“There’s comfort yet; they are assailable.
Then be thou jocund. Ere the bat hath flown
His cloistered flight, ere to black Hecate’s summons
The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums
Hath rung night’s yawning peal, there shall be done
A deed of dreadful note.”
-William Shakespeare, Macbeth
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.
A zotz resembles an enormous roughly five foot tall bat with lanky human proportions and arms in addition to their huge membranous wings. Most are covered in a thin coat of black or brown fur over tan skin, and they have hard, blunt claws better suited for holding on to rocks or trees than fighting with. They are especially skilled with magic and every individual, whether a spellcaster or not, has some degree of power running through their veins and manifesting either physically or through innate supernatural talents. Few people have ventured to their homelands, but those who do report jungles concealing perilously tall pyramids much too steep to climb, set into the sides of mountains with entryways to vast cavern systems.
The zotz were created millenia ago by a mighty spellcaster to serve as personal servitors within his vast cavernous and volcanic lair. It is said he merged people, bats, and multiple types of extraplanar power to form them, but the zotz were proud and unwilling to be mere servants, slaying their master and systematically eradicating his name from history so he would have no legacy. Their culture is somewhat related to that of the people from which they were made, but it has changed dramatically with their modified nature and thousands of years of separation.
Zotz society has three genders, with associated modes of dress, typical occupations, pronouns, and so on. These genders are not related to reproduction, however, but to which of the three sources of power from which the zotz were created—Fire, Darkness, or Earth—and which associated the cultural connotations of those powers are most influential in the individual’s personality. Marriage can occur between any zotz, but a marriage with three individuals, one of each gender, is considered especially spiritually and magically significant, and is expected of any rulers of a city state or greater, in order that all three sources of power be represented in governance.
Each zotz is named for some mighty or cunning or dangerous individual, usually hero, ruler, or mythological figure. A zotz who achieves deeds of fame or infamy comparable to those achievements is given a new name, which then enters the corpus of names for future generations. In zotz names, an “x” is pronounced like “sh” and an apostrophe represents a glottal stop.
Example Fire Names: Chaac, Hunraqan, Itzamna, K’inich Kakmo, Q’uq’umatz, Tohil, Vucub-Caquix, Xbalanque, Yaxkin
Example Darkness Names: Awilix, Balam, Chriakan, Ek Chuah, Hosanek, Ixtab, Saccimi, Tunkuruchu, Xquic, Yunuen
Example Earth Names: Cantzicnal, Hobnil, Ixchel, Nicte, Och-Kan, Tecun, Voltan, Yum Kaax, Xoc, Zipacna
Common Personality Traits: Secretive, intense, proud
Common Physical Traits: Quiet, lean muscle, ceremonial dress
Type: Medium biped folk with a Reach of 1. Your maximum wounds equal your Constitution score.
NOTICE OF OPEN GAME CONTENT
This product includes Open Game Content that may only be used under and in terms of the Open Game License Version 1.0a
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LICENSE
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
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15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, LLC.
Open Game License v1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. System Rules Document Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Spycraft Espionage Handbook, Copyright 2002, Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.; Authors Patrick Kapera and Kevin Wilson.
Spycraft 2.0 Rulebook, Copyright 2005, Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.; Authors Alexander Flagg, Scott Gearin, and Patrick Kapera.
Fantasy Craft Rulebook, Copyright 2009, Crafty Games LLC; Authors Alexander Flagg, Scott Gearin, and Patrick Kapera.
Zotz, Flames of Night Copyright 2021, Malachite Idol; Author Patrick Johnson.
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