Viperfish (5e Race)

Viperfish

Physical Description

The viperfish is a medium sized race with scaly skin of colors like blue, white, and purple with a translucent look to them so you can see within them. Their heads are shaped with gaping eyes of one color and mouths stretch back to their earlobes, their ears are flaps of webbed skin. The teeth are long, sharp, and skinny with the bottom ones usually protruding out of the lips and over the top lip, giving them a large overbite. Noses are non-existent, just slits where the nose should go and gills on the side of the neck that allows for water and air breathing. Their bodies are usually very slim--very few are of bigger builds and usually that's fat not muscular builds; their hands and feet are also webbed but fingers can grip objects easily.

History

During the spell plague, Umberlee was in fear that she would to pass from existence like some other gods, so to carry her legacy she created new life from the waters of Faerun. Spawning from the depths of the oceans and seas, the viperfish exceeded evolutionary time constraints and within hours gained a humanly form and self awareness. Made only to serve and preserve the goddess, the viperfish slaved away at statues and effigies in her image, and only learning of her and knowing nothing of the outside world except for the coasts they spawned from. After the spell plague was over and Umberlee had survived, she kept her spawn in the dark, making them think that the plague was still in existence. Generations passed, while the race languished in Umberlee's bondage, before a group of unknown adventurers discovered their hidden village. The adventurers then helped them learn of the outside world and its arts, such as history, magics, the natural sciences, and skills like smithing and fighting. With their new knowledge, the viperfish ventured out on their own, denouncing Umberlee and holding a strong scorn for her and the people who worship her. Some of them kept with the familiar and built cities and towns by coastlines, but most ventured out into the other lands of Faerun, hoping to learn all they could.

Society

The society of viperfish is mostly non-existent; they are very happy to see their own people because it's often very rare as most are out adventuring and have a small life span. There are towns and cities made and populated by their people, usually found on coastlines, but these people are usually still stuck in their basic knowledge of life and the world. The towns, depending on personal preference, are all run differently.

Viperfish Names

Trying to establish their own identity, viperfish adopt names derived from their dialect of Aquan. They rarely longer than two syllables and often sound harsh and hissed with a vague bubbling sound to them. The race has not yet grown to a size where a family names have become a necessity, but some particularly proud viperfish adopt them nonetheless.

Male: Ixkap, Niton, Fiben, Netton, Scapren

Female: Drap, Jikoth, Aviender, Xadder, Prog

Family Name: of the lagoon, of the deeps, from the shores, Sharpfang, Brightlight

Viperfish Traits

Scaly aquatic humanoids that use this lumination to their benefit.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age. Most viperfish mature at around age 10, and die when they are 30-40.
Alignment. Most are true neutral, for they worry themselves only with expanding their knowledge and experiences but can range from neutral good to neutral evil.
Size. Usually around 4'6" to 5 feet. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You have a swim speed of 30 feet.
Amphibious. You can breathe both air and water.
Ripping Jaws. Your teeth are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Lantern's Light. As an action, you can emit dim light from the palm of your hands, with a radius of up to 30 feet. You can end the light or readjust the radius of the dium light as an action.
Light Camouflage. You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured.
Food No More. You can go for a month without eating food, after which you begin to suffer the effects of starvation as normal.
Hydration. You must consume twice the amount of water a creature of your size would normally need and can only go half as many days without water.
Languages. You can speak, read and write Common, and Aquan.

Height And Weight

Table: Viperfish Height And Weight

Weight Modifier	Height Modifier	Base Height	Base Weight
+2d6	+1d4	4'8"	105 lb.

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