Taino-Kar

A trail of crimson led the hunters out into the dry savannah, their quarry taking them more than a day’s journey from the lush jungle they call home.

Though some of the beast’s wounds have clotted since the second attack the enormous warthog’s hooves leave tracks easy to follow through the tall grasses, and the oldest among them-an ancient taino-kar that has lived for over a dozen seasons-has no trouble following it, even with her wavering eyesight. As they reach the top of a hill the youngest warrior spots their prey and dashes forward, taking his spear in hand and slavering with drool, eager for the kill. He ignores the pack’s warning shouts and leaps to strike only to be gored on the gigantic boar’s tusk, a quick and gruesome demise. The smaller iraicci’s death proves not to be in vain however and his distraction makes it easy for the band of taino-kar to flank the warthog, finally killing it after a hunt that has lasted for days. All of them fall upon the corpse in a frenzy, tearing out flesh by the mouthful before cutting what’s left into hunks to bring back to the tribe.

Saurian Physique

Like the great lizards from which they came the taino-kar are incredibly hardy no matter their size, their bones sturdier and their skin tougher than most other sentient races. Whether begat by a mystically-imbued dinosaur or the pairing of tainokar, these creatures incubate inside of thick-walled brown or yellow eggs for as long as two seasons before breathing their first gasp of fresh air, crawling out with a surprising amount of mobility.

Before the first anniversary of their birth a taino-kar is walking on two legs and learning its first phrases, quickly maturing into adulthood within a few more years. Depending upon the type of dinosaur a taino-kar comes from its form may differ considerably: caiva are large and ungainly like massive and ponderous reptiles, iraicci are small carnivores of uncanny quickness, and vala have the same stature as orcs but with a far cooler temperament.

Lunar Connection

The taino-kar have an undeniable and unique connection to moonlight, drawing strength and resolve from lunar energies. They have a tendency to hunt and socialize at night to better appreciate the moonlight, but also because it gives them an advantage against the wilderness’ abundant predators. Many dinosaur folk go so far as to believe that truth can only be seen in the pale radiance from above, certain that illusions and figments await within daylight or from the illumination of a torch’s flames. There are almost no night skies above the world devoid of any moons which is fortunate-whenever they occur the taino-kar take it as a truly horrific omen, an undeniable sign that catastrophe is imminent and often the cause for the migration of a clade or entire settlement.

Taino Clusters

It’s the tendency of taino-kar societies to adopt tribalist structures-the strongest or deadliest member is often chieftain, guided by a shaman (or other spiritual advisor) as well as a council of elders, healers, and hunters. Their responsibility is the protection of a settlement’s clades, the extended families of their different kinds each assuming roles to insure prosperity, security, and stability. Iraicci tend to provide hunted game while the large caiva work the land whether by harvest or foraging, usually leaving the matter of organization and rule to the vala. Ultimately however the structure of a tribe’s authority depends on which type of taino-kar has attained the rank of chieftain.

Names

A taino-kar has no name until it chooses one for itself around its second birth anniversary, usually falling back on the cries and yells they enjoy making the most. The name of a clade is markedly more significant, denoting both a dinosaur folk’s type as well as the role they traditionally take up in society.

Any taino-kar without a clade is ‘velin?ttil’ (exile) and thought to be cursed, doomed to bring ill upon any tribe that accepts them.

Male Names: Asicze, Delzotz, Eshirgi, Iescuz, Matvukh, Scartezs

Female Names: Cherilash, Heli, Igukha, Khata, Sarita, Xitrotha

Clade Names: Bloodmaw, Fastfoot, Moonclaw, Rawscale, Sharptooth, Thunderstep

Traits

Your taino-kar character has an assortment of inborn abilities, the primal potency of their bone, muscle, and blood making them some of the most rugged denizens.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.

Age. The taino-kar mature rapidly, growing to adulthood within only a few years and dying of old age after only half a century or so.

Alignment. While they can be independent-minded freethinkers, for the most part taino-kar are used to thinking with a group mentality, drawing their morality and personal attitudes from the people around them.

Size. Taino-kar can vary greatly in size depending on subrace. If you are iraicci you are Small, if you are vala you are Medium, and if you are caiva you are Large.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Whether alpha predators or reptiles that needed to avoid being turned into a meal, your ancestors needed to see well in the dark and you’ve inherited the same trait. 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.

Primordial Heart. You have advantage on saving throws against exhaustion. In addition, when you recover from one level of exhaustion, you recover from an additional level of exhaustion.

Tail. Your 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. In addition, you have advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks made to keep your balance.

Thick-Skinned. Your armor class increases by 1.

Subrace

Taino-kar embody the traits and tendencies of their dinosaur ancestors.

Caiva

The ancestors of the vegetarian caiva are the enormous beasts that lumber about the land with necks that extend far above the highest tree lines.

Size. Caiva are 7 to 10 feet tall and weigh up to 600 pounds. Your size is Large.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.

Instinctive Knowledge. You gain proficiency in the Nature skill.

Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Iraicci

Iraicci eat nothing but meat. Although not as large as their kin, they are lean, dangerous machines still predicated to hunting and killing.

Size. Iraicci are 3 to 4 feet tall and weigh no more than 120 pounds. Your size is Small.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Sneaky. You gain proficiency in the Stealth skill.

Bite. You gain a bite attack. Your bite attack deals 1d4 piercing damage, you are proficient with your bite, and you can use Dexterity instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your bite.

Vala

The vala are the most human-like of the taino-kar and the most common, both because they descended from omnivore dinosaurs but also because they-more than any of their kin-are natural born survivors.

Size. Vala are 5 to nearly 7 feet tall and weigh between 150 and 250 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Sharp-Eyed. You gain proficiency in the Perception skill.

Jumper. When you make a running long jump, the distance you can cover increases by 10 feet and you jump 5 feet higher.

Runner. Your base walking speed increases by 5 feet.

Large-Sized Adventurers

The differences between Small, Medium, and Large size aren’t as pronounced for PCs but GMs should be aware of the full capacities of a Large-sized adventurer, possibly treating them as Medium with a custom trait to reflect their larger nature.

• Weapon damage dice only double for larger creatures (not PCs).
• Most armor is not built for Large-sized creatures (and if it does it likely costs more).
• Large PCs double their carrying capacity.
• Large-sized PCs take up a space that’s 10-feet by 10-feet (instead of a 5-foot square) and can grapple creatures of up to Huge size.
• Large-sized PCs have to squeeze inside of 5-foot wide corridors. While squeezing, their speed is halved, they have disadvantage on attack rolls and Dexterity saving throws, and attacking creatures have advantage against them.

Savage Adventurers

Most taino-kar find themselves frequently fighting their primal urges of fight or flight, and as a result it is difficult for them to retreat from a battle unless there’s no doubt that the outcome has already been determined.