Marrazoans

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## Race

### Locations

The Deep Oceans

**Marrazoans** are an ocean-dwelling race in the World of Aedron. They are shark like humanoids with a violent streak and a wide territory.

## Ecology

Marrazoans tend to be on the larger end of humanoid sizes, ranging from 7'6" to 9', though some individuals can grow even larger. Males and females are the same size and carry few visual differences between them.

They tend to have wide heads that resemble sharks, with necks that have a very limited turning radius, as well as large jaws filled with rows of triangular teeth. Marrazoans skin is tough, made of rough scales that are abrasive to the touch, and are highly resistant to extreme temperatures and depth.

Their eyes tend to be rather small for their heads, giving them a beady appearance. Their eye colors are nearly exclusively black, looking more like doll's eyes than real ones, as they barely even reflect light.

Marrazoans have relatively short arms and legs, though they are far thicker with muscle than a humans, giving them a stocky stance. They also possess long muscled tails ending in a tall vertical fin, able to produce plenty of thrust, making them excellent swimmers.

A Marrazoan possesses both gills and lungs, however their lungs are not fully capable of extended use, and a Marrazoan who remains on land for more than eight hours will begin to feel discomfort as their lungs and gills dry out. If a Marrazoan fully dries out over a period of a full day, they begin to take constitution damage of one point per day until they die. A quick dip in water is enough to refresh this timer and restore any lost constitution from dryness damage.

A Marrazoan's bite is a remarkable thing, as they can exert tremendous force for their size. It is spoken of them that during battle they are capable of biting opponents in half with one snap. Indeed their prowess in battle is well renowned as they have the propensity to fly into a frenzy when tasting blood, increasing their overall speed and strength during combat.

Marrazoans prefer deeper depths to dwell in, and are adapted to life far beneath the light of the sun. They possess both a darkvision ability, as well as a 'magnetic' sense, allowing them to detect living beings within 300' of themselves whenever in water.

Marrazoans have a mating schedule based on the time of year and temperature of the water, so that it varies slightly in different regions of the oceans. But when it is time, Marrazoans males will posture and compete to look the strongest and most desirable. Those who succeed breed and pass on their strength and traits to a new generation. Marrazoans hold no strong feelings of love towards their mates, or their offspring, indeed the concept of love is something somewhat alien to them.

Marrazoans give live birth, and often to pods of 3-4 at a time. These youths (called pups for the first few years of their lives) are cared for in only the most minimal way, the adults will guard them, but they are expected to feed themselves right away. Due to this lack of care, mortality rates among Marrazoan youth is relatively high, making their overall population growth similar to that of humans (0.8% annually).

Marrazoans can live a very long time, but the rough existence of the deep oceans means that most will not survive to become elders. If possible, Marrazoans can live to be over four hundred years old, and some Elders indeed make it to that age, by that point their body is a tapestry of scars and battle wounds, but their word is respected by all, as Marrazoans defer to Elders in all matters.

## History

In the early days of the world, the magic of creation had washed across the realm and some of that power crystalized into god-like beings known as Primal Gods, one of those beings was an aquatic being calling itself The Deep One. It's physical form resembling that of a colossal shark, and it subsequently created a servitor race to carry on its worship, the Marrazoans. Caring not for love and community, but valuing strength and truth, It built a race that epitomized those values. A warrior race strong enough to thrive in the deepest and darkest reaches of the ocean.

The Marrazoans spread across the oceans, now calling nearly all of it home in some fashion.

## Society

Marrazoans revere The Deep One as their 'Great Father', and build shrines, make sacrifices, and perform rituals in it's name.

Marrazoans tend to travel in large packs when hunting, but return to their settlements, typically constructed in caverns or complex twisting passages of coral reef. Marrazoans make use of 'dry spots' within their settlements to acclimate to the land and air in order to prepare for raids, as well as perform actions that require air, such as the forging of metal items.

Marrazoan culture is one that champions strength and prowess in battle above all else, and it has lead them to be at odds with other races, as they believe those strong enough to seize something deserve to have it. They tend to lack concepts like empathy and kindness within their culture, taking misfortune as simply a matter of fact.

Marrazoans tend to enjoy raiding, both as a means of acquiring goods, and as a means to prove their strength to others within their society.

Marrazoans consider truth to be a sacred thing, and to knowingly lie is a capital offense in their society. They tend to be brutally honest when speaking about anything, and are always matter-of-fact. They lack any kind of subtlety and have no patience for formality in most situations.

## Territory / Key Locations

(This list is by no means a complete one, only pointing out a few notable examples of Marrazoan settlements.)

The Great Rift - A massive chasm in the seabed, with volcanic vents at the bottom, casting the entire place in an otherworldly red glow. The walls of the chasm are pocked with hundreds if not thousands of caverns, housing an enormous population of Marrazoans. This is the location of the great temple to The Deep One, and usually where it's physical form resides.

Sharpspear - A raiding encampment in the shallows near Celawaie.

Whalesgrave - A large settlement of Marrazoans living in the bones of tens of thousands of dead whales, used as a home base for hunting packs in the mid oceans.

## Notable Marrazoans

Dormakk the Devourer

Narvumm the One Eye

Khrisslekesh the Dream Eater

### **Marrazoan (16 RP)**

#### **Like the Great Father (0 RP)**

Marrazoans value strength and truth, and their bodies and minds reflect this as well, All Marrazoans gain +2 STR and +2 CON, though they suffer -2 CHA as they are unwilling (or unable) to lie.

#### **Masters of the Ocean (3 RP)**

Marrazoans are excellent swimmers, their powerful tails and webbed hands and feet propel them with extreme speed in water. All Marrazoans have a 40' swim speed.

#### **Acclimated to the Deeps (4 RP)**

Marrazoans are able to see 60' in complete darkness, and sense living beings in water for up to 300'

#### **Partially-Amphibious (1 RP)**

Marrazoans are able to breathe water normally, and able to breathe air for eight hours before becoming uncomfortable. Each day spent on dry land deals 1 point of temporary Con damage until death. A quick soak is enough to reset the timer and remove all temporary damage to CON from dryness.

#### **Extremophile (2 RP)**

The Marrazoan physiology is able to handle extreme temperatures, granting them a resistance 5 to both fire and cold damage

#### **Jaws of the Forefathers (3 RP)**

Marrazoans possess a strong bite attack capable of extreme damage for something of their size. All Marrazoans gain a bite attack that deals 1d8 damage

#### **Feeding Frenzy (5 RP)**

When a Marrazoan deals damage to a living creature with their bite attack they go into a frenzy, gaining a temporary +2 bonus to STR and DEX for 1d4+1 rounds. Simply tasting blood is not enough to trigger this, it must be dealt in combat to an opponent to elicit the frenzy.

#### **Truthbearer (-2 RP)**

Marrazoans are unable to grasp the value of lies, and are therefore more susceptible to being lied to than other races. They take a -4 to sense motive checks, and are more easily fooled with boasts and intimidation based on lies, taking a -4 on all relating checks.