Cave Lotl

Cave Lotls evolved in total darkness, the simple quiet of still caves deep underground. In places that are inaccessible, maybe once they were open, but for thousands of years they are preserved, untouched. Small worlds onto themselves blissfully unaware of what exists beyond their walls.

Undersfolk

Cave Lotl

Small cave dwelling newt people. Peaceful by nature. Brought up in darkness they find the light intriguing and frightening all at once. PCs of this race automatically gain the @Unders role on the campaign discord server.

ability score increase: +2 Dex, +1 Con

age: Adulthood 30-180 Maximum Lifespan Unconfirmed

alignment: Usually Good. To be a Lotl is to rely on the ecosystem around you and be in harmony with it. They try to put good out into the world knowing it will come back to them.

Size: Small

speed: 25ft, 30ft swim

Languages: Common, Undercommon

race features:

Regenerative. Your amphibian body is more capable of growing itself back than most vertebrates. Lost limbs can grow back over the course of 10 consecutive long rests. Additionally, if you are reduced to zero hit points by slashing, bludgeoning, or piercing damage you gain +1d4 on your third and subsequent death saves. The first two each day are made normally. Your body tries to repair itself at every opportunity.
From a Quiet Place. Gain proficiency in Perception or Stealth.
Technically I Don’t See. 60ft of Darkvision, can see through Magical Darkness.
Porous Skin. Cave Lotls are from isolated caves that haven’t been disturbed since they formed. It is some of the most truly untouched nature in the world. But as they are so dependent on their environment, they are particularly vulnerable to disruptions to that balance. They have Disadvantage on saves against Poison. However they gain Water Breathing.
Sunlight Sickness. Being from a lightless cave, your body is just not built to withstand the horrors of natural sunlight. Every two hours spent in direct sunlight (at once, or spread out over a single 24 hour period) incurs one level of Exhaustion. Being submerged in water and darkness can double the rate of naturally healing from this exhaustion.

Hailing from caves lost deep in the Unders, these amphibious cave salamander people have never seen the sun. Cave Lotls have external gills that flourish out from their neck like a fine Elizabethan collar, they sparkle red rubies encrust them and seem to be how they breathe. Their skin is palid and porous, it has never seen light. No generation before them ever has. But from time to time, those that have left the peace of their home caves have been known to appear in a variety of colors. It seems that their adaptive nature allows them to ingest dye and take on color in the way a white carnation would. Over a lifetime of exploration, they may develop patterns and prints. There is a rumor of a lotl that curated a diet that grew the patterns in sigils with arcane power, but thats what your uncle’s friend said anyhow. So it’s probably true. Cave Lotls are most comfortable with bare feet and bare hands, so that they might adhere to cave structures. But their fashion is based in comfort, robes of light materials that float in the water as well as they flow in the air.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Of particular note, Cave Lotls have ruby encrusted gills. They naturally grow out that way and have significant value on the black market. Someone seems to be buying them up, they may have additional properties when used in certain kinds of ritual magic. Note that removal of these gills will cause the subsequent death of the Lotl.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Cave Lotls are born into the darkness. Their eyes are large but grown over with a layer of skin. They look like black spots, and its hard to believe they can see much of all. But their eyes can see through darkness of even supernatural origin. It is as though they see on a wavelength before unknown to science and the arcane.

Civilization and Culture

History

Some time after the surface people came below they encountered their first adventuring Cave Lotl. A small brave figure, with a yellow and tan pattern, spots on his side. That was Froot. A friendly guide who wouldn’t speak about where he was from, just where he was going. He stayed with the wandering refugees for weeks, helping guide them through a place familiar to him. All he asked of them in exchange were pigments from their artists. Then he went on his way. It would be more than a decade before another Lotl was encountered. Over the centuries they became a sporadic presence. A rare sight but usually a welcome one. Few saw them as threatening due their small size and generally open demeanor. But as of late, there seems to have been a rise in their occurrence. More freshly exploring Cave Lotls have been moving upwards. But no one know where they actually come from. To this day they have all kept it a secret to the last one.

Historical Figures

Froot - A great pioneer

Scientific Name

Amphibious Humanoid

Conservation Status

The homes of the Cave Lotl are under threat. They are rare as a species and not more than a dozen living individuals have ever been encountered.

Geographic Distribution

• The Unders