Molekin (5e Race)

Molekin

“	They were once just things we saw underfoot, small and insignificant. Then they suddenly started starving us. Do you know how hard it is to get those buggers out of their hidey-holes? And even after we did that... well, they just came back... bigger and meaner.	”
—Farmer Joe

Physical Description

Monty Mole, from Mario Party by Nintendo

Molekin are aberrations among the usual animal mole. They are much larger, reaching sizes of over three feet when standing on their hind legs. Their hands are tipped with long claws that allow them to dig efficiently through earth. They retain the other properties of a mole, including a face of sensitive whiskers, sharp front teeth that never stop growing, and poor eyesight. Their entire body is usually covered in a pelt of dark colored fur. Many people have come to find them cute on a glance. They often wear safety equipment rather than clothes, as it is more practical and directly related to their digging activities.

History

Moles historically were regarded as pests and thus treated as such. They are known to terrorize farmers by devastating their root vegetable crops and even gnawing the roots of other plants. As a result, a royal mandate was issued for open mole-hunting season, resulting in the use of poisons on the earth to gas the moles out of hiding. It is said that, over 5,000 dead moles later, the moles began to pray. While it remains unclear what answered their prayers, be it the vengeful dead or a minor deity spirit, the mole's prayers were heard. They were granted more able bodies to stand as equals compared to the larger people who lived above ground, as well as the intelligence to rival them. Surfacing, they declared their existence to the world and everyone stared at these new additions of existence.

Society

While molekin prefer to live underground on account of their sensitive eyes, they are able to live above ground as well. However, they lack any community above ground and have little social standing. Due to their diminutive stature and a less-than-spotless record compared to other shorties like halflings, molekin can often find derision and dismissive attitudes towards them. Underground, there are various molekin communities that encompass series of tunnels. These are usually guarded at choke points by appointed guards to vet passerby and ward off intruders. Having evolved from simple beasts, the molekin have more complex dwellings than a simple burrow, and have developed snug little caves for family units, refurbished with straw, scraps, and other things they see fit. A labour of molekin are usually ruled by a female that oversees reproduction and role assignment within the group. These roles vary between labours and can rotate cyclically.

Molekin Names

Within their communities, molekin are named by the roles they have. These are not gendered. However, for over-world purposes, they will take on simple names.

Roles: Hunter, Keeper, Digger, Nurser

Male: Monty, Eddie, Gunther, Aaron

Female: Montana, Ysmir, Haila, Poppy

Molekin Traits

Minute furry creatures with a talent for digging.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence or Constitution score increases by 1 and one other score of your choice increases by 2.
Age. Molekin mature quickly and live to a reasonable age. They will be considered mature by the age of 5 and will rarely live past 50.
Alignment. Molekin like to keep rules about territories very strict. They are lawful in nature.
Size. Molekin stand from 3-4 feet tall but are often hunched over. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Earthen Senses. You have long lived in the dark and relied on senses like touch, smell, and taste to navigate underground. You have a blindsight range of 30 feet, but are blind beyond this radius.
Claws. You have tough, sharp digging claws that are natural weapons. You can make unarmed strikes with them, dealing 1d4 slashing damage on a hit.
Digging Sense. Whenever you make a Wisdom (Nature) check related to the structure or quality of earth, dirt, or similar material, you are considered proficient in the Nature skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
Digger. As an action, you can burrow at a high speed, moving through up to 25 feet of nonmagical sand, earth, dirt, or similar material. While doing so, you leave a tunnel through the material you dig through and gain 10 feet of tremorsense until the end of your turn. You cannot dig into rock, metal, wood, or similar material that is too hard.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
2′ 10''	+2d8	75 lb.	× (1d6) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

3.00

(one vote)

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