Tauran
In the badlands and mountainous regions of the world. Tauran live in an honor‐based society where strength determines power in both the gladiatorial arenas and in daily life. At home both in the badlands and the mountainous regions of the world, tauran are ferocious barbarians, savage raiders, and mighty warriors who rank supreme as one of if not the most dangerous and strongest race in the world.
Arrogant Conquerors
Tauran embrace the notion that the weak should perish and that the strong must rule and that they themselves are the strongest and most powerful race in the realm. They believe their destiny is to rule the world, and that their dominion will be one of conquest and military might. To that end, all tauran are trained in weapons, armor, and tactics from a young age. This is done to sharpen their natural skills early, as well as to help curb and control their more violent tendencies that become quite apparent early on in their development.
The tauran are quite often seen as arrogant, this stems from a combination of their innate strength, cunning, and intellect, they are also the three virtues that are held dear in all tauran. Virtues which they deem the foundation of their greatness. They believe that this combination of traits is what sets them apart from their rivals. Trial by Combat; Tauran society is built on this principle that might make right, and that considerations of justice are unnecessary.
While all this is true to the core of the tauran, their people have gone through much change throughout the long history they have had, everything from near extinction to bloody civil wars and prominent figures grabbing for power exchanging turns at ruling to be dethroned not long after. They went from roaming bands of outlanders raiding and pillaging villages, to building cities, monuments, a society, creating art, and honing a powerful military might. The tauran have come a long bloody road to where they are now, this is made quite aware by the dirty looks, distrust, and fear held among other races of the realm. It's quite clear to say that "They don't have quite that clean of a record" one could say.
Gladiatorial Society
Tauran are mostly found in large settlements called an "Acropolis", while some tend to stick to the old ways of traveling in roving bands led by a clan leader. There are eight in total and together all the leaders of each acropolis are called the Supreme Circle. The Supreme Circle, which each lead their own clan, serve under one ruler who holds the title of Kingslayer. The circle deals with the day to day issues and events, while the kingslayer being the figurehead and the one with ultimate say on any decision made. All posts within their society, including the Kingslayer, are won by the strongest and cleverest tauran, as proved by combat in the Coliseum.
The Coliseum is the only means by which a tauran can rise in society. It is a grand, annual and sometimes a daily display of single combat in which tauran battle each other for supremacy. Tauran youths must prove themselves in the Coliseum to earn their passage to adulthood. Participation in the Coliseum is yet another reason why tauran look down on other folk. To the tauran, death and glory in battle are a natural process, while others look down on such things. Combat is the key to ensuring that the strong survive, and that the weak are set aside before they can undermine their superiors’ grand schemes of conquest.
Honor Above All
For all their cruelty, tauran are bound by a powerful sense of honor. Each victory brings greater honor to both individual tauran and their families. Defeat invokes a stain in which depending on the severity of the defeat that only death could fully wash it away.
Honor demands that tauran keep their word once it is offered, and each tauran remains faithful to friends and clan above all else. Tauran rarely befriend folk of other races, as they all too often encounter them only in battle. If a tauran does strike up a friendship, it is typically with other creatures that display the tauran’s virtues and love of battle. To such friends, a tauran becomes an ally whose support will never waver.
Tauran Names
Tauran clan names originate with a great hero whose descendants take on that name as their own, doing their best to live up to the ideals of their ancestor. In the regions of the world where tauran can be found, clan names are always preceded by the specific prefix affiliated with their respective regions they live in. They use “el‐” for the tauran of the badlands, which contrives of more than half of their total population, or “de‐” for the rest of the tauran that call the mountains their home.
Male Names: Beliminorgath, Cinmac,Dastrun, Edder, Galdar, Ganthirogani, Hecariverani, Kyris, Tosher, Zurgas
Female Names: Ayasha, Calina, Fliara, Helati, Keeli, Kyri, Mogara, Sekra, Tariki, Telia
Clan Names: Athak, Bregan, Entragath, Golbarge, Kaziganthi, Lagrangli, Mascun, Orilg, Sumarr, Teskos, Zhakan
Tauran Traits
Tauran possess a number of traits that reflect the power and superiority of their kind.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age. Tauran enter adulthood at around 13 and can live for over 150 years.
Alignment. Tauran believe in a strict code of honor, and thus tend toward more lawful alignments. They are loyal to the death and make implacable enemies, even as their brutal culture and disdain for weakness might push them toward a more darker alignment.
Size. Tauran typically stand well over 6 feet tall and weigh an average of 400 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Monstrous Reputation. Due to their massive build and blood covered ancestry, tauran have proficiency in the Intimidation skill.
Labyrinthine Recall. You can perfectly recall any path you have traveled.
Horns. You are never unarmed. You are proficient with your horns, which are a melee weapon that deals 1d6 piercing damage. In addition, Your horns grant you advantage on Strength (athletics) checks made to shove a creature.
Goring Rush. Immediately after you use the Dash action on your turn and move at least as far as your speed, you can make a melee attack with your horns as a bonus action.
Hammering Horns. When you use the Attack action during your turn to make a melee attack, you can attempt to shove a creature with your horns as a bonus action. You cannot use this shove attempt to knock a creature prone.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Abyssal.
Tauran Bonds
When creating a tauran character, you can use the following table of bonds to help flesh out your character. Use this table in addition to or in place of your background’s bond or a bond of your creation. [d6 Bond]
(1.) I aim to be Kingslayer one day like my father and rule over my people.
(2.) I’m the last of my clan. If I die without achieving great deeds, the hero who is my clan’s patron will be forgotten.
(3.) My opponent in the Coliseum for my trial of adulthood was chosen years ago. Though we spared only once, I fell deeply in love. Rather than fight my beloved to the death, I fled from home and have been branded a coward.
(4.) I was part of a raiding party that was defeated and enslaved. I’ve escaped and I have sworn to get my revenge.
(5.) I never shared my people’s love of violence. I’m part of a conspiracy to topple the Kingslayer’s violent rule.
(6.) I’m the last survivor of a clan that was massacred by another clan or kingdom.
Occasionally, the ghosts of my clanmates appear in my dreams and ask me to complete tasks they left unfinished in life.