Powerfully-built humanoids that resemble hyenas, kholo are cunning warriors and hunters. Their frightening visage and efficient tactics have given them an ill-starred reputation.
In lands to the east, such as Daqha, kholo have earned themselves well-deserved reputations as brutal slavers and demon-worshippers. Even in Chult, many outsiders believe that they are witches, cannibals, and worse. The truth is more complex.
Kholo are eminently practical and pragmatic hunters and raiders. To the kholo, honor is just another word for pointless risk. Any loss of a kholo affects not just the individual, but their packmates and kin as well. Wasting time on anything but victory, whether it's mercy or cruelty, is seen as little shy of immoral. Kholo see effectiveness as a cardinal virtue and believe that the best fight is one that never gives the opponent a chance to strike back. Kholo are masters of ambushes, tactical feints, and psychological warfare—none of which endears them to their neighbors.
Equally misunderstood is the kholo practice of ancestor worship and endocannibalism. Kholo consume their dead as a sign of reverence, holding a grand feast and transforming the bones of the fallen into art or weapons. Kholo extend this honor to respected foes, hoping to bring their enemy's cunning or strength into the clan. While it's a sign of admiration, not everyone sees it that way.
Physical Description
Kholo are large, hyena-like humanoids with short muzzles, sharp teeth, and large and expressive round ears. Their bodies are covered in shaggy fur, rougher on the back and softer and lighter on the stomach and throat, usually in an off-white, tan, or brown shade—spots and stripes are both common. Kholo typically stand between six and seven feet tall. Women are usually about a head taller than men, and correspondingly stronger. Kholo are considered adults at fifteen, and live about 60 years on average, though some can reach a hundred or more in good health.
Society
Kholo generally live in clans of 10 to 20 interrelated family groups, containing between 100 to 200 kholo. They are ruled by a council of female kholo, typically selected from the oldest members of each family. This council of elders selects one of their number as a Chief Elder, who is essentially the first among equals and sets the agenda. The council is advised by the clan's bonekeeper and storyteller, as well as one or more younger kholo who lead hunting and raiding packs.
Bonekeepers focus on tending to the wishes of kholo ancestors and gods— they take their name from the ancestral bones that festoon their clothing and homes. Storytellers serve as teachers and sages, and are expected to have an encyclopedic knowledge of clan history, regional lore, and anything else relevant to the clan. They usually speak several languages.
Kholo women typically work as hunters, warriors, and leaders, while men become artisans, caretakers, and gatherers. However, adherence to gender roles varies from clan to clan. Members of either gender can become bonekeepers or storytellers, and these positions often routes to authority for male kholo.
Religion
Kholo appeal to their ancestors on a day-to-day basis, invoking their kin to bless cubs, ward off disease, or grant luck on hunts. Kholo call upon the gods on special occasions or in times of great crisis. Demon worship does happen amongst the kholo, but much of their society reject the tribes that do - coming to blows if pushed.
Adventurers
Some kholo leave their clans to work as mercenaries and adventurers, learning new skills, earning wealth, and gaining allies that will one day benefit their people. Other adventuring kholo are without clans, left orphaned by some disaster or exiled, fairly or not, for some crime. All kholo are strongly pack-minded and tend to adopt their friends as honorary kholo and packmates.
Kholo usually hail from the animal whisperer, entertainer, herbalist, hunter, nomad, scout, and warrior backgrounds. The ranger is the archetypal kholo class, a cunning warrior of the wilderness, but kholo also make excellent barbarians and fighters, and their love of clever tricks make them outstanding rogues. Bonekeepers are usually witches or oracles, treating ancestral spirits more like squabbling colleagues than objects of worship, while storytellers are typically bards.
Names
Newborn kholo are given a root name, typically that of a bone, plant, or animal (though never Hyena, as this is considered narcissistic and arrogant). As a kholo reaches certain milestones in life, they add descriptors to their name. Root names are often passed down through families, while descriptors are chosen to fit the kholo's personality, usually in raucous ceremonies.
Sample Names
Kholo Mechanics
Traits
Hit Points
8
Size
Medium
Speed
25 feet
Ability Boosts
Strength, Intelligence, Free
Ability Flaw(s)
Wisdom
Languages
Common
Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it's positive). Choose from Runic, Sylvan, and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).
Low-Light Vision
You can see in dim light as though it were bright light, so you ignore the concealed condition due to dim light.
Bite
Your sharp teeth and powerful jaws are fearsome weapons. You have a jaws unarmed attack that deals 1d6 piercing damage. Your jaws are in the brawling group.
Kholo Heritages
Versatile Heritages
You select a heritage at 1st level to reflect abilities passed down to you from your ancestors or common among those of your ancestry in the environment where you were born or grew up. You have only one heritage and can’t change it later. A heritage is not the same as a culture or ethnicity, though some cultures or ethnicities might have more or fewer members from a particular heritage.
Ant Kholo
You're a sharp-featured, big-eared kholo about three feet tall. Many are skeptical that you are in fact a kholo. Your size is Small instead of Medium. You are trained in Deception (or another skill if you were already trained in Deception). You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Deception checks to Lie when specifically claiming innocence, and to Deception DCs against Sense Motive checks to uncover such lies.
Great Kholo
You're a large, powerful kholo, with tawny fur and brown spots on your hide. You gain 10 Hit Points from your ancestry instead of 8 and gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Athletics checks to Shove or Trip foes.
Sweetbreath Kholo
You're a striped, pale-furred kholo with oddly pleasant breath, which you can use to entrance your prey. You are trained in Diplomacy (or another skill if you were already trained in Diplomacy). You also gain a +1 circumstance bonus to checks to Make an Impression if the target can smell your breath.
Witch Kholo
You're a shaggy, dark-furred kholo capable of making some truly uncanny sounds. You can cast the ghost sound cantrip as an occult innate spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell level equal to half your level rounded up. In addition, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to checks to Impersonate and Create a Diversion when using only your voice.
Kholo Feats
At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat.
Crunch (Feat 1)
Kholo |
Your jaws can crush bone and bite through armor. Your jaws unarmed attack deals 1d8 piercing damage instead of 1d6 and gains the grapple trait.
Distant Cackle (Feat 1)
Kholo |
Prerequisites witch kholo heritage
It takes a very brave person to enter the laughter-haunted forest where you dwell. You can cast ventriloquism once per day as a 1st-level occult innate spell.
Kholo Lore (Feat 1)
Kholo |
You paid attention to your senior hunters to learn their tricks. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Stealth and Survival. If you would automatically become trained in one of those skills (from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice. You also become trained in Kholo Lore.
Kholo Weapon Familiarity (Feat 1)
Kholo |
You were taught to be a hunter and a raider. You are trained with flails, khopeshes, mambeles, spears, and war flails.
Whenever you gain a class feature that grants you expert or greater proficiency in certain weapons, you also gain that proficiency for flails, khopeshes, mambeles, spears, and war flails.
At 5th level, whenever you critically hit using a flail, khopesh, mambele, spear or a war flail, you apply the weapon's critical specialization effect.
Hyena Familiar (Feat 1)
Kholo |
Hyenas serve gnolls as pets, trackers, and in your case, vessels for spirits. You gain a Tiny hyena as a familiar.
Pack Hunter (Feat 1)
Kholo |
Prerequisites trained in Stealth
Ambushes are an honored kholo tradition. You gain the Terrain Stalker feat. If you are an expert in Stealth, you can extend its effects to a single ally so long as they remain within 10 ft. of you. If you have master proficiency in Stealth, you can extend the effect to two allies. If you have legendary proficiency in Stealth, you can extend it to four allies.
Sensitive Nose (Feat 1)
Kholo |
Your large black nose isn't just for show. You gain imprecise scent with a range of 30 feet.
Special You can take this feat only at 1st level, and you can’t retrain out of this feat or into this feat.
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