Lizardfolk
Appearance: Generally 6 to 7 feet tall, somewhat slim but muscular and
covered in thick scales.  Average weight is 300 pounds.  Scales tend towards
various dark and moderate greens or greenish-browns, while the smaller scales
on the chest, front of neck, bottom of jaw, and underside of tail tend to be
white, light brown, or light gray.  Eyes are red, amber, orange, or black.
Possess a somewhat-thick, crocodilian tail around 3 to 4 feet in length, only
partially mobile, chiefly for balance and swimming.  Small scale-ridges along
top of head, back, and tail.  Small but thick claw on each finger and toe.
Moderately protruding jaw, only vaguely crocodilian or lizardlike, with
similarly lizardlike snout at the end.  Mouth is filled with sharp, conical teeth.
Small, colorful crest from top of head to back of neck.  No ears, only
earholes, like a lizard.

Description: The lizardfolk are a race of reptilian humanoids slightly larger
than humans in body but less numerous in Rhunaria.  Lizardfolk were created
by the yuan-ti shortly after the fall of elvenkind's empire, though common
belief by other races is that they were created by the Elven Mage-King.  Like
kobolds, the lizardfolk were made by yuan-ti to be slaves, though made from
orcish stock to be used as grunts in the yuan-ti armies, following legions of
expendable kobold footsoldiers.  Lizardfolk were also bred for the strength and
endurance to serve as hard laborers for the yuan-ti construction projects that
were to follow their conquest.  However, yuan-ti found the rebel humanoids to
be too volatile still, and were beaten back when they made their move too
soon.  Eventually, some time after the attempted yuan-ti conquest, the
lizardfolk escaped in their own little rebellion, as the kobolds freed themselves
and left the yuan-ti too busy to keep the lizardfolk in check.  The lizardfolk
maintained some of their old orcish ways, but were influenced by their brief
service to the yuan-ti and by the mental changes inflicted by their fusion with
various reptiles that the yuan-ti saw as useful.  Lizardfolk are little concerned
with the affairs of other races, and generally have little care for morality either,
but their indifference to such things is balanced by their similar indifference
to violence or domination.  They don't really want to dominate, nor destroy,
they just want to punish the defilers of nature and make a place for
themselves in nature's heirarchy, serving the natural way of things.  Lizardfolk
entertain both the primal, savage side of their own nature, and the rational,
patient side as well, or at least most of them do.  They fight amongst
themselves plenty, but rarely cause many casualties to fellow lizardfolk.
Propogation and strength are their chief concerns, and they raid other
humanoid settlements to survive and grow.  Lizardfolk tend to be nomadic and
somewhat primitive, living in mud huts and wooden longhouses, with spears
and clubs, bone shields, and armor of hide or leather more often than not.

Relations: Lizardfolk don't often bother other races, but many lizardfolk
tribes make occasional raids into other peoples' territory, some tribes more
frequently than others.  The lizardfolk often come into conflict with Rizans,
Gildens, goblinoids, and orcs because of the proximity of their territories.
Lizardfolk often control small stretches of land within the general territories
of these races, so they must occasionally fight off raiders from those
surrounding lands.  Though the lizardfolk are relatively reclusive, many do
have an enmity for elves and yuan-ti, whom they will seek out and slay for
food and vengeance, for the transformation the yuan-ti long ago forced upon
the lizardfolk ancestors using the Elven Mage-King's techniques.  Lizardfolk
had once been orcs, a particularly proud and strong coalition of orcish tribes,
and now they are a scattered race of small tribes.  It is extremely rare that a
halfling manages to trade with a lizardfolk tribe.  The lizardfolk's appetite for
humanoid flesh is often disturbing and appalling to other races, but their
limited contact with other races means that many folk don't even know about
lizardfolk eating habits.

Basic Stats: Medium Humanoid (Aquatic, Reptilian); Base Speed (30 feet);
+2 Strength, +4 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom (Lizardfolk are tall,
muscular, and hardy creatures, with thick scales, leathery skin underneath, and
a strong metabolism, but they also have ferocious appetites and a primitive
culture with little education, though they are naturally cunning and perceptive.);
Natural Armor (+5 AC); +4 Balance, +4 Jump, +4 Swim (can always take 10
on Swim checks); Alertness, Multiattack (racial bonus feats); Hold Breath
(can hold their breath for 4 additional minutes before needing Constitution
checks); Strong Appetite (needs twice as much food as normal); Natural
Weapons (two claws as primary natural weapons and a bite as secondary, all
of these have threat range 20 and critical multiplier x2, each claw deals 1d4
damage + Str mod, bite deals 1d4 damage + 1/2 Str mod rounded down,
with Multiattack the bite suffers only -2 on the attack roll during a full-attack
action); Racial Hit Dice (2d8 humanoid hit dice, which count towards
character level, gaining +2 base Reflex, 6 + Int mod skill points, proficiency
in their racial natural weapons, proficiency in simple weapons, proficiency
in greatclubs, proficiency in shield bashes, and proficiency in shields from
their first racial hit die, while gaining another +1 Reflex, +1 BAB, and 1
skill point from their second racial hit die, while the class skills for a
lizardfolk's racial hit dice are Balance, Jump, Listen, Spot, Swim, and
Wilderness Lore); Effective Character Level +1 (counts as a character 1
level higher for purposes of XP, starting level, starting wealth, rewards, and
challenges); Automatic Language (Draconic); Intelligence Bonus Languages
(Aquan, Elven, Gilden, Orcish, Rizan, Tashi, Tribal, Yuan-Ti); Favored
Class (Ranger).



Lizardfolk Racial Level Progression (Alternative): If making a lizardfolk
character at total initial ECL of 2 or lower, advance the lizardfolk along the
following progression as appropriate.  They cannot gain any class levels until
after they have acquired all lizardfolk racial levels.  The first two racial levels
apply normally towards character level for all intents and purposes, but the third
racial level does not.  The third lizardfolk racial level only counts towards
character level as an ECL adjustment of +1, thus affecting nothing more than
XP earned, XP needed for gaining levels, wealth, rewards, and challenges.  A
lizardfolk's base racial traits when using the following progression are: Medium
Humanoid (Aquatic, Reptilian), base speed 30 feet, +2 Constitution, -2
Intelligence, natural armor +2, Swim +4 (can always take 10 on Swim checks),
Alertness racial bonus feat, Strong Appetite, automatic language (Draconic),
Intelligence bonus languages (Aquatic, Elven, Gilden, Orcish, Rizan, Tashi,
Tribal, Yuan-Ti), and favored class (Ranger).  The racial hit dice are humanoid
hit dice, and the first racial hit die provides proficiency in all simple weapons,
greatclubs, shields, shield bashes, and the lizardfolk's natural weapons.
Racial    Total Racial    Additional Racial
Level     Hit Dice         Traits And Adjustments
1            1d8                Hold Breath, natural weapons, Multiattack
2            2d8                Wis +2, natural armor +1
3            2d8                Str +2, Con +2, natural armor +2, Balance +4, Jump +4
Racial         Base        Base     Base     Base      Total Skill Points
Hit Dice      Attack     Fort.     Ref.      Will       Gained From This Hit Die
1                +0            +0         +2         +0         6 + Intelligence modifier
2                +1            +0         +3         +0         1



Lizardfolk Religion
Lizardfolk believe strongly in the power and cycles of nature, as well as the
power of fate.  Their beliefs also include a strong emphasis on the basic
elements that compose nature, those of earth, air, fire, and water.  Light,
dark, animals, and plants also play a part in lizardfolk religion.  While the
lizardfolk acknowledge their origin as orcs and, further back, as Nari, they
believe that it was just their fate that they would be transformed into
lizardfolk and bonded more closely once again with the animals and forces of
nature.  Lizardfolk deny the existence of gods, goddesses, and the sorts of
spirit that most other religions follow, believing other races to be delusional
with the supposed voices of their gods or spirits speaking to them.  Lizardfolk
believe the flow of magic and the influence of corrupt nature spirits causes
these delusions, so while some lizardfolk will try and make other races
see "the truth," others will just ignore the delusions without forcing their
own beliefs on the delusional, as they see it.

The lizardfolk do believe in spirits to an extent, but they believe that all
spirits are nature spirits that take on the physical forms of everything, and
are the life-force that cycles through nature, going from one body to the next
as natural birth and decay continues, perpetuating the natural cycle of all
things.  Each person's spirit, each plant's spirit, each animal's spirit, and
each spirit of a chunk of any element continually passes around from one
similar form to another, reincarnating after a body's death or destruction.
Lizardfolk don't believe that any given item or creature has its own spirit, it
just has a recycled spirit that is using it as a host for the time being.  They
believe that their own spirits were guided by fate to see through the delusions
that some other spirits had begun to suffer while in mortal bodies.  So the
lizardfolk hope to be reincarnated amongst their own people, while their kind
works to gradually remove the delusions, whether by slaying the delusional to
make their spirits understand, or by trying to teach them "the truth."

Lizardfolk believe that fate, and each element or force of nature, is embodied
in a single grand essence, which spawns the spirits that grant life and
mobility to everything.  They refuse to pay homage or respects to spirits or
gods, instead they venerate these universal, primordial forces and invoke them
to help the lizardfolk in their quest to bring clarity to others.  Lizardfolk
abhor arcane magic, as a blasphemy that uses corrupted spirits to control the
greater essences of the world, and force them into what the caster desires.
Lizardfolk will generally kill or argue with arcane magic-users they meet, and
if they don't kill the arcanist, they'll probably continue to harass the
arcanist about their delusions and blasphemes, trying to make them change.

The lizardfolk give little importance to symbols and symbolism, so they have
no true religious sects, instead having more personalized religious beliefs.
Though a small group may believe something strongly, they aren't as zealous
in spreading their faith compared to humans.  They use no holy or unholy
symbols, instead they just carry a piece of holly or mistletoe as their divine
focus if they cast spells, and often they include a shed lizardskin or shed
scales as part of their focus item.  Particular lizardfolk groups may adopt a
certain kind of armband, headdress, tattoo, scar, or tunic as a simple mark
of their association, but such practices rarely spread.



Lizardfolk Religious Practices
The lizardfolk have no uniform religious practices, but they do have some
minor individual practices.  Lizardfolk tend to dance and chant on certain
days that are special to their tribe, celebrating and honoring nature, as they
see it. For ceremonial purposes they may wear headdresses, cloaks, or other
simple adornments of natural materials.  They sometimes keep the bones or
other remains of their prey, to use in brief festivals honoring the dead in the
cycle of nature.  A few lizardfolk even offer prayer to nature in thanks for a
meal just before and after slaying their prey.  Lizardfolk tend to meditate or
pray to nature at dawn or dusk.



Lizardfolk Culture
Lizardfolk don't particularly respect many virtues or customs, but the few they
do tend to honor are family bonds, determination, and courage.  A lizardman or
lizardwoman will tend to respect foes who defend their homes, families, and
livelyhood, but that won't keep lizardfolk raiders from pillaging them when
needed, or to teach the soft-skins a lesson.  They tend to believe in hard
lessons and learning through life experience, so lizardfolk are a rugged lot of
survivalists.  They respect a person's privacy and personal ambitions, but
think that the good of the many is usually more important than the good of the
one.  So if a tribe needs all its able-bodied members for hunting one season,
they're likely to forcibly keep their tribesmen from wandering off or going out
on their own.  Lizardfolk frown upon any desecration or destruction of nature,
but are practical enough and wise enough to understand the need for a bit of
destruction sometimes.  A few are even obsessed with destroying that which
doesn't fit, but most lizardfolk are more concerned with creation, sustenance,
and propogation.

They are perceptive and often coldly-rational people, but at least they can
generally be reasoned with.  Despite understanding little about the cultures,
technologies, and magicks outside their own tribes, the lizardfolk are
nonetheless fairly good at reading people's reactions and nonverbal cues,
figuring out the gist of what other people are talking about and responding
appropriately; rather than the kind of social bungling other primitive folk
tend to perpetuate.  Some lizardfolk enjoy playing mind games and being
cryptic, but many lizardfolk are too simple or straightforward in their
mindset.  Lizardfolk enjoy sport and competition, though they often get
overzealous with competitive fervor, ending up in violent scuffles.  A little
violence and rough-housing amongst lizardfolk is nothing, though, and they
don't carry grudges for long.

Lizardfolk usually care little for material possessions, but are extremely
territorial and just as fierce in guarding their mates and children, against
any threats or potential suitors that might steal away their mates.  Lizardfolk
breed copiously, and often take many mates.  Their extended families can be
quite complicated and vast, and while lizardfolk look down on inbreeding, they
have no problem with taking mates from far-removed extensions of their family,
such as a distant half-cousin of their brother's son's first wife.  With their
racial origin coming from only a handful of orcish tribes to begin with, their
race is already significantly inbred by this point anyway, though they only
track close family ties and thus have lost track of old marriages from several
generations ago.  Marriage itself is a minor formality amongst them, handled by
the chiefs of the bride's and groom's tribes, bearing no religious significance
to them, though it does carry a bit of political significance.  Lizardfolk
politics are minor and uncomplicated, anyway.

Lizardfolk are a simple people, and use only simple technology.  Most tribes
do not even have metalforging technology, so wield weapons of bone, wood,
rock, or copper, which can be found on the surface and shaped easily enough
by hammering it with rocks.  Weapons, armors, and shields of animal hide or
shells are common.  Slings and nets are the most developed of their common
weapons.  However, many lizardfolk are clever enough to figure out a bow,
sword, crossbow, flail, or the like if they find one.  Fortunately for them, of
course, their frequent raids upon other humanoids often yield new and better
weapons for the tribe.  Lizardfolk are nomadic and predatory by nature, but
often settle into an area for a generation or two before moving on, unless food
is too scarce or weather too harsh.  The homes of lizardfolk are often just
caves or simple huts or wood, thatch, mud, and clay.  Any long-lasting
lizardfolk village will have one or more longhouses of wood, mud, or clay,
where many lizardfolk rest together.  Lizardfolk families don't mind sharing
a cramped sleeping space for warmth.



Lizardfolk Organizations
Lizardfolk have no major organizations, and even their cults are very small and
localized.  A few lizardfolk who don't like their tribal culture, however, will
head into one of the settlements of another race and seek employment or
adventure there.  These individuals often join guilds or the like to have some
semblence of family and tribe, but simpler and less involved, while often
leaving the organization when it suits them.  Some lizardfolk tribes or
individuals become mercenaries, or enter the service of a dragon.  They regard
dragons as sort of distant cousins, but much more powerful and worthy of
veneration as mighty manifestations of nature.



Lizardfolk Lifespans: Adults by age 8, middle-aged by 21, old at 30, venerable
at 37, maximum age is 2d6 years after reaching venerable.
Common Lizardfolk Armaments: Clubs, greatclubs, tridents, daggers, spears,
axes, slings, darts, javelins, nets, leather armor, hide armor, bone armor,
cord armor, banded mail, chahar-aina, wooden shields, tower shields, bucklers.
Sample Lizardfolk Names (Regardless of Gender): Zathrak, Taaris, Zeese,
Rykaal, Yohz, Drazan, Saal, Veeke, Jidaan, Vrakkaaz, Kazuul, Tashun, Grazz,
Ssashaal, Lazraak, Vrish.
Sample Lizardfolk Tribes: Red Mountain Tribe, People of Gray Pond, Pteran Watchers, Alligator Tribe, Kindred of the Twelve Serpents, Followers of Nahasik-Grekaal, Pegasi Hunters, Hraekuul's Band, Servants of Feraxanmanokhoun, Tikaminari Raiders.
Sample Lizardfolk Cults: Disciples of the Bloody Star, Kalzadrek's Remembrance, Roc Roost Tenders, Galshak's Attendants, Zalkath's Swords, Bronze Hammer Brothers, Followers of the Ragged Way, Minions of Kesshet, Voorak's Order, Guardians of the Malachite Comet.



Lizardfolk PC Class Choices: (common) Barbarian, Ranger, (uncommon)
Fighter, Shugenja, (rare) Cleric, Druid, Monk.
Lizardfolk Cleric Domain Choices: Air, Animal, Darkness, Earth, Fire,
Luck, Plant, Scalykind, Sun, Water, Weather.
Lizardfolk Prestige Domain Choices: Beastmaster, Divination, Pestilence.



Disclaimer: 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons, Oriental Adventures, domains,
prestige domains, class names, domain names, prestige domain names, Yuan-Ti,
creature types, creature subtypes, skill names, feats, feat names, natural armor, AC,
Armor Class, take 10, ability checks, skill checks, primary natural attacks, secondary
natural attacks, ability bonuses, ability modifiers, threat ranges, critical multipliers,
natural weapons, ability scores, XP, Effective Character Level, ECL, favored classes,
Hit Dice, Hit Die, Base Attack Bonus, skill points, skill ranks, class skills, full-attack
action, character level, base Fortitude save, base Reflex save, base Will save,
saving throws, weapon proficiencies, shield proficiencies, armor proficiencies, and
Aquan, so far as I know, are property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., which is a division
of Hasbro Corporation.  All other content on this webpage is copyright (c) 2004-2005,
property of John J. Korsog, Jr., internet aliases Arkhandus and Mist Phantom.  This
material free for personal use but not for commercial distribution.
Rhunarian Lizardfolk
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