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Talz

Medium species · Orto Plutonia
sourceECsizeMedium
Tweaked from 5eYou already know this as 5e Half-Orc — Like a half-orc, the Talz is a big, bulky, darkvision-having bruiser built around brute physicality, just reskinned as a furry cold-world brute instead of a savage warrior. ✨
Talz
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Natural AC 12+Dex unarmored and an extra 5 feet of melee reach on every attack turn — a reach-fighter chassis that doesn't need armor.
Hulking white-furred hunters of frozen Ordo Plutonia, Talz communicate through high-pitched proboscis chirps and fight with the unity of a single clan organism.
melee-bruisertank
●○○weight
Ability focusStrength-first with a Wisdom bump — a durable melee or Wisdom-secondary build.

Biology and Appearance

Talz are large, bulky, bipedal creatures, that are covered head to toe in thick white fur, which provides exceptional insulation against their frozen world. Talz have four eyes, which are also adaptations to their native environment. The larger set of eyes are shut during the day, when sunlight reflects off the snow with dazzling brightness—able to blind sensitive optical organs—leaving the smaller set to navigate with. Alternatively, during the deep darkness of their homeworld's moonless night, the larger pair are utilized to provide the Talz with adequate vision. Talz use a small proboscis to eat and communicate, creating high-pitched chirps and buzzes.

Society and Culture

Talz are a hunter-gatherer, clan-based society. They work in unison, and treat the entire clan as one single familial entity. Resources on Ordo Plutonia are often scarce, which leads to warring among Talz tribes. However, the clans are adept at forming a unified front when they face a common enemy.

Talz are large, brutal creatures and are often used as guards and enforcers. Sometimes they are taken as slaves, though it's rare; they are rebellious against authority and don't take well to slavery. There are rumors that Talz are captured for scientific experimentation.

Names

Talz names are fairly gutteral and are characterized by their harsh nature. Female names are typically longer than male names. Surnames are clan-based, though it's rare that a Talz shares them with non-Talz.

Male Names. Drak, Fedirk, Imom, Ke, Twift

Female Names. Ilnuno, Ontuga, Utrukk, Zimtucc

Surnames. Dic, Noetoc, Suptat, Wume, Zapak

Distinctions. Covered in fur, four eyes, unable to speak Galactic Basic

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age. Talz reach adulthood at 10 and rarely live longer than 50 years.

Alignment. Talz' peaceful and slow-to-anger nature cause them to tend toward the light side, though there are exceptions.

Size. Talz stand between 6 and 8 feet tall and weigh around 250 lbs. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Your vision can easily cut through darkness. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Hide. You have a thick hide. While you are unarmored or wearing light armor, your AC is 12 + your Dexterity modifier. Additionally, your thick hide is naturally adapted to cold climates, as described in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Long-Limbed. When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Talzzi. You can understand spoken and written Galactic Basic, but your vocal cords do not allow you to speak it. Talzzi is characterized by its high-pitched chirps and buzzes.