Tsaagan
Scoville cocked his jaunty feathered hat back on his head, where it was well supported by his flaring neck frills. "Well, I suppose someone will have to swim for it." He eyed his companions expectantly, but none of them spoke up. "No, I thought as much." He flashed them a broad crocodilian grin, showing his small, pointy teeth. "Leave it to your old pal Scoville then. I shall essay the task." Immediately he began to remove his clothes.
Kendra snorted, and Tomas actually turned his head chastely away. "Oh, come, come now, friends!" Scoville replied in a jolly tone. "Surely you can understand that, while I will gladly dive into murky unknown waters for you, my boon companions, I must draw the line at ruining these fine clothes. This is genuine satin!" When Kendra merely arched an eyebrow at him, he threw up his green, scaly claws, which still clutched the exquisitely balanced rapier that was his pride and joy. "Oh, you fleshies! Keeping your reproductive bits on the outside ... how inconvenient it must be for you." With that, his disrobing complete, he arced smoothly off the dock, slicing into the water with barely a splash, and his whip-like tail soon propelled him out of sight of his companions.
Tsaagan are reptilian humanoids without a clear ancestral connection to modern, living creatures. Their heads are shaped in a way that seems strange to most people they encounter, but those travelers of the multiverse who have seen dinosaurs (perhaps on the peninsula of Chult in Faerûn, or the Talenta Plains of Eberron) recognize similarities to the clawfoot (also called the velociraptor). If they are related, however, the connection must be distant, as tsaagan pride themselves on their manners and enlightened attitudes, and are generally not afraid to proclaim it loudly. While some people think of them as braggarts, the truth is that these short (to humans) bundles of energy are almost invariably brave and loyal, and, while immodest, they usually live up to their boasting.
Rejecting Their Lizard Brains
Tsaagan fancy themselves much more evolved than the other reptilian races, even feeling superior to dragonborn and their proud, magical lineage. Stories of being descended from animals such as lizards or crocodiles are discounted; in fact, some tsaagan go so far as to say that modern day reptiles are inferior magical copies of them. This leads most members of the race to express distaste at the prospect of doing anything that might be perceived as "uncivilized:" they hate sleeping on the ground or eating without utensils, for instance. But even in this area their pride can come through, with some individuals trying to show how well they can survive while "roughing it." But, as a rule, tsaagan love their creature comforts, and will often splurge on a good meal or a fine wine.
They claim their affinity for bladed weapons is also a sign of being more civilized, and the rapier in particular is almost universally lauded as the tsaagan weapon of choice. Tsaagan children are taught the rapier at a very young age, and the presentation of a rapier to call their own is an important rite of passage in tsaagan culture. It is very rare to find a tsaagan without one, although there are always individuals who have reasons to reject their heritage. Less generous scholars point out that, since tsaagan claws lack the ability of lizardfolk and tortles to damage their enemies, they simply use blades as replacements.
Embracing Their Lizard Bodies
On the other hand, when it comes to physical displays, tsaagan are happy to distinguish themselves from the other races, particularly from the "fleshies" (as they refer to anyone who lacks scales, fur, or feathers). They are just as good in the water as lizardfolk, and their tail is also used out of the water, to lash at their enemies in combat, or to knock over things that might be in the way. The upper jaw of most individuals curves downward in the front, so that it resembles a beak; while they cannot effectively bite (and would consider that barbaric in any event), their mouths are excellent at picking up food (even from neighboring plates), and the bony ridge that extends from the eyeline to the tip of jawline is often adorned with tattoos or piercings.
Perhaps the reptilian characteristic that they are most proud of, however, is their neck frills. The vast majority of tsaagan have two fleshy appendages that extend from the back of either side of their hairless heads, although a few individuals have just one located in the center. Some people call these "horns," but they are not hard and cannot be used for combat. Most of the time, these extensions just lay flat along the back of the tsaagan's neck, but, when excited or animated (or just bored), the tsaagan will raise them to their full extent, revealing colorful frills that stretch out like webbing. While the skintones of tsaagan are almost always shades of green, from a bright verdant to a deep olive (although a few have bluish shades, such as aquamarine), their frills can have literally any color: oranges, purples, reds, yellows, and so forth. Many frills have several colors, in various patterns, and some even say that, if you can describe a neck frill in sufficient detail to another tsaagan, they can recognize the individual with no more information than that.
Sociable River People
While tsaagan are notorious for wandering across the material plane, they have a tendency to settle near rivers. While they remain proudly promiscuous in their youth, most become monogamous when it comes time to raise a family. They build their own homes, either on the riverbank, or actually under the water, similar to beaver lodges (in the latter case, they build small outbuildings on the bank where they keep their fine clothes). The parents have clutches of 3 to 5 children, often only once per couple. The children are encouraged to fight, swim, and roam the nearby forests; as they come of age, they leave their homes forever, having no fixed address until it is time for them in turn to settle down and have children of their own.
Once their adventuring days are over, most tsaagan settle into quiet lives plying river trades such as fishing, ferrying travelers, making maps, or being guides for the surrounding area. They are skilled boatbuilders, pilots, cartographers, divers, and bargepersons. Most comfortable on boats or in the water, they rarely wear shoes, are ready to swim at a moment's notice, and their skin dries quickly after they emerge from the water.
They are very welcoming to strangers, often inviting them into their homes and generously sharing food or other supplies. However, they remain hale and hearty well into their later years, and are very capable of defending themselves against any who might think to take advantage of their hospitality.
Egalitarian in All Things
Tsaagan seem not to have gender roles at all, and, combined with a lack of outward sexual characteristics, it can be very difficult for outsiders to tell males and females apart. To confuse matters further, they seem not to much care about the sex of the adults in a family unit: tsaagan children are just as likely to be raised by two males or two females as by a male and female. Likewise, the children are all raised the same, regardless of sex. While tsaagan assure others that they can always tell the sex of a fellow tsaagan, they just don't seem to care much about that particular information.
They find pronouns in Common amusing, and will happily accept whatever pronouns their companions wish to assign them. The tsaagan dialect of Draconic does not use gendered pronouns at all, so they consider "he," "she," and "they" completely interchangeable.
Tsaagan Names
Tsaagan have a very cavalier attitude towards names. While children are given a name at birth (typically in the Draconic tongue), this is the not the primary means used to identify individuals. When speaking to other tsaagan, they use a combination of pheromones and intricate flourishes of their neck frills instead of names. Thus, verbal names are primarily for the benefit of non-tsaagan, and therefore treated as fungible monikers only slightly more permanent than a choice of clothing.
A tsaagan's adopted name can be pretty much anything, but the two things they favor above all others are overly descriptive nicknames, which they give to themselves, and place names that they find exotic, which they abscond with for no reason other than their mellifluousness.
Tsaagan names, like everything else about them, are not gender-specific.
Names assigned at birth: Adrammelek, Alixan, Arush, Boruta, Daar, Elishat, Hariel, Jaryax, Kalameet, Khorne, Lorqiroth, Malbith, Marrukh, Morvarax, Nakshatra, Orishann, Privarax, Quilshann, Shapash, Uroxan, Zafira.
Self-given nicknames: Cheeky, Dauntless, Deeper, Fearless, Gallant, Intrepid, Sparkles, Thorn, Verdant, Viper.
Names based on locations: Assam, Balanzia, Cimbar, Ereshkigal, Goliad, Ixtzul, Kaspar, Myrmyr, Nexal, Ormath, Sammaresh, Tarsith, Visrana, Zelpir.
Tsaagan Traits
Your tsaagan character has the following racial traits.
Creature Type. You are a humanoid.
Size. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time.
Tail Swing. Your long tail is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the damage normal for an unarmed strike. You can make a tail swing attack on your turn as a bonus action.
Keen Eye and Silver Tongue. You gain proficiency with one of the following skills of your choice: Deception, Intimidation, Perception, Performance, and Persuasion.
Born on the Water. You gain proficiency with vehicles (water) and the artisan's tools of your choice: woodcarver's tools, navigator's tools or cartographer's tools.
Finely Honed Reflexes. Due to your keen reaction time, you have a +2 bonus to initiative.
Swashbuckler Training. You have proficiency with the rapier. Additionally, you can temporarily distract an opponent with your flamboyant actions (and by flaring your neck frills), forcing them to focus all their attention on you. As a bonus action, you can attempt to distract a creature you can see within 60 feet by making a Charisma (Performance) check. The target creature must make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC equal to the result of your check. On a failed save, the target creature makes all attacks during their next turn at disadvantage. Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
The Typical Tsaagan
As a player, your character is above average, and you may choose any alignment, height, weight, and age. You may speak any one language in addition to Common, and you may increase any one ability score by 2 and another score by 1, or increase three different ability scores by 1. While you are not restricted to a typical tsaagan character, here's what such a character would look like.
Ability Score Increase. A typical tsaagan's Dexterity score increases by 2 and their Charisma score increases by 1.
Age. Tsaagan have lifespans equivalent to humans.
Alignment. Most tsaagan are chaotic. They value individuality and are not much for following rules. They are rarely evil, but split fairly evenly between good and neutral.
Size. On average, tsaagan are taller than dwarves, but shorter than humans, and very lithe. A typical tsaagan stands between 4½ and 5½ feet tall and weighs between 75 and 125 pounds.
Languages. Most tsaagan can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic.