Zorillo, Philosophers of the Green
“Plants are children of the earth; we are children of the æther. Our lungs are properly our root; we live, when we breathe; we begin our life with breathing.”
-Novalis
Rated PG-13
The following material contains brief mention of themes of drug use, and may not be appropriate for all groups and/or players. Please do not use this material in a game without approval from the GM as well as the other players.
Playtest Version
This material is still in the process of being playtested. It is fully usable as written, but may be refined or changed in later versions. As always, this content should only be used with GM permission.
The Zorillos
Zorillos, like their non-humanoid cousins, skunks, have a potent self-defense mechanism that generally causes potentially dangerous creatures to avoid confrontations. This has resulted in an unhurried and thoughtful lifestyle that has fostered countless styles of art, philosophy, agriculture, architecture, and even engineering. Happiness, ease of suffering, and appreciation of beauty are experiences most zorillos try to cultivate, sometimes in themselves, and sometimes for others. Due to their thoughtful nature, quite a few of them dedicate their time to the arcane, to nature, or to religion. The greatest prestige in zorillo culture is to be an influential holy person or philosopher, above even those in positions to govern, as governance is seen as no more than operating the infrastructure by which philosophy is put into practice.
Jocular Philosophers
While most zorillos have a contemplative and deliberate nature, they also have an aversion to tedium. Instead of spending days writing philosophical texts in a candle-lit room, they will often refine their philosophies in witty conversation in a tavern over several pints and a well-stocked pipe. Zorillo poetry is generally full of humorous wordplay, worldly themes, and deeply insightful commentary in equal measure. Whether they be upbeat or languid, they almost all take great pains to fully enjoy both the simple pleasures of life and the finer things when they are able.
Cultivation of Mind, Spirit, and Environment
Just as zorrillos are raised to thoughtfully build their internal life, they also reflect this in their efforts to refine their surroundings. Their architecture—though many styles exist—is typically of fine workmanship and deeply meaningful design. They also put this same care into agriculture, and in pursuit of philosophy, they have bred many herbs, fungi, and so forth that can be used to produce particular states of mind when properly prepared. The many cultivars of zorillo pipe weed are extremely popular commodities among halfling communities, who in turn sell excellent food and alcohol to the zorillos.
Zorillo Names
Zorillos typically have two surnames, mother’s primary surname followed by the father’s. For example, the daughter of Pilara Cordona Ubalde and Basilio Rascon Morientes might be named Casilda Cordona Rascon. A zorillo who has become a notable philosopher, powerful magic user, or the like will often simply be known by their personal name (or a clerical name or craft name if they utilize one), unless it is particularly common or another notable individual by that name already exists, in which case a title will be added to the personal name. In the latter case, both individuals will have a title added to distinguish their works if the first notable individual by that name does not already have one. These titles are often based on a distinctive character trait or the location they are from.
Example Feminine Personal Names: Alejandra, Bonifacia, Casilda, Delfina, Eveline, Felipa, Gracia, Hermelinda, Inocencia, Leobarda, Mariana, Nadal, Pilara, Rigoberta, Sofia, Ultreia, Ynez
Example Masculine Personal Names: Adalberto, Basilio, Brun, Conrado, Dionisio, Ermengol, Florian, Gustavo, Jacinto, Liberto, Medir Omero, Porfirio, Quilo, Saturnino, Teobaldo, Urbino, Valerio, Xurxo
Example Surnames: Aguila, Brugera, Cordona, Elloriaga, Fabrega, Gibernau, Lapenti, Morientes, Odriozola, Platas, Pujol, Rascon, Savall, Solozano, Tintorero, Ubalde, Verdugo, Yocemento, Zamorano
Zorillo Traits
Your zorillo character has a number of abilities.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution, Intelligence, and Wisdom scores each increase by 1.
Age. Zorillos mature more slowly than humans, reaching adulthood at age 20. They commonly live to 140 years old.
Alignment. Due to their many and varied philosophies, zorillos do not generally tend towards any particular alignment.
Size. An average zorillo is about 5’3” tall and weighs about 123 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 30 feet as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Entheogen Lore. You gain proficiency with herbalism kits.
Poison Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance to poison damage.
Skills. You gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.
Spray. You can spray a foul-smelling and lingering scent to deter your foes. When you use your spray, each creature in a 15 foot cone must succeed at a Dexterity save with a DC equal to 10 + your Constitution modifier. On a failed save, the creature is poisoned for 1 hour, and creatures that end their turn within 10 feet of the sprayed creature must succeed on a Constitution save with a DC equal to 5 + your Constitution modifier or be poisoned until the end of their next turn. Undead creatures, Constructs, and creatures that cannot smell are immune to the poisoned condition from your spray. Any creature or object struck by your spray, whether their Dexterity save is successful or not, has the scent linger for 24 hours. During this time, Wisdom (Survival) and Wisdom (Perception) checks to track or spot the affected creature or object by scent have advantage, however Wisdom (Survival) and Wisdom (Perception) checks based on scent within 60 feet of the affected creature or object have disadvantage. Within 5 minutes, the scent of the spray (but not its source) becomes obvious to any creature with a sense of smell within 1 mile of the affected cone, or within 3 miles if downwind. The scent fades after 24 hours.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and your choice of either Halfling or Gnomish.
Random Height and Weight
| Base Height | Base Weight | Height Modifier | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4’6″ | 100 lbs | +2d8 | x(1d4) |
New Feat
Storyteller
You have a way with words and are a clever and engaging teller of tales.
During any rest, you may spend at least 30 minutes to tell a story relating in some way to a personality trait, ideal, bond or flaw of a character who can hear and understand you. That character gains inspiration. You can use this ability three times before taking a long rest, but it must apply to either a different character or a different personality trait, ideal, bond, or flaw with each use. This ability may be used more than once during a rest, if time allows.
Legal Appendix
Legal Appendix
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System Reference Document 5.1 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Zorillo, Philosophers of the Green Copyright 2019, Malachite Idol; Author Patrick Johnson.
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