#zedar

Andrew and Ashley Graves (The Coffin of Andy and Leyley) vs Belzedar (The Belgariad)

Propaganda under break

“I had believed that there was nothing more frightening, besides creatures of the more monstrous variety, that a sailor could find themselves face-to-face with than a shark. While this idea was born from a man who had never stepped onto more than a small rowboat, and has been disproven hundreds of times, the most ironic thing to break this concept was when I was told that some of those sharks happen to have legs.

Grassha was friendly to a fault, but their rows of teeth and imposing build still nearly made me reconsider working with their company. But never had I been more afraid of them than when the ship was attacked, and the captain ordered that if we took any injury, we would return to the ship immediately. Because when there was blood in the air, Grassha didn’t care who it belonged to, only that they wanted more."

—Alec Crestfall, ‘Across the Monster’s Sea’

While the sahuagin are Sekolah’s children, the sharkfolk of Zedar are those who truly represent the shark god. Standing between six and seven feet in height and naturally broad and bulky, with a large, muscular tail behind them, the sharkfolk value strength above all else, and will often follow powerful individuals out of a desire to be on the strongest side. They share a mutual respect only with the sahuagin, and any other race must prove their worth before a tribe of sharkfolk will agree to not hunt them down.

Always Moving

Similar to true sharks, sharkfolk rely on constant travel for survival, though that is more due to a nomadic nature and lack of territory than a biological need. Most sharkfolk band together in nomadic tribes to compare strength and increase their power with numbers, and to breed stronger families, though many sharkfolk set out on their own, earning personal power and fear. Few families coddle their children, expecting them to adapt or perish, training them as hunters and warriors from birth.

They travel with impunity through sahuagin territories, the shared reverence of sharks granting them a rare immunity, but it is not unheard of for tribes or individuals to encroach on other territories. In cases like this, it is often the best idea to ignore the intrusion, as they tend to jump on any opportunity to enter a battle.

Blood in the Water

Sharkfolk are rarely welcomed into groups outside of their own, because they have a sensitive nose and an uncontrollable bloodlust if they catch scent of blood. If a creature is badly injured, regardless of allegiance, most sharkfolk won’t be able to stop themselves from tearing them apart. Most hunting is done by individual sharkfolk for this reason, to prevent the slaughter of each other. This isn’t to say that many sharkfolk can’t overcome this weakness, especially those who push away their more violent urges to pursue a life away from the brutal, bloody nature of their people. 

Sharkfolks can resemble any number of sharks, and can appear more feral or humanoid depending on their lineage and habitats, but all sharkfolk suffer the same bloodlust and violent urges, even if one was raised away from their usual society. They often compare kill counts with other tribes or warriors, and show a rare amount of respect to any with more kills than themselves.

Sharkfolk Names

Sharkfolk names are often similar to those of the sahuagin, but due to the disjointed nature of their cultures, many will also adopt names in aquan or even common. While they identify tribes based on scent and visual cues, they will adopt a tribal name in common, to strike fear into sailors.

Personal Names: Abshaka, Cuttlesh, Lionfish, Malucsh, Yashiqis

Clan Names: Hammerbone, Megalodon, Tigerblood, Whitehunt

Sharkfolk Traits

Raised and bred to be a powerful warrior, you possess several abilities to help mark you as the apex predator of the oceans.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Strength score increases by 1.

Age. Sharks mature faster than humans, being considered adults by the age of 12, and those who do not die in battle rarely survive longer than 60 years, with the lives they are expected to live.

Alignment. Sharkfolk are bred to be aggressive and ferocious, and rarely show any care for anything weaker than themselves. Their care for law is a very weak sense of honour, marking the majority of sharkfolk as neutral or even chaotic evil.

Size. Most sharkfolk stand well over six feet in height and weigh nearly 300 pounds, bolstered by their natural bulky muscularity. Your size is medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet, and your base swimming speed is 45 feet. 

Darkvision. You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey.

Amphibious. You can breathe both air and water.

Bite. Your bite counts as a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your bite, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Blood Tracker. You have advantage on all perception checks to locate any bleeding creatures within 60 feet of yourself, or any creatures with less than half of their maximum hit points within 120 feet.

Blood Madness. The scent of blood unleashes your feral instincts. Any creature below half of their hit point maximum that is within 60 feet of you can cause you to attack it with everything you have. At the start of your next turn, make a Wisdom saving throw to resist the temptation. The DC for this saving throw is equal to 10, +1 for each additional two creatures below half of their hit point maximum within this range. On a failed save, you must use your movement to get as close as you can to the nearest creature in this state and perform a melee attack with advantage, or use your dash action if your movement cannot reach them. Attacks against you have advantage while the blood madness persists. This save can be repeated at the start of each of your turns, ending if all targets are killed or healed past half of their hit point maximum.

There's been some submissions with both the "good" and "bad" siblings together, and other where it's just the "bad" one(s) listed. Either way is great!

Silk: That's a crazy request!

Belgarath: I would use a different tone.

Belgarath: But I am.

More information, maps, and playable content will be added as it is completed.

Adventurer’s Guide to Jadeclyff

With a rich history and magic all but humming in the air, Jadeclyff is an intriguing romp for all, no matter what time period you find it in.

Currently contains the following:

Two new playable races, a new elf subrace, and a reworking of the Kobold race

A guide to creating and playing mixed-race characters, as well as two examples.

Six new Subclasses: the Gadgeteer Artificer, the College of Dubstep Bard, the College of Lullabies Bard, the Chaos Domain Cleric, the Circle of Architects Druid, and the Beastial Blood Sorcerer.

A list of the Gods worshipped in Jadeclyff

Nomad’s Guide to the Fey Forest

In the southeastern corner of Jadeclyff, there exists a strange and wonderful forest created and inhabited by feyfolk. Follow this guide to the people and magic within the Fey Forest, lest you get lost among the shifting pathways.

Currently contains the following:

Six brand-new, Fey-inspired playable races, some wholly original and some existing creatures made playable

Four new Subclasses: the College of Birdsong Bard, the Circle of Trees Druid, the Way of the Faerie Monk, and the Feytouched Sorcerer

New backgrounds, spells, and trinkets

20+ brand-new creatures you can encounter in the Forest or the Feywild beyond, as well as a few creatures converted to 5e from previous editions

Sailor’s Guide to Zedar

Located off the southwestern shore of Jadeclyff is a series of islands surrounding a giant whirlpool. This country is known as Zedar, and it is home to pirates, sailors, and all manner of those who dwell on and below the waves.

Currently contains the following:

Three new playable races

Stargazer’s Guide to the Planes

The land of Jadeclyff is awash with magic, and it seems to act as a beacon to draw all manner of unusual folk to it. This book details many of them, as well as the effects they have had on the world and the things they left in it.

Currently contains the following:

“When a ship wrecks or a poor soul be cast overboard, a seafarer don't often question when somethin' offers t' save thar life. Unfortunately, the depths hold some o' the darkest monsters, 'n those deals are usually rotten. That's how ye end up lookin' like this, lad.” The captain grunted to me, allowing the gruff human disguise to fall away to reveal a more fish-like, slimy, monstrous appearance, with the lower half of the face splitting open to reveal jagged fangs. I swallowed in fear, watching the tendrils extending from behind the captain’s head adjust the hat on his head. The captain noticed my fear, and grunted again before the slimy grey flesh shifted back to the rough, tan flesh of an old human. “Do ye understand? Yer lucky we fished ye out o' the sea afore somethin' else did, so quit yer bellyachin'."

—Alec Crestfall, ‘Across the Monster’s Sea’

With slimy grey skin, claws, fangs, and various aquatic changes leaving them monstrously deformed, one may be led to believe that their ability to return to their true form would be a blessing to them. However, this is not the case, as deep scions believe that their hybrid, aquatic form is their proper form, despite their true forms remaining unchanged.

Slaves to the Ocean’s Evils

When an aquatic power like a kraken needs servants, they will often fill this role with deep scions. The bodies and souls of those lost or dying at sea are twisted and changed painfully, turning them into fish-like hybrids, capable of taking on the appearance of their prior form to carry out their new master’s will among their old fellows. However, when a deep scion is freed from their master or born without one, they often struggle to find their own path in life.

Their masters hold little care for them, and will often order them to carry out any task if they believe it will be beneficial to their cause, no matter how dangerous. Most deep scions follow these orders unquestioningly, their souls warped as they are. Some deep scions are able to break this servitude, overcoming the magic and training that stripped them of their attachments and individuality.

Living Free

When a deep scion’s master is killed, many of them find no drive to live any longer, or become senseless and violent until killed. However, many find this newfound freedom to be the opportunity for a fresh start, seeking out new ways of life. Examples of this were rare, but when the Flying Dutchman was killed in 1432, Second Era, the droves of scions he had amassed with his power suddenly found themselves free. Those following his greatest servant, Davy Jones, were able to turn their loyalty to their captain without issue, but it took much time for the rest to find peace.

This freedom also gave them the opportunities to reproduce, with naturally-born deep scions without the history of torture and slavery weighing on them beginning to crop up over time. Many use their shapeshifting abilities to enter normal society in peace, while others embrace their more monstrous forms. Either way, deep scions are still viewed with hesitance and contempt, leaving them struggling to find a true home.

Deep Scion Names

Deep scions will usually respond to their original names on instinct, both from before their transformation and from their infiltrator role afterwards. However, this is usually no longer who they are. If they choose to take on a name at all, they usually choose a name they find simple, fitting or pleasing-sounding to them in aquan or whatever language they use on the surface. These names are also given to deep scions at birth, in those cases, but they often only adopt a family name if they integrate into another society that does so.

Found Names: Axe, Buwami, Current, Gakin, Fin, Galley, Sashi, Waves, Zaji

Deep Scion Traits

The transformation into a deep scion completely changes your body and mind, granting you the following abilities.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Age. Deep Scions hold onto vestiges of the races they once were, and families will often declare adulthood at ages appropriate to the race they come from. Due to the magic that transformed them, they can sometimes live for a century longer than they otherwise would.

Alignment. The process of becoming a Deep Scion often involves shirking off any moral quandaries to only serve one’s master, but this process can be overcome. If you were raised under a master, there is an intrinsic pull towards evil, but many Deep Scions have been able to resist this, especially when freed from the corrupting influence of their masters.

Size. Deep Scions match the height and weight of their true race.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 40 feet.

Superior Darkvision. You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey.

Amphibious. You can breathe both air and water.

True Form. Choose any playable race. That race is your true form, and you retain that race’s Size and Language traits, but lose all else. Determine the appearance of your true form during character creation, as this cannot be changed later. As an action, you are able to shift into your true form or back into your deep scion form. When in your true form, you gain that race’s Speed traits, but lose your swimming speed and amphibious trait (unless your true form’s race has those traits as well), lose your natural weapons, and are indistinguishable from a normal member of that race. If you die in your deep scion form, you regress into your true form.

Deadly Jaws. Your fanged bite counts as a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your jaws, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Vicious Claws. Your sharp claws count as natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your claws, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Deep Scion Instincts. You have proficiency in the Deception skill.