Homsela (5e Race)

Homsela

“	They are savages, and the worst kind at that. The kind that think they're more noble than you are.	”
—Khima, triton emissary

Blades Of The Sea

By Yanied

Homsela, also known as shark men, are fearsome humanoids with lean, mean bodies built to hunt. Their form is fairly standard like a humanoid, covered with tough skin. Like sharkskin, when touched in one direction, it feels smooth and slippery. Once touched in the opposing direction, it is rough like sandpaper due to the micro-scaling on the surface. Fins of sharp and hardened cartilage stick out from their legs and arms, which give them a bladed appearance. These fins are the primary weapon of homsela, unlike other sharkfolk that would usually use jaw attacks. The head of a homsela has an irregular shape, appearing a little jagged, yet still sculpted for streamlining through water. They have strong olfactory organs and a strong jaw with ever-growing teeth. They have gills on the sides of their necks. Unlike many fishfolk, homsela do not have tails. As such, many people have mistaken them for deformed tritons.

Stuck In The Middle

The homsela are from the Elemental Plane of Water. They are not warriors of good, like the triton, nor are they evil creatures, like sahuagin. Homsela occupied unclaimed waters and tended to partake in battles between forces of good and evil in the waters, while not truly aligned with any of them. To homsela, it was the bloodshed and battle that they sought. Thus, when the battles spilled over into the Prime Material, the homsela followed like sharks to the scent of blood. They have largely settled in the warmer waters of the planet, but also travel around the world due to a slight wanderlust or just a thirst for action.

Solitary Hunters

In general, homsela tend to be fairly hermetic and solitary creatures. They establish tracts of territory as their own, for their own family units. These units often only have a female and her brood, as male homsela are allowed to traverse over territorial lines to mate freely with other females. This very loose idea of a society is highly anarchic. Homsela steer clear of conflict with their own, giving each other plenty of space and not showing too much concern for one another. Similarly, homsela are expected to mature quickly from youth, as their parents are not really usually looking out for them. A homsela brood usually bears about two to five pups at a time, with mating being every five years or so for matured adults. When a homsela is adolescent, they are already allowed to set off from their home to find their own place. They tend to reside within watery grottoes and underwater caves, leaving to go hunt in a wide range in surrounding waters. Hunting grounds and domestic territories are not physically drawn, but often mutually conveyed upon in a nonverbal manner. If homsela females encroach on each other's territory, the stronger looking one usually has right of way, and the weaker one slinks away.

With regards to other races, homsela are not so hands-off. They will participate in battles they happen upon just to revel in the fight. Battle is considered a primal instinct and birthright of the homsela, showing off their vicious natures and natural prowess. Homsela without battle scars are often regarded as "lesser" in the eyes of others. As such, homsela will often train within their territories, swimming at fast speeds and slashing at rock to sharpen their blades. As such, homsela territories are marked with broken corals and disturbed underwater debris.

Vicious, Yet Noble

As stated previously, homsela are not the most nurturing and caring race. They regard themselves as apex predators, and have such high expectations for those born into their brood. While homsela mothers will feed their children at the very least, they will not, for lack of a better example, comfort them if they come home with a black eye from some bullies. Homsela are expected to be able to stand on their own from a young age, which results in many of the adults having standoffish attitudes and even arrogance about their strength and battle ability. The emotional range of a homsela largely clusters between calm and rage. Calm is when they are in times out of combat, when they can focus their energies on feeding and growing stronger. Rage is a borderline joy for homsela as they revel in bloody battle and partake in savagery, throwing all thought out the window. Being combat driven and solo fighters, homsela are rarely one to consider tactics or strategy, preferring full-on brawls. As such, they are prone to being outsmarted by wilier races or overwhelmed by numbers. Shame is an emotion no homsela likes to admit, even in true defeat.

Homsela Names

The homsela language is derived from Aquan. Aquan is known for flowing syllables and being a very fluid language with hidden meanings speckled in all terminologies. As a result, homsela prefer to have as short of names as possible, lest they give ammo for embarrassing wordplay.

Male: Sallh (Maneater), Buuhn (Finkiller), Daz (Grimfin), Ruan (Jawcrusher)

Female: Shahn (Swirlfin), Atheh (Thintooth), Genah (Greysnout), Illahn (Facebiter)

Homsela Traits

Design Note: Some of the racial traits below mention blood and bleeding as part of their application. Bleeding and blood are logical outcomes to when a creature like a human takes damage, like getting a cut. This would not apply to creatures like clay golems, which do not have blood. Undead may not all have blood, but some do. Warforged also have the simulacrum of blood running in their bodies, which could be applicable to bleeding and blood. It is ultimately a DM's design decision as to what bleeds or has blood, but it should be a bit easier to figure out by creature design.

Selachi-humanoids who stand as middle ground between sahuagin and triton
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution or Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.
Age. The life of homsela is rife with danger often. As a result, they mature quickly physically, being considered fit to fend for themselves at ages as early as 15. They tend to live to be only about 50 or so. Those who avoid conflict are usually outcasts and are rare, but can live to be as old as 70.
Alignment. Homsela are largely neutral. They can be chaotic in their search for prey and fights, and they can be savage in battle. However, they are also self-serving and not always bloodthirsty.
Size. Most homsela are at least 6 feet tall, though there are some who are shorter. They tend to never reach 7 feet tall, and their weight ranges around 200 pounds on account of their lithely muscular bodies.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You also have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Deepsea Vision. 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. You also suffer no penalties to vision caused by underwater environments.
Bloodsense. Your nose has a great sense of smell, particularly for blood. You have advantage to ability checks to track creatures with hit points below their maximum. This does not include creatures that do not have blood or do not bleed.
Fin Blade. The fins of a homsela are evolved from hardened cartilage and can cut like a blade in lieu of typical shark teeth. These fins are natural weapons that you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with these, they deal slashing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.
Amphibious. You can breathe both air and water.
Stream Frenzy. You are able to zoom in on your prey upon sensing weakness. When you see a creature within 60 feet of you take damage, and that creature has blood or can bleed, you can use your reaction to move up to your movement speed towards that creature.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Aquan.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
6′ 0''	+1d6	200 lbs lb.	× (1d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

Suggested Characteristics

When creating a homsela 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.

The homsela are an aggressive people. They look for conflict to prove themselves and hate to take second place in anything they put their minds to. While they are not above getting dirty in a fight, they do have an unspoken sense of strength above underhanded tactics.

d8	Personality Trait
1	I will always finish what I started.
2	I don't like to take advice from others.
3	If I ever get injured, I prefer to hide it.
4	I get mad when people didn't hear me the first time.
5	I tend to sit alone, away from others, just sharpening my blades.
6	I often train in my free time.
7	I can't stand being called anything other than my name.
8	I prefer to strike first, think later.

d6	Ideal
1	There are things in this vast world waiting for me to conquer. (Neutral)
2	I just like to see blood spill, typically that of someone else. (Evil)
3	My strength is for honorable fights that truly prove the strongest. (Lawful)
4	I look for ways to dominate other than combat... Though I am not sure they truly exist. (Any)
5	I want to use my strength for those who have none of their own. (Good)
6	If I see a fight, I just want in. Nothing else is worth caring about. (Chaotic)

d6	Bond
1	I bond best through trial by fire. If you cannot fight alongside me, I do not care for you.
2	I only associate with those who have strength I can recognize, even if they are stronger than me.
3	Despite my crass upbringing, I have developed a soft spot for someone who is weaker. They are someone I should not fraternize with, and yet I cannot leave them alone.
4	I hide a secret fear that none must know, for it will reveal my weakness.
5	I was betrayed once by one I had called ally. Now, I have no allies.
6	I actually despise conflict and fear scars, making me an outcast.

d6	Flaw
1	Deep down, I know I am a coward.
2	I am brash and jump without thinking since I have, or may have, a death wish.
3	My hammerheadedness (pig-headedness) makes me a poor team player.
4	I can make a plan. I just immediately for get it.
5	I am all thumbs when it comes to even simple machinery like a lever.
6	Violence is the only solution I know to any problem.

5.00

(one vote)

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