Found in nearly every corner of pondera, Lizardfolk are a large humanoid reptilian race who exist primarily in a tribal society of hunter gatherers. Those who encounter them know them for their brutality, cannibalistic nature, and their xenophobic tendency towards non-lizardfolks, or even lizardfolks from outside of their tribe.
Lizardfolk have a very reptilian based body. They have a protruded snout with rowsw of sharp, piercing teeth, two sets of claws, one on each hand containing five fingers. They stand upright when needed, but when doing so drag a long, thick, alligator like tail behind them.
A product of an environment instead of genetic reproduction, Lizardfolk scales will usually be colored based on the environment they spent most of their growth stages in. Brown scales will come about if a lizardolk is hatched buried in wet mud, blue if hatched in salt water, green if hatched in fresh water, and black if hatched in swamplands. Some exceptions to this rule stand true however. Lizardfolk who are buried in volcanic ash will have a deep burgundy color to their scales. Those who spend no time in water can get grey scales, or, if unusually frail, can gain albinism instead, though in most tribes this is seen as weakness and are usually killed off soon after birth if they survive the other hungry lizardfolk in their feeding clutch. Finally, lizardfolk with a large touch of draconic ancestry, no matter their environment, will show scales the color of their draconic ancestor.
Lizardfolk can live between 70 and 90 years old, however, due to their great demand for combat, most will not live to such an age, dying well before they reach middle age at around 35.
Lizardfolk reproduction occurs once per year, during the warm seasons between mid spring, and mid fall, after a period of time where the average temperature is over 70 degrees for several days in a row. This tells a population of lizardfolk that it is time to breed, and many will seek out a mate. Usually, females will lay eggs within 3 months, which hatch after another 3 months. There is usually enough time for females to lay two clutches of eggs within the same breeding season.
After being laid as an egg, Lizardfolk will spend three months incubating into a hatch. After which they spend the first three years of their life growing and learning how to fight, hunt, and be productive members of society as a group. From the age of 3 till 10, they are considered students, and are guided individually by members of the tribe until they reach adulthood at age 10.
Lizardfolk can be found the world over, in various environments. However, it is the swamplands that is said to be the birthplace of Lizardfolk, and most will state that lizardfolk exist in a swampland. However, most lizardfolk will be found in shallow waters like swamplands, but can be found also along beaches, in shallow tide reefs, and even in volcanic areas around hotsprings. Lizardfolk will tend to avoid the cold however, so higher elevations and towards the north are extremely rare to find a lizardfolk in.
As omnivores, Lizardfolk eat whatever edible substances are available, including raw, uncooked meat. They have a hard time digesting seeds, similar to other humanoids, but otherwise, they depend on their strong jaws and teeth to shread and tear at their food before eating.
Lizardfolk will shed the entirety of their skin every six months, in small, scaled patches. The summer months are especially prolific in skin shedding, and many of them can be found scratching up against trees to relieve themselves of their dead skin, or using special brushes or combs to assist with the shedding. The summer months also lead to breeding season as well causing higher aggression, and predilections for raids on towns near the tribe.
As it stands, lizardfolk will have many micro-structures within their society, where the weak obey the strong, or the weak are eaten. However, all lizardfolk do follow a basic structure no matter the environment or geography.
At the top, is a tribe leader, who makes all major decisions on the survival of the lizardfolk tribe, from the construction of buildings, to moving the colony to a better location for food and foraging.
Below the tribe leader are the standard tribe members, who rank themselves in order from most, to least powerful given the situation, however this social structure is completely abolished when in combat, and they fight together as equals. Runts (the smallest and weakest of a hatching of eggs) are the bottom of this specific layer of the totem pole.
Below the tribe members are the hatchlings, the newborn from the time they are born to about 6 years old when they can contribute to the society fully. They are given teachers, who do with them as whatever they desire on an individual basis, and though there are cases of the teachers killing and eating their own students, this is very far from the norm, and those who do so for a particularly promising student, are likely to get banished, or eaten by the rest of the tribe.
Finally, below even the newborns are everyone else. Any non-member of the tribe or any non-lizardfolk is considered beneath the efforts of the tribe, and are usually considered food for now, later, or useful until they are delegated to food status again.
The uses of lizardfolk are few and far between. Their meat is considered tough to most races, and their eggs are completely bitter and inedible no matter the preparation. However, their skin makes for fine leather, and many will pass off lizardfolk pelts as dragon pelts to get an extra few coins should they trick a traveling fool.
Outside of lizardfolk tribes, many would have problems differentiating two lizardfolk apart save for a few small charactaristics. Dorsal spikes or frills are common denotations between lizardfolk, and do not have a genetic predisposition from parantage to child. In extremely rare cases, a denotation of intelligence can be seen on a lizardfolk from a young age, with barbels on or around their snout.
Due to the great demand for being part of the wilderness, Lizardfolk are known to be less intelligent than other species. Though this is true, there are most closely resembled in intellect as orcs.
Lizardfolk have a pair of eyes, which are known for seeing well in the light, and in complete darkness. They also possess a superficial pair of ears, which work little different from other species. They do have less of an issue hearing through water than other species, due to their long lives spent in water waiting in ambush.
Though lizardfolk do not keep pets, there are tribes in
Devoturpi that do have a symbiotic relationship with the dinosaurs, and a mutual understanding between one another. Lizardfolk in
Devoturpi are said to be the only ones capable of training the carnivores there outside of druid order.
Names for Lizardfolk are decided later on in life, usually as a form of expressing a certain skill that the lizardfolk has above others. This is always taken as a single word from Draconic, to express this skill. Most lizardfolk will take a surname of either the name of the leader of their tribe from when they hatched, or the name of the tribe itself.
The basis for all beauty in lizardfolk society is the ideals of survival. Great strength is superior in most cases, however, the smaller and more rare of lizardfolk can subvert these expectations through creative means.
Ideally, lizardfolk of both genders are expected to be strong and healthy, in order to make strong and healthy clutches of eggs. Battle scars with a story are also shows of great strength, and are used to both intimidate opponents, and to attract mates.
Lizardfolk only breed for a few months out of the year, when temperatures are warmer. Usually this involves temperatures hitting about 70 degrees plus for over a week signals lizardfolk about the proper time to breed. During the "warm seasons" A lizardfolk will grab one or more mates to breed with. During that time, should other lizardfolk vie for the affections and breeding rights of one of their mates, there will usually be a competition between the two competing males. Courtship otherwise depends entirely on the individual.
With a heavy handed approach to Survival, tribes of lizardfolk will gather relationships as a means to an end, for survival first, and for comfort second. However, feelings of love and affection are not well known in the harsh environment of lizardfolk society, and so, "pets" are usually quickly eaten, and seen as a distraction that other races dabble in.
Though many consider lizardfolk to be completely barbaric, a good majority of them have developed technologies of rope, sewing, decorations, dies, and many other simplistic forms of artwork and means of weaponry. They do however excel at waste management, and using everything from any creature they kill.
As a mostly xenophobic race, Lizardfolk primarily, and usually only understand Draconic. Though the draconic may be a bit more bastardized than draconic straight from dragons or kobolds, it does involve a bit more hissing as far as a regional dialect, vs the roaring boisterous base language itself.
Most lizardfolk will dress in whatever clothing is easy to maintain, or whatever they accquired for free. Many a lizardfolk will strap whatever bits and pieces of leather or armor they can to themselves for added protection. Some lizardfolk who boast strong scales however, will be satisfied in wearing nothing, to prove their own strength.
One of the most common customs, and yet considered one of the more barbaric by other societies standards, is the cannibalism of a tribe member upon their death. Graves take too long to dig, fire is a dangerous resource to burn the body, and the meat is still good when a tribe member passes away. The ritualistic cannibalism is symbolic of the memory of the tribe member being shared among those who knew them. The memory of the lizardfolk, and what they died to protect, the tribe, is spread among its members and gives them the strength to carry on without them.
Though lizardfolk can be seen as cruel to many other races on Pondera, they do have several taboos within their society. A lizardfolk, no matter who they are, puts their tribe first before any outsiders. Should one do so, they are quite possibly banished from the tribe to fend for themselves. Lizardfolk also have a taboo against seeking help from outsiders of the tribe, which their stubbornness can lead to many problems with both the tribe, and those giving assistance as well. Additionally, Lizardfolk usually see those who cannot hunt, cook, protect, or clean up for themselves as potentially worthless in society, and are considered either prey, or beneath them more so than any others. And finally, as strength is considered the most important aspect of Lizardfolk society, a ruler who cannot prove themselves strong is also considered a great taboo, and will likely be fought by his tribe until his worth is proven beyond a doubt.
Just as Kobolds are said to be decendents from the blood of true dragons, Lizardfolk are said to be decendents from the blood of Drakes instead. Looking throughout their history, and their close range and proximity to drakes in most cases, this is a potential starting point that most scholars agree with. Lizardfolk claim that their race is older than that of Kobolds, and this does give a grain of truth, as the dialect of Lizardfolk, though bastardized, is even closer to that of true draconic, than that of Kobolds.
Other Lizardfolk: More often than not, if a lizardfolk meets another from outside of their own tribe, there is a bit of animosity between them, unless both are, for one reason or another, without tribe. They fight for their tribe, and unless both tribes are in need of assistance fighting a common foe, they will avoid each other like plagued meat. The exception to this is if both lizardfolk are banished and are male and female, in which case, they usually start their own tribe where there is less competition for resources. This happens very rarely however, and it is just as likely that one will kill the other for food should resources be running low.
Kobolds: Considered very close to Lizardfolk, there are rare opportunities where Kobolds and Lizardfolk will work together in a form of temporary society. Lizardfolk will guard the entrence to a Kobold cave, and Kobolds will dig out the tunnels throughout, to collect the materials to give towards their draconic overlords. Lizardfolk benefit from getting better equipment and a place to run to when the tribe is in danger, given the vast caverns that the kobolds create underground, and the kobolds benefit from having larger protectors to hide their own society, and gather food from outdoors during the daytime. These societies are always run by a dragon, or group of dragons, in order to gain the benefits from both races. It truly is a beneficial relationship to all three species, until the temporary alliance is done, and they all go their separate ways.
Other Humanoids: Lizardfolk, being the xenophobes they are, usually have a tough time connecting with other humanoid races. Their ritualistic cannibalism, their harsh treatment of others, and the absolute demand to stay with the tribe to protect it, leads to confrontations regularly from the species.
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