Mag'har

Strong in body, strong in faith

Various pieces of these mag'har are (c) Wizards of the Coast and/or Activision Blizzard.

The mag'har, or pureblooded, are the closest living descendants of the ancient Neanderthal tribe. Mag'har tribes cloister in remote forest strongholds, preferring to spend their days in quiet harmony with the woods. When provoked, they demonstrate formidable skills with weapons and nature-oriented magic.

Basic Information

Ecology and Habitats

Mag'har live off the land while striving to remain in balance with nature. Their methods reflect common sense and remarkable resourcefulness. During a bountiful summer, they store away excess. When winter arrives, they ration what they have so that they can feed not only themselves but their animal friends as well.

Additional Information

Social Structure

As caretakers of the land, mag'har prefer to remain out of sight. They don’t try to dominate nature, but rather seek to ensure that it prospers and survives according to its own laws.
Even in the face of an assault, mag'har prefer a subtle approach to prevent damage to their territory. They employ their skills to make the surrounding land an unappealing place to explore by temporarily diverting springs, driving away game, stealing critical tools, and altering trails to leave hunting or lumber parties hopelessly lost. The mag'har presence is marked by an absence of animals and a strange quiet, as if the land wishes to avoid attracting attention to itself. The faster travelers decide to move on, the better.
If these tactics fail, the mag'har take more direct action. Their observations of a settlement determine what happens next. If the outsiders seem peaceful, the mag'har approach and gently ask them to leave, even offering food and other supplies to aid their departure. If those who insist on remaining respect nature, take only what they need, and live in harmony with the land, mag'har explore the possibility of friendship with them, as long as the outsiders vow to safeguard the land. If the settlers clearly display evil or destructive intentions, however, the mag'har martial their strength for a single overwhelming attack.

Facial characteristics

Mag'har facial characteristics mirror that listed in the orc species.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Mag'har do not have a naming tradition different than base orcs.

Common Taboos

In a mag'har's eyes, there is no greater fault than greed. They believe that the world remains healthiest when each creature takes only what it needs. Material goods, especially precious gems and gold, have little appeal to them. What use are such things when winter lingers and food runs short?

History

Through fortunate circumstance after fortunate circumstance, some proto-orcs were left to develop on their own without significant external interference. What resulted are the mag'har, the pure ones. Throughout history these big, powerful people have been a nomadic presence in the plains of Torar, and have come into conflict with many different peoples and creatures. Preferring a peaceful solution, the mag'har nonetheless eagerly fight when the situation calls for it. During periods of peace they care for the lands they pass through, conferring with the spirits of the land and creatures of wherever they are, they have a habit of seeding forests where they had been removed by other species.
These days some mag'har have left behind their nomadic lifestyle to join the societies of others. Others leave their tribes to bring the values of honor and mindfulness to the rest of the world.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Orc

Scientific Name

Homo simplex inlimis

Lifespan

Mag'har reach adulthood around the age of 15 and live up around 100 years.

Average Height

5.5 to 7 feet

Average Weight

200 to 350 lbs.

Average Physique

Mag'har are hulking and brutish-looking, almost like a dire version of ancient orcs. While women are somewhat more slender than men, both genders have a predisposition to large musculature and an angry-appearing brow.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Mag'har have thick hides not dissimilar to rhino hide. Their skin is generally brown or gray, or occasionally russet colored. Other than their size and faces, mag'har look very similar to humans.

Mag'har Traits

Ability Score Increase Your Constitution score increases by 1, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Size Medium

Speed Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

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Your mag'har character has the following racial traits in addition to your orc traits.
Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You must then finish a long rest to use this feature again.
Choose one:

• Strength of Mountains. While wielding a weapon with the heavy, oversized, versatile, and two-handed properties in one hand, you are treated as wielding that weapon in two hands. This does not apply to weapons with the ranged property or weapons that physically require two hands to operate (like a longbow).
• Animal Companion. Your connection with the natural world attracts a creature of the wild to be your companion. Choose a beast with a CR of 1/4 or less to forge your bond with. If your companion dies, you are under the effects of a divine curse for a year and a day before you can spend 8 hours of ritual meditation and gain a new one. A ceremony of atonement spell cast by a mag'har spellcaster or a druid of any species ends the curse immediately, allowing you to meditate for 8 hours and summon a new companion. Your companion animal loses the Multiattack feature if it had one, obeys your commands to the best of its ability (or acts on its own accord if you give it no orders), rolls for its own initiative, adds your proficiency bonus to its attack rolls, AC, skills, damage, and saves, and learns 2 skills of your choice. It gains an additional hit dice and increased hit points every time you increase in level beyond level 3. Whenever you gain an Ability Score Increase, so does your companion. Your DM may not allow certain feats for companions (especially feats that grant spell-like abilities).