Ziurkis (5e Race)

Ziurkis

“	Christ, you can’t even tell what these things are. They’re just the most confusing thing to exist in this world. Period.	”
—Unknown military officer

Physical Description

Whether boasting an immense bestial physique, or something more slender, two things are always common between these creatures: their rodent-humanoid appearance, and their infamous metal masks. The masks they wear have simple geometric designs and can be cast in a variety of different metals. Their skin is covered in fine, patchy hair, and their skin can come in a variety of different tones; from a soft peachy color to a rusted brown, and even muted grays-similar to many drow. Ziurkis can have varying body masses and sizes, ranging from a mass of pure muscle to a fragile frame more suited to hit the books. The few that have been spotted without their masks bear a strong jaw with razor-sharp teeth. They have long, rat-like tails and a defined snout protruding into a sensitive nose with thin whiskers.

History

Not too much is known about the ziurkis' past, although many suspect their nomadic nature to be derived from their ancestors' supposed behaviour. Although, some records of these creatures go back thousands upon thousands of years, implying they had some semblance of a relationship with celestial and infernal beings.

Society

Seemingly narrow-minded in ideals, ziurkis live for but one purpose: find a person worthy of their services, and swear their lives to protect them at all costs. This sense of honor and glory is prevalent in all ziurkis and they will carry out whatever their self-declared master wishes, whether it be slaying down a long-time enemy or running mere errands. Their masks are thought to be an important symbol of this life; for they will cast it away in light of a dead master, or tainted integrity. If a maskless ziurkis were to ever develop a bond with another person, they will likely swear themselves to this person and hastily seek to replace what they cast away. They rarely discriminate against other races, however, if a particular race outwardly hates the race of the person they have chosen to protect, they will find it hard to hold back their disgust (and sometimes, their weapons).

Despite their ominous appearance, these people are well-respected for their righteous demeanour and willingness to assist in whatever ways they can. They can often be found assimilated into various cultures and civilisations as a highly-esteemed member. Their physique often plays a part in what they're willing to help others with; the strong stripus assisting with heavy lifting and combat, greitai helping thieves or delivering messages, and the protingas conversing with magically-inclined people and scholars.

Ziurkis Names

Ziurkis bestow a name upon themselves when they see fit. This can derive from another name that they've heard and liked, or directly given from their master as a sign of trust.

Ziurkis Traits

A tall, rodent-humanoid race that can vary in builds and size.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution increases by 1.
Age. You don't seem to physically age, but you do live considerably longer than some other races. The longest-lived ziurkis live to be around 400 years old.
Alignment. Your alignment is usually what your master's alignment is, however, some ziurkis have been known to defect after their person has died. Otherwise, there's no real lean to anything in particular.
Size. Your race varies in height depending on what subrace you are, but the average range is from 5–7 tall, even rivalling dragonborn on certain occasions. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base speed is 30 feet.
Verbal Mimicry. Ziurkis lack any language of their own, but have the ability to mimic any sounds or voices they've heard before; albeit struggling to link together spoken words. A creature that hears the sounds you make can only tell they are imitations if they make an Insight check against your Deception skill.
Avowed Duty. You have chosen to protect and accompany one person you know for the remainder of their life. This person must be a creature with an Intelligence score of at least 6 or more, and also share at least one language with you. The choice of your preferred person may only be changed if they die. If your previous master is dead or has died, you may choose to spend 3-4 hours bonding with another creature who meets the requirements to make them your new master. Your subrace traits don't have to relate to this person.
Unleashed Rage. If your master is hit by a melee attack within 10 feet of you, you can harness the force of your emotions to make a single melee attack against the creature that hit them, taking a -3 to your attack bonus.
Cosmopolitan. You know the area around where your current master lives extremely well, and have advantage on History checks within a 200 feet radius of your master's house.
Languages. You can understand, read, and write in Common, and one other language that your current master speaks. If your master changes, you must switch out this language to your new master's. You can only speak using your Mimicry trait.
Subrace. You can either be a stiprus, greitai, or a protingas.

Stiprus

Siprus are incredibly tanky, boasting strong muscles and toned bodies.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength increases by 2.
Size. You count as one size larger for the purpose of carrying capacity.
Sharp Fangs. Your teeth are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Muscled Mass. Your unarmed strikes deal 1d6 + your Strength modifier damage on a hit.
Unarmored Defense. While you are not wearing any armor, your AC equals 10 + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit. This effect stacks while using a shield.

Greitai

Gretai are a speedier, slender variant of ziurkis, which make for excellent pickpockets.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity increases by 2.
Fleet-footed. Your base speed is increased by 10 feet.
Nimble Body. You are proficient in the Stealth and Sleight of Hand skills.

Protingas

Protingas are the rarest subrace; an elusive type of ziurkis that pride themselves in their investment into the strength of their mind, rather than their physique.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence increases by 2.
Innate Magic. At 1st level, you can cast the cantrip thaumaturgy. At level 5, you can cast magic missile as a 1st-level spell once before needing to complete a long rest.
Arcane Knowledge. You are proficient in the Arcana skill.
Intellectual. Your mind is profound. You know one extra language of your choosing.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 3''	+3d12	70 lb.	× (1d4) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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