"Now, listen carefully, for what I am about to tell you really happened..."
Lizardfolk are reptilian humanoids, standing 6 to 7 ft in height, with a 3 to 4 ft tail. Adult lizardfolk are about 200 to 250 pounds. They've got scaly skin that can appear in just about any coloration pattern one might imagine. The actual colors involved vary wildly, and seem to be influenced by ancestry, climate, age, and diet. Being reptilian, lizardfolk lack body hair to style, and it's also difficult to tattoo the skin of a lizardfolk. However, painted on emblems and markers to signify rank, heritage, past victories, or even simply for style, are all quite popular. These are generally done using a special pigment developed by lizardfolk alchemists, that will last on a lizardfolk's scales for years at a time, even in the presence of regular swimming.
Lizardfolk are considered adults within their society at the age of 12, but they don't complete their growth until around 17. Lizardfolk live about as long as humans do. Instead of family units like many humanoids have, lizardfolk child rearing is deliberately made into a strongly community effort. Lizardfolk eggs are placed into community hatcheries, and once they hatch the care of the young is managed by the entire lounge. Parentage is sometimes still obvious by unusual coloration, or can be determined magically, but it's considered extremely impolite to bring up any sort of specific parent/child relation between two lizardfolk in public. All lizardfolk in a community are simply "of the lounge".
As a people, Lizardfolk have a deep love for stories, myths, legends, and the like. This can express itself in a number of ways, but evening meals with the community are sure to involve at least a few tales told. Traveling bards often do very well in lizardfolk villages. Lizardfolk like to reenact old battles, celebrate ancient anniversaries, and maintain other old sacred rites. Outsiders, particularly those of the longer lived races, often come to find all of this very strange, because over the decades it becomes apparent that these "deeply held ancient traditions" actually change sharply with each lizardfolk generation. Still, few want to actually bring up the subject with a six and a half foot tall lizardman. The Lizardfolk language is largely a slurred derivation of Draconic with a mostly simplified grammar. It has many words from Elven and Common mixed in, and every generation the lizardfolk tongue gets a little closer to simply being Common.
Lizardfolk like warm places, and they're very comfortable in the water. They end up living in swamps a lot simply because less people try to fight them for control of a swamp, and the lizardfolk don't mind swamps at all. They tend to use copper tools, rather than iron, because copper doesn't rust (it just turns greenish). Anything that has to hold an edge is still made of bronze of course. They usually don't mine and process the metal themselves, instead trading (or raiding) others for it. Lizardfolk communities generally deal in fish, woodcrafts, and honey. Lizardfolk taste buds have little appreciation for honey, but they're unexpectedly good beekeepers, and it always sells rather well with others.
- Size: Medium
- Type: Humanoid (Reptilian)
- Movement: 30ft
- Vision: Standard
- Ability Modifiers: +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence.
- Hold Breath (Ex): A lizardfolk can hold its breath for 4 rounds per point of Constitution before it risks drowning (normal creatures can only hold their breath for 2 rounds per point of Constitution).
- Scaly Hide (Ex): Lizardfolk have +1 Natural Armor
- Natural Weapons (Ex): A Lizardfolk can make a single claw or bite attack in a round (1d4 damage). As with other natural attacks, this can be made as either a primary attack, or as a secondary natural attack.
- Lizard Tail (Ex): The tail of a Lizardfolk gives them a +4 racial bonus to Balance, Jump, and Swim.
- Automatic Languages: Common and Lizardfolk
- Suggested Bonus Language: Draconic, Elven, Giant, Goblin, Orc, Sylvan