Gnokkin (5e Race)

Gnokkin

“

Aye, that smarts! ... Just kidding!

”

Physical Description

By Yanied

Gnokkin are funny looking humanoids. They typically appear to have strange proportions. For example, they are known to have pretty large heads, as well as hands and feet. Their nails are known to be like stone. Their blue eyes are quite large in comparison to their other facial features, save their mouth, which is lined with serrated teeth like that of a zipper. These eyes are unique and appear to be glassy. Gnokkin skin is covered in hard and pebbly bumps, colored grey, brown, or other tones of earth and stone. Most notable on their body is a cluster of ridges that grow atop their head. It forms a sort of natural hard helmet for the gnokkin. Gnokkin spend their entire lives growing this helmet, and it hardens as they age. They use this to measure strength, often using them as bashing weapons in their rituals and rites of maturity. Gnokkin are around as tall as dwarves. They have longer arms that can reach down to their knees, so they can look a bit funny when they walk.

Coming from rural to uncivilized areas, gnokkin rarely ever put any mind into dress or an appearance over that of decency. The males usually wear loincloths made from woven flax or mountainous grasses. Females wear woven dresses of these same dresses. This material often makes them appear primitive. Jewelry for gnokkin is usually unusual biological remains, like bones. Pretty stones do not hold the same value for them, and they commonly treat things like rubies and sapphires as undesirable. Metal, on the other hand, is something they find abhorrent. If they wear any armor or article of clothing, gnokkin will typically refuse to wear metal, preferring stone or wood instead.

History

The gnokkin claim heritage from a story originating from firbolgs. The child of the giant goddess Hiatea, Grond Peaksmasher, carved giant-kin out of stone which shattered from a long forgotten mountain. Even after he constructed his creations, there were still leftover shards of mountain. Not wanting it to go to waste, Grond fashioned these into new creatures as well. However, these leftovers were smaller and more stunted in shape, so he had less to work with. His creations, as a result, also came out looking similar. These became races like the dwarves and gnokkin. The gnokkin use this to explain their rocky bodies and sturdy constitution. But, because they are only byproducts of giantkin, they are seen as lesser, as if they weren't already due to their shorter stature. Gnokkin thereby fled areas occupied by giants, lest they be forced into servitude, and settled elsewhere in the world, usually along rocky terrain with great crags and crevasses.

Society

Societies of gnokkin are similar to that of rock gnomes. They live within stony terrain, usually by mountainsides, cliffs, and crags. Mountain dwelling gnokkin have diminished due to the prevalence of giants and orcs in that sort of environment. In general, gnokkin are fond of sturdy ground. They therefore avoid places like swamps, which have soft and unsafe footing. Within their clan-like communities, gnokkin are known to organize into a loose hierarchy of order. They are led by a chief who boasts the hardest head. This is determined by a series of biennial contests where gnokkin use their heads to smash that of opponents, as well as complete a variety of tasks. The event is known as Gowhackanoggin. The top scorer is declared chief. Second, third, and fourth places are enlisted as the chief's counsel. This group of four sits at the top of the hierarchy. Below them are the warrior caste. Everyone else consists of the general public, the lowest caste. A majority of the work of upkeep falls onto the general public, with the warriors primarily on sentry and security detail, as ordered by the chief and counsel. While these castes exist, there is no extreme difference of treatment that makes for discontent.

Values

In general, gnokkin are simplistic folk. They dislike great shows of grandeur and believe in the pure face of a situation. As such, they despise underhanded notions like cheating and lying. While they can seem like dullards, gnokkin are used to being taken as patsies due to their baldfaced nature. As such, gnokkin have been raised to be very wary of other creatures. Like dwarves, they see fey creatures like elves being highfalutin and flighty, with words that cannot be taken at face value all the time. While they are simple people, gnokkin parties are still large and communal, featuring lots of food and merriment. When a gnokkin is born or celebrating something like a birthday, it can be an affair involving their entire community.

Gnokkin Names

Most gnokkin take humble names of rustic simplicity. They typically have a monosyllabic surname, distinguishing their clan. Those of the warrior caste have an extra "Er" in the middle of their name.

Male: Age Rudd, Tirr Ord, Ark Pon, Irt Yag

Female: Ash Erg, Ig Bee, Dur Rudd, Hak Pon

Gnokkin Traits

A rock-headed race of people
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.
Age. Gnokkin mature slowly, reaching maturity at 20. They can live to be as old as 500.
Alignment. Their steady nature and baldfaced honesty make most gnokkin neutral, if not a bit chaotic, and good.
Size. Gnokkin are around the height of dwarves, and rather heavy for it. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Wary Guard. You are proficient in the Insight skill.
Stone Step. You are unaffected by difficult terrain caused by broken or uneven stone and earth.
Pebble Skin. Your rocky skin is like a natural armor. While unarmored, your AC is equal to 12 + your Constitution modifier. You may use a shield and still gain this benefit.
Headbutt. Your naturally helmed head is a natural melee weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to ld6 + your Strength modifier.
Head Rush. Immediately after you use the Dash action on your turn and move at least 20 feet, you can make one melee attack with your headbutt as a bonus action.
Stone Resilience. You have advantage in saving throws against poison damage.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and either Dwarvish or Giant.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 0''	+2d8	160 lb.	× (1d8) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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