Ozwok (5e Race)

Ozwok

“	Veiled by the smoke of this strange temple, Weis approached what appeared to be a minotaur contorted on the ground. The gnome wrung his hands on his pike nervously as the creature hissed and screeched in strange agony. One particular screech rang too close and Weis timorously stabbed at the figure in the smoke. The creature screamed and cleared the veil with its mighty wings revealing its prostrate avian form. “Hey! Could you at least wait until I’m out of this pose?” The vulturine woman slowly reclined back and rose to tower over the timid outsider. She sauntered to a rack on the wall brandishing a dusty glaive and spoke in an undaunted timbre: "I will give you a few minutes to change your britches."	”
—Weis the Wyld, Diaries of a Deadman

Physical Description

An Ozwok paladin in pursuit. Original art by LDR, edit by TR

Ozwok are vulturine, bipedal humanoids that have adapted themselves to the desert environment they call home. While avian in descent, their height and size suggest minotaur-like qualities. Their bodies are covered in short down and feathers that extend to their elbows and knees. Gloved with a similar leathery skin as their face, ozwok sport taloned hands and anisodactyl feet. Flightless, the wingspan on an ozwok equals one and a third of their height. Their vulture-like head angles into a beak with a short bill, sharp incisor teeth, and accented with two ebony horns behind their bullish ears. Ozwok tails vary widely: featuring a long feathered tail, hind feathers, or simply no tail or hind plumage whatsoever. Ozwok are sexually dimorphic and feature secondary sexual characteristics associated with other humanoids.

History

Often simply known as "Cannibals" to outsiders, Ozwok are a strange vulture-like race that dominates desert and badlands. Remnants of an Aarakocra/Minotaur blood cult, ozwok no longer trade with outside caravans due to previous incidents of killing and consuming traders. These incidents proved harmful to the ozwok people as these caravans bolstered their population and reputation.

Society

To an ozwok, the health of the family is paramount to all else and both close companions and their community of birth are considered family. Normally confined to exclusive communes, ozwok society is drawn across gendered lines. Male ozwok are trained in crafts that benefit the community such as smithing or hunting. Taller in stature, ozwok females act as acolytes or holy warriors of their local temples. Most ozwok communities are matriarchal and are overseen by either an elder or a chieftain in times of war or exigence. Ozwok society is notably fused with religious ceremony culminating in seasonal festivals helping to keep otherwise disparate townships adhered. Trading or even bartering is a foreign notion to an ozwok. There is no formal recognition of ownership and neither officially accepts outside currency. The only true personal items to an ozwok are their sacred bone totem. Ozwok traveling the world may appear crass, rude, or even thieving. In actuality, ozwok see property as an open, aqueous concept willing to give when asked and take when in need.

All ozwok keep their tradition alive through direct display and honor of their fallen family through finely crafted bone totems. These totems may be as minute as necklaces of tarsal bones beads to as extravagant as full suits of bone armor made from the several individuals. Many such extravagant items are won and worn in festive competition or coming of age ceremonies. Ozwok exiles and adventurers often still deify their heroes but prefer to honor their fallen family or companions over that of ancestral tales.

Ozwok Names

To the ire and confusion of many outsiders, nearly all ozwok names end in ‘–ine’. Shortly after the advent of the ozwok race, a prophecy was spun that fabled heroes would restore the ozwok back to the glory and pervasiveness of their ancient ancestors. This legend has been edited and altered over time save one detail: the “-ine” suffix. For this reason, proper names of nearly all ozwok end in “-ine” in aspiration that they may invoke the prophesied hero. This cultural survival has led to most within the ozwok community to simply refer to each other using a procedural moniker. Ozwok addressing each other only use the first few syllables of their name such as “Auri” or “Decli”. Names are gleaned through physical or emotional traits during or after childhood. A prefix in Common, Auran or even Elvish may be used to best fit the situation. While ozwok are sexually dimorphic, rarely ever have name prefixes applied to a singular gender. Due to this often blocky and ineloquent naming scheme, ozwok adventurers usually earn separate nicknames from companions which they adopt permanently. Ozwok do not formally use clan names and instead indicate their birth city or country if necessary.

Examples: Argenine (silver), Aurine (golden), Bradine (slow), Cautine (burn), Decline (finish), Gynine (female), Glissine (bright), Hemine (blood), Harpine (light), Modine (change), Nihiline (nothing), Nivine (Snow), Ossine (bone), Phalarine (white), Planine (wander), Rostrine (beak), Typhine (smoke), Valine (strength), Zeline (zeal)

Ozwok Traits

A vulture-like race that are more minotaur than birdfolk.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Strength increases by 1.
Age. Ozwok have slightly longer lifespans than humans reaching maturity around 20 years old and live to be around 110 years old.
Alignment. While misunderstood as cannibal beasts to outsiders, Ozwok do not attack unprovoked and tend toward Neutral or Lawful alignments.
Size. Ozwok tower over humans standing over 7 feet tall and nearly 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Ancestral Totem. While donning your ancestral bone totem, other creatures have disadvantage on opportunity attack rolls against you. If your totem is lost or destroyed, you can only fashion totems from the bones of family, mentors, or close companions of any race.
Scavenger. You can digest almost any meat, regardless of decay, and are immune to the poisoned condition. As a reaction, you instinctively feast after reducing a creature within 5 feet of you to 0 hit points and can consume a portion of the fallen to gain temporary hit points equal to your Constitution modifier for an hour or until they are depleted.
Keen Senses. You are proficient in the Perception skill.
Wing Exaptation. You still retain semi-vestigial, feathered wings that wick heat and limit fall damage. When you fall more than 10 feet, you can, as a reaction, extend these wings as if you were under the effect of the feather fall spell.
Hollow Bones. Due to your birdfolk ancestry, you cannot wear heavy armor unless manufactured from lighter materials such as bone or mithril.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write, Common and Auran.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
6′ 2''	+2d6	220 lb.	× (1d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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