Holocron

Bothan

Medium species · Bothawui
sourcePHBsizeMedium
Tweaked from 5eYou already know this as 5e Half-Elf — Like the half-elf, the Bothan is your charismatic, skill-versatile face — lean on social and information-gathering proficiencies rather than raw combat, though the SW5e trait package differs in the details. ✨
Bothan
✨
Hide behind any same-sized creature, Disengage or Hide as a bonus action every turn, and double skill coverage in Insight and Deception.
Master political schemers whose fur ripples with involuntary emotional tells — a species of spies who can't quite hide what they feel, even as they trade in secrets.
scoutfaceduelist
●●○weight · Nimble Escape every turn
Ability focusIntelligence-first with a Dexterity bump — a quick-witted infiltrator or face.
Standout traits
  • Nimble Escape — Disengage or Hide as a bonus action each turn, every turn
  • Naturally Stealthy — can attempt to hide when obscured only by a creature your size or larger
  • Shrewd — proficiency in both Insight and Deception
!No defensive traits and a modest ASI spread — you rely on staying hidden rather than soaking damage.
stealthysocialmobileknowledge
Pairs withan Operative or Infiltrator build · a Dexterity-based duelist class · a party face or information-broker role

Biology and Appearance

Bothans are a short species of furry humanoids. Bothans are covered in fur which shifted in response to their emotional state by way of gentle ripplings. It is this trait, named Wrendui, that betrays them when members of their kind intend to be duplicitous in their dealings with others. They possess tapered pointed ears, and both males and females were known to sport beards.

Bothans are able to interbreed with the other species, though it is rare that they do so. Such hybrids somewhat resembled baseline humans with haunches, hooves, fur, pointed ears and a long tail.

Society and Culture

Bothan culture is guided by the philosophy and principles from the ancient text known as The Way, written by Golm Fervse'dra. In this "Bothan Way", the pursuit of power and influence is paramount. Thus, individual bothans put their own political and economic success above all other concerns, and as a species, bothans put their own advancement ahead of other intergalactic interests. The volume of backstabbing, subtle character assassination and political maneuvering in bothan society is dizzying, and results in many species stereotyping bothans as untrustworthy. In fact, most bothans are habitually paranoid, believing that anyone who's not working with them, is working against them. In times of crisis, the focus of bothan society shifts to a survivalist state known as "ar'krai". When engaged in ar'krai, all fit bothans volunteer to defend their species from impending extinction.

Names

Male bothan names are often trickey while female's are soft. Surnames are familial.

Male Names. Garc, Hibriak, Nith, Tramom, Ventagt

Female Names. Ceerriah, Dhaim, Gnam, Meenn, Vit

Surnames. Bwif'livi, Gra'kit, Hia'faitu, Main'dil

Distinctions. Diminutive stature, mood-sensitive fur

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age. Bothans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century.

Alignment. Bothans' duplicitous nature causes them to tend toward the dark side, though there are exceptions.

Size. Bothans stand 4-5 feet tall and weigh under 100 pounds. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Naturally Stealthy. You can attempt to hide even when you are obscured only by a creature that is your size or larger than you.

Nimble Escape. You can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of your turns.

Shrewd. You are proficient in the Insight and Deception skills.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Galactic Basic and Bothese. Bothese had a great influence on the forming of Galactic Basic; the two languages share many cognates.