Lizardfolk

Hailing from The Grovelands, in the Eastern archipelago or the Ghrian Ocean, the Lizardfolk are a proud people with a deep history. Unfortunately, that history is difficult to penetrate for outsiders since it is an oral history, and the language of the Lizardfolk is impossible to speak with the vocal apparatus of the more common raced. Additionally the guttural croaks and high pitched rasps often lie outside the frequency range of races like Humans, Elves, and Dwarves.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

Lizardfolk aren't, as many incorrectly assume, tribal in nature. Rather, they live in egalitarian communities in the swamplands or their unique floating agricultural settlements in the reduced salinity waters between @The Spires nearer to the shoreline of The Grovelands. Known to have a compulsion for hygiene and cleanliness, filth can sometimes be grounds for banishment.

Shared customary codes and values

The Lizardfolk pass on their moral teachings and histories through an oral tradition. Much of this is accomplished through the practice of their religion, Shintodo. They perform the rituals of this religion with gusto for flair and style, using what were once fables and legends to entertain (and educate) their children with tales of a rich culture of tradition, honor, and indulgence. While few still truly believe in Shintodo, it is interwoven in their culture, and as a people they are defensive of its quirkier aspects.

Common Etiquette rules

In the humid, marshy homes of the Lizardfolk, clothes represent work and status. Children do not wear clothes, and only upon passing the Rite of Adulthood does a Lizardman start to wear anything.

Common Dress code

Lizardfolk clothing is sparse, and based off of status and role. High status Lizardmen wear special colorful robes when performing ceremonial duties. Only adult Lizardmen wear clothes, usually no more than simple loincloths which do not, in fact, cover their genitalia - for they are internal organs. Additionally, the Lizardfolk are ectothermic, regulating their body temperatures by controlling their exposure to the sun and via dips in the wasters of their home environments. This combined with the natural protection afforded by their thick scaled skin makes clothing and even armor unneeded accessories for a Lizard person.

Art & Architecture

Lizardmen art is focused entirely in their storytelling. Bards are prized, but professional artists are rare in the Grovelands. Only the old or talented are allowed to forgo work in favor of art. Architecture follows necessity for the Lizardmen, who are experts in weaving plants both living and dead to form floating gardens and homes above the waves.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

The primary crop of the @Floating Groves is the @Zodi fruit. This Fruit is a lightly spicy purplish-red pitted fruit that grows on a rare genus of mangrove. They are planted on the far edges of the floating farms, closest to the ocean. The plant is well adapted to high salinity, and in fact, concentrates salt in its fruit. Once ripe, the Zodi is similar in size to a cherry. The flavor is often described as mildly spicy with a hint of citrus. Few enjoy it raw, so it is usually immediately cooked into a meal or dried and ground into a spice that is essentially a sweet and spicy flavored salt. This has become a principle export as the flavor agrees with the palates of many Humans, Elves, and Dwarves. Several varieties of Zodi exist, and the Lizardfolk use them in conjunction with the bland but nutritious roots and leaves floating grove agriculture provides. Fish and small game are treated as a delicacy in Lizardfolk Culture. They are beloved as part of the meal but due to a long history of food shortages, the Lizardfolk diet has become a primarily vegetarian one. In times long past Lizardfolk hunting proficiency drove many species of frog, turtle, snake and other small game to extinction in the Grovelands. Their ability to swim at great speeds once made them voracious hunters of fish, but as their culture moved more and more toward one of agricultural prowess in an unusual environment, their dependence and so too their appetite for meat has waned.

Coming of Age Rites

Both male and female Lizardfolk enter adulthood in a ceremony referred to as Kimotano, or 'The Great Splash' in the common tongue. In this ceremony, they are expected to recite/sing the creation myth of Shintodo while using their tail to splash their village elders. The further the waters of their splash travel, the greater fortune they are said to receive in adult life. With the unanimous approval of the elders, they are accepted as adult members of society.