Knocker (5e Race)
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Knocker[edit]
It was the end of my shift in the mines, and I was beginning to make my way back to the surface. I was pretty deep underground at the time, and my lantern was about to run out of oil, so I was moving rather quickly. This was quite difficult though - the ground was soggy, the air was humid, not to mention I was exhausted, so at first, I thought I was hallucinating. Hallucinating those knocking sounds coming from the end of the tunnel. They echoed around me, reflecting off the jagged stone walls. Surely it was just my footsteps, I told myself. They got louder. Repeating over and over, seemingly getting ever closer. I started to run. The knocks became more frequent, surrounding me as I sprinted into the void. Suddenly, the knocking stopped. Silence permeated the cavern, aside from the dripping of water from the damp ceiling. The silence was broken by the unmistakably terrifying sound of the tunnel collapsing. Immediately, I sped up, tripping over rails and bits of debris scattered around the cave - but in my flurry of desperation, my hand slipped, and my lantern shattered on the ground. Darkness engulfed the tunnel, but I knew it well enough to assure my escape. I would turn a corner and then be at the main shaft. The falling rocks behind me were getting closer and closer, accelerating towards me, trying to swallow me whole. I was nearly at the corner, and my footsteps were becoming furiously loud, but that didn't mute the sound of something else - no - lots of somethings, following me. Chills ran down my spine as I bolted around the corner, as the tunnel fully collapsed. I stared, panting, at the pile of rocks behind me. In the split second before I escaped... I was certain I saw something. Two black eyes, staring back at me from the darkness.
Physical Description[edit]
Knockers are small in stature, grey/white skinned, and tend to come in two varieties: Wild and Common. Wild Knockers are much more animalistic than Common Knockers, walking around on all fours and baring a maw of sharp, mouldy teeth. Their eyes are pitch black, and their hair is wiry and patchy from obsessive hair-pulling. They tend to wear the bloodied miner's uniforms of their victims, and have scarred arms, from various fights with other Wild Knockers and from the sharp rocks in the cave walls. Common Knockers are far more civilized, and tend to wear imported Elvish, Gnomish, and Dwarvish clothing, favoring blue, green, and purple hues. Their hair comes in a variety of dark colours, and their eyes can either be fire-red, sapphire-blue, or vibrant magenta. Common Knockers have pencil-thin limbs, and Wild Knockers tend to be extremely muscular.
History[edit]
Real-World History[edit]
Knockers originate from Cornish folklore, and are said to be small goblin-like creatures that dwell deep underground in mineshafts. They get their namesake from the tales of them knocking on tunnel walls to warn miners of cave-ins and other dangers, as well as to lead them to rich veins of ore. Knockers are also known to play tricks on miners they dislike, and will use the knocking to lead them to their deaths, or cause cave-ins. To avoid this fate, miners would leave the crusts of their pasties (Popular Cornish pastry with meat, swede, potatoes, and onions) to the knockers as an offering, to appease them.
D&D Race History[edit]
Knockers have been around for thousands of years, and are known for their extreme intelligence and uncanny abilities to predict cave-ins and navigate perfectly in underground environments. They were once a very peaceful race, and would communicate freely with other races, and trade goods for ore and stone they gathered in their homes. However, once humans began to create their mineshafts, the Knockers became increasingly angry, as not only were they losing their monopoly on ores, but the mines were also breaching their territories and causing cave-ins over their villages. In retaliation, they started to trick humans into taking the wrong paths or lead them to ore deposits away from their villages. Over time this developed into an evolutionary divide for the species. Wild Knockers became increasingly angry at Humans, and started to actively kill them, while Common Knockers simply accepted the mineshafts and moved deeper underground, choosing to devote themselves to the study of geology and underground agriculture.
Society[edit]
Wild Knockers tend not to have any form of society, however, they sometimes hunt in groups of up to 5 Wild Knockers. Groups of up to 100 Wild Knockers have been formed in the past, to kill stronger/priority targets. Aside from this, Wild Knockers may fight over food and are willing to kill each other, and even resort to cannibalism in dire situations. Common Knocker society is vastly different, they live in small villages deep underground in caves, with populations of around 50-60 Common Knockers living in each. Most Knocker villages operate either on a Monarchy or a Democracy, and they spend most of their time working on improving the quality of life for villagers. They still communicate with Dwarves, Elves, and Gnomes, and tend to trade exclusively with these races.
Affiliations[edit]
Wild Knockers hate Humans, and will try to kill them on sight Common Knockers have a resentment for Humans, but will not act on it unless provoked Common Knockers are very friendly with Gnomes, Dwarves and Elves. Wild Knockers will be very quick to judge all other races.
Knocker Traits[edit]
Small, Intelligent and Nimble, the cave-dwelling Knockers are known for their trickery and understanding of underground environments
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2 and your Dexterity score increases by 1. If you are a Wild Knocker, your Strength increases by 2, instead of your Intelligence. For both types of Knocker, your Constitution decreases by 1.
Age. Knockers mature at age 30, and can live up to 500 years.
Alignment. Most Common Knockers tend to be Good or Neutral and can be either Chaotic, Neutral, or Lawful, and all Wild Knockers are Chaotic and Neutral or Evil.
Size. Knockers tend to be around 2-4ft tall. Your size is small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 35ft.
Darkvision. darkvision 60ft.
Underground Affinity. You have advantage on all checks relating to Navigation when underground
Knocker Premonition. You gain the ability to sense cave-ins or things that will cause cave-ins 10 seconds before they occur. You are also able to analyse the stability of underground environments.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.
Wild Knocker[edit]
Bite. You can make an unarmed attack using your teeth, dealing 1d6 damage. On a critical hit, this inflicts poison on the target.
Rabid Rage. Once per long rest, you can attempt to eat a target of an opposite alignment to yours. To do this, make a bite attack against a target that is Small or Tiny. You must be grappling this target. If the attack hits, the target is swallowed, and the grapple ends. The swallowed target is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside your body, and it takes 2d4 acid damage at the start of each of the your turns. You can only swallow one target at a time. If you die, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained and can escape from your corpse with 5ft of movement.
Common Knocker[edit]
Linguist. You are able to learn a new language by practicing once per day for 2 weeks. Additionally, on top of your base languages, you can speak either Gnomish, Dwarvish, or Elvish
Blink. Once per long rest, you can turn invisible for 6 seconds (One round in combat)
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