Vermling (5e Race)

Vermling

Physical Description

A Vermling Shaman Source

Vermlings resemble large humanoid rats or mice, with long nimble fingers, and similar fur and hair color to their ancestors, though they usually dye colored patterns into their fur. There's not much variation between Vermling appearance, other than their dye patterns. This means that each Vermling has its own unique glyph or pattern dyed into their fur to distinguish them from others.

History

Vermlings evolved from common rats and mice, in places where the very ground was saturated with magic. The amount of magic in these areas caused the first Vermlings to come into being, who were little more than sentient rats. Over time, however, they evolved into the beings they are today, more humanoid and cunning than their predecessors. As their population grew, they began to develop small, closely knit communities, not unlike common rats and mice. When Vermlings first tried to integrate with the rest of society, they were quickly shunned, with most people disgusted by them, a sentiment which is still felt by most today. Because of this, Vermlings live mostly underground, or far away from cities and towns, hunting and scavenging for themselves. As such, they have developed to be strong hunter-gatherers, and somewhere along the line developed a habit of eating corpses.

Society

Vermling society is close knit, and much like a large family. It resembles early human society in many ways, with the males doing nearly all of the hunting, and the females foraging and tending to children. Vermlings have a hierarchical society, with a chieftain at the top. Should food become scarce within a Vermling nest or village, the ones at the top take priority, and those at the bottom are left to starve or fend for themselves. Vermlings, in general, don't tend to take a single partner as a mate, although in recent time it has become more common for them to mate for life. As the generations went on, Vermling female gestation periods grew in length, and the number of children in a litter decreased.

Vermling Names

Male: Kel, Roshac, Mek'sseth

Female: Kara, Marshek, Ril'sarth

Vermling Traits

A race of sentient, humanoid rodents awakened by magic.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2 and your Dexterity increases by 1.
Age. Vermlings mature at the same rate as humans and live halfway into their second century.
Alignment. Known for their cunning and deceptive skills, as well as their tradition of eating the flesh of the dead, vermlings are often disliked by most. They themselves have done nothing to try and rid themselves of this reputation. If carrion cannot be found, they're more than happy to resort to killing their prey themselves. As a result, they often tend to evil alignments.
Size. Vermlings stand between 4 and 5 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
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.
Carrion Eater. During a Short Rest, you can eat part of the corpse of a dead beast, monstrosity, dragon, or giant. If you do so, you gain Temporary Hit Points equal to your Gaining a Level for 8 hours. Doing so is seen as a reprehensible act by many people, and there may be consequences of the DM's choice if you are caught.
Prehensile Tail. Your tail is prehensile, effectively working as a third hand. You cannot hold any objects heavier than 10 pounds in your tail, and you can only wield weapons with the Light property. You can use your Bonus Action to attack with your tail-held weapon, but you do not add your relevant ability score modifier unless it is negative. You cannot perform the somatic components of spells with your tail.
Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks when you, the target your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
Tricky. You are proficient in the Deception skill.
Wiry. You count as one size smaller for the purpose of squeezing through tight spaces.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
3′ 10''	+2d4	95 lb.	× 1 lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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