Introduction

Lizardfolk, dinofolk, and the nagas are ancient races whose origins are as eternal as Mankind. Many believe themselves to be as old as the world itself, claiming to have come into being alongside the dinosaurs. This belief has created a culture that stubbornly clings to tradition and antiquated technologies. Still, the lizardfolk, dinofolk, and the nagas strive on, their numbers dwindling as they retreat deeper into marshy wild places, caves, and jungles rather than interact with a world where faster-breeding warmbloods are making them increasingly irrelevant.

Female lizardfolk produce only a handful of eggs over their lifetimes. These eggs are delicate, and between changes in habitat, scarcity of food, and predation, few make it to term. In times of extreme starvation, a clutch could even become sustenance for a tribe rather than being allowed to hatch and become more mouths to feed. And at the worst, many females among the lizardfolk are parthenogenic, they must mate with a male or they produce a clone of themselves. This phenomenon is not found among dinofolk, but also among some nagas.

Viable eggs require constant care. As with many reptiles, the unhatched young change sex in response to changes in temperature. Often,a tribe deliberately manipulates this phenomenon to ensure gender parity, which is of high importance when the survival of the next generation hangs in the balance. In contrast to the delicate eggs from which they hatch, young lizardfolk are extremely resilient, emerging with a full set of teeth and claws.

A race with such a slow reproductive cycle can ill afford the losses of war. Lizardfolk sometimes ally with other reptilian or amphibious species, but choose only those whose presence doesn't strain their territory's resources too far. A single dragon, a naga coven, or a herd of herbivorous dinosaurs can coexist comfortably with an established lizardfolk tribe, but sharing scarce land with numerous boggards or grippli would likely lead to conflict.

With the exception of lizard scions, most lizardfolk live to be between 60 and 80 years old. Both males and females continue to grow for their entire lives, and those rare few able to transcend the aging process (such as high-level druids or alchemists) could reach Large size around their 100th year. Both the size and extensive tribal knowledge of such individuals secure them positions of power within lizardfolk society, although they never attain the same spiritual reverence as lizard scions, who are thought to be reawakened remnants of the past.

An aging lizardfolk contributes to tribal life until the day of his death. Few settlements have the resources to support inactive members, and elders become teachers, healers, or nursery attendants. Even hatchlings are put to work once they achieve the necessary manual dexterity, weaving fishing nets, preparing food, or watching over their younger siblings. Since every one of these tasks is vital to a tribe's survival, hatchlings remain under supervision by at least one adult, but they still achieve a level of autonomy and responsibility that greatly exceeds that of humans at a similar age.

Most lizardfolk make their homes in rugged, well-constructed encampments in temperate swamps. Though the camps might seem unprotected to outsiders, lizardfolk carefully choose to inhabit defensible sections of rivers or marshes, especially places with multiple submerged entrances, hidden escape routes, and dry access for non-swimmers. Such camps usually house a single tribe that subsists off the immediate territory, supplementing with hunting forays farther afield during lean
periods. Lizardfolk are most active during daylight hours, since they lack night vision, and prefer to retreat to the warmth and safety of their earthen lairs at sunset.

Lizardfolk are extremely insular, trading or allying only with groups they have established relationships with over an extended period. Even if their society were not so xenophobic, the work required to keep a tribe safe and fed means lizardfolk have little spare time for fraternization with outsiders. This can make encounters brief and curt, and an envoy's diplomatic tricks won't get her very far with a shaman who must still prepare food, cast protective spells on his clutch, and treat the wounds of his warriors. Those who do spend significant time with lizardfolk, however, find that the creatures have a rich oral tradition that passes down thousands of years' worth of knowledge and wisdom.

Lizardfolk rarely permit outsiders to enter their camps, and instead meet them at sub-camps or at prominent natural landmarks. Lizardfolk impose no cultural or religious requirements on their allies or trade partners, and expect the same treatment in return, but they might make ecological demands that can cause friction. Humanoids often mistake such demands for superstition or the misguided animism of "savages," but it's rare for lizardfolk to place any religious significance on the land itself. Instead, any landmark they decide to protect they do so out of concern for preserving the environment, since even a slight change to their habitat could have deadly ramifications.

Though lizardfolk are not evil, their practicality can sometimes seem abhorrent to other races, especially when it manifests in practices like cannibalism. To a lizardfolk, meat is meat, and during times of scarcity it would be an insult to those fallen in battle to let them rot rather than use their flesh to feed the tribe.

This innate pragmatism also manifests in lizardfolk's societal relations. Crime, politicking, and infighting are almost as common in settled lizardfolk populations as they are in human settlements, but a strong sense of natural law prevents these societies from descending into chaos. Tribal justice is meted out swiftly and fairly, with most disputes settled in non-fatal combat between the parties involved. In some cases these disputes may be handled by a proxy duel, with one or both sides sponsoring a champion.