those that do turn towards darker alignments rarely become more than small-time crooks, following strict codes on who it's alright to steal from and who should be spared. (Lawful evil)
Size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.
Enhanced senses. You gain proficiency in Perception. You also have darkvision out to thirty feet, but can not discern color in darkness.
Horns. You can use your action to headbutt a creature within 5 feet of you. Your target makes a Dexterity saving throw with a DC equal to 8+your Strength modifier+your proficiency bonus. On a failure, the target takes bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Constitution modifier and is knocked five feet away from you. On a success, they take no damage and can make an opportunity attack.
Languages. You can speak and write Common and Plainstoungue, a language based largely on body language and the occasional snort or grunt, written with thick marks resembling the movements of the Adam's apple up and down the length of the throat. The alphabet represents syllables rather than each symbol representing a letter. It is spoken primarily by antilonoids. However, several other similar races from the area speak this language, including a few native barbarian tribes. Among the nomadic herds, common is only loosely taught, often resulting in accented and slightly broken speech. You can also communicate with most horned mammals, such as cows and deer.
Subrace. Nomadic, Integrated

Nomadic

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1
Experienced forager. You gain proficiency in the Survival skill.
Musk. A sweet scent hangs around you that is intoxicating to humanoids. You add twice your proficiency bonus to Persuasion checks against such creatures. Beasts have advantage on Wisdom checks to notice you.

Integrated

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence or Charisma score increases by 1.
Extra language. You can speak, read, and write one extra language of your choice.
Fur patterns. Due to your upbringing, your fur has developed into different colors than it usually would, marking you out as "civilized." You add twice your proficiency bonus on Persuasion checks against people who live in large cities.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 8''	+2d6	90 lb.	× (1d6) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Suggested Characteristics

When creating an antilonoid 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	(Nomadic) The land I grew up on must be defended by any means necessary.
2	I dislike it when others eat venison or other deer-based meats where I can see them, especially if the offender happens to be a party member of mine.
3	(Integrated) Knowledge and acceptance are the paths to a brighter future.
4	I can sleep just about anywhere.
5	I have an odd obsession with apples and oats. They just taste so sweet...
6	Sometimes I just sit and stare at fires, marveling at how such a simple thing propelled my race so far.
7	I have a bit of a temper when it comes to dealing with people of the same gender as me.
8	I tend to let people who are upset cuddle up to me for comfort. I know how most species view warm, fuzzy things.

d6	Ideal
1	(good) I will do my best to help people despite my limited strength.
2	(chaotic) HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE THE PREY, HUH B****!?
3	(lawful) I respect most hierarchies, even if I don't fully agree with them. Must come from my prey heritage.
4	(neutral) Everything does what it must to live. If that means that when I die I get chopped up and roasted for dinner, so be it.
5	(evil) I will show them how it feels to be hunted for nothing more than trophies.
6	(good) The black one taught us that knowledge must be shared for the benefit of all.

d6	Bond
1	My allies are my herd, and the herd always comes first.
2	My herd sends the occasional update on where they are currently located, for when I wish to return home.
3	My mother and father were killed for meat during a famine when I was a child. I will return and burn that village to the ground.
4	I owe my life to the elder that taught me how to fight. I adventure to honor his memory.
5	I tend to get along better with true animals than my fellow humanoids.
6	I have a mate back home. I carry a painting of him/her and me in my bag.

d6	Flaw
1	I get extremely territorial over my belongings, not to mention people I'm close to.
2	I tend to be skittish and flighty if there's not many people around.
3	I'm scared of the dark.
4	I tend to bolt when I see things with sharp teeth looking at me.
5	(Integrated) I tend to look down on those of my people who are still little more than primitive Nomadic.
6	(Nomadic) I view those who integrate with other societies as cowards. You should be proud of your heritage.

3.50

(2 votes)

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