Aquaebant (5e Race)

Aquaebant

"I sometimes wish that humans understood as much of art as they do of war." ~Entero Dolfeni, Nautiloid Scholar.

Physical Description

Aquaebant are separated into one of 3 distinctly different looking sub-races. The crustaceans are lobster-like humanoids with hard orange shells covering their body and 3 pairs of legs holding them up, a main pair of pincers for holding and grabbing things and a slightly smaller pair of arms below that for more delicate work. The carcharodons are very large brown or grey fish-like creatures with 2 pairs of long fins on their side that act as arms. They must slither like a snake to move on land as opposed to their faster and more precise movement in the water. The nautiloids are comparable to large octopus or squid-like humanoids with tentacles for arms and legs. They are humanoid from the "waist up".

History

Aquaebants as a race are known to originate from a group of closely related underwater creatures that have slowly diverged over time. The first appearance of the race is said to date back to the very early period on the Material Plane where gods and ancient creatures alike were commonplace. Because the race experienced repeated hardship and war early in their history, aquaebants have mostly closed themselves off from the rest of the world and have had relatively little contact with other races. Since retreating into their underwater cities, aquaebants have kept track of their history through a combination of their respective city's history vaults. These vaults contain a mixture of stone engravings and enchanted stones with long messages contained within them to record the race's history. Despite being invaded several times due to the eons that have gone by since aquaebant cities have been established, their records remain intact because they are copied over for redundancy every 100 years and are a closely guarded part of the aquaebant's society.

Within these vaults also lie many aquaebant secrets and other pieces of a history long since lost to time. Several hidden, but spectacular secrets and innovations can be found inside, such as how to use spells to create metal underwater, with particular emphasis being put on the creation of bronze due to its resistance to corrosion from the ocean. Regardless, to obtain access to the history vault's, one must be in the upper echelons of the aquaebant society, or they must be a craftsman, politician, or scholar and receive the government's approval.

Society

Aquaebants live in large ancient underwater towns with a caste society, with the three separate subspecies serving different roles. The crustaceans, small aquaebant with hard shells, serve as the craftsmen and hunters. The carcharodons, a large fishlike subrace, have jobs as warriors and laborers. The nautiloids, humanoid-like creatures with multiple tentacles replacing their limbs, tend to be either scholars or politicians. An aquaebant leader from the politician caste is voted into power every 10 years by the craftsmen and scholars. Warriors, laborers, and hunters are considered to be of the lower caste and forbidden to vote for fear of distraction from duties as well as restricted from accessing parts of the city belonging to the upper caste(politicians, crafters, and scholars). The aquaebant military, which is usually responsible for upholding order and defending the city, has a Generals Council consisting of the highest-ranking member from each caste along with several nautiloid strategists.

In towns, aquaebant buildings are largely made of stone and accented by seashells, engravings unique to each house, and hanging bronze trinkets. Besides decorations to houses, the creation of art and the use of jewelery are especially important aquaebant society. Many citizens pride themselves in making their own art, often through using oddly colored stones and strange seashells. Craftsmen who specialize in making art are in especially high demand in aquaebant society.

For aquaebant society, games of sport are one of the more prominent ways that individuals spent their downtime. In particular, spear throwing and Shell Blitz are the most popular. In spear throwing, participants are required to do one or more of the following: hit 5 stationary targets with a spear, see how far they can throw a spear, or hit a moving fish with the spear. In Shell Blitz, two 8 person teams compete with one another where each team must bring the opponent's three shells from their opponent's side of the field to theirs.

Aquaebant Names

Aquaebant have surnames that regard their specific caste duties. Craftsmen are Anitifera, Hunters are Pengoi. Warrior are Carcharias, Laborers are Caifassii. Scholars are Dolfeni, Politicians are Vulgaris. Males names tend to end with vowels while female names end with consonants.

Male: Entero, Habulii, Polyma, Cyanea...

Female: Delphix, Polis, Pallidus, Maorum...

Aquaebant Traits

A race of aquatic humanoids with features like the original dwellers of the deep.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Age. Aquaebant live about 160 years old, but do not reach maturity until the age of 30.
Alignment. Aquaebant have no particular preference for good or evil but do tend to be a lawful race.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. 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.
Denizen of the Deep. You can breathe in both air and water normally. In addition, you have resistance to cold damage.
Languages. You speak, read, and write in Common and Aquan, a guttural language primarily spoken by creatures of aquatic origin.
Subrace. Pick one from Crustacean, Carcharodon, and Nautiloid.

Crustacean

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Shell Armor. When unarmored, your Armor Class is equal to 12 + your Constitution modifier.
Crustacean Specialization. Choose between either Hunter or Craftsman:
- Hunter. You have proficiency in Survival.
- Craftsman. You have proficiency in a set of artisans tools of your choice.
Swim. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet.

Carcharodon

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Carcharodon Specialization. Choose between Warrior or Laborer:
- Warrior. You have proficiency with the trident, lance, spear, and javelin.
- Laborer. You have proficiency in Athletics skill.
Swim. You have a swimming speed of 40 feet.

Nautiloid

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Black Cloud. As an action you may attempt to blind a creature within 10 feet of you by shooting black ink at them. The target must make a Dexterity saving throw or be blinded until they use an action to remove the spray. The DC for this saving throw is equal to 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. Once you use this feature, you can not use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Nautiloid Specialization. Choose Scholar or Politician:
- Scholar. You have proficiency in the History skill.
- Politician. You have proficiency in the Persuasion skill.
Swim. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet.

Random Height and Weight

Table: Crustacean Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
4′ 10″	+ 2d4 in	50 lb.	x2d4

Table: Carcharodon Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
7′ 0″	+ 2d8 in	400 lb.	x2d8

Table: Nautiloid Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
5′ 0″	+ 2d6 in	80 lb.	x2d6

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