Etterman (5e Race)

Etterman

"I dispense justice with my shroud of webbing... Justice is my web, and you, villain... YOU ARE MY PREY! I... AM HELLSPIDER!"
-Hellspider, Waterdeep vigilante.

Physical Description

Ettermen are horrendous looking humanoids that sprout hair like a tarantula might. They have two long arms, which end in pincer-like hands with no fingers, and two feet, which are angled like that of a beast, with two clawed toes. Their head is bald-looking but covered with fine hairs. Ettermen faces are the scariest thing to other races, resembling that of a spider's, complete with mandibles and multiple eyes.

Ettermen often have a concentration of hair on their pelvises and calves. Everywhere else, their skin is visible. Skintones for ettermen range from moldy yellows to aged beige colors, like that which old people have with blotches and speckles of liver stains. Ettermen eyes can have irises of brown hues or be completely black and shiny.

A Wild Etterman on the prowl.

History

Ettermen are abominable creations made by a mad wizard named Stanlii, who wanted his books to become reality. He used dark magic to fuse the newly-murdered body of a young woman, who was barely in her twenties, with that of a monster. Her bloodied body rose into the air as she came back to life, screaming. Fusing with the ettercap monster, she gained new powers and abilities, but at the cost of her memories... and her mind. The pain caused her to go insane, and her previous death wiped her mind to a clean slate. She was then known as Ragno, murdering Stanlii as she ran off into the night.

Stanlii's son took over his work, creating more ettermen through an improved version of his father's method, altering the experiment to greatly reduce the pain. These ettermen were more curious and self-thinking, unlike Ragno. These four ettermen were known as Voras, Brimba, Spindel, and Pauk, who are the 'civil' ettermen. They each went out, living with masks over their faces, permanently pronouncing their "s" and "l's" longer. Since Ragno's escape, people knew this as the sign of ettermen. At first, they were ostracized for their association to Ragno, but their civility and mannerisms eventually convinced people they were very different.

These four spread and multiplied as Ragno, the wild ettermen, multiplied with others. Where the four joined with human and elf culture, Ragno joined with Orcs and other strong and wild races, creating two split races of ettermen.

Society

Ettermen are divided into two groups with wide differences. Wild etterman have no cohesive society. They usually just go around the wilds either alone or in packs, finding tribes of orcs or gnolls. Upon finding these tribes, they challenge the leader and usually don't leave until they have defeated their opponent. After doing that, they have asserted their dominance and go to claim all the tribes' resources, particularly the prized breeders. The ettermen go and sow their seed to ensure their future generations and then move on.

Civil ettermen prefer society and usually like to be an active member of their communities while maintaining their anonymity. Often, they are in connection with the higher ups in the society, who are aware of their identities and keep them safe in exchange for favors and such. Civil ettermen are often found doing works of scholarly nature but some are more justice-oriented and become vigilantes.

Etterman Names

Civil ettermen have the names of Humans and Elves in daily society, but also an "alternate identity" name like a superhero. Wild ettermen have the names of Orcs, or names like "Many-Blades" or "Claw-Strike." Ettermen names are unisex.

Wild: Claw-Blades, Sky-Death, Spider-Clash, Battle-Slash, Fire-Slice

Civil: John, Onas, Bellutrufin, Elauther

Civil Alternate Names: Etterkidd, Webshroud, Hellspider

Etterman Traits

Ettermen are the ettercap-fused human creations of a mad wizard, using their webs and wall-climbing to uphold justice and good, or to savagely demolish their enemies.
Ability Score Increase. Your ability scores depend on your subrace.
Age. Ettermen age at a rate somewhere between humans, elves, and spiders; maturing at the age of 10 and living up to 400 years before shriveling up like a raisin.
Alignment. Civil ettermen are against the evil nature that their wild counterparts embrace, leaning toward good very fondly. In the aspect of law, they have no preference either way, but usually aren't neutral.
Size. Ettermen are raised in posture and are on average 6" to 7"2. Gender does not affect height, as it depends on where they live. The farther south an etterman hails from, the taller he/she is. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You have the same speed up walls or even on the ceiling.
Spiderclimb. Taking from its ettercap ancestors, an etterman can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
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.
Frightful Visage. People are scared of you and slow to trust you. You have advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks, but disadvantage on Charisma(Persuasion) and Charisma (Deception) checks as long as the person(s) see your face.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish, and one other language of your choice.
Subrace. Choose one subrace from either the savage Wild ettermen or the kind Civil ettermen.

Wild Etterman

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Spider Hide. While unarmored your Armor Class is equal to 12 + your Dexterity modifier.
Savage Strength. Becoming a brawny monster, you are proficient in Athletics.

Civil Etterman

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Wisdom by 1.
Web. You can shoot a mass of thick, sticky webbing at a point of your choice within 30 feet with an action. The webs fill up to a 20-foot cube from that point. The webs are difficult terrain and lightly obscure their area. If the webs aren't anchored between two solid masses (such as walls or trees) or layered across a floor, wall, or ceiling, the web collapses on itself, and its effects end at the start of your next turn. Webs layered over a flat surface have a depth of 5 feet. Each creature that starts its turn in the webs or that enters them during its turn must make a Dexterity saving throw of DC 8 + your Dexterity modifier. On a failed save, the creature is restrained as long as it remains in the webs or until it breaks free. A creature Restrained by the webs can use its actions to make a Strength check against a DC equal to the Dexterity save. If it succeeds, it is no longer Restrained. The webs are flammable. Any 5-foot cube of webs exposed to fire burns away in 1 round, dealing 2d4 fire damage to any creature that starts its turn in the fire. You must complete a long rest after using this feature before using it again.
Spider Sense. You are proficient in the Perception skill.

Suggested Characteristics

When creating a Etterman 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. Obviously, your traits usually line up with being Wild or Civil.

d6	Personality Trait
1	I'm unnaturally hungry when I see insects.
2	When I see something I'm interested in, my pupils suddenly become as large as my eyes.
3	I like to be on walls whenever I can be.
4	I'm slow to trust people, but when someone is my friend, they are my friend.
5	My actions, although being (good/bad), is seen as (good/bad) by others.
6	I take action in my community by any means necessary.

d6	Bond
1	I love spiders and have a pet tarantula. (Good)
2	I don't care about the law as long as my goals are achieved. (Chaotic)
3	I feel a primal need to be stronger than all my allies. (Any)
4	I am angered at the people who hate me and can't help myself but hurt them like they hurt me. (Evil)
5	I uphold law, using my spider-like abilities to dispense justice. (Lawful)
6	Good and light should be upheld at any cost, even if people hate me for not understanding me. (Good)

d6	Flaw
1	I have a strange tendency to web myself to the ceiling to sleep.
2	When people hurt me with their words, I like to hurt them back.
3	I can't help myself but to try to stop any unlawful or evil act I see.
4	I want to help, but not at the cost of lives. I won't kill unless it's completely necessary.
5	My primal need to be stronger than others takes over when I see others surpassing me, even my allies.
6	I won't pass down a fight, especially if someone calls me something like "Spider man" or "beast."

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
6′ 0''	+2d6+2	95 lb.	× (2d10) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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