Athreki (5e Race)

Athreki

“	Do you think this scope is what sees you? I have an army of pinholes eyes to see the position of your arms, legs, and weapons. I see your soldiers, nervous behind their shields. I see the smoke rising from where the fires you slept by last night were extinguished. This scope is not to see what's there. This scope sees through you. It sees what you are about to do, and what you will think before you think it. This scope sees the future.	”
—General Sozhesna

Physical Description

From the neck down, an Athreki is almost indistinguishable from a regular human. Sure, they might have one or two too many fingers, but that's hardly significant. Their chests are often quite broader than the average human, certainly, but the real trouble starts when you look at the head. Or, lack thereof. Instead of a head, an athreki has a large, wooden, crossbow. The exact makeup of this weapon varies between individuals of the species, but it's generally about the size of a typical heavy crossbow, made out of wood, and woven with string that resembles a biological fiber, such as hair.

The hollow cavity of an athreki's head typically resembles the sinuses of a normal humanoid, allowing them to produce speech in a similar manner. Like similarly related constructs, athreki vision is limited to a few pinhole cameras perceiving light as a binary, which is interpreted by complex systems into workable vision, albeit without color. Athreki pinhole eyes are lined along the limbs of the crossbow, and appear as tiny dots embedded in the wood. Unlike many other species with similar "eyeless" heads, Athreki have a scope near the back of their head, which grants them incredible powers in vision.

History

Athreki evolution, like that of most of the Nummic-Kessulic species of Askria, is shrouded in mystery. It is believed that their closest relatives are the Sengels, which possess a cannon for a head, but this is mostly not evidence-based, as constructs like the Athreki lack DNA. Athreki have existed as a single culture since 183 WR.K., largely concentrated in the Yorra tribes in what is now the Confederacy of Elnessen.

The Yorra tribes migrated south along as the little ice age ended in 566 WR.Í., as did many other nations on Askria moving towards the poles. It was here where the Yorra tribes were united into the Kingdom of Yorr, in what is now the Vermilion States. The Kingdom of Yorr existed in relative peace with its neighbors, united into the Vermillion Coalition, which beat back the Kingdom of Num in the Red Snow war of 843. Athreki still remember the bravery of their heroes as strategists in this war

Following the uniting of the kingdoms of Hamangia and Adamott in the late 9th century, the Vermilion coalition fought a second war against the kingdom of Hamangia-Adamott, which they ultimately lost. Soon afterwards, the breakup of Hamangia-Adamott meant that Yorr remained independent, but the people understood the need for more agressive leadership—the Republic of Yureone was the first to wheel out President Bright Future—the first world leader powered entirely by AI. He functioned well enough for the first few decades, but when there was a threat to his re-election, he executed the opposition and became Highlord Bright Future. The neighboring Republic of Yorr chose to support democracy—they invaded, with intent to restore the rightful government. Highlord Bright Future massacred the leadership of Yorr, and that of anyone who dared to oppose him, and his guise had finally slipped, leaving him as Highlord Dark Fate, ruler of the new vermillion states.

Society

Like much of Askria, Yorra culture is unusually nihilistic and self-serving, traits which have only become more pronounced under the ironic rule of Highlord Dark Fate. The overwhelming belief in Askria is that things cannot change, and people are powerless, which is only solidified by Highlord Dark Fate's conviction for the destruction of Celador and Yssalru, while he simultaneously capitulates to them to prevent war. But many of them ignore the madness, and see only the methods, that being general peace and prosperity.

Athreki, at least those remaining in Yorr, keep their heads down and try to avoid doing anything that could put them in the crosshairs of Highlord Dark Fates complicated and erratic algorithms. Organized religion, to the extent it survives, sees this world has a prison sentence, and enduring until eventual death will lead to freedom. Kind of similar to Buddhism, I guess.

Athreki Names

Yorra, the language of the athreki, belongs to a family of languages called the Nummic-Kessulic languages. This languages involves frequent use of ingressive, speech produced by breathing in rather than out. Ingressive sounds are marked in bold, and it's important to note that an entire syllable is ingressive, not just one sound. Male names end in a consonant, while female names end in a vowel.

Male: Jeshpuj, Loyij, Peljisis, Rezshish, Rechroch, Rowjelruy, Shor, Viwyok, Wochruk, Wechchechror Yozrhikkew, Yiwror, Zowluch, Zhulkuch

Female: Chepku, Chevo, Fizvi, Jero, Jofoche, Kochfu, Kozu, Rhirhre, Rhirhvozhti, Shuvje, Wifi, Zhezo, Zhuzrhichji, Ziweshka

Athreki Traits

A humanoid with a crossbow for a head.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age. An athreki reaches maturity at about age 12, when their cocking stirrup finally comes off. They can reach up to 150 years old, with very little variation.
Alignment. Athreki culture is nihilistic, and society is only held together by the belief that things are slightly better in a group. Athreki are overwhelmingly chaotic alignments, but usually tend towards neutral or good.
Size. Athreki are tall for humans, but a generally shorter than similar species surrounding them. 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.
Natural Weapon. Your head is a crossbow, and it cannot be removed without the normal difficulty and consequences of removing one's head. You can use this weapon to make ranged attacks as if it were a normal Heavy Crossbow.
Innate Ability. You have proficiency in heavy crossbows, light crossbows, and hand crossbows.
Scope Lens. You have two different methods of vision. You have proficiency in Perception, and advantage on saving throws to avoid being blinded.
Windage Turret. Your vision is equipped to quickly lock in on a moving target. You don't have disadvantage on ranged attack rolls if the target is within 5 feet of you, and you can make a ranged attack as an opportunity attack.
Paralax Adjustment. Your vision involves a reticle that puts everything into context. You have advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) checks against illusions.
Construct. You count as a construct rather than a humanoid. You cannot be targeted by effects that only target humanoids, and you cannot be target by effects that cannot target constructs.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Yorra, Numma, and one other language of your choice.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 9''	+1d6	157 lb.	× (1d8) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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