Calkan (5e Race)

Calkan

“	It was a small wound, really. A child's toy dagger could have pierced her body deeper. But the blade had so deeply burrowed into her soft flesh, blood was pouring out onto the ground like a rushing river. As we struggled to staunch the flow, something changed about her- her white face began to decay into a sickly gray. Her arms and legs became unnaturally thin, and her hair began to abruptly turn gray. Slowly, pale-gray plates spread out, covering the wound. The blood flow stopped. Slowly, she stood up, and in a pale, sickly shadow of her former voice, she declared, "Okay. I'm ready to continue."	”
—the Diary of Abbot Shewsivc

Physical Description

Calkans are a species of humanoid native to the Lordship of Ceimica, on of the many subdivision in the west of the Queendom of Sarp. A calkan is a full-size, humanoid version of the protist known as a coccolithophore. Their body is surrounded in a thin shell of white chalk plates (calcite, not blackboard chalk). They have no facial features, and perceive the world without sight. Their hair, if they have any, emerges from microscopic gaps in the chalk plating covering their skulls. Over time, a calkan's chalk shell scrapes off and is replaced, at a rate much faster than humans lose their skin.

Calkans exhibit almost no biological sexual dimorphism, although societal differences, largely prescribed by the surrounding cultures, often manifest in different appearances. When entering their secondary, defensive form, a calkan's chalk plates harden, and became a more sickly gray coloration. They generally became thinner and sicklier, while simultaneously becoming taller.

History

Anatomically modern Calkan's emerged surprisingly recently, and are generally very similar to Proto-Hebaic species, and as most intelligent species, was the result of intelligent convergence on the general "humanoid" design, as a result of cocytosis from single-celled coccolithophores. Modern calkan culture, in the Lordship of Ceimica, has been around for a very long time, and it is generally agreed that the Lordship was merged with the larger Unseelie court and Queendom of Sarp around 1500 years ago. Ceimica was one of the first non-unseelie nations to join the Queendom, and generally set the precedent for incorporation of minority races into the nation.

Society

Ceimic society and culture has generally converged with that of the surrounding unseelie races. Ceimic culture is, as a result, generally matriarchal, although much less so than is common in the Queendom of Sarp, and puts much more focus on interpersonal relations and friendship over romantic relationships.

Existing Hebaic myths and religion have largely gone extinct, replaced with the general legend of the seelie and unseelie queens, which holds that a timeless being of unspeakable power (the unseelie/seelie queen) exists as an envoy between all 6 planes of existence (Technically 3, but each plane has 2 sides which are generally regarded separately). The opposing queen exists as an obstacle to the planes being united, which would create a paradise on earth. Only by having a single monarch (preferably their own) hold both crowns can this goal be achieved. In Ceimica, These tenets are generally augmented by the myth of the great white cliffs, a calkan afterlife. It is generally accepted that this myth arose from an actual burial ground while calkans were still evolving physically, but had reach a higher level mentally.

Calkan Names

Ceimic, the calkan language, is unusual for a number of reasons, including the presence of epiglottal plosives, a large number of phonemically distinct guttural consonants, and the lack of velar plosives, but most unique of all is the complete lack of vowels, due to a calkan's lack of an external mouth. In lieu of vowels, ceimic uses syllabic consonants, like the l and n in the american pronunciations of "bottle" and "button." Czechoslovak or Serbo-Croatian speakers might be more comfortable with these, as in "Hrvatska" or "Srbija." Ceimic words (and names) are always alternating a plosive and syllabic consonant, similar to a CV pattern. More on Ceimic phonology and transliteration can be found in the appendix.

Male: Cnqchgrkkh, Csgwkng, Dmcchqngtsgl, Dxhqxhdr, Gchdmtzqy, Gjzqndny, Qnytmtwgn, Tkhqztm, Tkhtchgjs, Tmtllgjmkqhgs, Tmtnnqs, Tntztqhtkh, Tqhknytll, Tzdntltm

Female: Cchgnggjqh, Ckhkchcqhgjm, Czhkncz, Gjlgwtnnqzgm, Gjnngscchgjy, Gmcqhgghgjch, Grgllgjsh, Klcytnygjqh, Klgjghdll, Klqngcngqn, Qzhgjmcl, Tlgjmtny, Tygjghtwcz, Tzhgjlqycnky

Calkan Traits

Warning

Calkan traits rely on combining heavy debuffs with powerful buffs. While it should be balanced for a typical campaign, this balance is delicate. Talk to your DM before using this race. Actually, you should 'always' talk to your DM before using a homebrew race, but this one espcially.

Humanoid coccolithophores with a defensive and thriving form.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Calkans have two periods of maturity, the first is when they reach 15, the second happens closer to 35. This second maturity makes a better approximation for human maturity. A calkan living a simple, rich life can live for up to 250 years, although spending too much time in defensive form inhibits the maximum lifespan for Calkans. On average, every minute a calkan spends in defensive form reduces their lifespan by almost a month. A calkan that spends a year of their life regularly adventuring thus loses about 25 years.
Alignment. Calkans tend towards unambitious, good-natured lives. You are likely to be lawful good, and any straying from this alignment is likely to be towards evil rather than chaotic.
Size. Calkans are largely similar in height to each other, almost all of them having a height a little below the average human height. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.
Blindsight.. Calkans lack eyes, and are entirely blind to normal methods of seeing. As a result, your body reacts subtley to the perception of chemicals in the air. You have a blindsight of 10 feet.
Natural Armor. The chalk shell you generate around your soft body functions as natural armor. When you aren’t wearing armor, your base AC is 12 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.
Chalk Shell. You are constantly producing chalk, a soft, abrasive, basic mineral. You can expend it to produce one of the following effects:

• As a reaction when you take acid damage, you can negate the incoming damage.
• As a reaction when you are forced to make a Strength saving throw, you can automatically succeed.
• As a reaction when you are grappled or restrained, you can automatically escape.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Refraction. Your chalk shell allows you to bend light shined on you. When you are targeted by an illusion spell or a spell that deals radiant damage, you can cause another creature within 30 feet of you to also become the target of the spell. Additionally, you have disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks while in bright sunlight.
Chalk Gaps. Like chainmail, the gaps in chalk armor are weak to being torn apart and exposing your soft innards, similar to the method used by the viruses that preyed on your ancestors. You have vulnerability to piercing damage.
Defensive Form. As an action, or as a reaction you take when you take piercing damage from any source, you can shift into your defensive form. While in this form, your Armor Class increases by 2, you gain immunity to piercing damage, and you gain temporary hit points equal to your level. Additionally, you have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks, and your Chalk Shell and Refraction traits no longer function. You can shift back to your thriving form as an action.
Amphibious. You can breathe air and water.
Languages. You can read and write Common and Ceimic, but you can only enunciate the sounds of the Ceimic language.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 7''	+1	130 lb.	× (5) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Appendix: Phonology and Transliteration

Manner of Articulation	Bilabial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Pharyngeal
Nasal	m (m; m as in mine)	n (n; n as in nine)	ɲ (ny; ny as in canyon said together)	ŋ (ng; ng as in sing)	ɴ (nn; ng as in sing but further back in the mouth)
Voiced Plosive		d (d; d as in dog)	ɟ (gj; similar to g as in argue and d as in dew said together)		ɢ (g; g as in goat but further back in the mouth)
Voiceless Plosive		t (t; t as in stop)	c (c, similar to c as in cue and t and in tune said together)		q (k; k as in kind but further back in the mouth)	ʡ (q; k as in kind but even further back, in the throat)
Voiced Fricative		z (z; z as in zap)	ʑ (zh, close to s as in leisure, but more y-like); ʝ (y; like y as in yes, but stronger); ʎ̝ (l, like lli as in "million" but with the sides of the tongue touching the molars)	ɣ (gh, like russian kh but voiced)	ʁ (r; french r as in "paris")	ʕ (w; like french r as in "paris" but further back, in the throat)
Voiceless Fricative		s (s; s as in sap)	ɕ (sh, close to sh as in shout, but more y-like); ç (ch, like h and y said together); 𝼆 (ll, like a voicelesss lli as in "million" but with the sides of the tongue touching the molars; your font probably can't render the character)	x (kh, like russian kh)	χ (xh, like russian kh but deeper back in the mouth	ħ (qh, like russian kh but even deeper back, in the throat)

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