Ruanoch

A ruanoch resembles a bipedal badger—albeit one armed to the teeth and usually with a cigar clamped in its mouth. Ruanoch are covered in thick, coarse fur, typically black or different shades of gray, but sometimes deep auburn in color. For the most part, ruanoch care little about personal grooming or appearance; if you don’t like the way they look, you can go frag yourself. Ruanoch are shorter and broader than humans, their bodies packed with dense muscle and covered by layers of insulating fat. Despite their bulk, ruanoch aren’t clumsy or slow; they can react with explosive speed and ferocity.

If the gods ever created a grumpier, surlier, or more irritable race than the ruanoch, such a race would surely resemble a storm cloud. Most creatures—at least those with common sense—go out of their way to avoid insulting or angering a ruanoch. Indeed, most folk follow two simple rules when it comes to these creatures: never make them angry, and never, ever refuse to share your booze.

If your campaign setting allows gunpowder weapons, you can safely assume that ruanoch will have them. They love their intimidating appearance, the loud noises they make, and the kick they deliver. Ruanoch all seem to share a gleeful love of gunpowder, bombs, and anything else that goes “boom.”

Transcendent beings spend too much time talking and contemplating things or just plain being weird and otherworldly. They seem pretty breakable, too.

Traits

• Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1. Alternatively, your Strength score increases by 1, and your Constitution score increases by 2.
• Age. Ruanoch grow and mature fast in their first three years of life, and they’re treated as adults at the age of 10. Theoretically, ruanoch can live to about 70 years, but precious few of their kind survive to such an age.
• Alignment. Ruanoch are Chaotic creatures filled with boundless energy. They detest laws, especially those making no sense. They tend towards Good, especially when it comes to freedom and protecting the weak. Ruanoch revere individual freedom and will fight to protect not only their freedoms but those of others.
• Size. Ruanoch stand slightly over 4 feet tall with an average weight of around 165 pounds. Your size is Medium.
• Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
• Language(s). You can speak, read, and write Common and Ruanoch.
• Senses. You have low-light vision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you 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.
• Ferocious Frenzy. After suffering damage from any source, you can enter into a frenzy as a reaction. Your frenzy grants you temporary hit points equal to your level for up to 1 minute. During this time, you ignore any levels of exhaustion you’ve accumulated, and you gain advantage on Constitution saving throws to resist any effect that imposes exhaustion. This ability recharges following a short rest.
• Hard to Kill. When reduced to 0 hit points but not killed, you can choose to remain standing and drop to 1 hit point instead. This feature recharges following a long rest.
• Tuanoch Resilience. You have proficiency in Survival. In addition, you have advantage on a saving throw to resist any effect that reduces your hit point maximum. Your hit point maximum cannot be reduced by more than half for any reason. You can choose one or more of the following traits, each of which replaces one of the standard ruanoch traits described above.
• Tuanoch Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level. This trait replaces Ruanoch Resilience.
• Rub Some Dirt In It. You can heal your wounds at a quicker pace. When using Hit Dice for healing or for special features triggered by expending Hit Dice, you have one extra Hit Die. When you reach 9th level, you are considered as having two extra Hit Dice, and when you reach 16th level, you are considered as having three extra Hit Dice. This trait doesn’t grant you additional hit points. This trait replaces Hard to Kill.
• Firearm Proficiency. You know how to use and repair guns. You gain proficiency with firearms. If you use a gunpowder weapon with the Misfire property, reduce the weapon’s Misfire score by 1. If the weapon misfires, you can repair it with a successful Tinker’s Tools check (DC 8 + misfire score), with advantage on the roll.
• Tenacious. After failing two consecutive saving throws or ability checks (i.e., a save or a check in two consecutive rounds), you can immediately roll again. You must accept the new result. This trait replaces Ferocious Frenzy.

Although exceptions exist, few ruanoch survive beyond 40 years of age. They seldom succumb to illness, poison, or old age. Most often, they die in fights, brawls, and spectacular explosions. The ruanoch tendency towards belligerence and aggression, combined with their stubbornness, often propels them into dangerous situations with little patience for diplomacy.

It best, these creatures are mercurial with their mood shifting with the time of day, lack of sleep, or the volume of alcohol they’ve consumed. Through it all, one thing remains constant: the enormous chip every ruanoch carries on their shoulders.

Then they grow bored, ruanoch become prone to squabbling with everyone and everything they meet (they’ve even been known to get angry at doors, furniture, and other inanimate objects).

Ruanoch prize freedom and independence above all, not only for themselves but for all species. They abhor slavery and detest any creature imposing its will on others—especially through magic. This doesn’t mean ruanoch won’t serve a master or join a cause, but they never surrender their right to speak their opinions, protest, or part company as it suits them.

The ruanoch possess little patience for laws and traditions. They understand the need for such things among other folk but assume the rules don’t apply to them. Mocking authority figures remains a cherished ruanoch pastime. In their minds, they are always in charge.

d4	Ruanoch Quirks
1	You have a soft spot for baby animals and will always stop to give one a nuzzle or scratch.
2	You have a number of strange markings in your fur that you cannot explain. They almost look like runes of some sort.
3	Before any extremely risky endeavor, you squint and utter a catchphrase in a low gravelly voice.
4	You always give your favored weapon a pet name.