4/22/2019 The Homebrewery - NaturalCrit

Arthropine
As I ventured through the wastes, I came across an odd sight
- a tiny village, inhabited by small creatures no taller than my
shins, similar in appearance to large insects of varying types,
yet moving around on their hind legs like humans. They paid
me no heed, going about their business as if I was no more
than another feature of the scenery around them, but their
movement and activity fascinated me, and for hours I
watched them. There were, as far as I could tell, no more
than a half-dozen of these creatures in the village, but on
occasion, a traveler would wander in from afar or climb up
from a well on the outskirts of the town, go about their
business, and leave as quickly as they came.
Curious, I peered into the well from which these travelers
appeared, and was shocked to behold the opening of what
appeared to be a vast system of tunnels and caves, inhabited
by more of these fascinating creatures. Some, like the
villagers, appeared sapient, wielding small weapons
fashioned from metal to protect themselves. Others appeared
as monsters, quickly and brutally slain by their sapient
cousins in defense from becoming an evening meal. And all Nails, on the other hand, are the Arthropines' best friends. An
throughout were strewn signs of a once-great civilization, overarching term for any sharp weapon, whether designed
now crumbling into ruins as these creatures explored deep for stabbing or for slashing, a traveling Arthropine will never
into its depths. The sight struck awe into me, and I wished be caught dead without their nail. They most commonly find
sorely that I were small enough to explore these caverns for use similar to that of shortswords, but can be found in
myself, and learn more about this mysterious ruined kingdom variants ranging from rapiers to lances to greatswords, or
I had discovered. It was with great sadness that I carried on even more exotic variants such as the "needles" of the Hornet
my way, knowing I would likely never find the place again, clan - thin rapiers designed purely for stabbing, tied at the
and would be unable to explore it for myself even if I did. handle end to a strong, thin string which allows it to be used
? An excerpt from the journal of a wandering storyteller as anything from a whip to a grappling hook. Some variants
may have more specific names, but they still fall under the
The Arthropine are a race of large roughly-humanoid insects, general moniker of nails.
varying wildly in subspecies and appearing as everything
from beetles to spiders to bees to mantises. Remnants of a Diverse Subspecies
vast underground kingdom long since collapsed, many spend The Arthropine are even more diverse in their appearances
their lives wandering the surrounding wastes or delving into than humans, with subspecies sharing the appearance and
the depths of the ruins to search for lost treasures. Others traits of nearly every type of insect imaginable. Some even
prefer to settle, whether aboveground or deep in the rubble of stretch the definition of insect, appearing as maggots,
their ancestral home, providing services or shelter for the spiders, snails, or even more unusual invertebrates. Each
more adventurous of their ilk. Still others have long since subspecies has its own traits, quirks, and abilities, but all fall
shed their sentience, if they ever had it to begin with, and under the name of Arthropine. The subspecies documented
roam the ashes of the kingdom searching mindlessly for their below are some of the most common, influential, or
next meal. One thing remains true of all Arthropine, however; interesting subspecies, but you should feel free to experiment
though they largely prefer to remain non-combative, they when creating an Arthropine and branch out into other
should not be underestimated in battle. subspecies of your own making.
Masks and Nails
Arthropine Names
From the earliest days of their lives, most Arthropine possess
two objects - a mask that will serve as their face, and a Arthropine names are as diverse as their appearances, and
weapon known as a Nail. Masks hold a vast amount of have very few common threads between them. Some have
cultural significance to the Arthropine, with many never surprisingly human-like names considering their minimal
revealing their true faces even to their lifelong mates. Some contact with outside races, while others have much more
Arthropine choose to forgo the use of a mask; however, this is exotic and unusual names, or names describing themselves
almost exclusive to those that prefer a peaceful or sedentary personally or physically. Insect puns are not uncommon to
life. Travelers, adventurers, and treasure hunters will almost see as names, though they do not seem to realize themselves
always use masks, both for the small measure of anonymity that this is the case.
they provide and out of cultural habit. To break another's Arthropine Names: Quirrel, Cornifer, Iselda, Myla, Vespa,
mask is the greatest cultural taboo of the Arthropine, and is Tiso, Bretta, Sly, Cloth, Zote
seen by them as the most certain way to curse yourself.

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4/22/2019 The Homebrewery - NaturalCrit

Arthropine Traits Mantis

As an Arthropine, the majority of your characteristics are An ancient clan of warriors valuing honor above all else, the
determined by your subspecies; however, there are a handful Mantis have stood at odds with the rest of the Arthropine
of traits common to all sapient Arthropine. kingdom since the time of its first ruler, lending their
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2. civilization a longevity not shared by their brethren. Taking
Age. Arthropine vary in longevity by subspecies, but refuge in a small village nestled deep beneath the kingdom,
generally mature around the same age as humans, and live they are led by a council of three warlords, elected by trial in
slightly shorter lives (about 80 years). combat. Thin and tall, the Mantis strike imposing figures,
Alignment. Arthropine tend slightly towards neutral using their large reach to their advantage in battle.
alignments. Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
Size. Arthropine are quite minute, the smallest of them Towering Reach. Your towering physique grants you
being able to pass for very large insects, and the largest greater reach than your brethren of other subspecies. Your
reaching no higher than 2 feet tall. Your size is Tiny. base melee reach is doubled, and you gain proficiency with
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. weapons that have the reach property.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you Moth
as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim An ancient clan with the ability to shape dreams, Moths are
light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray. the finest creators of magical items known to the Arthropine.
Nailbearer. Trained with the weapons of your people from They are quite fond of creating magical trinkets and charms,
a young age, you are innately accustomed to your weapon of and rarely choose to wield a nail, preferring to peacefully
choice. You have proficiency with one martial melee weapon tinker with their work rather than fight.
of your choice that does not have the heavy property. Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
Additionally, once per short rest you may disengage as a Dreamweaver. You are an expert at weaving dreams into
bonus action following a successful melee attack. Once you being, bending the veil between dreams and reality to your
have disengaged this way, you may not use this feature again whim. You may cast the dream spell once per long rest,
until you have completed a short or long rest. without the need for any material components, using Wisdom
Natural Compass. You are innately aware of which as your spellcasting ability.
direction you are facing relative to north, even when
underground, and can recognize at a glance any landmark Soulweaver
you have seen before.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Variant: Replaces the Nailbearer racial trait. May be used
Arthropine. with any subrace.
Subrace. There are many different subraces of Arthropine, Soulweavers are the mages of the Arthropine, putting aside
styled after many different types of insects. Choose one of the their nails in favor of casting spells. Drawing upon the power
subraces outlined below: Beetle, Hornet, Mantis, or Moth. of Soul, they are able to cast simple magical spells, attacking
from a distance or healing minor wounds with ease.
Beetle Soul Vessel. You possess a natural container for Soul, the
The most common subspecies of Arthropine, Beetles are energy you use to perform magic. The Soul Vessel holds a
hardy workers known for their sturdiness and reliability. limited number of charges; a successful melee attack on a CR
Their natural shells afford them an extra measure of defense, 1/2 or higher creature will restore 1 charge, and a long rest
at the cost of flexibility and speed; their bulk may also prevent will restore all charges.
them from slipping into some of the tighter areas of their Soul Casting. You may expend one or more Soul charges
cavernous kingdom. to cast magic missile, cure wounds, or misty step as a
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score cantrip, ignoring material components. When cast this way:
increases by 1. Magic missile will create one dart per Soul charge
Hardened Shell. Your body is protected by a hardened expended, up to a maximum of 3.
natural shell, which surrounds your back and sides. You have Cure wounds has a range of Self, and regains 1d4 hit
resistance to slashing damage from non-magical weapons points per Soul charge expended.
directed at your back or sides. Misty step may only move you up to 15 feet, and produces
Hornet wispy black smoke.
A mysterious clan of female warriors, known for using thin Soul Charges
needle-like nails attached to long strings, which they use both Level Soul Level Soul
to attack and to restrict their enemies' movements. They are
small, fast, and graceful, and seem to know more of the 1st 5 13th 11
Arthropine kingdom's history than any other clan, though 5th 7 17th 13
they are loathe to share it with all but the most worthy of
warriors. 9th 9 20th 15
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Graceful Killer. You are a skilled and dextrous fighter, who
moves with grace and poise. You have advantage on melee Credits
attacks made using weapons with the finesse property. Race and lore by swordglowsblue
Based on the Hollow Knight video game by Team Cherry
Art from official Hollow Knight promotional materials

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