Saltscale Lizardfolk
Something flashes beneath the waves, a hint of green scales surfaces. A rainbow colored crest breaks the waters surface followed by a huge beast.
Physical Description
The Saltscales stand on average, slightly over nine feet tall, and reach close to a fourth of a ton in weight. It has a massive, muscular tail that stretches far behind its body and allows it to speed through the saltwaters of its home. A large crest runs from its head down most of its back and is often many colors. Its scale vary in colors of green, while its leathery underside is a pale seagreen shade. Its gaping jaws are filled with serrated teeth and its hands are equipped with deadly claws. Its entire body is bulky muscle, built to swim endlessly among the waves.
History of the Saltscales
The Saltscales are a proud and bold race, they were once rulers of the sea but were hunted by cunning land dwellers to near extinction. They were said to have died off, and few know of their continued existance. They were a peacable people and that brought about their undoing. Their anger was slow to rouse and by the time war was declared on the warm-blooded land dwellers, they numbered only a few hundred strong. The war was over before it began, a single tribe of below thirty lizards escaped to the blackness of the ocean floor. They were hidden by the aid of a benevolent sea dragon, and were considered lost forever. In truth they had only retreated and long-lived as they are they would not soon forget the treachery above the waves.
Society and Culture
Saltscales have been recuperating for many centuries and their strength has grown. Their technologies are primitive due to their seclusion, but they have adapted many innovative technologies to work underwater. They build extensive cities in the dark depths of the ocean, hidden still from all peering eyes. They grow farms of sea plants that require little light and gather the bounties of rare minerals. Communications with the outside world is maintained by occasional visits to their swamp-dwelling cousins.
The Saltscale society is built to prevent discovery. They have rigid laws and extremely strict punishments for actions that may endanger their very existance. Playing and doing pointless activities for pleasure is scorned upon, where studing or practicing important skills is considered a necessary habit. The young lizardlings are trained from a very early age to fight and hate warm-bloods. The elders still remember the viciousness of the short-lived land-dwellers and hate them for it. Much training is done for the day the Saltscales will surface and retake the land. Until then they bide their time, living off the bounty of the ocean.
Plot Hooks
-Blood hungry lizardfolk clamor to the surface to get their revenge, and destroy those in their way. The PC's could be caught in the assault or hired blades to help stop the rampaging Lizardfolk.
-The Aquatic elves have found evidence of strange life-forms deep in the ocean. The PC's may discover the Lizardfolk on their own and then be put in a dilemna, they could expose the Lizards and get centuries old bounty that may still exist, or they could help conceal their presence by sabotaging the Aquatic elves research.
-The players exploring may lead them into Lizardfolk territory and they may incurr the rath of the everwatchful sentries, or the Lizardfolk may see a threat and lash out against nearby settlements.
The Citadel and the Sea
The Oceans are vast and mysterious, givers of life and cruel destroyers. Men have plied the oceans in vast ships, explored it's depths, fought it monsters and given us epics of the Salt Road.
Give us you submissions of the Oceans, your serenades of the Sea and all that which is nautical. 15XP for each submission with 100XP for 1st and 50XP for second.
Not Registered Yet? No problem.
Do you want Strolenati super powers? Registering. That's how you get super powers! These are just a couple powers you receive with more to come as you participate.
- Upvote and give XP to encourage useful comments.
- Work on submissions in private or flag them for assistance.
- Earn XP and gain levels that give you more site abilities (super powers).
- You should register. All your friends are doing it!
? Responses (8)
minor typo- should be 'peaceable'
An okay sub in completeness and logic, adding in some plot hooks might be nice and I personally would help it to achieve better scores.
Not a bad creature - I would ditch the verb 'motors' since that is not in keeping with fantasy.
You mixed singular and plural descriptions in the physical description section - its or their - stick to one.
History seems to say the same thing a couple of times - and you mix are and were there as well.
The Saltscale society is very rigid due to the fact that they cannot be discovered.
Perhaps something like 'To avoid premature discovery, they have a very rigid society' or the like - the current sentence seems to imply that they cannot be discovered, not that they need to avoid discovery.
Update: Fixed up some of the weak points and I am letting it go. Have at it!
For your plot hooks, I only see one thing.
What language do they speak?
How would a party sabotage the aquatic elves without knowing that the Lizardfolk are in peril?
Puritanical cthuloid lizardfolk of death, decent idea, it could use a little panache, but besides that quite solid, also why has no one voted on this in the year and a half it's been on the site?
Lizard people with a difference. :)
Solid submission - concise and to the point. I find that I'm too long winded, so a shorter sub is refreshing. I almost want to know about their society a little more; what about this benevolent sea dragon, what do they build out of and how do they fight? But I suppose that is to be left to the imagination/ GM =]
That is a dangerous situation for us warmblooded folk. Our ancestors almost wipe out a race of long-lived, slow decision process lizard folk. There is not much record of it because there was not much of a fight. The lizardfolk retreat to the deep, build up their forces and after a centry or so emerge to wage war on an entirely different world that doesn't have a clue what is going on. :) Imagine their surprise. :)