Grendle (5e Race)

Grendle

Grendles are the rare crossbreeding of a mixture of trolls and humans or dwarves. They are sometimes called trulkund, trollkin. or blackbloods. They are most common in colder, northern lands. Since trolls will usually kill any grendle born within their camp, any living grendles are born among their human or dwarven kin.

Big And Bad

By J. R. Skelton

Grendles are always muscular, and have either dark green or dark black hair. This hair sometimes grows over their entire bodies. Other times their sinewy skin shows. They have either piercing yellow, black or red eyes. The grendle's skin has a dark shade of green or grey to it, usually helping them blend with the depths of lakes or with the shadow of night. They have powerful limbs and jaws to crush the bones of prey.

Bred To Work

Most grendles grow up in small communities, where they are at best grudgingly accepted. In some cases this is due to their legendary ability at metalworking, and in other because they have a powerful patron for a parent. It's not usual for a human or dwarven wizard to mate with a troll intentionally, producing a grendle child to serve as a powerful guard and skilled worker. This also ensures the wizard's bloodline remains strong. Such parents are often more demanding than loving, and do little to increase a grendle's sense of acceptance.

Society and Personality

In grendle families, it is a matriarchal relationship. The mother is largely in charge of hunting and feeding the family. Their bonds are not to be taken lightly, as mother grendle was once known to have slaughtered an entire hall of warriors overnight to avenge her her son's injured arm. When they mature, grendle pups venture out to the world. Grendles who take up a life of adventure are driven by the desire to find some secret knowledge, often relating to metalworking. Many become wizards not to master spells, but to delve into the lore of creating magic items. Of course, their natural strength and stature makes grendles excellent fighters, and many end up following this violent path out of necessity. Grendles do not easily tolerate bards and rogues, for they do not appreciate their lighter, easy-going attitude towards matters that members of those classes tend to exhibit. They respect spellcasters of any kind, often attaching themselves to one as a friend, bodyguard, or both. Being mighty combatants themselves, they are impressed only with those barbarians, fighters, rangers, and paladins who exceed their own skill level. Though not as strong or tough as their pure troll parents, they are very powerful and hardy. Grendles have a hard time with change and grasping new concepts, however they do not suffer from the trolls lack of common sense and wit.

Grendle Names

Grendles take from the names of giants, despite being their lesser. They admire the strength of those towering beings, which are similar to their troll parent. Other times, they may be forced to take names from the societies which they were raised in order to conform.

Male: Trelam, Ruroch, Trixdor, Wrutbos

Female: Teto, Aagda, Dlugan, Fruba

Grendle Traits

Humanoid creatures with troll ancestry
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.
Age. Grendles live for a good 200 years before they feel age getting to them and they get sluggish. The oldest grendle known was 500 years old.
Alignment. Grendles are almost always lawful, though they are evenly divided among good, evil, and neutral. The rare chaotic grendle are more than a bit insane, frequently speaking only in rhymes, calling people by random names, hallucinating, and getting involved in intricate plots with no real hope of success.
Size. Grendle usually range from 5 to 6 feet. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your speed depends on your subrace.
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.
Magic Resistance. Grendle are well guarded from magic, making them special from other brutes. You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Keen Smell. Trolls have a good sense of smell, which you inherited. You are proficient in the Perception skill and have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common. You gain additional languages based on your subrace.
Subrace. Choose either the blackblood or trulkund subrace.

Blackblood

These grendles have slightly darker skin that is shiny and taut with muscle under a moon. Their blood is, as expected, black.

Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by 1.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Tool Worker. As a being of civilization, you are able to utilize objects in ingenious ways to achieve your ends. You are proficient in one tool of your choice.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write one extra language of your choice.

Trulkund

Grendles from dwarven and troll ancestry are shorter and a bit more hirsute than their human counterpart.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Metalworking. Grendles have a natural aptitude for metalworking. You have advantage on any Intelligence (Investigation) checks dealing with metal or metal working, such as appraisal or crafting.
Languages. You know the Dwarven language in addition to your other known languages.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 6''	+2d12	200 lb.	× (1d2) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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