Ortho Races of Ortho – Lizardmen

Edit 06/02/08
Not much in the way of changes, just a few more details and stats

Lizardmen

Swamps, marshes, and mangroves traditionally held little to interest the great world state of Ortho, but they did have minds and souls, which made them of interest to the Harmonium and the Church of the Lords of Order. Their agents in such places are the Lacerde – ‘Lacers’ or simply ‘Scalefolk’ in the common tongue - who have roamed the swamps since time immemorial.

For generations the scalefolk protected their territory fiercely against all outside encroachment, and were even able to hold their own against the might of the Harmonium – although only because the state had a low priority for such inhospitable lands. These areas were unwanted once the local inhabitants had been contained and taught the power of Ortho’s armies. Most provinces were content to let the local monsters fight it out amongst themselves in their stinking disease-riddled puddles.

Two hundred years ago however, the OCA had advanced to the stage where draining these areas was possible on a global scale. With peace and prosperity had come expansion, and the land was needed for fields and houses. In earlier times the Harmonium would have simply marched in to pacify the area, but this was the era of colonies and expansion; they now had long-practised strategies in place.

As they had in so many other times and places, the Harmonium sent in a diplomatic delegation, armed with the best gifts that Ortho could conceive. It selected whichever allies seemed best converted to their cause from among the local population, and used them to pacify anyone who wouldn’t sign up. In most places the locals were lizardmen and troglodytes, and the two races had been at war since the dawn of time. The troglodytes were deemed irredeemable, but the lizardmen could be converted to the cause. The strategy was successful: Troglodytes were driven out and exterminated, and the lizardmen thrived; they are now a common sight throughout Ortho’s warmer climes.

Lizardman Society

The scalefolk were once a deeply territorial race, clinging tenaciously to even the most worthless stretch of swampland with fanatical vigour. Although inclusion in the Great Harmony has seen them spread outwards from marsh and swamp, they remain a people with strong ties to the land. No matter how far they may wander, each Lacerde holds a special place in its heart for their home, and the security of each homeland is secured by Orthunian law.

Lizardman society is a textbook example of the Harmonium getting it right. Once a simple tribal people, the lacerde have prospered through contact with the great state of Ortho, joining its communities wholesale once the OCA made it clear that it didn’t want their tribal grounds. With relatively little the scalefolk accepted both the Harmonium philosophy and kept much of their own culture, prospering as a result of their inclusive attitude. Once the benefits of joining the rest of Ortho were clearly demonstrated, the lizardmen were firm supporters. The Harmonium merely explained their philosophy in terms of tribal structure and racial prosperity, and the lizardmen were almost too eager to sign up. The fact that the Harmonium offered to help defeat the lizardmen’s traditional enemies didn’t hurt their case either.

For the lacerde, society revolves around survival, and passing on the benefits of survival to a new generation. Rather than the family bonds found in other races, this manifests in a deep-seated connection to an individual’s whole bloodline, extending into both the past and the future. All the young of a tribe are each lizardman’s children, and all the tribe are her brothers and sisters. Their enemies are her enemies. Success among the lacerde is not measured in wealth but practical goods, land, and above all successful matings.

Lizardmen have a ‘mating season’ that takes place in mid to late spring depending on the climate. Unions are strictly to produce eggs; marriage, so beloved by the state and the Lords of Order, is an alien concept to lizardmen. Mating is done in communal rituals, which are said to rival the old Thaeran orgies for their frenzy. All lacerde feel the need to prove their superiority at this time, and a mating festival is always marked by challenges and fights. By agreement with the authorities, all lacerde seclude themselves at this time at the heart of their reservations, in specially constructed sacred levees. It’s not unusual to go a month or more before a citizen see a lizardmen during this time.

Female Lacerde don’t give birth to live young, they lay eggs. The temperature at which these eggs are incubated determines the sex of the hatchling (warmer eggs produce females). Tribal priests and druids oversee the selection process, selecting the gender of each new tribe member and ensuring that a balance is maintained. For the lacerde the only proper ratio is two females bred for every male. The Harmonium has pushed for this balance to be evened somewhat, but have been rebuffed and have no legal right to enforce their wishes in this manner as long as it’s working for the lacerde.

Females are generally slightly bigger than the males and lizardman society is matriarchal, with lineage being passed down through the mother’s line. Tribes are ruled by a council of females beyond fertile age called Archaurs, but hunting and defence is usually left to the males – opportunities to prove their strength and worth. Young males are communal animals, developing very close friendships. When older they develop a solitary lifestyle where other males are viewed more as rivals than friends. Females somehow seem immune to this strange psychological development, and work closely together throughout their lives. The duns, levees, and reservations of lacerde society are run by their women, as are the houses and business of lacerde outside their sacred lands – although officially no law impedes males from running their businesses, those who do are regarded by their fellows a slightly strange.

Lacerde are nothing if not practical. The civilised attachments of other races often seem utterly alien to the lacerde, particularly their affection for pets and beasts of burden. To a lizardman, these things are just another source of food. Maybe not food today if they’re useful, but definitely food when they get older. Most lacerde apply a similar practical approach to getting on in life, and have gained a reputation as opportunists and scavengers as a result.

All adult lacerde carry an angled ceremonial dagger, called a kukri. Usually made by an elderly lacerde, each tribe’s kukri design is a unique identifying signature used to identify its owner when travelling. Loss of the kukri is a serious matter for a lacerde, requiring penitence in front of the tribal priests before a new dagger can be made for them.

The lacerde have a number of less welcome customs, which make their neighbours uneasy, but these are mainly prejudices, not legitimate concerns. Among the most common is the fact that they usually don’t wear much in the way of clothes, although thankfully they lack the obvious anatomical differences of gender possessed by other races. Most lizardmen wear only a belt, a wide-brimmed hat to keep the sun out of their eyes, and a cloak for warmth against the cold.

Being cold-blooded, most lizardmen sleep during the night, rest during the heat of the noonday sun, but work hard in both mid-morning and late afternoon. While they try hard to appear industrious, the fact is they simply need more time resting than other races. This has gained them something of a reputation for sloth, but this is a matter of biology and not inclination; laziness is an old prejudice that they work hard to dispel. Because of this many Lacerde prefer to work for themselves as small businessmen – or at least work for people who understand their needs (quite a few other races are unhappy with giving a lizardman a whole month off work for mating each year, as well).

Like their hobgoblin neighbours, lizardmen still like to take a ceremonial trophy from those they defeat (in battle or business or just social life), but no eat the flesh of intelligent enemies – at least in civilised lands. Although strongly denied by the Scalefolk themselves, deep in the wilderness this practice still occasionally goes on.

Civilisation & the Harmonium

Although rare in the cold regions of Ortho, in warmer climes the lizardmen are almost as numerous as their human, orc, and hobgoblin neighbours. Enslaved under the empire of Pan Thaera, the lacerde spread quickly throughout that land after their emancipation; they are almost as numerous as humans among the hot Thaeran isles, where many Scalefolk fled to avoid persecution by North Thaera’s hobgoblins or the cruel regime of South Thaera. They can also be found in Omospondia, as colonists in Hazhkan (especially the prosperous city of Blackmoor and the Qijari kingdom), the warmer climes of Iironda (especially Han), and Harmony's Glory. Lacerde also make fine sailors, and can be found in every warm coastal region, and sometimes beyond.

No matter how far they travel however, a lizardman always considers his true home to be their original tribal reservation. They long to return there each spring, with an innate sense of direction that matches the homing instincts salmon.

Having embraced the Harmonium’s ideals, most lizardmen consider all civilised Orthunians to be part of their extended tribe: “Loyal as a lizardman” is now a common term for a true friend on Ortho (unfortunately so is “lazy as a lizardman”). Those that chose to join the Harmonium see themselves as glorious tribal champions and are among the most fanatic converts to the cause, but as a race they have relatively low percentage of people in service (especially compared to Thaera’s hobgoblins). Most lacerde just seem to prefer civilian work, which does little to improve their reputation as slackers. Lacerde recruits are trained together at Harmonium Campuses, but trouble still flares from time to time between older males. Even Harmonium training can’t always overcome a lacerde’s natural instincts.

Lacerde get on well with other races, especially the kobolds of Xaric, with whom they share several ancient cultural traditions (as well as the general name ‘Scalefolk’). They tend to judge other races by group and location, but maintain a persistent racial hate against troglodytes. This race was their natural enemy in ancient times, and was driven underground by the lacerde-Harmonium alliance, although they still occasionally plague isolated tribes. The grudge runs deep both ways.

Tribal Reservations

Scalefolk tribal reservations are traditional marsh and swamplands that have classed as sovereign territories (at least as much as anywhere is ‘sovereign’ under the OCA). Here the lacerde come to mate and seek spiritual guidance, and to be sunk into their homeland’s waters when they die. Each reservation has sacred mating grounds and communal housing (called duns) raised up out of the waters on stilts and protected by levees. The entire reservation is carefully maintained by druids who balance the needs of civilisation with preservation of its life. Most are also giant factories for harvesting game and resources - they produce eels, crawfish, exotic birds, certain species of shrimp and other shellfish, and rare herbs and flowers as well. Lacerde are among the most skilled conservationists on Ortho.

Each reservation is usually surrounded by partially drained fields called Taiapas, which sometimes stretch for miles in all directions. Rice is usually grown here, to fill bellies across Ortho. Since lizardmen are exclusively carnivorous, the entire harvest of these fields can be sold for the Daily Provender, providing a low but steady income for tribesmen. Some Taiapas are set up or owned by merchants of other races, but they are usually worked by lacerde nonetheless; lizardmen do not suffer from the agues and pains which afflict other races working in paddy-fields.

Some of these private taiapas are virtual workhouses, where individual lizardmen often work long hours in the fields for relatively little pay. Lizardman workers on these farms (and in other places where they feel exploited) frequently form infamous ‘work unions’ to fight for better pay and conditions. These organisations known as huihui (after the lacerde word for “us”), and the Scalefolk fanatically support them, despite such bodies being only quasi legal under Orthunian law. Clashes between merchant cartels and huihui vary from region to region, from cooperation to outright violence and sabotage. Indeed, the word has entered the common tongue as a term for a mob of lower class troublemakers.

Scalefolk as Characters
Lizardfolk characters possess the following racial traits.

+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, –2 Intelligence.

Medium size.
A lizardfolk’s base land speed is 30 feet.
Racial Hit Dice: A lizardfolk begins with two levels of humanoid, which provide 2d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +1, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +0, Ref +3, and Will +0.
Racial Skills: A lizardfolk’s humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 5 x (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1). Its class skills are Balance, Jump, and Swim. Lizardfolk have a +4 racial bonus on Balance, Jump, and Swim checks because of their tails.

Racial Feats: A lizardfolk’s humanoid levels give it one feat.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A lizardfolk is automatically proficient with simple weapons and shields.

+5 natural armor bonus.
Natural Weapons: 2 claws (1d4) and bite (1d4).
Special Qualities (see below): Hold breath.
Automatic Languages: Common, Draconic.
Bonus Languages: Hobgoblin, Mer, Dwarf, Orc.

Hold Breath: A lizardfolk can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to four times its Constitution score before it risks drowning.

Favored Class: Druid
Level adjustment +1