Lizardfolk

Lizardfolk are native to the wide savannahs of southern Yuantica, and are amongst the oldest and most populous native races on the western landmass. They share kinship with the Yuan-ti, who they often tend to worship despite being far more numerous in number. They possess an alien and inscrutable mindset, their desires and thoughts driven by a different set of basic principles than those of warm-blooded creatures.

## Description

Lizardfolk's reptilian nature comes through not only in their appearance, but also in how they think and act. Lizardfolk experience a more limited emotional life than other humanoids. Like most reptiles, their feelings largely revolve around fear, aggression, and pleasure. Lizardfolk see emotions as traits assigned to other creatures, objects, and situations. A lizardfolk doesn't think, "I'm scared." Instead, aggressive, stronger creatures register to the lizardfolk as fearsome beings to be avoided if possible. If such creatures attack, liz­ardfolk flee, fighting only if cornered. Lizardfolk aren't scared of a troll; instead, they understand that a troll is a fearsome, dangerous creature and react accordingly.

Similarly, lizardfolk never become angry in the way others do, but they act with aggression toward creatures that they could defeat in a fight and that can't be dealt with in some other manner. They are aggressive toward prey they want to eat, creatures that want to harm them, and so on. Pleasurable people and things make life easier for lizardfolk. Pleasurable things should be preserved and protected, sometimes at the cost of the lizardfolk's own safety. The most pleasurable creatures and things are ones that allow lizardfolk to assess more situations as benign rather than fearsome.

## Culture & Society

Most humanoids describe cold-blooded people as lacking in emotion and empathy. The same label serves as an apt depiction of lizardfolk. Lacking the same wide range of internal emotional reactions as other races, lizardfolk behave in a distant manner. They don't mourn fallen comrades or rage against their enemies. They simply observe and react as a situation warrants. They also lack emotional ties to the past, though they will record it as a tool of learning. They assess situations based on their current and future utility and importance. Nowhere does this come through as strongly as when lizardfolk deal with the dead. To a lizardfolk, a dead enemy or comrade alike becomes a potential source of food. That companion might have once been a warrior or hunter, but now the body is just freshly killed meat.

This mindset might seem unnecessarily cruel or callous, but it helps lizardfolk survive in a hostile environment. The savannas they inhabit are filled with a staggering variety of threats. Lizardfolk focus on survival above all, without sentiment. Lizardfolk assess everyone and everything in terms of utility. Art and beauty have little meaning for them, except to accentuate particular traits such as apparent ferocity or cunning. A sharp sword serves a useful and good purpose, while a dull sword is a dead weight without a whetstone.

## Subraces

### Crested Lizardfolk

Crested lizardfolk get their name from the short, bony frill they have at the rear of their skull. Resilient, disciplined, and nimble, they are bred as consummate hunters, soldiers, and guardsmen. Their skin is made of tough, overlapping scales and some bony plates along the spin and tail. Even unarmed, they are dangerous. Their claws can gouge rock and wood, and their tails are tough enough to smash bone.

### Sauran Lizardfolk

Sauran lizardfolk get their name from their size, primal ferocity, and crocodilian form. Hulking, violent, and single-minded, they are bred for heavy construction and as shock troops for war. Their skin is made of thick overlapping plates of bone over slabs of rock-hard muscle. Their massive jaws bristle with razor-sharp, daggerlike teeth, and they are deceptively fast on their feet for creatures their size.

### Rippled Lizardfolk

Rippled lizardfolk get their name from the wavy ripple patterns on their skin, which they can change in form and colour. Quick, clever, and skittish, they are bred as craftsmen, artisans, and skirmishers. Their skin is smooth and porous, adapted for spending time underwater. Though not as vicious and outwardly dangerous as their larger kin, their clever wiles nonetheless make them equally dangerous.

### Bearded Lizardfolk

Bearded lizardfolk get their name from the frilled air sac on the underside of their throats, that can swell and expand as a show of intimidation. Ponderous, intellectual, and pedantic, they are bred as lorekeepers, storytellers, and herbalists. Their skin is bulbous, and toad-like, with some patches of bony scales on their skulls and necks. They are the longest-lived of the lizardfolk, and have formidable memories throughout their years.

## Properties

### Crested Lizardfolk

* ***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
* ***Size.*** Your size is Medium.
* ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
* ***Bite.*** You have a reptilian maw that you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with it, the strike deals 1d6 + your Strength modifier slashing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
* ***Cold One Logic.*** When you make a Bite attack against a dead or unconscious creature that is not undead or a construct, you can choose to feed on the creature's flesh. If the attack hits, you regain hit points equal to the damage dealt. You can use this feature a limited number of times on a creature, depending on the creature's size.
* ***Natural Armor.*** You have tough, scaly skin. When you aren't wearing armour, your base AC is 13 + Dexterity modifier. A shield's benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armour.
* ***Cunning Artisan.*** As part of a short rest, you can harvest bone and hide from a slain beast, construct, dragon, monstrosity, or plant creature of size Small or larger to create one of the following items: a shield, a club, a dagger, a javelin, or 1d4 arrows, darts, or blowgun needles. To use this trait, you need a blade, such as a dagger, or appropriate artisan's tools.
* ***Predatory Senses.*** You gain advantage on Wisdom (Survival) or Wisdom (Perception) checks made to track down creatures.

### Sauran Lizardfolk

* ***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.
* ***Size.*** Your size is Medium.
* ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
* ***Bite.*** You have a reptilian maw that you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with it, the strike deals 1d8 + your Strength modifier slashing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
* ***Cold One Logic.*** When you make a Bite attack against a dead or unconscious creature that is not undead or a construct, you can choose to feed on the creature's flesh. If the attack hits, you regain hit points equal to the damage dealt. You can use this feature a limited number of times on a creature, depending on the creature's size.
* ***Natural Armor.*** You have tough, scaly skin. When you aren't wearing armour, your base AC is 13 + Dexterity modifier. A shield's benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armour.
* ***Hulking Might.*** You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift
* ***Feeding Frenzy.*** When you use a Bite attack to feed on a creature, you launch into a frenzied rampage. While frenzied, when you roll damage for a melee weapon attack using Strength, your Strength modifier is doubled. On each of your turns, when taking the Attack action, you must make at least one Bite attack, preferring to target any unconscious or dead creature within reach.

### Rippled Lizardfolk

* ***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution score increases by 1, your Dexterity score increases by 1, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
* ***Size.*** Your size is Small.
* ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
* ***Bite.*** You have a reptilian maw that you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with it, the strike deals 1d4 + your Strength modifier slashing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
* ***Cold One Logic.*** When you make a Bite attack against a dead or unconscious creature that is not undead or a construct, you can choose to feed on the creature's flesh. If the attack hits, you regain hit points equal to the damage dealt. You can use this feature a limited number of times on a creature, depending on the creature's size.
* ***Hold Breath.*** You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time.
* ***Camouflage Skin.*** Your nature allows you to change the colour and pattern of your skin. As an action on your turn, you can attempt to hide anywhere, and if you do not move or take any actions while hidden in this way, you are invisible. The effect ends early if you move or are moved, or if you take an action.

### Bearded Lizardfolk

* ***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution score increases by 1, and your Wisdom score increases by 1, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
* ***Size.*** Your size is Medium.
* ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
* ***Bite.*** You have a reptilian maw that you can use to make unarmed strikes. When you hit with it, the strike deals 1d4 + your Strength modifier slashing damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
* ***Cold One Logic.*** When you make a Bite attack against a dead or unconscious creature that is not undead or a construct, you can choose to feed on the creature's flesh. If the attack hits, you regain hit points equal to the damage dealt. You can use this feature a limited number of times on a creature, depending on the creature's size.
* ***Ancient Knowledge.*** You have proficiency in the History, Religion, and Arcana skills.
* ***Becalming Cogitation.*** You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against spells and magical effects.
* ***Lizard Lore.*** You know one cantrip of your choice from the druid spell list. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for it.