A race of very civilized lizardmen. They inhabit some reclusive islands in the Western Sea of Dread. I created this race as one of the PCs wanted to play a cleric, devoted to Ka the Preserver. For giving him a reason to leave his peaceful home islands, I set him on a search for a legendary race. The Kubbits . . . All in all that was great fun.
The Amber Lizardmen from the Western Thanegioth Archipelago
Information on the archipelago as a whole can be found HERE.
This file can be downloaded as a zipped rtf text HERE.
The lizardmen of
the islands at the Serpent Strait are a race of highly civilized reptilians.
Their culture has a long history. In ancient times their kin formed a widespread
civilization that inhabited lots of islands and most coasts around the Sea of
Dread as far as the Hinterlande and the Pearl Islands. Climatic changes reduced
their preferred living areas, the warm shallow marshlands and mangroves. In
addition, the expanding Nithians invade their territories. The more aggressive
species of the lizardmen tried to fight against the invaders, some others tried
to evade the Nithians and retreated West- and Southwards.
Around 1000 BC nearly all lizardmen were extinct from the islands in the Eastern
Sea of Dread. Only few savage tribes remained in this area, notably in the marshland
in Southern Darokin and on some of the Ierendian Islands.
A community of scholars and faithful believers of Ka settled some small islands
east of the Serpent Strait. These islands lie nearly 3000 km to the Southwest
of Ierendi and are part of the western Thanegioth Archipelago.
On their islands
these mostly vegetarian lizardmen have developed a peaceful civilization. Founded
on a matriarchal society they have maintained peace for nearly 2000 years now.
The majority of the population are devoted followers of Ka the Preserver. Clerics
of this immortal have organized themselves in numerous small and medium monasteries.
These form meditative centers for the communities and education facilities.
Famous is the monastery of Ssen'ssen.
The cloisters of the followers of Ka are centers for the knowledge on lost cultures.
As their immortal is the patron of preservation, clerics have a chief interest
in exploring ruins and remains of ancient cultures. Clerics in search of information
relicts and artifacts of lost cultures are a common sight around the Western
Sea of Dread and at the Serpents Peninsula. The clerics are by no means pacifists
but mostly peaceful and have no missionary ambitions. They tend to simple weapons,
like staffs and maces, but are skilled in their use. The preservation or discovery
of an nearly extinct culture is valued higher that their personal safety.
All lizardmen have an inherited hate against the Nithians and their culture,
as they are held responsible for the genocide in the Eastern Sea of Dread.
In general amber
lizardmen are slightly smaller and of lighter built than the normal lizardmen.
They are between 165 and 185 cm tall. Other outer traits are similar to their
primitive relatives. Notable is their much lighter color, ranging from dull
brown to a bright amber. Their arms end in reptilian hands with fierce claws,
not as strong as their relatives' but nevertheless dangerous weapons.
The central figure in the families of the lizardmen is the female that has hatched
the last eggs. A nest holds three to five eggs. Each female breeds three or
four times during her life. Many young lizardmen die before they reach their
adulthood, this is one of the reasons for the stable population over the last
centuries. The greatest danger for the small lizardmen is their inborn curiosity.
Some fall victim to dangers while they are nothing more than big lizards, still
on all fours, exploring their vicinity.
Climate/Terrain:
Warm swamps and small islands
Frequency: Rare (apart from their islands)
Organization: Family and clan
Activity circle: Any
Diet: Omnivore (mostly herbivore)
Intelligence: Medium to high (11 - 18)
Treasure: Variable
Alignment. Any (mostly any neutral)
No. of Appearing: 1 - 20 (1d20)
Armor Class: 6
Move: 9 (Swimming 12)
Hit Dice: 1d8+1
THAC0: 19
No. of Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite) or one weapon
Damage/Attack: 1d2/1d2/1d4 or weapon
Special Attacks: Nil
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: M (165 - 185 cm)
Morale: 14
XP Value: 65
The above statistics
are for an average individual. The commonly used weapons include heavy clubs
(treat as mace), spears and tridents.
Amber lizardmen can become fighters, clerics or monks. Rogue classes are possible
but are definitely rare (imagine a swashbuckler lizardman waving a slouch hat
with a colorful exotic feather on top, complaining that a fight has ruined one
of her polished and adored claws).
(all material in this file that is not explicit under copyright from TSR (WotC/Hasbro nowadays) or other companies, is created by Martin Mathes, you may use it for free, as long as you don't use it commercially)