Spartus

Sparti were born of the teeth of a dragon of Ares, sown by Cadmus. They sprung up out of the earth and immediately attacked all in sight, including each other, which nearly resulted in the complete annihilation of the species. Five survived. Athena gave the other half of the teeth to King Aeetes of Colchis and Jason of the Argonauts sowed them. Once again, the Sparti resorted to violence, killing each other.

Always Looking For A Fight

Sparti appear as reptilian humanoids. Their eyes are slit like a reptile’s and their nails are extremely tough. Sparti have fangs and scales that are barely detectable except as a shimmer in sunlight.

Sparti are combative to the point of being almost intolerable. They are always looking for a fight and are generally surly.

With their breath weapon and immunity to fire, sparti regularly adventure to defeat monsters and lead hoplites into battle. They are always restless and rarely stay in one place for very long.

Great Warriors, Terrible Neighbors

Other species enjoy Sparti as warriors but hate them as neighbors. Sparti willingly serve under a more powerful leader but will just as easily fall to bickering if they sense weakness. Larger species tend to gain their respect more quickly than weaker ones.

Of all the non-human species, the sparti live closest to humans in Thebes. Their descendants are numerous and intermingle with the Thebans. Some great military commanders have come from the sparti bloodline. Sparti are also known in Illyria.

Sparti worship Ares, their progenitor who spawned the dragon that in turn sacrificed its teeth. The more thoughtful sparti worship Athena.

Traits

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

Age. Young sparti grow quickly. They walk hours after hatching, attain the size and development of a 10-year-old human child by the age of 3, and reach adulthood by 15. They live to be around 80.

Alignment. Sparti aren’t necessarily evil, they’re just always ready for a fight. This makes them more chaotic and neutral than evil.

Size. Sparti are taller and heavier than humans, standing well over 6 feet tall and averaging almost 250 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. 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.

Draconic Ancestry. You are distantly related to a particular kind of dragon. Choose a type of dragon from the below list; this determines the damage and area of your breath weapon, and the type of resistance you gain.

Dragon Type	Damage Type	Breath Weapon
Aionian	Acid	5′ by 30′ line (Dexterity save)
Hydra	Poison	5′ by 30′ line (Dexterity save)
Ketos	Thunder	15′ cone (Dexterity save)
Nemeios	Fire	15′ cone (Dexterity save)

Breath Weapon. You can use your action to exhale destructive energy. It deals damage in an area according to your ancestry. When you use your breath weapon, all creatures in the area must make a saving throw, the type of which is determined by your ancestry. The DC of this saving throw is 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 2d6 damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th, and 5d6 at 16th level. After using your breath weapon, you cannot use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Forceful Presence. When you make an Intimidation or Persuasion check, you can do so with advantage once per long rest.

Natural Weapons. Your fanged maw and claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your bite, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier. If you hit with your claws, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier. In all cases this damage replaces the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Languages. You can read, speak, and write Common and Draconic.