Cancroid (5e Race)

Cancroid

“	So Celador thinks they can conquer us. Perhaps. But they all will flow away, like sand, cut away from the peaks of Caldrova, swept along Hohenwald, joining with the Golden Wind of the Sema Sea. Perhaps they will end there, sinking into the ocean. Perhaps they will flow south and reach the snowy beaches of Mengia. Or perhaps, they will flow northward, with the Southern Current, north over Catria. Perhaps they will land in a grove in Elogak, and a Kelogak will start a grove a pine trees. Perhaps when he chops a tree down, it will be carried with the log, shipped as lumber to Faakh'el. Perhaps the sanguines will construct the wood into a warship. Perhaps they will sent their ship to destroy the pirates of the Wandering Isles, but the ship is destroyed in a storm. Then perhaps, the wind and the rain carry the grain of sand, back to the peaks of Caldrova, and when the sun beats upon it, it will be like it had never left.	”
—Some guy

Physical Description

Cancroid are, as the name suggests, humanoid crabs native to the Kolar desert in the Driftstone Federation. Unlike their neighbors, the erumas, Cancroids are much smaller, and more humanoid, at least from the chest down. From the head up, Cancroids have the same misshapen and colorful head, with a large, red mouth in the center. Eyes protrude from small eyestalks at a slide angle from the sides of their head. Their arms resemble crab arms, at least superficially, but upon closer inspection the halves of the calw are supplemented by 3 smaller digits, and the arms are broken up as if elbows and wrists were present.

As you look further down along a cancroids body, they only become more human, with a shell on the back giving way to an internal ribcage on the front, eventually descending into a regular skeletal structure on the hips and only 2 legs, only using a crab shell as a skin texture. By the time you reach the feet, the crabbiness is entirely gone, and only the human form remains.

History

Cancroids have existed for a very long time. Oral tradition can be traced back nearly 500,000 years to the initial evolution of more-than-bestial intelligence in species of land crabs. For most of their history, cancroids have been a simple nomadic species, who slowly underwent the agricultural revolution, before becoming a predominantly subsistence farming nation. This was the arrangement of the Cancroids by the time their homeland was invaded by the Kingdom of Hamangia-Adamott.

This invasion was little more than planting a flag in the sand- since the Hamansh-Adamic tax system only taxed transaction, they had no need to put a whole system in place to collect the bartering of a few quail eggs. Hamangia-Adamott's possession of the Kolar was little more than a formality- but all this would change with the Red Snow War. This didn't affect the Kolar but it marked the conquering of the Vermillion coalition by Hamangia-Adamott. In a little over ten years, Hamangia-Adamott would no longer exist.

The trouble started when tax collection began. To get from the Vermillion coalition to Hamangia-Adamott's heartland, you had to trek through the Kolar desert. Pretty soon, these caravans, carrying massive amounts of taxed money and possessions, began to be stolen from. Now, the peaceful Cancroids had nothing to do with this. The stolen money disappeared into the pockets of the tax collectors themselves. But before long, the cancroids began getting in on the action- helping stage robberies, and taking credit for the attacks. So pretty soon, a new normal was established. Travellers venturing through the cancroid's land were suddenly finding themselves with a lot of money, and many of them were clearly nervous about having the money, and were looking to get rid of it quickly.

It wasn't long before someone had the obvious idea.

Taverns and resorts began to open up along the roads in the Kolar desert. One of them, centered around a small oasis, had two breakthroughs. The first was advertising- by word of mouth, every tax collector knew about the arrangements of how to get money, and how to spend it. The second was a drink called Xeng- an alcohol made from fermented cactus juice. The success of these innovations is obvious- this oasis would grow into Morgrimor, the capital of the Driftstone Federation.

But it couldn't last forever. Pretty soon, the royal houses of Hamangia and Adamott noticed the missing money, and they blamed the people of Kolar. In the year 902 WR.Í., a war broke out. But the Cancroids were growing in wealth. Once a scattered nomadic farming people, the Cancroids had grown into rich, city-dwelling merchants, and they had lots of money to spend. And Hamangia-Adamotts biggest rival was willing to sell.

The Faakh'el Khanate was the greatest empire of the time, and by some accounts, Hamangia-Adamott was the only thing standing in its way, if it even did that anymore. Not only that, but they were the greatest proprietors of war perhaps ever. Faakh'elshint spears were stronger than regular spears. Their horses ran faster, and their chariots were stronger. As the military industrial complex spun to life, the cancroids prepared to strike.

The War of the Kolar was a long and bloody affair, and along with careful prying from nearby nations, slowly began to crack Hamangia-Adamott. As the cancroids and other Reeasic groups refused to back down, and with the support of Faakh'el, Hamangia-Adamott finally broke apart 6 years later, in 908. Adamott would be annexed by Faakh'el, and Hamangia would pass the torch to its neighbor Yssalru.

Society

Before the war, cancroids had little society to speak of, but all that changed. Cancroid society is mainly clustered along the few oasis towns that cropped up along the trade routes. Cancroids are largely separate from global geopolitics, trying to resist the influence of all of its neighbors and world powers, and stays allied with the nearby nations like Hohenwald and Caldrova.

Most cancroids, even in big cities, are largely dependent on the farming of cactus and quail, and mostly gain other materials via trading with neighbors like the Vermillion States and Num. The Driftstone Federation, home of the Cancroids, still retains close ties with Faakh'el, those these are beginning to weaken as the empire becomes more despotic. The future of Driftstone is largly uncertain as the Askrian union grows in power, but it still retains its complete sovereignty as of yet.

Cancroid Names

Stonesea, the language of the Driftstone federation, is the cookie-cutter version of a typical Reeasic languages, and like all Reeasic languages, is bound down by the limits of their species- more particularly, Stonesea, contains no phonemes articulated with the tip of the longue. R and L are both guttural sounds, pronounced like a french or german R, and a more L-like version of a W with unrounded lips.

Cancroid names contain three parts, one short name, a longer and gender-non-specific second name, and a much longer third name.

First Male: Äghïx, Aghmuch, Apükh, Chäkh, Exhïhh, Hhäxh, Ighokh, Mwrix, Owrep, Ükakh, Uqhik, Uxekh, Whnähh, Xhakh

First Female: Äghïjh, Aghmugh, Apür, Chär, Exhïh, Hhärw, Ighor, Mwrijh, Owreb, Ükar, Uqhig, Uxer, Whnäh, Xhar

Second: Emwrinech, Ëqogach, Ewrlïqhuch, Hhingukh, Ïbäwhlëx, Ighwrohmaxh, Jhüräq, Käbaq, Mäjhir, Nëbhheq, Nläjjwhüh, Owhëwrup, Ükbhenähh, Uwhnïxhär

Third Male: Ahhwhuqhïhhwhuch, Ëmokwrumowhx, Gihigibhg, Ikhüxokhülhh, Ilughalungh, Ïnuxanuqh, Jjabhwhijjawhch, Jjeghüjjer, Kngïjhwhokngïp, Nïkbhanïngk, Ülukhwhëlugg, Uqhuggwheqhumb, Üxakëxalh, Xhbhumwhaxhbhuq

Third Female: Akïxakïngb, Angongïngoxh, Bhegäbhep, Bhïggäbhïngjj, Enüggonük, Ewrïrwmäwrïmx, Gngüngägngügh Häggehär, Ïxüwhmexüg, Lijhlälirw, Mäjjomälx, Ugïghügïnkh, Xhichuxhiqh, Xlewhbhexlep

Cancroid Traits

A humanoid with crabs claws and a crabs head.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2 and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age. Cancroids have an longer-than average lifespan, but reach maturity at around the average time of 40 years old. They can reach up to 500 years old, and sometimes even longer, although anything past 500 is rare.
Alignment. Cancroids generally tend towards neutral or lawful alignments, preferring to go with the flow rather than forging a new path. As creatures who do, in fact, live in a society, good and lawful alignments are being more and more common.
Size. Cancroids are much smaller than humans, rarely reaching above 5 feet. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Shell Armor. When you aren’t wearing armor, your base AC is 13 + 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.
Desert Dweller. You have evolved to live well in desert condition. You have advantage on saving throws against the effects of extreme heat and need half the normal amount of water to avoid exhaustion.
Polarized Eyes. You have advantage on saving throws and ability checks against illusions. Additionally, you can tell whether light is generated by the sun, a light source, or a magic source just by looking at it.
Claws. You have a tough crab's claws that you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with them, the strike deals 1d4 + your Strength modifier bludgeoning damage, instead of the damage normal for an unarmed strike. You can also grapple up to two creatures at once if they are both at least 1 size smaller than you.
Sand Dancer. You have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against affects that deal fire damage.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Stonesea.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 6''	+1d8	90 lb.	× (2d6) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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