Races of Dante-Iejir - Lucans

Welcome back to Otherworldly Patron! I've been working on a new world for D&D for a few months, a world where the common races of most material planes are little more than myth, and the plane is consumed by the intrigue and vitriol of the Blood War. I'll be posting articles on the races and politics of this world, Dante-Iejir, over the coming months as I set it up ahead of my next campaign. One of these races are the lucans, an insectoid beetle race.

I'll be adding to this throughout the weekend, but the bulk of the lore and first draft of the traits is now done, so enjoy, and please leave me feedback (and follow me on the Twitter to!)

Lucan

They asked if they could accompany us when we went to confront the gnoll king. They had heard of our victory in confronting the Half-Dragon Kellandra, and wanted to document our next adventure so that it could be recorded ‘for all time as our people’, or so they put it. A strange phrasing, for a strange people, but we acquiesced as they wanted no spoils for themselves. In the end, we were glad they had asked us, and not Laraek’s troupe that went to bring the brigand Lïante and her murderous band to justice. For when we were surrounded by the mocking pack of madness, they scorched the earth and irradiated the gnolls back to the Abyss, before sitting back down to make more notes as engaged the king head on. When Laraek was surrounded, there was no such fire to learn from. Their heads are now mounted at the base of the Amber Valley.

-          Shinsuke Sindarin, The Serial Thrillers Vol. VII

The origin of the insectoid lucan is shrouded in mystery, and they refuse to tell outsiders anything save that they have been placed on the material plane of Dante-Iejir by the goddess Nidenki solely to maintain and record its history. On the rare occasions they are encountered outside of their sequestered hive communes, it is because they are undertaking the Observance: a sacred, lifelong pilgrimage that takes them far and wide across the breadth of the land so that they can record a perfectly accurate and unbiased accounting of the other races.

What few outside of the lucan themselves know is that they were created by Nidenki at a time when the gods of the common races had fled the plane with their creations, fearing the corruption that the celestials, devils and demons had seeded would warp their creations, as the plane became a manifest mortal extension of the immortals’ Blood War. Bereft at what she perceived as the abandonment of their divine requisite to keep the beings of the outer planes in check, she wept four tears, one for each of Dante-Iejir’s original continents. From these tears emerged the first lucan, an intelligent insectoid race instilled with a solemn divine purpose: to record the events that took place on this plane, absorb them, and feed them back to her so that she could take their learnings to protect the other material planes from befalling the same fate.

Historians of the Realm

For generations, lucans have travelled the realm to maintain an honest record of its events, from the geological movements of the world’s archipelagos to the political manoeuvring of its myriad cults and island city states. Each of the major islands harbours at least one lucan hive beneath the surface, from which they will despatch individuals on their Qirajesh – the lifelong pilgrimage the lucans undertake in order to uphold the sacred duty imparted to them by Nidenki.

The other races and beings of the world welcome lucans into their communities, for they diligently produce accurate and unbiased records of local events that they freely leave behind when their Qirajesh calls them to the next town or company. Many wonder how the lucans record this knowledge amongst their own kind if they don’t carry manuscripts with them, although every lucan has a near eidetic memory for events that they themselves have witnessed and recorded.

Some scholars assume that given their psionic capabilities that lucans are able to freely transmit their knowledge upon their return to the hive following the end of their Qirajesh. Adventurers who have been their companions often speak of a bizarre earnest request from their insectoid associates: that should the lucan die in battle, that they sever their heads and return with it to their hive.

                Those that have honored this request are often rewarded with material treasures crafted by the hive’s greatest artisans, and then swiftly sent on their way without being granted access to the hive. Nobody knows for sure what the other lucans do with the remains of their peers, and no one has ever recalled a lucan referring to any graveyard or memorial site within their networks.

Psions of the Pale

Lucans are a race of insectal humanoids, their bodies encased in pearlescent chitin, their heads crowned with ornate horns, and two sets of twitching arms with which to ply their trades. If that didn’t startle most other humanoids who had never met one before, then their inability to speak except through a telepathic network of pheromones most certainly will.

That’s not to say that their mannerisms are entirely alien in nature, in fact quite the contrary: due to their psionic prowess, lucans are capable of demonstrating incredible empathy for those around them. They just happen to do so telepathically, their mouths incapable of producing any language the majority of other humanoids could discern (although their magic wielders are eminently talented when it comes to producing the resonant arcane frequencies necessary for many a spell).

Lucans are unique in being the preeminent psionic people of the world, with every lucan being at least able to communicate telepathically with other intelligent creatures. Yet many lucans that have departed a hive for their Qirajesh have tempered their wills to augment their combative prowess: monks that can psychicaly slash at the souls of enemies 30 feet away, fighters that can crack minds as well as limbs with their battle hammers, or even just expunge raw mystic energy.

Shaped to Witness

                Choosing sides in the great war between good and evil holds no interest to lucan society. Their duty is to Nidenki’s teachings, and maintaining a neutral, honest history of events, wherever they might be. That isn’t to say that they won’t defend themselves or their companions if endangered, just that they refuse to be bought or cajoled into taking an active part in the great game.

                Lucans are born from eggs, and exist in a larval stage for the first year of their lives. During this time, they are fed a vegan diet by hive workers to ensure that their minds do not get sullied by any sentient material, which they then maintain as adults. A lucan is physically fully matured by the end of this first year, albeit genderless, but their minds remain feral and unfocused. These nymphs spend their next years being psionically moulded by hive elders, and imbibe the knowledge of a hundred prior generations and the history and skills that they brought back to the hive. Their own psionic prowess is kindled and guided during this time, so that by the age of five a lucan is a fully functioning, capable adult ready to undertake whatever the hive requires. For the adventurous lucans, this is undertaking the Qirajesh.

                Adult lucans are free-willed, but feel such an intense connection to their divine purpose that they will rarely abandon it, although it is not unheard of for lucans undertaking Qirajesh to fall prone to external influences and abandon their pilgrimage. However, upon reaching the end of their lifecycle, most lucans will attempt to return to their hive of origin to complete their journey. It is only at this time that they acquire a sex.

                The vast majority of lucans spend their final year as male elders, grafting and guiding the nymphs of the hive. But a rare few, often those that have returned with the truest, purest history of the world, become queens: the future of the lucans and those most closely connected to Nidenki herself. When they are chosen, they are lead away by the elders deep within the hive into carefully protected antechambers, where they are instructed to feast upon elder lucans. The psionic matrices of a lucan’s brain cause the would be queen’s pheromones to drastically alter, giving her an undying hunger that drives them to gorge on elders, growing to a gargantuan size as her body undertakes a final transformation into a formidable all-mother. Their psionic powers develop in kind, shielding the entire hive from untoward attention.

                By eating the elders, the queen absorbs their memories, imparting a pure history of the world into every egg she lays. 

Lucan Names

Lucans do not have names amongst their own kind, instead deferring to the title of their current role within the hive, as discerned by their pheromones.

Outside the commune, they take their names from the locations and communities that they have chosen to chronicle as part of their Qirajesh. It is not uncommon for a lucan to introduce themselves to strangers by the name of the town or village they are currently residing, or the guild or adventuring company they are currently travelling with. With every place or organisation they spend time with, they add to that name, forming strings that always begin with their most recent location. If they are in a large city with multiple lucan inhabitants, they will double-barrel the location for the name-string to include a district or distinctive landmark.

Adventurous lucans often end up with nicknames from their companions, which they will then place at the start of their name-string when introducing themselves, especially if they have accomplished something momentous, as a mark of pride for having established themselves in the annals of the world.

When creating a lucan character, it is often best to work with your DM, with direction from your chosen background, to identify where you have geographically come from, and use that as the start of your name-string.

                Lucan Names (places): Bryn Shander, Nightstone, Neverwinter, Oxbridge, Habbersforth, Nyanzaru, Cocytus, Margotten, Ionta, Whitestone, Kraghammer, The Hive, Under Sigil

                Lucan Names (organisations): Zhentarim, Harper, Flaming Fist, Silver Hand, Serial Thriller, Vox Machina, Mighty Nein, Athar, Dustmen

Lucan Traits

Your lucan character has the following racial traits.

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

Age. Lucan are fully grown by age 1, but then undertake several years of psionic conditioning before being considered mature adults at 5 years of age. Lucan rarely live longer than 50 years.

Alignment. Most lucan are neutral, rarely choosing sides when it comes to good and evil, so that they can continue to chronicle an honest history of the world.  Explorers and adventurers might tend toward chaotic, but will try and remain neutral as best as they can whilst they catalogue the events that transpire.

Size. Lucan are between 5 and 6 feet tall. They have lean, carapaced bodies that weigh between 120 and 170 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Psionic Pheromones. Lucans are unable to form words in the same manner as most other humanoids. Instead, they communicate telepathically through the pheromones they secrete from their horns. You can communicate telepathically with up to 5 creatures simultaneously that are within 120 feet of you. They must have an Intelligence of at least 4, and you must share an understanding of at least one language. You can communicate in this way freely with any number of lucans or beetles within 120 feet of you (communicating with your own people is less taxing).

You can still perform the verbal aspect of spells, as long as you are not silenced or similarly impaired. Lucans are well versed in replicating the frequencies and resonance of arcane power.

Starting at 3rd level, you can use your bonus action to focus these pheromones and heighten your senses. When you do, you have blindsight up to 60 feet. This lasts for a period of 1 minute or until you end it as a bonus action.

Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Four-Armed. Lucan have four arms, which allows you to wield and hold up to four hands’ worth of weapons and equipment. While your multiple arms increase the number of items you can have at the ready, it doesn’t increase the number of attacks you can make during combat if you take the Attack action. You can only benefit from holding one shield (if proficient).

Natural Armor. You have a tough, chitinous carapace. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Dexterity modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.

Historian. You have proficiency in the History and Nature skills.
Language. You can speak, read and write Common and one other language, but you can only speak using your Psionic Pheromones trait.