Aquarion (5e Race)
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Aquarion[edit]
Physical Description[edit]
Aquarions are tall and lean, they have smooth, taut skin with a slightly blue hue to an otherwise pale skin tone. Aquarions have no hair, but instead have a large dorsal fin that can expand; starting at the head just between the brows and travelling over the head and directly along the spine to where the pelvis starts. This dorsal fin carries the same color as the Aquarion's skin in addition to a strongly hued warm colour (orange, gold, red, etc) closer to where the fin meets the skin and often forms a unique pattern. Aquarions have webbed hands and toes, along with webbing under their arms starting just below the end of the sternum and wrapping around to the forearm and ending about 3/4's down the length. The eyes of an Aquarion are very similar to an Eladrins but they are typically pink, pearly, coral or a similar tone and are rather pale. Despite many of their physical similarities to fish being gills and a scaly texture of skin, Aquarions share all other physical features with their ancestors. An Aquarion reaches maturity slightly faster than humans reaching the effective age of 18 by 14. but their lifespan is much more akin to that of their Eladrin ancestors living well over 250 years on average though they seldom live past 300. Aquarions carry themselves similarly to Eladrins, standing tall and proud of their unique heritage. Within Aquarion society, they typically wear tightly wrapped cloth or hide, typically from creatures of the sea. When adventuring Aquarions wear modified clothes that cover the majority of their skin as they dislike drying out. Their clothing and armour are also modified to allow their fins and webbings to move freely without getting caught and cut or torn. Many of the members of the council within the Aquarion society wear shortened togas to show their authority within their nation. Wizards, Scholars, Philosophers, Generals, and others of what most would call nobility also wear these togas as well.
History[edit]
Long ago in an age long forgotten, there was a clan of men and Eladrin. This clan was known as the Star Seers, and they worshipped the god of knowledge. The members studied magic, philosophy, astrology, math, medicine, psionics, and the natural world. Despite its vast array of knowledge, the Star Seers were most known for its pacifism. They lived on land and brought forth many inventions.
Pacifism was nearly its downfall when their home was invaded by a great Red Dragon, forcing them from their homes and into the wild. Many of the clan members had thought this dragon had brought their doom upon them, but there was worse to come. Forced from their home, the clan was forced to defend themselves from Orcs, Goblins, Ogres, Owlbears, and other wild beasts. The Eladrins used the Fey Step to help escape the clutches of those who pursued them, but many perished under the hand of said beasts. Their hand forced, the Star Seers fled to the sea, hoping that they would escape to a new land. However, low on food and supplies, many doubted they could make it.
Starving and wounded, the Star Seers were desperate and lost at sea. They had lost hope, but unexpectedly, one of their greatest arcanists, Achvenes Whitestar, - who was deemed a madman by many- would prove to be both their saviour and one of their greatest legends. Grand Mage Whitestar was previously a great adventurer, and in his prime had slain many great beasts and gained immense power. After his travels, he focused his energies on helping the world that he had caused so much damage to.
Having lost his Arts of War, he focused his powers towards Arts of Change. His great powers allowed him to change nature to fit the needs of his newfound clan. Though many of his works were seen as unethical, no one could deny the benefits they brought. Wheat that grew in swampland, herbs that cured most all ailments and poisons, and a reptilian cattle that bred and grew at an unprecedented rate. All of these helped the clan become what it was, and once again, he would prove to be their most valuable ally.
Whitestar had an experimental ritual that he had proven to work many times before. This ritual could take the traits of one species and fuse them into another. He proposed that he would take the traits of the creatures of the sea and infuse it into his fellow clan members. He began to research, despite having never worked on neither a person nor any of the sea creatures they had found. Meanwhile, his clan mates were starving and losing hope. After the remaining two high council members of the Star Seers debated over the use of such a ritual they held a vote. The Star Seers would risk the taboo for their survival and thus the experiments began. Countless failed trials ensued before he created a first successful fusion. An old Eladrin man named Sythen Lakestar became the first true Aquarion. This transformation, though extreme allowed him to breathe both air and water in addition to being able to breathe the seawater. Upon this successful transformation, Whitestar went to the council and prepared for a mass ritual. By the luck and blessings of the gods, the ritual was successful. Whitestar, however, was not so lucky. His energy was drained, and the magical backlash that resulted caused severe damage to the vessel they were on, causing it to sink. With no land in sight, he drowned. All those he saved sat watching, helpless to rescue their own saviour.
The clan of the Star Seers became the first and only of the Aquarions, traveling deep into the ocean to begin their new lives. They spent many months adapting to their new bodies and environment but they were much better off under the sea than atop it. After settling a new home on a coral reef far out in the sea, they buried their savior in their first tomb in their city of White Reef atop one of the oceanic spires now known as the Heroes Vault. The Aquarions developed in solitude for many hundreds of years, losing the ways of their old lives as they created their own cities and civilization. Grand temples, libraries, theatres, and schools were created, all decorated in pearls, and carved by masters. Forts and temples stood, tall and magnificent, smiths working on great vents of slag and magma, stone masters creating grand statues in sizes and scales that could never be imagined on land. The grand cities spread far in the sea and onto grand mountains. Many of these cities formed their own ways and their own laws but eventually lost their passive ways.
During the early years of the Aquarians living beneath the sea, their lack of combat skills heavily hindered their progress. Seeking shelter within the caverns of the seas, they encountered coastal dragons, as well as some dragons of the Underdark. Most notable of the dragons they encountered was a bronze dragon who was loyal to Bahamut, by the name of Kithemis, he made an agreement to protect the Aquarions and in return, the Aquarions would become loyal subjects and adhere to his rulings. The Aquarions were not particularly fond of this agreement, but they needed strength and a leader; Kithemis was both.
Around this time, the second group of Aquarions encountered an adult blue dragon by the name of Zelthos. She was going to kill them for intruding her upon her territory. But when they humbly apologized and offered fine art for their imprudence, Zelthos thought of this as a wonderful opportunity to engorge her hoard and expand her domain. Both Kithemis and Zelthos offered safety to the Aquarions in exchange for servitude. Although the Aquarions hated giving up their freedom, they had little choice.
Since Kithemis was an ancient bronze dragon, he had little concern over how strong his subjects were, so he focused on getting a society in order and setting up the entirety of their community while boosting his already grand ego. Zelthos, on the other hand, was not in an ideal situation. Being within the territory of a far older dragon was not good for her safety and power, but it would make taking him down all the sweeter. Since she would need help to fend off against the bronze dragon, this fledgeling civilization would make fine warriors and servants. As such she began enlisting these Aquarions as her own personal army. Over many centuries of development, these two Aquarion tribes eventually developed into the Arthanos and Startan clans, belonging to Kithemis and Zelthos respectively. Since the dragons rarely had themselves at the front of the Aquarion expansion, the two Aquarion clans met on their own terms. These meetings held little violence and hostilities, as both clans welcomed their lost brethren. Alas, hundreds of years had passed since these clans had separated, and with the stark contrast of their dragon overlords, the cultural differences were too vast. This was an inevitable cause of conflict.
These conflicts quickly escalated to violence, and with the Startan's now-instinctive aggression and military might, they easily crushed the Arthanos tribe. Kithemis would not stand for the chaos within his kingdom, so he attacked the Startan cities, even destroying the neutral cities of free or joint Aquarions who were serving no dragon. During this age of war, the Arthanos did adapt their skills for more military purposes but never had skills comparable to their Startan brethren. By this time, Zelthos had grown tired of her rival destroying her kingdom. Being nearly as powerful as Kithemis, with her armies of trained soldiers she challenged Kithemis and his weak forces. The war raged on for over a century with countless losses on both sides. The war started out with the Startans taking countless wins over the Athanos. However, what the Arthanos lacked in skills, they made up for with technology. They were creating ranged and siege weaponry, giving them the tactical advantage over the Startans. As the war went on, the tide of the battle surged back and forth, with the Startans stealing weapons, and the Arthanos modifying and updating older models. As the war reached its climax, the Startans had finally taken a strong foothold, and begun pushing back the Arthanos, taking city after city.
The real prize of war was defeating a dragon. For most of the war, neither side had any real way of combatting the master, with the exception of surprise assaults. Even then, these attacks had been largely ineffective. During the siege of the Arthanos stronghold, they unleashed a secret weapon that they’d been developing without the knowledge of either dragon. This was a gigantic, medium range cavitation cannon they called The Siege Ripper. The three prototypes were unleashed upon the dragon Zelthos with great effect. These weapons were fired against Zelthos. One completely failed, and destroyed itself, along with its operating crew. The second cannon was also destroyed but did successfully fire once. The third fired with only minor damage. Two blasts tore holes into the dragon, taking out huge chunks of flesh, as well as a wing. To her surprise, Zalthos had lost, and one more blast would surely kill her, yet, if she were to flee, Kithemis would tear her army apart. Her only choice was to fight.
This was the last battle of the war. After the decisive blow, Zalthos was easily finished off by Kithemis. However, Kithemis was now scared of his new subordinates. He could destroy this weapon, but how much more were there? If he did, could they make more? Kithemis was not pleased by this development, but it won him the war and killed his rival. Still, he feared that if he struck out against his subordinates, he could be killed just as easy as Zalthos. He knew things were bound to change, but he needed to stay in power. The Aquarions knew that Zalthos still wanted power and thus offered a solution themselves to the dragon.
The Aquarions wished to reform their council, but they saw a place for this wise dragon who had guided them throughout the years. They offered Kithemis a seat as the head council member. He would not have total control but he would still hold more control than any other individual, and thus the entire civilisation. Though it was not ideal for Kithemis, it would suit his purposes, with these new siege cannons posing a threat to him. After this grand war, the Aquarions entered an age of relative peace. With large-scale expansion and prosperity, both the Startans and Arthanos prospered through their differences. Of course, there were still skirmishes and small civil wars from time to time, both groups fighting to be the superior tribe.
In more recent times, the Aquarions have come to the surface to explore what life lies up there. These hunters of krakens, prophets of Iore, crafters of ancient weapons, have come to stake their hold as masters of the realms.
Attitudes and Beliefs[edit]
Most Aquarions have beliefs that are quite different from those of the surface world, mostly due to their race’s longstanding separation from the others. Aquarions have a sense of duty and believe they have a "divine" purpose that other races do not. Aquarions are also quite narcissistic of their culture, believing they are superior to others. Some Aquarions often take this to a hostile level, being xenophobic of others within the Aquarion societies. This is sometimes taken to the point of outright rejection. When within other societies, most Aquarions try to push their own culture upon those around them, speaking very highly of it and themselves. Dragons are also an important part of the beliefs of Aquarions. They see dragons as Archons of knowledge wisdom and power; some of the Aquarion cities even have a dragon as their head of state, though many avoid this as it is difficult to get a dragon to relinquish its power when the time comes. Dragons are more often an Advisor or Oracle for several cities-states at a time. Aquarions also believe that those with psionic abilities are gifted by the gods and are effectively seen as heroes among their society, both for the fact that they are very rare and for the fact that it is believed to be significantly linked to their philosophical studies. Those with a special psionic gift are often taken at a young age to be given the best training and teachings that the city of their birth can offer. In the cases that the city believes that it is inadequate to train this hero, they give it to one of the capital cities, Startus or Arthans.
Society[edit]
There are two main groups of Aquarions that are heavily opposed to one another. This divide leads to many civil wars between the city-states. These two groups are known as the Arthanos and the Startans. Though they are not without their similarities, both of them elect a pair of leaders called Consuls. These leaders rule over the city in a shared office, both having equal power in all manners. Together these two have nearly as much power as a king (or mayor depending on the size and power of the city-state). In most ways, the Aquarions have a democratic government. All of the Aquarion cities are democratic with almost no exceptions. The people of the city vote in a council that performs all of the administrative tasks in and around the city. From this council, the Aquarion people vote in the pair of Consuls that will rule for the coming year. Though a Consul can be elected multiple times they cannot be elected in a row and must have at least 2 years without the position to be considered for election again. The Arthanos are the more artistic of the two groups; producing magnificent pottery, sculptures, and architecture. This group also reveres metallic dragons above all other types of dragon, this, in turn, leads to Bahamut being the main deity of the Arthanos. The Arthanos are masters of the Divine and Arcane arts; often having wizards, warlocks, clerics, and paladins within their cities. Because of how much the Arthanos revere the studies of Arcane and Divine ways, they are far less hostile to foreigners of this denomination. They are more interested in learning their foreign knowledge than they are threatened by the foreigner's presence. Although those that share in the worship of Bahamut (or worship the same deity as the Aquarions they were with) are often welcomed, the Aquarions will try to convince them to convert to the Aquarion ways of life. Within the Arthanos cities, there is a fairly equal division of class with only those in the council holding positions above the common folk and only the Consuls above them The Startans are almost completely opposed to the Arthanos being masters of war and death. They are the craftsmen of armour, weapons, and whatever other tools of war they can devise. As such, the Startans primarily focus on Martial and Primal teachings, both of which are highly revered within their society. Startans are also put through several trials at a young age. The last of which is being left out in the wild, far from the cities and is expected to survive for up to a year (in some cases it is only six months). They then make their way back to the city to complete their training. As such, the Startans herald the finest of soldiers to be seen in any army across many species, though their fighting forces are smaller than most cities because of how few survive the trials. Alternatively a Startan can opt out of these trials to become a city worker or a farmer, however, these Startans are considered to be of a lower class than the soldiers, generals, and the administration (which is selected from a pool of retired military members, most of which are captains and generals). Again in opposition to the Arthanos, the Startans revere Chromatic Dragons above all other types, yet it is rare for even the Startans to worship Timat as she opposes so many of the Startan beliefs. Although the Startan capital of Startus does worship Timat as their patron deity, they believe it to be a symbolic strength to link themselves to the god of the dragons they revere so much. The most iconic part of the Startan culture is once every 5 years, they gather the best of their men, separate them into groups, and send them off to slay krakens. Whoever slays the largest and strongest Kraken is declared the victor and given a grand prize for their deeds. While adventuring, the Aquarions are often seen as one society, but they are treated differently based on who they are around. Some people see the Aquarions with awe-filled eyes due to the wonders of their cities, their philosophical beliefs and intrigue, and the vast seas that they call home to. Others disdain their presence on the surface having hate for their teachings or even enacting with violence when they try to speak of their ways.
Aquarion Names[edit]
Aquarions normally have Greek names that reflect their unique culture and society.
Male: Arcadius, Sparticus, Aeries, Cradies, Aesop, Rafal, Kaden, Vadim
Female: Abarrane, Dahlia, Handan, Kaia, Odelia, Sabah, Vanda
Aquarion Traits[edit]
Aquatic Elvenkind with a greek-styled society, and fondness of the great hunt.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Aquarions reach maturity by the age of 14 and generally live up to 300 years of age.
Alignment. Aquarions tend towards lawful alignments but they can be as varied as humans creatures.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Amphibious. You can breathe air and water and have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Darkvision. Accustomed to their dark ocean homes Aquarions have great night vision, 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 decern color in darkness, only shades of grey.
Dehydration Prone. Aquarions are normally bound in water and need more than other races to survive. You have disadvantage on saving throws against dehydration and other similar affects like the Extreme Heat(DMG p.110).
Meditative. You don’t need to sleep. Instead, you meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Elven
Subrace. Choose a subrace. Two subraces are described here: Athanian Aquarions and Startanic Aquarions
Arthanian Aquarion[edit]
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2.
Educated. You have received training a variety of skills, giving you additional versatility, you gain proficiency in a skill of your choice. You can speak, read, and write the Primordial dialect of Aquan.
Startanic Aquarion[edit]
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.
Aquatic Combatant. You have been trained since you were a small child for combat by your people. You gain a proficiency with the trident, pike, javelin and spear. In addition you have proficiency in medium armor.
Random Height and Weight[edit]
| Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5′ 6″ | +2d6 | 70 lb. | × (2d4) lb. |
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