Leonine

Leonines are humanoid lions. Hailing from regions of vast grasslands, leonines claim to be descended from an ancient god named Maahes, himself appearing as an anthropomorphic lion as well. Maahes was a god of war with a strong connection to the sun and many leonine cultures follow those traditions.

Ancestral Traits

Leonines resemble humanoids with the head of a lion. Their bodies are covered in short, golden or yellow fur. Leonines of all genders grow manes as they age, leading to the eldest having the most majestic manes. They also have formidable claws and teeth, befitting creatures descended from a lion god of war. Your leonine character has several distinctive features due to this ancestry.

Age. Leonines mature at the same rate as humans and live for about as long.

Size. Leonines are human in size, though tend to be tall and broad shouldered. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base speed is 30 feet.

Tooth and Claw. You are a creature descended from natural predators. You can bite or scratch as an unarmed strike. On a hit, you deal damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier. If you use your teeth, the damage is piercing. If you use your claws, the damage is slashing.

Mighty Roar. Leonines naturally have strong vocal chords and can produce a load roar that can frighten nearby enemies. Leonines need not learn how to roar in this way; indeed, there are tales of leonines growing up among other cultures who even surprise themselves when they roar in their first battle. As a bonus action, you can emit a loud roar. Each creature that you choose within 10 feet of you and that is able to hear must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of your next turn.

The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus.

Cultural Traits

Leonine communities are mostly found in grasslands regions. Some of these communities are migratory, following herds of game across the vast seas of grass, while others settle in particular locations and send out hunting parties to track the herds instead. In both cases, though, leonine communities tend to value the hunt as the primary way to support and provide for each other. Most such communities are led by the eldest few community members among them, often including leonines with majestic manes that indicate their seniority. Such leaders were usually hunters in their youth as well.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Strength score by 1.

Alignment. Leonine communities tend to respect the judgments of their elders. This need not mean they are conservative, however, as some elders are forward thinking and lead their communities to grow and change. Even so, leonine communities lean slightly toward law.

Hunter’s Tradition. Those raised in leonine communities learn to hunt from a young age. You have proficiency in Survival.

Languages. You speak, read, and write Common and Leonine, a sophisticated language of subtle growls, muted roars, and guttural words.