Brute (5e Race)

Brute

“	Calling them neanderthals is a compliment, believe me.	”
—Unknown anthropologist

Physical Description

Brutes are massive, hairy humanoids, with thick muscles on top of dense bone and pronounced jaws. They are brownish, gray, or black in skin color, and have a somewhat hunched-over posture. They are usually stocky and tall in height, equal in berth. The women are no less brawny. They are known to have knotted hair and badly aligned teeth. The latter occasionally poke out of their lips and make them look even more brutish.

By Demian Makuc

History

Long, long ago brutes served dark gods as minions. They were smarter, they weren't so ugly, and they stood upright back then. However, they knew neither independence nor the concept of honor. They simply obeyed their gods and did horrible things to please their awful masters.

They fought on the losing side of a war between gods as shock troopers. When the war was over they were punished for their part in the opposing effort by being physically and mentally devolved to the point where they had more in common with beasts of the wild than with tool-using humanoid races. There was a silver lining to their curse, however: they were free, and they were no longer slaves to evil. Thus, now they often exist as primates do in the wild in blissful ignorance.

Society

Brutes live in small tribes, preferring to make their homes in jungles or on mountains. They operate in small polygamous units where the stronger male amasses more females. This makes them very akin to animals in hierarchy. Brutes are known to prove themselves as worthy mates in bouts of battles. Even females will compete for a male when the situation calls for it. Brutes do have a certain curiosity for things like magic, which fascinates them. They are highly interactive with other races if they prove themselves friendly. Brutes are, in conclusion, a very straightforward and simple people.

Brute Names

Brute names are short, simple, and harsh to most ears.

Male: Argnak, Kaigrom, Maugrim, Zudnak

Female: Burzla, Rolba, Snogya, Yurga

Brute Traits

Nasty and brutish, but not so short.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age. Brutes mature twice as fast as humans and live half as long. They have fully grown adults by the age of 9 and rarely live to be 50 years of age.
Alignment. Brutes are strongly chaotic but run the gambit of good and evil.
Size. Brutes usually stand 8 feet tall in height and average 450 pounds in weight. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You also have a climbing speed of 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.
Brute Haul. Brutes are hulks. You count as one size larger for the purposes of grappling, carrying, lifting, pulling, and pushing.
Brute Slam. Your muscled arms aren't just for show! Your unarmed strikes deal 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage.
Imposing. Brutes look quite scary if not just ugly. You have proficiency in the Intimidation skill.
Grappler. You have advantage in checks to grapple.
Giant Type. Your creature type is giant instead of humanoid. As such, you are immune to spells like crown of madness or dominate person because they specifically target humanoids.
Languages. You can speak Common and Giant. Only a few brutes can read and write, but they can learn. It just takes them twice as long as a human might.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
8′ 0''	+1d12	450 lb.	× (1d8) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Suggested Characteristics

When creating a brute character, you can use the following table of traits to help flesh out your character. Use these tables in addition to or in place of your background's personality traits.

d8	Personality Trait
1	Me strong, me smash, and me take.
2	I hate planning.
3	I don't trust magicians.
4	I don't fear death.
5	I hate liars.
6	If there ever isn't a good fight to join, I'll start one.
7	Although I don't care for written contracts, my word once given is bond.
8	I love me a good party.

4.50

(2 votes)

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