Bularre (5e Race)

Bularre

"We come from the depths, we hunt from the surface, and we fight from the heart."

Physical Description

Bularre are bigger than the average humanoid and bear a strong resemblance to their "genetic cousins," the Bulette. They stand between 6 feet and nearly 7 feet tall. They possess powerful builds and often have rippling musculature with broad chests and shoulders, even amidst the females of the species. Their skin is thick and leathery and varies in tones from alabaster white to greyish blue, and charcoal grey. Their heads are squat and almost squarish and rest upon short necks that project upward, but more so outward from their shoulders. These heads feature largemouths, with two rows of teeth. Bularre hands and feet are unique among humanoids, in that they possess two thick, powerful "finger" digits, and a large thumb-like digit on each hand, and three thick toes on each foot. Each of these digits ends in a very hard nail that has a squared shape. This unusual quality makes their hands considerably less dexterous than the hands of a normal humanoid, and they can only deftly use tools designed for their own kind. Bularre are actually very clumsy holding tools made for other humanoids of their own size, and they tend not to use the implements of other societies if they can possibly help it. Bularre use Bularre versions of tools like scissors, shears, and gauntlets, but they can still ably wield most weapons in existence, with exception to firearms. Naturally, Bularre firearms are extremely rare and unique devices, but they do exist and are every bit as formidable as their counterparts in the shape of the hands of most humanoids. Bularre boots are uniquely crafted and are notorious for being "steel-toed" around each sizable toe.

History

The Bularre, in ages long past, were considered one of the pinnacle successes of the mages of Gavarda. These magi used powerful transmutive magics to create this breed of humanoids as the ultimate worker species, and then telepathically conditioned each of them to be happy in their lot as workers and servants. After having propagated for a few generations, the Bularre were the perfect servants, capable of doing the hardest of manual labors, and gladly embracing such tasks, besides. They continued in this manner for several generations more, and gladly served the descendants of Gavarda when the city of Vardegra emerged.

When the Human Plague and the Diabolic Invasion rendered Vardegra into desolate ruins, the Bularre were left to their own devices in the layers and layers of tunnels and catacombs beneath the city. They've done fairly well in establishing a rhythm of survival, but the biggest problem a Bularre faces is not being commanded in what to do by a charismatic leader. Boredom is utter anathema to their mindset, and they will take to digging new tunnels in the earth if there is literally nothing else for them to do. They're at a pinnacle point in their history where they may choose some new affiliation to become subservient to, or they may finally have an inspiring leader unite them as a people. Only time will tell which of these will prevail.

Society

Bularre form "working groups" of between eight and twelve individuals in which those who possess a certain type of work skill tend to band together to cooperate in performing jobs with one another. These working groups are tight social cliques, and most Bularre do not fraternize outside of these circles. They do not discriminate between male and female in any way, and they see only an individual's merit as what gives them value within their culture. If you've achieved much in your labors, you are respected and your opinion matters. If you've done nothing, you are nothing. This meritocracy, however, has not created any one leader amongst their kind, as none of them have the patience to be disengaged from labor or activity for very long. For each situation the people face, they face it anew with no real leadership to speak of, only a collection of labor bosses and skilled specialists. They consider no one job more viable than another, or more crucial. Even the street cleaners are of an equal social footing to the farmers and the warriors, if they are accomplished in their jobs. Seeing as how old age doesn't even seem to slow the Bularre down as laborers, the wisdom of age means less than the number of accomplishments earned in one's profession. This means that they do not adopt bureaucracy in any way, and politicking with their lot is generally seen as a waste of time. They are already extremely stoic, but busybodies all. This work and work and travel and work and do whatever job they are commanded to is all they choose to do. Being a young species, the Bularre have no actual understanding of events between nations and great calamities. They really do not understand why their former benevolent masters all suddenly died, nor why an onslaught of demons forced them to hole up underground. These innocent peoples have simply been working, fulfilling the plans of their former masters, who commanded them to build a labyrinthine city scraping miles deep into the earth. Of course, it's now mostly a ghost town since the days of the Plague, and there are massive expanses of the city that have now been built that no human has ever lived or even slept in. And as the Bularre will tell you, they aren't even close to done. The plans for the city are truly immense and will have them working to complete the project for years to come.

Bularre do not create art, per se, but they do appreciate quality craftsmanship. They understand the value of creating an elegant tool, so long as the style does not detract from the substance. Most of their kind don't really like to put much stock in music, either, but the rhythm of a busy labor team is something they do appreciate. To outsiders who do not understand the sheer joy the Bularre detract from work, this seems bizarre and makes them seem even more unapproachable. The only race who seem to inherently understand (and often deeply respect) the Bularre mentality is the Mountain Dwarves of Deepholm. Unlike Dwarves, however, the Bularre seem to possess an inability to sit still. They sleep soundly for roughly six hours every day, and they awaken and emerge into a ready-to-work state in moments. They are laborers extraordinaire, but they don't seem particularly bright. Truly, few Bularre even have any dedicated level of education beyond their trade skills, because they do not even have the patience to read a whole book in most instances. As a result of this, there are virtually no wizards amongst them, and even when a few sorcerers have emerged from their kind, they are more apt to wield utilitarian magic, and not many flashy or damaging spells.

The Bularre level of technology is also not very high, but there are some amongst them with specialized training in the usage of magical tools. Vardegra itself was a somewhat advanced city prior to the Human Plague and had a pre-Victorian level of technological advancement, coupled with an esteemed Wizardry tradition. The magi of Vardegra were well known for their mastery of various magical formula, and after the city fell, the Dragonkin of Arakkis moved in first to recover their magical lore and treasures. At first, Arakk himself had no inkling of the existence of the Bularre, and he and his silver Dragonkin took much of the lore of the fallen city with them to their own city before the Bularre made themselves known to them. Arakk himself swore to leave the Bularre to their own devices, but having already added to his stash, if the Bularre didn't ASK for those things back, he had no intention of giving them over. As such, the Bularre are left with the tools they have and make for themselves, but they are also recently buying more things they need from sources further from home. They may advance sooner, rather than later, given the proper opportunities.

By and large, if a Bularre is going to embrace the life of an adventurer, it is because they were bored with their lot and left seeking something to do with themselves. They are commonly found as Rangers or as Fighters, as both are disciplined and physical professions that are cultivated amongst their people. Hunters roam the surface in packs, and Bularre scouts range far and wide and can travel rather swiftly, staying quite well-hidden in the process. They are prone to traveling also and have been seen in some small numbers, being hired as "labor units" for various projects. Payment in gold can be brought back to the city, and distributed as necessary to enable more of the grand work of finishing the city. They have been purchasing large quantities of unrefined steel ores from the city of Arakkis for nearly fifteen years now, and run fast and stealthy convoys back to their home.

Bularre Names

Bularre speak Common and Undercommon and have a large mouth with tight lips that pull across two rows of teeth. Due to this, they have some difficulty with the "Th," "F," and "V" sounds of the phonetic alphabets. Bularre names are Common and Undercommon derived names that never feature such sounds.

Male: Andrew, Brant, Gregor, Johann, Lowen, Zackary

Female: Anna, Carlie, Diana, Marnie, Pauline, Wendy

Bularre Traits

Bularre are powerful humanoids derived from the Bulette.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Strength score increases by 1.
Age. Bularre live about as long as humans and mature a few years earlier.
Alignment. Bularre are almost always lawful, and generally either good or neutral.
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.
Powerful Build. Bularre are very large-sized for a Medium creature, and as such, you are treated as a Large-sized creature. Your carrying capacity doubles, you can wield a weapon with the two-handed quality in one hand, and you have advantage on grapple checks against Medium-size and smaller creatures.
Deep Sense. You are proficient in Perception, and you always have a sense of how far underground you actually are.
Menacing Grin. Whenever you make a Charisma (Intimidation) check where the target of the roll is of Medium or smaller size, you are considered proficient in the Intimidation skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
Awkward Hands. You have disadvantage on any roll in which fine motor manipulation is required, such as when picking a lock or using precision tools. Bularre must use tools made specifically made for them in order to bypass this disadvantage, and they must buy tools that cost double the amount they would regularly cost. You pay double price for any kind of regular gloves, gauntlets, shoes, or boots, due to needing unique fitting techniques to accommodate your anatomy.
Languages. Bularre speak, read, and write Common and Undercommon. When taking another language most Bularre know Terran, Orcish, or even Gnoll from encounters throughout the region.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
6′ 0''	+2d6	230 lb.	× (2d10) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Suggested Characteristics

When creating a Bularre 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	Laborer: you take great joy in hard work and manual labor.
2	Soldier: your discipline is exemplary, and few soldiers execute drills so well.
3	Hunter: you are an expert in hunting and tracking, and don't fit into "civilization" very well.
4	Builder: you are a builder, who enjoys putting things together with your own hands.
5	Sell-sword: you don't care where your job takes you and you love battle.
6	Traveler: you love to be abroad in the world and on the move.
7	Barkeep: you love talking and conversing with other people.
8	Vendor: you have a knack for figuring things out about people.

5.00

(one vote)

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