M’gauti
“What is the first rule, children?”
“Don’t go near the water!”
“And if you must go near the water?”
“Do not try to swim!”
“What else must you never do?”
“Don’t play with the lights!”
“And when you see light of their eyes?”
“Run the crooked line!”
“And if your mother calls but you cannot see her?”
“The river men have killed her!”
M’gauti are consummate hunters. Evolved to be dangerous and trained to be deadly, they do not exclude sapient creatures from their list of prey.
Evolutionary Marvel
Only the m’gauti know their true origins, but many people wonder if they were not created by some bloodthirsty mage, because even Nature’s cruelest evolutionary streak has never been so efficient. They function as one of the apex predators almost anywhere they choose to live. They are skilled at hiding in almost any environment due to a moderate ability to change the color of their skin. While they give live birth and nurse their young, they are cold blooded, making them almost invisible to creatures that can see heat. A near absence of scent makes locating them even more difficult. They primarily settle near or in large bodies of water and swamps, digging out their settlements from the shore or bed. They can hold their breath for extended periods of time, making long forays beneath the surface easy work for them. Additionally, they have nictitating membranes that help them see better underwater and in darkness, though the membrane is slightly reflective and as a result is one of the few ways to spot them in the dark. Though their awkward, bowlegged gait limits their movements on land, they can still put on shocking bursts of speed.
Huntmasters
Lone m’gauti most often hunt in a manner similar to crocodiles, waiting submerged at the edge of a body of water for prey to come quench its thirst, sometimes even conjuring small lights that lure the curious and unwary to them. The hunter then bursts out to latch on with serrated claws and drag their prey under. Many can also mimic sounds perfectly, including the voices of other sapients, an ability that is extremely distressing to those they hunt. M’gauti that live near the settlements of other races will often take the time to learn the voices of those dear to a person being hunted, fooling them into walking into a trap. And all these tactics are simply based on their natural abilities, not even accounting for their talent for crafting and wielding weapons. They are fast learners, with any attempts to outwit them usually end in failure in the long run unless their target is constantly innovating. Yet while a single m’gauti is dangerous enough on its own, their greatest weapon is their social nature. M’gauti
Art: ‘the General’ by Ilse Gort
hunting parties have been know to take down adult dragons, though in general they subsist on smaller prey.
Tighknit Kin
Despite being a terror to other humanoids, m’gauti are extremely social people and care for each other deeply. While their societies do demand that children learn useful skills and learn them well, those children are treasured and often spoiled by the entire community, regardless of blood ties. Personal property is limited to non-essential luxuries, and any m’gauti is entitled to use the tools or materials of other community members. Community projects are completed at a speed that would astound outsiders, since everyone puts their full and enthusiastic effort into helping other clan members.
They also delight in spending time with each other. Time not sleeping or working is spent mostly in communal areas. Unsurprisingly, given their vocal talents and their environment’s hostility to written material, they have a strong oral tradition. Anyone entering the tunnels of a m’gauti clan will almost certainly hear their singing and chanted tales far in advance of seeing them (ironic, considering they are so terribly silent in any other situation). Physical competitions are also extremely popular, but the results are not generally seen as
“winning” or “losing”, rather that both parties have gained something, either keeping their skills sharp or learning where they can improve. Tantrums, resentment, and grudges within the community are frowned upon, and children learn from a young age to be good sports.
M’gauti Names
The m’gauti language depends a good deal on extremely subtle body language to convey deeper meaning. This allows them to pass messages with very little vocal articulation while hunting. Furthermore, they can produce subsonic notes that serve a similar purpose in situations where body language is not visible (such as in the dark or over distances), meaning that even the vocal elements of their speech have components many others cannot hear. While outsiders can learn the basics, it is physically impossible for most to speak or understand the language beyond the skill level of a very young m’gauti child. To top it all off, the m’gauti language is extremely poetic, involving layers of metaphors, idioms, and allusions to cultural tales. As such, on the rare occasions the m’gauti have reason to regularly interact with outsiders, their names are almost certainly pronounced incorrectly or without any of the nuance involved. Literal translations or nicknames are commonly used in place of real names. M’gauti are skilled at learning other languages given that their own is so complex.
M’gauti names: Kaud’i, Lynai, D’bom, Hoummd,
R’tnov’mi, N’grau, Hl’oth, Maun’ret, Chet’dum
D’yol, Kumt’i, J’ri’tao, B’ahlm’ti
Translated Names: Fang-That-Bites-Blood, They-Dwell,
Soft-Touch-Claw, Peaceful-In-The-Moment, Stands-
Still, Hungers-In-Her-Song, Fast-Heart-Light,
Second-Dew, Rolling-The-Stars, Viper-Song
M’gauti Traits
Your m’gauti character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age. M’gauti mature at around 15 years of age and generally don’t live much longer than 60 years.
Alignment. M’gauti society is primarily neutral with slight lawful tendencies, concerned primarily with the wellbeing and survival of their own people. However, many outsiders would consider them to be evil due to their not uncommon practice of hunting other sapients.
Size. M’gauti are usually just under 6 feet tall with lean but powerful musculatures. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 20 feet. You have a swim speed of 30 feet.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common. You can also speak M’gauti. There is no written form of the language. You learn one other language of your choice.
Aquavision. 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. Your range of vision is doubled underwater compared to those without aquavision, as determined by
the table on page 117 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Deep Breath. You can hold your breath for up to 30 minutes.
Camouflage. You have evolved a number of traits that make it very difficult to locate you when you do not wish to be found. You have proficiency in the Stealth skill.
Natural Weapons. Your bite and claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your claws, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Dexterity modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. If you hit with your bite, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Aggressive Mimicry. You can mimic sounds you have heard, including voices. A creature that hears the sounds you make can tell they are imitations with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by your Charisma (Deception) check.
Additionally, you know the dancing lights cantrip. When you cast it, it requires no material or verbal components.
Ambush Predator. During your first turn of combat, you can use your bonus action to move up to your speed towards an enemy of your choice that you can see or hear it. You can then make a melee attack against the creature as part of the same action. If the creature is surprised, you can instead move up to twice your speed and if the attack hits it deals an extra 2d6 damage to the creature. You can use this trait only once per combat.
Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the blowgun and net. When you use these weapons, you can double their range and you do not make attack rolls at disadvantage with them underwater. Additionally, due to your powerful lungs, blowguns do 1d4 damage for you.
Racial Feats
Chameleon Tactics
Prerequisite: M’gauti
Your ability to blend in is even greater than others of your race. You gain the following benefits:
- Your Dexterity score increases by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, murky water, mist, and other natural phenomena.
- When you do not move more than half your speed, you do not leave signs of your passage and cannot be tracked by non-magical means.
- If moving on your turn would cause you to be detected, you can move up to half your speed (rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5) and retain the benefits of being hidden. Taking an action of any kind except the Hide action causes you to be detected as usual after its completion. If you have not successfully hidden again by the end of your turn, you are detected as usual.