Grumbleputty
Explorer
Here's my first crack at a race I've been playing around with, based on a sketch I did years ago: Alchemical oddballs known as "Ordles". Feel free to critique, suggest improvements or question my sanity- certainly some if it is pretty cumbersome as written.
Ordles
Ordles are an ancient race of alchemical creations, crafted by a long forgotten civilization as servants. Since the fall of their creators millennia ago, they have quietly lived among the ruins, slowly growing their collective knowledge. Recently, Ordles have begun to explore further out from their remote homes, seeking new wisdom and exposure to new cultures.
They appear as gelatinous, roughly man-shaped creatures made of thick fluid encapsulated in a tough leathery membrane. When an ordle thinks about a difficult matter small flashes of light often appear within its' fluid, and food they ingest can be seen slowly breaking down inside their bodies, which many other races find off-putting.
Ordles aren't born in the usual sense- they emerge from well-concealed and carefully guarded Culture Vats as fully-formed adults, with personalities drawn from the pool of emotions, opinions and experiences shared within the fluids they originated from. They then head off to experience the world in whatever manner they think best. When they reach old age, they return and dissolve back into their Culture Vat, sharing that knowledge with the next generation, effectively dying in the process.
They are a genderless species, although any given ordle may choose to identify with a gender if it thinks its' Culture Vat will benefit from the experience. If three or more ordles choose to, they can engage in a special ceremony in which they flow together as one, creating a new Culture Vat from their combined experiences. This is never done without a great deal of consideration and preparation, as the Ordle's original Culture Vat will be denied its' acquired knowledge so that a new colony can form.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Wisdom increases by 1.
Age. Ordles emerge from their vats as full-grown adults, physically and mentally. They are a short-lived species- on average, they live about 30 years before the chemical compounds inside them start to break down. They usually try to return to their Culture Vats and allow themselves to flow back into the pool of fluids when they sense this happening.
Alignment. Ordles run the gamut of alignments, although rarely do they feel extreme emotions themselves. An ordle may decide that, in order to better understand the nature of evil, it should devote itself to cruelty and sadism- not out of any particular animus, but because future generations of its' Culture Vat would benefit from the knowledge. You might devote yourself to heroism, revenge, anarchy or any religious faith for much the same reason.
Size. Ordles stand between 6 and 7 feet tall and average about 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Truevision. Up to a short distance , the strange sensory organs that ordles consider “eyes” can see through magical illusions. You have Truevision, with a range of 15 feet.
Liquid Resilience. You have resistance against bludgeoning damage, and falling damage is calculated on a d4 for the first 50'.
Leathery. As ordles grow older their skin naturally toughens. An ordle freshly emerged from the vat has skin similar in thickness to leather armor (natural AC 11 ), and at every odd-numbered level that natural armor increases by +1, up to a maximum of 18. Ordles may wear specially-constructed armor, but the effect do not stack- between the Ordles' natural armor and the added armor, the higher applies.
Alchemical Diffusion. You must consume 3 times the normal amount of a potion or poison to be affected by it.
Flow. With concentration, an Ordle can flow through an opening as small as 4 inches square. This does not apply to any armor or equipment the Ordle carries, which must either fit through the opening on its' own or be left behind. As a Bonus Action, you can use this ability to slip free of a Grapple.
Membraneous Healing: Ordles heal quickly. You recover +2 hit points per hit die after a short rest.
Servitor Race: As a race created to be servants, Ordles are highly susceptible to suggestion: you suffer disadvantage on Saving Throws against charms or related spell effects.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and High Ordle (actually the language of the Ordles' long-extinct progenitors) , as well as one other language of your choice.
Ordles
Ordles are an ancient race of alchemical creations, crafted by a long forgotten civilization as servants. Since the fall of their creators millennia ago, they have quietly lived among the ruins, slowly growing their collective knowledge. Recently, Ordles have begun to explore further out from their remote homes, seeking new wisdom and exposure to new cultures.
They appear as gelatinous, roughly man-shaped creatures made of thick fluid encapsulated in a tough leathery membrane. When an ordle thinks about a difficult matter small flashes of light often appear within its' fluid, and food they ingest can be seen slowly breaking down inside their bodies, which many other races find off-putting.
Ordles aren't born in the usual sense- they emerge from well-concealed and carefully guarded Culture Vats as fully-formed adults, with personalities drawn from the pool of emotions, opinions and experiences shared within the fluids they originated from. They then head off to experience the world in whatever manner they think best. When they reach old age, they return and dissolve back into their Culture Vat, sharing that knowledge with the next generation, effectively dying in the process.
They are a genderless species, although any given ordle may choose to identify with a gender if it thinks its' Culture Vat will benefit from the experience. If three or more ordles choose to, they can engage in a special ceremony in which they flow together as one, creating a new Culture Vat from their combined experiences. This is never done without a great deal of consideration and preparation, as the Ordle's original Culture Vat will be denied its' acquired knowledge so that a new colony can form.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Wisdom increases by 1.
Age. Ordles emerge from their vats as full-grown adults, physically and mentally. They are a short-lived species- on average, they live about 30 years before the chemical compounds inside them start to break down. They usually try to return to their Culture Vats and allow themselves to flow back into the pool of fluids when they sense this happening.
Alignment. Ordles run the gamut of alignments, although rarely do they feel extreme emotions themselves. An ordle may decide that, in order to better understand the nature of evil, it should devote itself to cruelty and sadism- not out of any particular animus, but because future generations of its' Culture Vat would benefit from the knowledge. You might devote yourself to heroism, revenge, anarchy or any religious faith for much the same reason.
Size. Ordles stand between 6 and 7 feet tall and average about 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Truevision. Up to a short distance , the strange sensory organs that ordles consider “eyes” can see through magical illusions. You have Truevision, with a range of 15 feet.
Liquid Resilience. You have resistance against bludgeoning damage, and falling damage is calculated on a d4 for the first 50'.
Leathery. As ordles grow older their skin naturally toughens. An ordle freshly emerged from the vat has skin similar in thickness to leather armor (natural AC 11 ), and at every odd-numbered level that natural armor increases by +1, up to a maximum of 18. Ordles may wear specially-constructed armor, but the effect do not stack- between the Ordles' natural armor and the added armor, the higher applies.
Alchemical Diffusion. You must consume 3 times the normal amount of a potion or poison to be affected by it.
Flow. With concentration, an Ordle can flow through an opening as small as 4 inches square. This does not apply to any armor or equipment the Ordle carries, which must either fit through the opening on its' own or be left behind. As a Bonus Action, you can use this ability to slip free of a Grapple.
Membraneous Healing: Ordles heal quickly. You recover +2 hit points per hit die after a short rest.
Servitor Race: As a race created to be servants, Ordles are highly susceptible to suggestion: you suffer disadvantage on Saving Throws against charms or related spell effects.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and High Ordle (actually the language of the Ordles' long-extinct progenitors) , as well as one other language of your choice.
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