Gurun

Born in the waters of a long-forgotten world, the Gurun are deeply attuned to the aether. Tribal shamans bond with the spirits of nature, beasts, and ancestors. Communing with the very soul of the swamps and islands, they often live in remote villages. The Wardens of Akan often seek out the Gurun as scouts, guides, and as mediators when the spirits are disrupted.

A Part of Nature

Just like the variety of plants that bloom in their swamps, the Gurun are a diverse species. From agile frog-like forms to large toad-shaped hulks, size and shape vary wildly among the Gurun. Coloration is often matched to the specific land of their birth, matching the local vegetation. Due to the magical nature of Kapsaka, this means that one might meet a Gurun of almost any different skin tone, though blues, greens, and reds tend to be most common.

The Circle of Life

Gurun exist in a never-ending cycle of reincarnation. Born in large cohorts as tadpoles, very few survive the two-year process to adulthood. For the Gurun this is a natural process, and it is considered that the soul was not yet ready to be reincarnated. At death, a Gurun's spirit returns to the land of its birth, where it may become an advisor to the tribe's shaman, reincarnate into the next batch of tadpoles, or perhaps even haunt its former homeland. In life, Gurun have little to no memory of their past lives, but it is said that they revisit the totality of their lives after each death with the goddess Grotia.

Gurun Names

Gurun do not use last names, seeing themselves as members of cyclical people.

Male: Chotuz, Imza, Kixl, Thriz, Vashk, Yaxl
Female: Akita, Atluz, Crezo, Des, Dhotos, Dreh, Sress
Nueteral: Akzu, Draz, Thresk, Yis, Zax

Civilization and Culture

History

The Gurun's ancestors fled as refugees from their aquatic home world sometime before The Great Frost. Traveling the rift-gate, they were eventually welcomed on Kapsaka and into The Empire of Sun. While the species has adapted to much of Sun Elf culture, they still cling to many of the traditions, customs, and spiritual teachings of their ancestors.

Art Credits:
Swamp by Chibionpu
Frogfolk by Oscar Fayemendie

Geographic Distribution

• Kapaska

Related Organizations

• Black Drake Transport Union
• Council of Rax
• Cult of Annihilation
• The Empire of Sun
• The Order of Black Sun
• The Order of the Timeless Sun
• The Spark of Discovery

Related Materials

• Fire-salt

Ancestry Class

As a Gurun you gain access to the Spirit Binder Class (Valdas extended PDF).

As a Gurun, you gain access to the following subclasses from Valdas:

• Barbarian: Path of Tranquility
• Barbarian: Path of the Fin
• Druid: Circle of the Deep
• Ranger: Beastborne
• Sorcerer: Spiritborn

Ability Score Increase

Your dexterity score increases by 2 and your constitution score by 1.

Age

Gurun reach adulthood after 2 years and live for about 50 years.

Size

Gurun are between 4 and 5 feet tall and average about 100-200 pounds. Your size is medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet and your sticky fingers give you a climb speed of 25.

Amphibious

You may breathe underwater and on land.

Connected to the Spirits

You can cast the spell speak with dead, without using spell slots or material components. You can only ask one question of a corpse when you cast this spell in this way. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Amphibian Acrobats

Built with strong and capable legs and affinity towards jumping Gurun are naturally inclined towards physical activity, granting them proficiency with either the Athletics or Acrobatics Skill.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Gurun. You also have the innate ability to speak with beasts, but only with creatures belonging to a 'frog' category, you achieve this through complicated Croaking.