Shifters

The Tavaska, often called Shifters by settlers of the Concord, are one of the oldest peoples of Shahoya.

Their communities existed long before the arrival of the Concord and before the rise of the serpentfolk kingdoms. Tavaska traditions developed through generations of living alongside Shahoya's wildlife and the spirits associated with particular forests, rivers, mountains, and other parts of the land.

Each Tavaska belongs to a lineage connected to a sacred animal totem. These lineages carry their own family traditions, stories, and inherited forms of shifting, though the same animal may be understood differently from one tribe to another.

Outsiders sometimes mistake Tavaska for werecreatures. Shifting is an inherited ability rather than a curse or disease, and Tavaska children are taught to recognize and control it as they grow.

Identity and Culture

Tavaska are humanoid but usually show physical traits associated with their lineage. Patches of fur, pronounced canine teeth, strong nails or claws, and animal-like eyes are common, though the exact features vary between individuals.

When a Tavaska shifts, these traits become more pronounced for a short time. The changes depend on the lineage and may affect the face, teeth, hands, posture, senses, or other parts of the body without fully transforming the Tavaska into an animal.

Totems are treated as ancestral connections rather than simple emblems. Families preserve stories about their lineage, previous generations, and the animal with which it is associated. Local history also matters, so two tribes connected to the same animal may maintain different customs.

Children learn these traditions from relatives and other experienced members of the tribe. Training in shifting usually begins gradually, with younger Tavaska taught how to recognize the change, maintain control, and understand when using it is appropriate.

Tavaska religious practices are usually tied to the places where a community lives. Particular animals, springs, groves, caves, or other local sites may appear in ceremonies and stories, while spirits known to one tribe may have little importance to another.

Most Tavaska history is preserved through spoken accounts. Some tribes also use tattoos, carved objects, painted markings, or other records to commemorate important events, agreements, journeys, and family histories.

There is no single Tavaska pattern of settlement. Some tribes have remained within the same region for generations, while others move between established hunting grounds, gathering places, and seasonal camps.

Totem Lineages

Many animal totems are recognized across Shahoya, with particular lineages more common in some regions than others.

The Bloodfang is one of the better-known lineages. Its traditions developed around hunting, tracking, and the abilities of predatory animals. Individual Bloodfang tribes may differ in which practices they emphasize depending on the animals and terrain of their homeland.

Spiritwatcher traditions place greater importance on dreams and communication with spirits. Their communities often preserve stories concerning unusual dreams, encounters with local spirits, and the signs used to distinguish one from the other.

Other lineages exist throughout Shahoya and are usually associated with animals important to the regions where their tribes developed. A totem provides inherited abilities and a body of family traditions, but it does not prescribe a person's profession, temperament, or place within the tribe.

Tavaska and Shahoya

Tavaska communities maintain detailed knowledge of the regions they inhabit. Paths, water sources, hunting grounds, seasonal camps, burial places, and spiritually important sites may be remembered through oral tradition even when they appear on no written map.

Tribes may also maintain agreements governing when and how particular areas are used. A hunting ground might be shared between neighboring communities during part of the year, while another place may be avoided during a breeding season or because of an agreement with a local spirit.

The expansion of Concord settlements has caused conflict in some regions. Land described by settlers as unused or unclaimed may already serve as a Tavaska hunting ground, travel route, gathering place, or ceremonial site. Problems often begin when roads, farms, fences, or new settlements prevent access to these areas.

Different tribes have responded in different ways. Some avoid Concord settlements where possible, while others trade regularly with them or negotiate access to land and resources. Relationships can vary considerably even between neighboring tribes.

Tavaska History

Much of Tavaska history was never preserved in written records. Their oral traditions contain accounts of Shahoya from long before the arrival of the Concord, including old settlements, changing landscapes, former tribal territories, and events remembered nowhere else.

This can produce very different accounts of the same place. A Concord record may describe when a settlement was founded, while a nearby Tavaska community may preserve stories about the land, paths, and people who were there generations earlier.

Tavaska traditions have changed as Shahoya itself has changed. Some tribes have altered seasonal routes, moved settlements, entered new trade agreements, or adopted tools and customs from neighboring peoples, while continuing to maintain their own lineages and local histories.

For many parts of Shahoya, Tavaska oral traditions remain one of the few surviving sources for events that occurred before the region's newer kingdoms and settlements began keeping written records.

Shifter Traits

Ability Score Increase. When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. You can't raise any of your scores above 20.

Creature Type. You are a Humanoid.

Size. You are Medium.

Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Bestial Instincts. Channeling the beast within, you have proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Acrobatics, Athletics, Intimidation, or Survival.

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 discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.

Shifting. As a bonus action, you can assume a more bestial appearance. This transformation lasts for 1 minute, until you die, or until you revert to your normal appearance as a bonus action. When you shift, you gain temporary hit points equal to 2 x your proficiency bonus. You can shift a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Whenever you shift, you gain an additional benefit based on one of the following options (choose when you select this race):

Beasthide:

• You gain 1d6 additional temporary hit points.

• You have a +1 bonus to your Armor Class.

Longtooth:

• As a bonus action on your turns, you can make an unarmed strike with your elongated fangs.

• On a hit, the attack deals 1d6 piercing damage + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Swiftstride:

• Your walking speed increases by 10 feet.

• You can move up to 10 feet as a reaction when a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you. This movement does not provoke opportunity attacks.

Wildhunt:

• You have advantage on Wisdom checks.

• No creature within 30 feet of you can make attack rolls with advantage against you unless you’re incapacitated.

Razorclaw:

• You can use your claws to make an unarmed strike as a bonus action on your turns. On a hit, the attack deals 1d6 slashing damage + your Dexterity modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Dreamsight:

• You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Wisdom (Insight) checks.

• You can communicate with beasts as if under the effect of speak with animals for the duration of your shift.

Gorebrute:

• When you move at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and hit it with a melee attack, you can deal an additional 1d6 damage, and the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier) or be knocked prone.

Swiftwing:

• You gain a flying speed of 30 feet.

• You must end your turn on solid ground or fall. You cannot fly while wearing medium or heavy armor or while encumbered.

Truedive:

• You gain a swim speed of 30 feet, and you can breathe underwater.

• You have advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks made to swim.

Cliffwalk:

• You gain a climb speed of 30 feet.

• You have advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks made to climb.

Languages. Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbk offers a list of languages to choose from. The DM is free to modify that list for a campaign.