Charr (5e Race)
Charr
Physical Description
The charr in nature with a normally hunched posture and are carnivorous feline-like humanoids. They stand on their hind legs and are taller than a human by half of an average human's height. They are covered in fur from head to toe in a variety of colors and patterns, many of which are similar to those of lions, cheetahs and tigers. They have 2 pairs of ears, the top pair of ears hears high frequencies or ultrasound such as a dog might, while the bottom pair hear low frequencies or infrasound similar to an elephant. They also have two pairs of horns, and the standard set of teeth and claws for felines. Many charr have a longer mane of fur between their shoulders and on the back of their head and neck. A male charr has less fur on the tail with longer fur only on the tip, while the female's tail has longer fur from top to bottom. When they are moving, and their paws are unoccupied, the charr favor running on all four limbs with a loping gait. While the males are described as being generally stronger and the females more lithe and quick. The charr muzzle is elongated and the mouth filled with prominent sharp teeth suited for their carnivorous diet. The teeth are larger on the males, particularly those on the bottom jaw which are usually considerably smaller on the female.
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History
The charr are a military culture and their society, technology and relationships are very much focused on supporting war. Society is built around military units which charr become a part of from childhood. Non-military tasks, such as farming and trade, can be left to the young, retired, and injured. But no matter a charr's vocation they are always viewed as a soldier and view life like a soldier. Weakness and foolishness from individuals is viewed with particular contempt, some of such acts can result in a charr becoming a gladium, or in a worse case, the charr's name being stricken from the race's history.
Charr on occasion mate for life, but most relationships are more casual than that. Families are recognized but adult charr have very little contact with their parents or offspring, but sometimes keep tabs on each other for events which could reflect back on the family's reputation. As soon as a cub is weaned, around being a year old, they enter a fahrar of one of their parents' legion. The fahrar is the cubs' first warband and they are trained as a military unit under supervision of an adult and are considered an adult when the warband no longer needs supervision.[3] The cubs are taught to unify and define their own social structure and the warband shares a root name which they incorporate into their surname. While ancestry is known and acknowledged, the parents have little to do with the raising of the cub, and as such warbands are viewed as a charr's family and the bonds of loyalty and kinship formed between them are stronger than those of other races' families. Though some charr leave, change, or lose their warbands, these strong bonds usually leave a deep impact on the charr; charr changing warband must change their name and fit in quickly if they are to survive. However, charr have been known to choose the fate of becoming a gladium rather than risk losing those bonds again.
When the oppression of the female charr by the Flame Legion ended, male and female charr were once again viewed as equals. Male and female charr do not differentiate themselves through wearing differently tailored or styled clothing.
The charr are highly industrious, their forging superior to even the dwarves, and are renowned and feared for their military technology – weapon development, war machines and mass production, having pioneered the creation of airships and submarines. Their rifles and pistols are particularly finely made. However, not all of their advancements involve weapons – they also make some of the finest clockwork and spring-driven devices in Tyria. Their development in technology eventually led to the printing press, which in turn propagated the widespread use of the New Krytan language. While the average charr is willing to embrace technology, many view the use of magic as a sign of weakness and will distrust magic-users as a whole.
Much of their land has been converted to ranches and fields for herding and growing of winter feed for the animals. Cattle, sheep, warthogs, dolyaks and devourers are their primary sources of food. "Meat festivals" (such as the Meatoberfest) are held as a type of cultural celebration.
Religion
Due to their history many charr shun religion. They do not accept any god's authority and quickly anger on topics of charr worship or manipulation by god-like beings. Charr acknowledge other races' gods as beings of power but do not see them as something worthy of worship. In the case of the Human Gods, the charr view the deities as beings to fight and strive to kill. At best, their reverence and respect is limited only to great heroes and their deeds in their history, such as Pyre Fierceshot and Kalla Scorchrazor.
Government
Charr society is built around the military chain of command which every charr is brought up to respect. The true head of the chain of command is the Khan-Ur, considered the primus imperator. He ranks above the imperators of all four High Legions and coordinates all the armies of the charr. There is currently no Khan-Ur because no charr holds the leadership artifact, the Claw of the Khan-Ur.
The charr nation is therefore currently led by a kratocratic oligarchy, built around the four High Legions. Each legion has a primus warband which the legion is named after and is led by an imperator, a descendant of the original Khan-Ur. If an imperator can obtain the Claw and perform a great deed, that charr will become the next Khan-Ur.
All of the four legions are fiercely independent from the others, maintaining their own lands and city-state strongholds. Three of the primary legions – Ash, Blood, and Iron – are allied and work together to maintain their lands and push for military conquest of lands outside those already held by charr. The fourth legion, Flame, is outcast and at civil war with the other legions. No legion allows the other three to rule over them, but the Iron legion is stated as taking a leading role within the lands of Ascalon.
In times of emergency, the High Legions are known to hold defense quorums in which the highest-ranking members of the area meet to plan out a solution to whatever the emergency is – be it repelling enemies, or managing refugee movements.
Military ranks The charr military has a multitude of ranks. Directly beneath each legion's imperator are the tribunes; there are rarely more than ten tribunes per legion (Iron currently has six), and this office oversees an entire theatre of war or large swath of controlled territory. Centurions command a number of warbands (a "company") and coordinate maneuvers on a broad scale under a tribune's authority. Legionnaires lead their warbands on missions and guide them to victory. Under their command are the soldiers of each legion. Officers cannot officially order soldiers of other legions, unless given permission by an officer of said other legions.
The bottommost rank in the High Legions are the gladium, charr without a warband. They are the lowest grunts, given little respect or responsibility – regardless of their previous titles or rank. A charr away from their warband on assignment or on duty is not viewed as a gladium.
There are also other ranks and titles within the structure of the High Legions that do not contribute to the direct chain of command.
Main chain of command ranks
Khan-Ur
Imperator
Tribune
Centurion
Legionnaire
Soldier
Specialized ranks
Aide-de-camp
Brevet
Gladium (Given No respect even by cubs.)
Primus
Quaestor
Scrapper
Legions
Iron (Intellect and Cunning)
Blood (Full on Combat oriented)
Ash (Stealthy)
Flame (magical. but At war with the other three and is greatly disliked by other charr. though not impossible to join the other legions.)
Charr Names
Charr first names often have names based off of their culture (e.g., Pyre, Ember, Forge). Along with this male names are also sharp sounding with the consonants (e.g., using D, R, T, G, K, etc.) whereas female names are smoother (e.g., using C, L, S, Z, etc.); both genders often start with a sharp consonant though, but this is just generally and exceptions to this do exist. Some charr use Roman or Greek (inspired) names as well.
Charr surnames consist of two words put together, one of which (either suffix or prefix) denoting the warband of the individual (e.g., Rytlock Brimstone is of the Stone warband and Scylla Rustcloud of the Rust warband). Charr individuals generally get to pick variations of their surnames within the forming of their first warband which express their personality, ideals or history, though some limitations may apply.
Members of the same warband can also have their warband name in different order than other members of their warband, though this is rare – some examples include Lightbringer Swordshatter and Legionnaire Bloodsword of the Sword warband, and Vitus Silverpick of the Pick warband (where all other warband members have Pick as the prefix of their surnames).
Male: Vibenius, Maximius, Munius, Loreius, Gokudaf, Rytlock, Gron, Dinky
Female: Sandiliana, Gudorraf, Wodaduza, Corolzu, Bathea, Kalla, Elexus
Last Names: Silverpick, Doomfiend, Stonegazer, Gutfouler
Charr Traits
The charr race was forged in the merciless crucible of war. It is all they know. War defines them, and their quest for dominion drives them ever onward.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increase by 1.
Age. A charr is fully mature by 4 years old and is considered elderly in it's late 70's.
Alignment. Most charr are lawful due to the complete military hierarchy of the charr. While they can come off as mean or cruel, charr tend toward neutrality on the moral compass. They do not condone needless slaughter or attempted sabotage at peace. However, they can be brutal on the battlefield and very unaccommodating to prisoners.
Size. Charr can stand 8'-10' tall when not slouching and their musculature is similar to a big cats. Your size is Large.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.
Thick Fur. Their fur allows charr to withstand the cold. You’re acclimated to extreme cold, as described in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Riding Mount. If you have no items in your hands, you can use an action to get on all fours or to stand up. During this time, you are classified as a mount for creatures of Small size or less, and your walking speed becomes 50 feet.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.
Subrace. Blood, Ash, Iron, or Flame Legion
Blood Legion
The Blood Legion is the frontline. They are the first in battle, and the last to leave.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increase by 2.
Monstrous Build. Your large stature and rippled muscles come off as intimidating. You are proficient in the Intimidation skill.
Military Culture. The Blood Legions's military culture forces all charr to learn how to use weapons. You gain proficiency in 3 melee martial weapons of your choice.
Ash Legion
The Ash Legion are the scouts and saboteurs in the charr military.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increase by 2.
Mental Fortitude. You are have advantage on all Wisdom saving throws against magic.
Sit and Wait. You can cast the alarm spell once and regain use of this trait at the end of a long rest.
Iron Legion
The Iron Legion is full of engineers and gunsmiths. They produce the war machines used by the Charr military.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increase by 2.
Forger. Trained in the arts of smithing, you are considered proficient with smith's tools and tinker's tools.
Buckshot. You are accustomed to using a gun, and are proficient in the following weapons: flintlock pistol, handcannon, and blunderbuss. You are considered proficient in ranged martial weapons if gunpowder is not included in your campaign.
Flame Legion
The Flame Legion control the majority of the charr race and have become a ruling class of sorts for the race.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increase by 2.
Ember Body. When a creature within 5 feet of you damages you, as a reaction you may emit hot flames from your body dealing 1d4 fire damage to those within 5 feet of you. This damage increases by 1d4 when you reach 5th level(2d4), 11th level(3d4), and 17th level(4d4). You regain use of this trait after you finish a short or long rest.
Flame Body. You have resistance to fire damage.
Olmakhan
The Olmakhan are a group of charr who used to belong to the Flame Legion, who find wonder in the once taboo magic and enjoy peace and tranquility opposed to most other charr who enjoy violence.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increase by 2.
Gifted by Magic. You learn one cantrip from the druid spell list. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the animal friendship spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest.
Trained Outdoorsmen. You have proficiency in the Survival skill.
Random Height and Weight
| base height | height modifier | base weight | weight modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8'0" | +2d12 | 800 lb. | ×(2d10) |
- Height = base height + height modifier
- Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)
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