Coleoptera (5e Race)

Coleoptera

A hulking Rhinoleoptera can best his opponent and get his horn under the groin of an unsuspecting Ogre, launching it over his large exoskeleton plates into a nearby brick wall.

An incredibly deft Tigerleoptera is able to catch up to the last goblin in the group as they run deeper down into a valley to warn the rest of the tribe before having a quick and powerful kick into the back of its head, knocking it out cold.

A long and old Geoleoptera is apparently stricken down by the assassin hired to kill him, before rising up again only a few moments later to deliver a cut across the back of his assassin.

An utterly silly Ladyleoptera keeps a crowd laughing all night at the local bar, getting tips in abundance, though it's more likely the work of her pheromones then her "Jokes".

A dapper Fireleoptera escapes an enemy armory after being found out and quickly turns, sending a fire bolt into a pile of explosives as the many orcs around it burn and scream either in pain or general frustration.

All this tales come from one single race of evolved insects: the coleopteras. A race that englobes many variants in color, physionomy and goals within their members. A race that has grown to accept the differences for the common goals of their existance.

Physical Description

A Dung beetle Knight, Copyright © 2016 Adam Poots Games, https://shop.kingdomdeath.com/products/dung-beetle-knight

The many subraces of Coleoptera look very unique from one another. As each one tends to have stronger points in some areas than other lack, they usually form a group to compensate each other, so the tasks are done perfectly. When making a Coleoptera make sure to make a few things your selves along with these guidelines for the subraces. A few custom ideas could be as a ladyleoptera, your dots are instead replaced with a singular large skull, or maybe as a Geoleoptera your wings are seemingly gilded to look like gold or silver in the light.

Rhino Coleoptera (Rhinoleoptera): Evolved Japanese rhinoceros beetle. This subrace tend to be the bigger and stronger members of the whole race espectrum. Their main characteristic is that they have a large horn atop their head about 1 foot long with 2 small prongs about 5 inches long, both pointing away from each other, which they can use perfectly in combat situations. Their exoskeleton is often a metallic blue or deep purple, although other dark colors are seen with frequence. Their exoskeleton plates are larger than any other of their race and under them it is often easy to see strong muscles pulling the plates close and away, though their exoskeleton made of strands of powerfully bound chitin, scars and scratches often cover their plates as they are usually the workers and warriors of Coleoptera tribes. Their wings are often a milky white, strong, and as hard to break as their exoskeleton. High ranking Rhino Coleoptera may have furs, claws or such objects around their body or in the spaces between their plates.

Tiger Coleoptera (Tigerleoptera): Evolved Tiger Beatles, they have strong legs that can help them run faster than most animals. Tiger Coleoptera has some of the thinnest plates but their speed and their bites help them in their usual labors as scouts and hunters of the tribe. With their generally thin plates comes even thinner wings, almost as easy to snap as a stick this also makes them slightly less useful compared to other Coleoptera wings. Tigerleopteras come with stripes and an exoskeleton that is mostly a sandy yellow or dirt brown, which is the reason of their name. Even so, Green, Red, Blue of metalic tones are not out of their color palette. Tigerleopteras antennas are also shorter than most other in their race. Higher ranking Tiger Coleoptera may have metal rings implanted between plates, shiny necklaces or other flashy items or addendas they might come up with.

Fire Coleoptera (Fireleoptera): The evolution of the fire beatles, Fire Coleoptera are some of the most intelligents members of the tribe. They will go great lengths to show their high status of understanding and general know it all. Although they are mostly blind, they have a special thermosense to orientate themselves around. Most may have a special hat, a pipe, cane, or even have carved designs into their own exoskeleton. With a exoskeleton naturally designed to catch heat, it's often a darker color such as a black or dark brown, with usually red or orange pattern, although it is not uncommon that they modify said patterns. The wings of a Fire Coleoptera are also colored in the same pattern.

Earth Coleoptera(Geoleoptera): The evolution of the Geotrupidae beetle, the smaller and rounder looking Geoleoptera are also rather well-looking in terms of their Exoskeleton, unlike the common black or darker colors of most, Scarab Coleoptera have a more white exoskeleton with edging between plates that looks like shining metals, often golden or silver. Aside of their beauty, this coleopteras are also excellent designers, engineers and generals. Their abilities to lead, to improvise and to design are often admired by the rest of their group. This subrace tends also to be the one that lives the most of their race, so they are also knowledgeable characters. As they tend to lead in the administration of the community and are experts in the art of excavation and construction, they are constantly discussing with fireleopteras. For distinction in the group they tend to carry practical objects and, unlike their exoskeleton, they tend to be plain looking, like glasses and brushes.

Ladybug Coleoptera (Ladyleoptera): The beautiful evolution of the ladybugs, this easy to discern coleoptera haeve almost always a bright red exoskeleton wwith an assortments of patterns or images upon their back, everything from common dots to intricate looking petals. Ladyleoptera wings are a strange thing overall as they are a darker and more opaque brown and are folded. This does make their wings rather delicate but due to the increased size, makes them the best Coleoptera for flying, which also assists them into their usual functions as diplomats. Ladybug Coleoptera may often tie their short antenna into strange shapes mostly as a fashion statement, using bright objects or flowers. Gaining attention and manipulation are big things among Ladybug Coleoptera, so it is as common for them to dance, sing, recite and act diplomatically as it is to do things that are rude, wrong, or downright dirty, as long as they get the kind of attention they need for their ends.

History

The origin of Coleoptera as a race is often a thing shrouded in mystery, though the common idea for Coleoptera is they are either the curse of a wizard upon a man, a druid's favorite pet become sentient, or simply a creation of evolution from the natural beetles or even of an umber hulk.

Although the exact origin of them as a intelligent race is a mystery, the origin of them as biological entities is well documented from ancient pieces of exoskeletons, shields made out of exoskeleton, drawings, texts and even some mummies of coleoptera. The first recognized members of the race to appear were the rhynoleopteras, by some descriptions by the tribes of the Gendazi desert in their paintings from around seven thousand years ago, where they tended to be used as work animals and war beasts. The Ladyleopteras and the Fireleopteras were apparently known by the tribes of the northern marsh around five thousand years ago, the first ones as symbols of beauty and status, the second as siege machinery and fire control. Tigerleopteras and Geolopteras were used by the tribes of the Severin jungles, but the historic remains are scarse, the oldest being the jaw pieces of a Tigerleoptera and a Geoloptera in a command baton from two thousand years ago. It is not known if they were used for construction and hunting, but it is implied. As time passed, all of this tribes began to commerciate and to exchange coleopteras and, somehow, someway, these animals aquired quasi-humanoid intelligence and found out that they could complement each other.

The only known war waged for their independence is basicly a footnote of the war of the 9 Armies, where they allied with the army of Segretor, the crazy, to hold the city of Antersar against the attack of the army of Geron the Hand collector, where the coleoptera fought so bravely and so organized that they not only held the city, but made segretor to release them all. This marks the first known tribe of Coleopteras, the shiny ones, fixating them as a new race 1500 years ago.

Society

Although they are all different species biologically speaking; as a tribe and, per extension, a race, they only work for their society: always helping the one next to them with their own personal abilities. Their tribes tend to have hundreds if not thousands of individuals, with really small number differences between each of the subraces. This enormous numbers means that organization should be the base of their society

Their social structure, on the other hand, is very complex: They have 1 leader and 9 other members in the "covenant of the 10", a council called "the great fives", the leoptera leaders, The clanheaders and, finally, the headmasters.

The headmasters are the most prominent member of a family and are the lowest of the leaders. Each family consists on approximately 30 members, but they can be as small as 2 and as big as 700. As marriage is not a concept for them, it is not uncommon this families to be polyamorous, having members of various parents or even of various races and subraces as they are mostly constituted from trust and not only from blood. This is the only leader position that can be occupied from members of other races.

The clanheaders are the leaders of at least 5 families of the same ocupation. They are chosen by vote from the headmasters of said family and may or may not be a headmaster themselves. Their function is to report problems that may arise, solve small conflicts and some civil duties like burial rituals.

The leoptera leaders are the best of the best: The most powerful member of each subrace and they are considered the pinacle of them all. This leaders have mostly civil functions, but are also necesary as the trainers of the future generation of coleopteras and, as leaders of their whole subrace, they are also the representative voice of them all. This 5 leaders form one of the five parts of the great fives: The five wonders.

The great fives are 25 mediators, 20 of them chosen by the general vote and 5 of them being the five wonders. The other 20 members are equitatively chosen by general vote and must not have any kind of familiar relation with the groups of clanheaders they are representing. Most of them tend to be orphan and/or being raised as great fives by the whole community since they were born. Like the five wonders, each group of great fives is composed of a member of each subrace but their functions are not only civil: They are also the administrative and informative part of the tribe, a balancing voice from each subrace when a job must be made and experts at communication and organization: For making a new cave, maybe the Rhynoleoptera families might know how to perforate the hill, a Tigerleoptera might need to direct the hunt of the goblins that live around there and the Geoleoptera might be the only ones knowing how to prevent a slide, while the fireleoptera are the ones knowing the best places to get materials for the project and the Ladyleoptera being the only ones able to get the permits and consents from the surrounding races. The job of the great fives becomes then to prevent one of the groups into disrupting the operation and to direct the job. Only on massive events like a devastating earthquake or a war should the 25 lead the efforts.

The covenant of 10 are the oldest, wisest members of the tribe. It is planned to have 2 members, one male and one female, for each one of the subraces and once one of the chairs is vacant, the restant members should choose from the entire tribe the member that will occupy said chair. These leaders are mostly religious, judicial or of the emergency type of situations. One of them, the "One above", is the leader of this covenant and it is chosen by the other members based on the situation the tribe is having at the moment. This members receive all the information of the tribe and their word is final. These group is always being protectd and guarded as they are considered the guardians of the tribe.

Even with such a complex organization, each subrace acts different functions in the community, although it doesn't means that they cant exercise a function they don't traditionally have:

Rhinoleoptera: Rhino Coleoptera are most of the guards, warriors, workers, and executioners of Coleoptera tribes. Rhino Coleoptera are often respected greatly no matter their ranking but Rhino Coleoptera may gain high status through certain tasks, such as challenging and beating every Rhino Coleoptera in the tribe in combat, Collecting the horns of an opposing tribe, or saving the life of the Tribe's One Above. In a few cases though, Rhino Coleoptera have a had a fight so gruesome they've come back with a broken horn, not only is this incredibly painful and seen as a sign of weakness, but it is also an incredible sign of dishonor among the other Rhino Coleoptera in the tribe and makes them the lowest of the low.

Tigerleoptera: The ranking of a Tiger Coleoptera is completely based on their ability to gain the most meat for the tribe, those who rank the highest are covered with many furs and other luxuries such as high-quality foods and medicines from others in the tribe. Though their wings are actually rather weak compared to most others of their race their legs make up for such a thing, and the breaking of their wings are seen as little more than a minor problem, though if a tiger Coleoptera is to suffer a major injury upon their legs or their jaws they are then seen as useless and tend to be cast out from the tribe if not even from their families. They either die of starvation or have to seek another place to live.

Fireleoptera: They have a complete understanding of fire and almost all its uses. These Coleoptera are seen as the genius and cooks of the tribe as well as fire starters and smiths. Fire Coleoptera are able to send a small bolt of flame from their insect fingers from birth. Though the cooks may not seen very highly of, even the best of them, being the best smiths can grace them incredible honors. Through their excellent makings and fancy designs upon arms and armor their craftsmanship is also sold at high prices even among non-Coleoptera. As they also tend very knowledgeable, their encyclopedic knowledge on pretty much every area of knowledge amkes them an important asset.

Geoleoptera: These Coleoptera are the wisest of any Coleoptera, often the administrators, storytellers, and normal heads of the tribe, these incredibly old Coleoptera are supposedly blessed by the god Khepri not only with a long life but the ability to defy death. Geoleoptera are rather relaxed compared to other Coleoptera in the tribes, often seen resting upon a cane, laying across a small straw bed, or snoozing in a nearby chair. Earth Coleoptera also often are fine with what they have even though most are some of the highest up in the tribe and could have almost anything they wanted.

Ladyleoptera: These Coleoptera are not only dashing, funny, and simply optimistic, they are also some of the most strange-looking. Ladybug Coleoptera are often the Singers, dancers, and instrumentalists of many songs and rituals. Ladybug Coleoptera are also the welders of a special pheromone that they may use to make others feel certain emotions, though this works better on non-Coleoptera due to a lack of knowledge of what they are doing. This makes them seen as tricksters and liars by most other Coleoptera but not all take this bad reputation to heart. One who does take such a bad reputation to heart may leave the tribe and trick unsuspecting people using their pheromones.

Coleoptera Names

Coleoptera have a name as complex as their tribes: First they get a particle that represents their subrace, which is individualy chosen, then a particle that represents the family they belong, both separated by a hyphen; and then their individual name. They are named at birth, although they can change their name after reaching maturity. If they become leaders in some form, they add the particle representing their leadership position or positions before their subrace particles, from most to less powerful, with the exception of the great fives, who lose their family name and get their titles instead. They may or may not get nicknames. Both their particle and individual names might represent terrain, a job, a plant or any other natural event. It is not uncommon they simply reporpouse names from other cultures they come in contact with.

Example: You are born a Geoleoptera female. It is decided your name is Gravel-Bone Magicslayer. As you grow up you reject your name and call yourself Gravel-Glass Magicslayer. As you grow older you became at some point a headmaster and a clanleader (Even if you no longer have said positions) and you are chosen as part of the covenant of the 10, So you become Fhey-Chi-De Gravel-Glass Magicslayer. The moment you become a one above, you are named Xun-Fhey-Chi-De Gravel-Glass Magicslayer, name you lose when you stop being a one above.

Titles particles: Headmasters: He- (male) De- (Female) ; Clanheaders: Che- or Chel- (male), Chi- or Chin- (female); Leoptera leaders: Lele-, Yele- or Leye- (No gender distinguisher); Covenant of the 10: Zhy- or Fhy- (male) Zhey- or Fhey - (Female) The one above: Xen- (Male), Xun- (Female)

Subrace particle: Rhinoleoptera: Fist, Force, Horn, Push, Rough, War Tigerleoptera: Air, Chase, Hail, Kilo, Stripe, Swift Fireleoptera: Flame, Heat, Meat, Sun, Trap, Wise Geoleoptera: Build, Dig, Grave, Hill, House, Stone Ladyleoptera: Chant, Fun, Grin, Love, Music, Red, Spot.

General names: Rhinoleoptera: Fight, Hell, Murder, Rival, Weapon Tigerleoptera: Eye, Free, Goblin, Spirit, Thunder Fireleoptera: Book, Burn, Forge, Gold, Shine. Geoleoptera: Bone, Dust, Home, Iron, Order Ladyleoptera: Barrel, Dance, Soft, Sweet, Whisper.

Family names: Absentminded, Fireslayer, Handmovers, Hardback, Jollyfun, Maltsun, Newday, Questlooker, Trustdestroyer, Wingedsoul

Coleoptera Traits

A race of multiple tribal beatles with a social structure.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1
Age. Coleoptera are considered adults when they reach the age of 12 and live around 80 years old.
Alignment. Most Coleoptera are more towards True Neutral or Lawful Neutral alignements.
Size. Almost all Coleoptera are between 5 to 6 foot tall. Although geoleopteras tend to weight a little over 180 pounds, Rhinoleopteras can weight around 350 pounds. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvison. Due to Coleoptera living almost everywhere, from the caves of the Underdark to the thick forests of the surface, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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.
Languages. You can speak, read and write Common and Coleopteran. Coleopteran is made up of loud clicks, chirps and hisses made by slamming exoskeleton plates into each other. It can be written with the primordial script.
Subrace. Choose one between Rhino, Tiger, Fire, Geo and ladybug Coleoptera

Rhino Coleoptera

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2
Beetle Flip. Instead of an unarmed attack, you can use your horn as a martial weapon in which you are proficient. In a succesful attack, you deal 1d4 bludgeon damage. As a bonus action, if you succesfully attacked with your horn, you can force the creature you attacked to do a Strength saving throw with AC equals to 8 plus strength modifier plus your proficiency bonus, In a fail, you can throw the creture up to 10 feet in any direction away from you, forcing it into falling prone and dealing aditional 1d4 bludgeon damage. In a success, the creature is not thrown nor is it considered prone.
Thick Plates. Your Strong Exoskeleton defends you better than most others in your race. Your base Armor Class is 11 + Dex Mod when unarmored. Your shield increases in Ac apply as normal. If using an armor would leave you with a smaller AC, you can choose which one to use.
Hard Wings. You can deploy your wings as an action. While deployed, you can't use Beatle flip. You gain a flying speed of 15 feet for up to one minute. You can use this trait times equal to half your constitution modifier (Rounded down. Minimum one) and regain the uses of it after a full meal and a long rest.

Tiger Coleoptera

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2
Swift Legs. Your walking speed increases to 40 feet
Hunter's Mind. You have proficiency in the survival skill.
Tiger's Byte. Instead of using an unarmed strike you may use Tiger's Byte. Your jaw is considered a simple finesse weapon in which you have proficiency, dealing 1d4 piercing damage in a successful attack.

Fire Coleoptera

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2
Pyromaniac. You are resistant to fire damage.
Fire Starter. You can cast the cantrip produce flame without requiring somatic or material components. Your Ability score for this trait is Intelligence.
Masterworker. You can choose up to one of the next tools to be proficient with: Smith's Tools, Cook's Utensils, Jeweler's Tools, or Glassblower's Tools.

Earth Coleoptera

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2
Blessing of Rebirth. When your hit points get reduced to 0, but you don't outright die, you may immediately roll a death save. In a success, you gain 1 HP and are stabilized. In a fail, you dont get a fail save but can't use this method to stabilize yourself until you finish a long rest. You can use this trait up to times equal to half your wisdom modifier rounded down (minimum 1) per day. You regain the uses of this trait at the end of a long rest.
Ancient Being. You are proficient in History and Arcana

Ladybug Coleoptera

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2
Pheromones. You can release pheromores into the air to manipulate humanoids emotions. You can use an action to make creatures within 10 feet of you to make a Charisma saving throw with a DC of 8 plus your charisma modifier plus your proficiency bonus. If a creature can't be charmed, it immediately succeeds. In a fail, the creature is charmed and you have advantage on any charisma related throw for one hour, at the end of which the creature knows that it was charmed, but doesn't know the origin of it. You can use this trait up to times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1).
Folded Wings. You can use one action to deploy your wings. You gain a flying speed of 15 feet for up to one minute. You can use this trait times a day equal to half your constitution modifier (Rounded down. Minimum one). You regain the uses of it after a full meal and a long rest.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 0''	+3d4	180 lb.	× (1d12) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

How to say it

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