Lynian (5e Race)

Lynian

“	The hunter, exhausted and beaten, from the battle, gazed up at the Elder Dragon as it let out a final, anguished cry, and sunk to the ground. Their world had been saved from an ethereal threat once again, and the land could live in peace, for now. It seemed like she had taken the glory of slaying this beast all for herself, but no, she could never have accomplished this on her own. The hunter looked atop the dragon admiringly, to see a small cat, clad in armor, licking the Elder’s blood from its paws. She called up to it, and threw it a sausage as a reward.	”
—Unknown

Physical Description

When standing on all fours, a lynian may be indistinguishable from a normal, domestic cat. However, these felines usually conduct themselves bipedally, and have roughly the same intelligence as a human. They are larger than their domestic cat ancestors, usually standing at roughly 3 feet tall, and weighing 25-60 pounds. Females and males are virtually indistinguishable from each other, both mentally and physically, so there is also a large number of lynians who do not choose a gender for themselves, and are perfectly fine without one. It is not considered taboo by any lynian community. The coloration of lynians encompasses the entirety of the possible appearances for domestic cats, although there can be some restrictions on appearance based on what breed you choose for your lynian character. However, it is common practice among lynians to dye their fur all sorts of colors, whether it be for status, intimidation, or just for fashion. The one portion of lynian appearance that will always be uniform throughout the entire race is the markings on their chests, which resemble a three-toed paw print.

Feyline colors encompass the whole range of markings that can be found in domestic cats, but most traditionally, they have light tan fur with brown stripes, paws, tails, muzzles, and paw print markings.

Melynx have markings that are similar to the traditional feyline appearance. However, their backs, faces, tails, and paw markings tend to be very dark colors, and their bellies, paws, and muzzles tend to be light colored. The most common color combination tends to be black and white. In addition, Melynx are usually smaller than feylines.

Grimalkynes are very tall and slender lynians. Their markings are very similar to those of a Feyline’s, but their muzzles and bellies are white instead of brown. However, the other portions of their coats can range from black, to brown, to gray. Their eyes are golden, and have large mane of white fur around their necks. Their ears are usually tall, with brown tufts at their ends.

History

Lynians are a species of feliforms- that is, they are evolved from cats. Like their ancestors, lynians pride themselves on being very loyal beings, no matter what the canines may say, and most of them are beloved and trusted by the other races. Some were known in historical paintings to have been either royal domesticated pets while others worked as huntsmen for high coin and mercenaries. Very driven by the bonds of friendship and family, providing support to the party is where a lynian may find its strong suit, no matter what.

Society

Most lynians tend to live in tribes or groups, but many choose to go on their own. Because they are known to be loyal and supportive, many people of other races seek to have them as battle partners and companions, also known as palicoes. A palico is usually paid to work in partnership with someone else. When paid and treated well, a relationship between palico and master (or “meowster”) can be very healthy and result in a strong friendship. Sadly, this is not always the case. Some meowsters can be very cruel, and will keep a palico as a servant or a slave, to take advantage of their loyal nature. You should talk with one of your party members and your DM if you wish to have a palico-meowster relationship in your campaign. Good or at least decent meowsters must pay their palico at least once a session. What entails “good pay”, “mediocre pay”, and “bad pay” must be discussed between you, your meowster, and the DM. When partnering with a good or decent meowster, palicoes can quit from their work to become a prowler or change meowsters. When being held under slave-type palico work, it will be much harder to escape the bonds of your meowster, and combat or diplomacy will likely be involved to free you. Lynians who wish to class and fight but do not want a meowster are known as prowlers. They may travel with the party, but still only work for themselves. However, prowlers are usually very loyal to their friends. Prowlers may be subject to prejudice by those who still see them just as animals and nothing more, and are at risk of being captured and forced into palico work by cruel meowsters.

Lynian Names

Most lynians prefer to pick only one name for themselves, and usually lack surnames or clan names. Or, a lynian may be named by a master, if it was bred to serve people of other races. However, most lynians do not have names until they can choose one for themself around adulthood. In addition, lynian societies place very little importance on the significance of gender, so there are many lynians out there who do not identify as male or female, and thus, choose a gender neutral name.

Male Names: Aito, Amiau, Benpaw, Calicrow, Fisher, Gormeow, Jyaratodus, Nyantau, Ofro, Ratha, Skippyjon, Zorah

Female Names: Aintaili, Chiganyan, Chopitel, Diabla, Eigato, Hazak, Huntokar, Mauthra, Quirin, Pawperri, Rathi, Xomiau

Gender Neutral Names: Agnak, Bariae, Catcanti, Deviljho, Fraupurr, Iccan, Kiki, Lanamos, Meowgre, Myante, Rukoclaw, Wyani, Ubignya

Lynian Traits

Your lynian character still retains many traits from its primal feline ancestors, with the added enrichment of higher intelligence thrown in the mix.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age. Lynians live much longer than normal cats do. However, their lives are still not as long as a human’s. Usually, they reach maturity and pick a name for themselves by 5 years old, and have an average lifespan of 55-60 years.
Alignment. The scale of alignment for lynians is very broad, and where a particular cat might lean depends on its breed/subrace. Feylines tend to populate the neutral areas of the alignment spectrum, but are usually drawn more towards good tendencies. Melynx are cunning and crafty, and indulge in the creation of chaos to use towards their advantage. They are not inherently evil, but societal mistreatment and sketchy upbringings cause many of them to populate the neutral and evil areas of the spectrum. Lastly, Grimalkynes place heavy importance in obeying the laws of nature and their societies, and rarely deviate from this directive. They are more often lawful than not. Despite these differences, each and every lynian will always tend to be extremely loyal to those they trust, regardless of alignment.
Size. Lynians are larger than domestic cats. When standing bipedally, they range from 2.5 to just a little under 4 feet tall. They have a very wide range of body types, from slender, muscular, stocky, fat, and everything else in between. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
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.
Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Bipedal Beast. Your creature type is both beast and humanoid. Spells that target beasts or humanoids work on you regardless of your second typing.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and speak Lynian. Lynian is a language particular to this specific race, and is spoken only, for it is the primal language of felines. It is communicated through meows, purrs, hisses, and swishes of the tail that only cats can create. In addition, players also have the option of speaking “Commeown”; a modified version of Common which most lynians speak, that enriches the language with cat puns. If mew find this to be purretty taxing on your roleplay expurrience, Commeown is not a required elemeownt of playing a lynyan.
Subrace. Lynians have subraces, more commonly referred to as breeds. It is hotly debated amongst scholars and philosophers about how these different breeds came into being; some say they evolved from the same feline ancestors, others say different ancient cats factored into the appearance of each subrace. There are three main breeds: Feyline, Melynx, and Grimalkyne.

Feyline

These are the most common breed of lynian, and are usually found in urban areas, mingling with other races. Feylines are the first choice for most people looking for a palico; they are loyal to no end, and are excellent at providing support. However, many feylines choose to go their own way as prowlers. They are strong and sturdy, built for fighting and handling weapons, but can be of any stature or body type.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Feyline Weapon Training. You have proficiency with warhammers, spears, shortbows, and shortswords.
Feyline Lander. Your innate feline agility makes you able to land gracefully. You have advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks to land on your feet.
Suppawter. The supportive and loyal nature of feylines grants you use of the spare the dying cantrip at will.

Melynx

Legend says that in the ancient times, a group of feylines walked into the night, never to return from Shadowfell. That is, until their descendants made their way out. Their form was changed from living in the negative plane for so long, and were called “Melynx”. Melynx are cunning and sly; they evolved these mannerisms in order to survive in Shadowfell, and these instincts are now present in every member of the breed, no matter what plane they occupy. These lynians are knowledgeable in theivery and deception, and are often met with caution and prejudice by members of other races, and even other lynian breeds. This is why they do not mingle in urban areas very much; they are usually found in elven dark forests, in Shadowfell, or even in the Underdark. Melynx usually work in packs or bands, but many also choose to go solo as prowlers. There are very few melynx palicoes.

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Melynx Stealth. Melynx meld with the dark around themselves, using their fur, which is dark as Shadowfell. You have advantage in Dexterity (Stealth) checks when in darkness.
Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has an expanded radius of 120 feet.
Blinded by Light. Living in the dark has weakened your abilities when exposed to light. While in sunlight, the you have disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Grimalkynes

In the most remote areas of the material plane, where it seems like it would be virtually inhospitable to mammalian life, you may find a Grimalkyne or two. These hardy lynians have learned to live off the land, and have created their own society away from the other races, and will defend their tribes and their families mercilessly from outsiders. They value family, spirituality, society, and above all, nature. They believe in respecting the world around them, for it can give life, but also take it, and natural law must never be broken. Grimalkynes who disobey these laws are often exiled from their tribes and are the only kind of their breed that is seen in urban areas, although it is usually very rare. It is even more rare to see a Grimalkyne as a palico or even a prowler, though it is possible.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Grimalkyne Weapon Training. You have proficiency in tridents and glaives.
Obscure Learning. Due to the Grimalkynes’ distance from mainstream society, they have more time to study and experience a more obscure form of connecting with the gods. You gain proficiency in an exotic language of your choice.
Friend of the Wild. Having a distance from urbane environments make Grimalkynes more attuned to nature and its other inhabitants. You have advantage in Wisdom (Nature) checks to identify types of plants.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
2′ 9''	+2d10	90 lb.	× (2) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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