Lizardfolk

Blackrock

The lizardfolk of Blackrock live alongside other saurian species under the rule of the dragon lords. Blackrock and the dragon lords are shrouded in myth and legend to the peoples of the east, but they are highly revered for their many wondrous exports that travel east on ḥasiya caravans. Society in the dracates is highly stratified, not just along economic, but species lines, with kobolds being labourers, lizardfolk as warriors, fire newts as scribes, priests, and functionaries, and the great dragon lords at the top as living god-kings (the Saurian word aṛaḥiin is variously translated as “lord”, “sovereign”, or “god”). Because of these roles, only the kobolds and lizardfolk are really ever seen outside of Blackrock, making up the trading caravans carrying glass, obsidian, sulphur and other alchemical minerals, and exotic goods floral and faunal from Blackrock to Then and the Mahanjat, while ferrying back spices, ornate textiles, and precious metals and stones like gold, silver, and jade, along great trade roads through the lands of the Bodyund. Few humans have been to Blackrock, but those that have tell tales of a place as wondrous as it is terrifying: a place of bubbling volcanic mud pits, chromatic hot springs, and spewing geysers; lands made from extinct lava flows, glassy, jagged peaks, sulphurous brimstone mounds, giant carapaced fauna, great saurian cities carved into the rock like hidden temples, and a moon that hangs so low and close they could almost reach out and touch it. All the while, no matter where you are, Mount Q'asterroos looms ominously over all, where supposedly the high lord Sahrin slumbers while his children fight endlessly over his lands. The moon is thought as the font of magic, and while inhabited by sun-lovers, the moon-touched west reaches its apex in Blackrock, and legend holds that one can jump from atop the peak of Mt Q'asterroos and fall upwards unto the moon. Magicians will often make pilgrimage to Blackrock to atune themselves to this lunar patron, but Mt. Q'asterroos is a forbidden place to all but the dragon lords. However, the tales of men killed by the natives for breaching this sacred land dissuade few.
There are four dracates in Blackrock, each named after and ruled over by a dragon lord, supposedly the offspring of the long slumbering high lord Sahrin: Akt'arr, Rraanos, Shahar, and Takhran. Each dracate reflects the personal characteristics of its ruler.
Akt'arr is malevolent, warlike, ruthless, bloodthirsty, and his society is highly martial, chaotic, and equally ruthless. An underling who kills his general in Akt'arr is less likely to be put to death for the act than to be promoted to the position of his victim for showing great martial prowess. Clothing among the saurians is largely decorative rather than functional as it is for humans, and the denizens of Akt'arr have little use or desire for decoration, so it's rare to see the copper-coloured lizardfolk of Akt'arr wearing anything but the most spartan and functional armour.
Rraanos is a mad king, bipolar and unpredictable, equally likely to issue a harsh and cruel punishment for a minor infraction as issue a strange and seemingly lenient one. His dracate is the least structured and hierarchical, station occasionally beholden to Rraanos' mad whims, placing a kobold in the priestly classes, regardless of the protests of the priests, or the kobold in question. Rraanos is one of the dracates that frequently trades with the outside, seemingly just because they can, rather than for any real economic reasons. Rraanos' lizardfolk are rust-coloured.
Shahar is obsessed with wealth and image. The denizens of Shahar are certainly the most ornamented, wearing their status and station upon themselves. Shahar himself is shallow and egotistical and sycophancy is the most surefire way to advance in his society. Caravans from Shahar are the most common to see outside Blackrock, with the obsession with wealth, affluence, and status driving trade. The deep onyx coloured lizardfolk of Shahar are distinct from the more deep-green tinted black lizardfolk of the tribal areas.
Tiikhran is xenophobic, martial, and honour-obsessed. His dracate is the most orderly and stratified. Authority is absolute and not to be questioned, simply obeyed. Outsiders, lizardfolk or otherwise, are unwelcome in Tiikhran. The dull brown colour of Tiikhran's lizardfolk reflect this spartan pragmatism.

Tribal

The jungle tribes are disorganised, violent, and highly territorial. They, along with the overgrown jungles they inhabit, present a near-impenetrable barrier to travel and expansion further to the north to the lands of legend from whom few have ever come or gone. They interact rarely with the humans of the region, the edge of the jungle marking a good natural border. They fight constantly amongst each other and with the kobold tribes of the region. They are physically and behaviourally more animalistic than their counterparts of Blackrock. Most attribute this to an “aura of civility” that the dragon lords give off, and that if away for too long, the “civilised” saurians will become like their animalistic cousins.
Tribal society is almost the polar opposite of Blackrock: small, egalitarian, and unstructured. Their tribes are ruled by the physically strongest, but sexually egalitarian. They live as hunter-gatherers in the hot and dense jungle where they can be very physically active without expending much body heat. Scale colour is important among the tribals, indicating tribal affiliation, but with so many tribes and only a handfull of colours, it's a less indicative factor than among Blackrock. Along the edges of the jungles where it meets the desert, they frequently interact with the Akridians, usually in violent competition, but some tribes and hives have managed peaceful coexistence and even mutually beneficial relationships.

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The lizardfolk live mostly in the Shadowlands of Southern Eussis below the Ástarin River, or as slaves in Trati. It is unknown how the lizardfolk live among their own, whether they live in small tribes or larger societies, or whether they build permanent buildings and settlements or simple tents or even burrows.
They don’t emote the same way other races do, concerned simply with the animalistic instinct for survival and bettering their own circumstances. With this knowledge the other races can easily bend them to do what they want, but they will never be a friend or true compatriot. As such most are wary in their dealings with lizardfolk, knowing the only thing keeping them from eating you is their fear of death or loss of status. A race of sociopaths can easily be coerced into a race of slaves if the motivations are there: keep them fed and threaten punishment if they don’t obey, and, while they won’t be happy as they cannot comprehend the feeling of joy or contentedness, they assuredly follow along.
They have variety in their looks, with vast range in colour and frills. Their faces may be long and pointed, or stout. Their teeth may protrude, or fit neatly in their mouths. Slaves will have their claws clipped, as well as some who choose to live among the humanoid races.

Lizardfolk Features

Ability Score Increase: +1 Constitution or +1 Perception
Age: Lizardfolk reach maturity around age 14 and rarely live longer than 60 years.
Size: Lizardfolk are bulkier and taller than humans, 6 to 8 feet tall, and their colorful frills make them appear even larger. Your size is Medium.
Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Languages: You are fluent in Saurian and conversational in Kushan and Then.
Features:

• Subrace: Select a subrace.

• Bite: You are proficient with your maw, which you can use as an unarmed strike which deals 1d6 plus your Strength modifier piercing damage on a hit.

• Cold Blooded: A creature of cold blood, you have a −2 vulnerability to cold damage, but you consume half the food of a warm blooded creature.

• Hold Breath: You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time.

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Blackrock

Culture: Violent, hierarchical
Religious Leanings: Dragon-lord worship
Physical Characteristics: Brown, black, rust, or copper scaled hide, head frills
Features:

• Caravan Trader: You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Athletics, Insight, Mercantalism, and Speech.

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Tribal

Culture: Libertine, disorganised
Religious Leanings: Agnosticism or animism
Physical Characteristics: Green, brown, black, or copper scaled hide, head frills
Features:

• Cunning Artisan: As part of a short rest, you can harvest bone and hide from a slain beast, construct, dragon, monstrosity, or plant creature of size Small or larger to create one of the following items: a shield, a club, a javelin, or 1d4 darts or blowgun needles. To use this trait, you need a blade, such as a dagger, or appropriate artisan's tools, such as leatherworker's tools.

• Hunter's Lore: You gain proficiency with two of the following skills of your choice: Athletics, Medicine, Stealth, and Survival.

Playable in: Campaign II, IV, B-I, IX