Notzokideu (5e Race)

Design Note: This race, specifically its history especially with regards to its evolution, is highly specific to Tales of Kaimere. This does not make it impossible to implement into a game, just something that DMs should consider with their campaigns should players consider wishing to play as a notzokideu.

Notzokideu

The distant planet of Kaimere has seen many species grace its surface: from those familiar to those that resemble fauna of long past but unique in their own ways, to those that are so alien and strange that you'd be forgiven for mistaking them as unnatural. A species somewhere in the middle of the first two dwells up in the highlands of Pakardia, a large island and one of the three major landmasses of the Known World, known to the Pakardiant as the Notzokideu, the "Crowfolk" of which they hold sacred treaties with. Many in the Assembly assumed them to be homunculi or some sort of demon but recent explorations of the polar continent of Kaishel and contact heavily monitored by Pakardiant supervisors shows they are indeed natural, if unusual: they are a species of flightless, sophont pterosaur and to call them anything less than comparable to humans is simply a minimization of their intelligence.

Physical Description

Although called "crowfolk," the notzokideu's pterosaur lineage is obvious by close looks at their anatomy. They are humanoid in their structure, but tend to walk on all fours like a monkey, though their trails are quite short and their beaked face clearly betrays their true nature. This beak is short, broad, and powerful, easily able to crack nuts, and their eyes face just as forward on the head as any primate. Their bodies are covered in black feathers, which shine with an iridescent sheen, much like a crow's feathers hence their name among the Pakardiant. By far one of the strangest traits though is their hands: four digits in total, three of which are tipped in curved claws and one that is bare. This bare finger is the one that in most pterosaurs is the wing finger, but in the notzokideu and their relatives has turned inward to oppose the other fingers, becoming a second thumb. This digit configuration is known as zygodactyly and it gives the hands of the notzokideu a powerful grip, very useful for climbing and tool use. While their arms are strong, their volant ancestry means their strongest motion is from the side, rather than the overhead motion that is the strongest in most humanoids, and notzokideu tools reflect this quirk, as well as their unique hand anatomy. Like all Kaimeran tapejarids, they are monomorphic, making males and females indistinguishable from each other.

History

The notzokideu are only recently known to the Assembly, as stated above having previously assumed to be either demons or homunculi if not just straight up folklore. Treaties between the notzokideu and the Pakardiant have severely limited study of the highlands, as well as the Pakardiant being generally mistrusting of foreigners in general much less willing to let the Assembly violate their sacred treaties. Having said that, enough interaction has occurred that the Assembly has a basic understanding of these beings.

Tapajerid Evolution

The notzokideu place their origins within the pterosaur family Tapejaridae, small to medium sized pterosaurs that were relatives of the mighty and awe inspiring azhdarchids and were arboreal generalists. Most were omnivores with a taste for fruits and nuts, while one genus, Thalassodromeus, having a bladed lower jaw that suggested a predatory lifestyle. When brought to Kaimere during the Mid Cretaceous, tapajarids were in the shadow of the dominant pterosaurs of the Jurassic Dynasties, the rhamphorynchids until the extinction event that heralded the Tyrant Dynasty. While in most situations the tapejarids would've been poised for an adaptive radiation, the Great Portal instead harvested fauna from Late Cretaceous Earth, including the above mentioned azhdarchids and the nyctosaurs who came through the portal already so large as to keep the tapejarids locked in their present niche. During this time, two tapejarid clades independently developed impressive arboreal ability, with an opposable thumb and binocular vision, and it was these two clades that became the surviving generalists. One were relatives of thalassodromeus (known to naturalists as Gladimaxilidae and favored small game while another preferred fruits and nuts. It is this later clade from which the notzokideu descend.
In the aftermath of the Dynastic extinction, the herbivore clade, known as nut-snappers, remained largely unchanged from their ancestral from. The bite of their beaks is reinforced by their crests and strengthened by a downward curve of the bill. They use this strength to crack open nuts and seeds with ease. Despite this impressive adaptation, they are quite rare in the Known World, likely due to competition from primates and parrots. As such little is known about them, but some information can be tentatively assigned based on what is known about tapejarids and limited encounters by the Assembly. One of the most obvious is their reproduction: unlike most pterosaurs in Kaimere, tapejarids express prolonged parental care, regularly caring for their offspring until adolescence at 3-5 years of age. This complements the intelligence of tapejarids, noted among Kaimerans with equal parts wonder and frustration.

A Sacrifice for Silence

As stated above, nut-snappers were generally unchanged from their ancestors as arboreal generalists. An exception to this are those species in the south polar continent of Kaishel: here, a mysterious predator has forced the fauna into a tense silence and the nut-snappers of Kaishel have resorted to a unique adaptation that never occurred on Earth; the lose of their wings. Without lumbering megafauna and shrieking monkeys, the foliage of Kaishel is bountiful for those quite enough to take advantage, and the strategy of these tapejarids, turning the wing finger into an extra thumb, proved so successful there are now dozens of these species. Perhaps because they do not need to allocate so much of their brains to flight navigation, these flightless tapejarids are extremely intelligent even among tapejarids, with the Tlaton of Kaishel describing them opening latches, manipulating complex tools, and even in species like the Juigi using Tlaton handsigns. To the Tlaton, and the Assembly and Great Library agents who interact with them, these are beings, not beasts.

Wardens of the Highlands

While most of these flightless tapejarids are restricted to Kaishel to this day, one species found a most fortuitous event in their history when a piece of Kaishel's plate broke off about 40 million years ago and drifted towards the Known World, taking a part of the continent with it. This landmass is known today as Pakardia, and has its own its own populations of hominins descended from various migrations of Homo erectus and a population of Kaimerans known generally as the Pakardiant lowlanders. Deep within the highlands, these homins found the true native inhabitants of the highlands: the notzokideu. Despite tool use generally being considered the greatest evidence of sapience, the notzokideu do not show a robust tool culture until after contact with these humans, showing that tools alone do not mean a creature is or is not intelligent.
If Pakardiant folklore is to be believed, while some trade between the crowfolk and the highland clans occurred, Pakardiant and notzokideu were generally enemies and fought regularly. At some point however, man and pterosaur united with each other to purge the demons from the land, possibly referring to a relict population of the Silent Ones of Kaishel but they could also be natural demons, mistaken timelines, or even pure fabrication. Whatever the case, after the wiping of these demons from Pakardia, the crowfolk and Pakardiant knew peace until the arrival of a new threat to all the Known World: the First Children. These diminutive humans were driven from Pakardia after settling in the highlands before they built up their resources and mastery of magic in Qajar, until they became a force to be reckoned with, their legions of homunculi unstoppable to many. Like the demons of old, the crowmen and Pakardiant united to stand their ground against the First Children and after much hardship they beat them back. The Pakardiant clans and the notzokideu now were united in bonds of friendship and the two signed treaties that are held to this day: the Pakardiant are the wardens of the lowlands while the highlands are the general domain of the notzokideu.
It was only recently that the Assembly was granted access to the highlands to explore and survey, under heavy supervision and restrictions by the Pakardiant. They are mistrusting enough of their own interactions with foreigners after the War of the Three Spears, so they would absolutely not allow foreigners to break their most sacred of treaties. In these recent times, the Pakardaint have allowed the Assembly to interview the notzokideu, and after being informed by the highland Pakardiant of the opportunity, several notzokideu clans sent sages and other such representatives in turn. From these interviews, the Assembly learned much about the language, culture, and customs of the crowfolk, and the notzokideu learned much about the Assembly. In fact, although still generally a reclusive people, several notzokideu have since joined the Assembly as scholars, agents, and ambassadors and such steps will help ensure their autonomy and independence in Pakardia is respected.

Society

Despite a range restricted to the Pakardiant Highlands, notzokideu culture is highly dynamic. Several clans are recognized, though notzokideu clans are small, decentralized groups usually lead by the eldest matron. It is these leaders that meet with the highland Pakardiant to trade and share stories, and it was much the same with the Assembly was permitted to meet with these previously unknown beings. There are many accounts of Pakardiant being found by notzokideu wounded, being taken in, cared for, then sent on their way, and interactions with the Assembly have confirmed the crowfolk to be highly empathic.

Artists Beyond Compare

To the notzokideu, artistic expression is the greatest of gifts and the oldest tools in their tool culture are those related to their art. Artistic expression to them includes such mediums as painting, sculpture, and music, although it is the visual mediums of art where they truly shine. As pterosaurs, ntozokideu see many rays within the ultraviolet color spectrum and ultraviolet pigments are used in their art to dazzle the eyes. Unfortunately for most humanoids, much of this effort is invisible to their eyes, and by similar veins human art is considered muted and dull to notzokideu.
Although much of their language is vocal, their eyesight even effects their language by adding a highly visual component. Humans do describe a blueish sheen to to their feathers, but notzokideu can describe a wide array of shades that are completely incomprehensible to the human understanding of color. This is used in notzokideu language to communicate mood, with subtle cues communicated based on feather flexation, angling of the face, and flushing of blood to the face to flash particular colors. All of these nuances are completely lost on humans, as are the nuances of the flexible human face to notzokideu, but with a highly honed mimicry ability and vocalization still being very important to them, notzokideu and humans are more than capable of complex, dynamic conversation.

Getting by Without

Despite their clearly displayed and obvious intelligence, notzokideu do not have much in the way of a robust tool culture for a good portion of their history. As said above, the oldest notzokideu tools pertain to art and for most other tasks their claws and beaks seem to do the job. While some may consider this odd and may even go so far as to disregard the idea that they are sophont and merely intelligent animals, the reality is these tools simply aren't needed and the lack of tools does not make them any less intelligent. Proof of this is that their tool culture has become increasingly robust after repeated contact with Homo erectus descendants, incredibly swift as well. In fact, they have quickly adapted these tools to fit their anatomical quirks, such as their strongest arm motion being from the side. This is seen in their designs of the spear-thrower, their preferred ranged weapon.

Notzokideu Names

Notzokideu names* are generally screechy and avian sounding, with most vowels being front vowels. Male names tend to have more open vowels and have more hard consonants, while female names generally have more close vowels and don't have as many hard consonants.

Male: Kratak*, Ratak, Kokak, Tatak, Rakot, Nokat

Female: Ikiri, Yikira, Neminu, Kikeri, Omiki

*At the time of making this race, only one notzokideu individual is named (Kratak in the yet to be published Tales of Kaimere short story Sprint of the Sea Snake), so these names are not reflective of any canon information that may come after its creation.

Notzokideu Traits

The "crow-folk" pterosaurs of the Pakardiant highlands of Kaimere.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Age. Notzokideu, as pterosaurs, grow quite quickly upon hatching from the egg, reaching adolescence at 5 years of age and becoming adulthood at about 9-10. Notzokideu are however, not especially long lived, being elderly by the age of 50.
Alignment. The notzokideu are just as complex as any humanoid but their cautious and weariness of outsiders combined with their reluctantness to engage in events outside of the Pakardiant highlands means they generally tend towards more neutral alignments.
Size. Notzokideu are about 4 ft. standing tall and are slim and athletic in build, with little fat on them. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You also have a climbing speed of 30 ft.
Pterosaur Origins. The notzokideu have ancient origins among the pterosaurs of Kaishel and share so many traits with the humans their brains compare to they it seems uncanny. You are considered both a Humanoid and Beast.
Keen Sight. As pterosaurs, notzokideu have extremely acute vision and can see a wider variety of colors than humans could ever hope, even into the ultraviolet spectrum. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
Zygodactyl Grip. Your zygodactyl hands give you a powerful grip. You have advantage against being disarmed.
Artistic Proficiency. You have proficient with one set of artisan's tools and one musical instrument of your choice. If you are already proficient in those (either from your class, background, etc.), you may double your proficiency bonus, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
Arboreal. Whenever you make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check related to climbing, you are considered proficient in the Athletics or Acrobatics skills. If you are already proficient in Athletics or Acrobatics, you may add double your proficiency bonus, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.
Mimicry. You can mimic sounds you have heard, including voices, A creature that hears the sounds you make can tell they are imitations with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by your Charisma (Deception) check.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Nodzokideu. Nodzokideu as a language is highly vocal but also is highly visual, with the wide range of colors that shine of their iridescent feathers which may change based on their posture. As such, while humanoids may learn to speak it, much of the nuance is lost on them, and as such, humanoids that cannot see the range of colors the nodzokideu cannot grasp the full scope of the language.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
3′ 7''	+1d4	85 lb.	× (1d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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