The Lutraxi
Understanding the Lutraxi
Lutraxi are agile otterlike humanoids who favor bodies of water and damp terrain. Naturally curious and sanguine, they are fascinated by trinkets and baubles and fiercely loyal towards their companions.
Mother-bound. Lutraxi pups spend their first year hanging to their mother's back or belly while their arm and leg muscles develop. They often discover that they've achieved this milestone after accidentally falling off of their mother while trying to reach for something shiny or oddly shaped.
Mentorship. Lutraxi society is one of shared responsibility. Young members are entrusted to a mentor, chosen by their mother, the moment they are able to move autonomously. This mentor is never a direct family member, ensuring that pups are exposed to other viewpoints and varied experiences. This mentor is indistinguishable from a parent figure for the Lutraxi, who will typically cherish this individual as much, if not more than their natural parents.
Adept swimmers. All Lutraxi are excellent swimmers, and are even capable of carrying other creatures of similar size over long stretches of water.
Tinkers and explorers. Their upbringing makes Lutraxi sharp-witted, handy and broadly cultured. Many will put this to use in becoming artisans, shopkeepers, traders, engineers, or even diplomats, spies, political advisors or entertainers. In their pursuits, Lutraxi favor breadth of experience and exploration, rarely staying in one place for too long.
Bonded object. Lutraxi believe that an individual's attachment to an object is an extension of their personality. During mentorship, pups are encouraged to find and hoard many items that they are fond of, and to reflect upon their significance. As part of a ceremony upon entering adulthood, they will present their tribe and mentor with the one object they've chosen as their bond, and tell its story. They will routinely question strangers of all walks of life about their favorite objects, and eagerly present their own. For a Lutraxi, to lose their bonded object is a fate nearly worse than death. A bonded object may be as innocuous as an oddly shaped rock or branch, or as valuable as a gemstone, a piece of handmade jewelry or a contraption of their own making. Lutraxi will occasionally bond with weapons, armor, or other objects meant for practical use. If they do, those items will remain unused to avoid damage.
Lutraxi Traits
Your Lutraxi character has an assortment of inborn abilities.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1, and either your Intelligence or Charisma score increases by 2.
Size. Lutraxi stand between 4½ and 6 feet tall and average about 130 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 40 feet.
Development and Life expectancy. Lutraxi are helpless pups during their first year, and are then capable of autonomous movement. They mature to adulthood over ten years of mentorship and live up to approximately 70 years.
Tinkering Explorers. Lutraxi are handy, curious and broadly cultured, which translates into various skills. You are proficient in two of the following skills: Acrobatics, Investigation, Sleight of Hand, Survival.
Alignment. Most Lutraxi are Good or Neutral, having been raised under strict principles of community and loyalty. They may fluctuate anywhere between Lawful and Chaotic.
Dependable Rescuers. Despite their supple build, Lutraxi excel at carrying or displacing other creatures. You may carry a willing creature of size Medium or smaller at full speed, on land or in water.
Boundless Loyalty. Lutraxi are fiercely loyal. Once per Long Rest, when an ally you can see is knocked unconscious, you gain a surge of adrenaline. You may immediately use your Reaction to either move for up to your full movement speed without triggering attacks of opportunity, or to perform an attack with Advantage from where you stand.
Water Dependency. If you fail to immerse yourself in water for at least 1 hour once per week, you suffer one level of exhaustion at the end of each additional day following the 7th. You can only recover from this exhaustion through magic or by immersing yourself in water for at least 1 hour.
Amphibious. You can breathe air and water.
