Brach

Creatures everywhere change incrementally from generation to generation, gradually evolving into better-adapted forms, but none evolve faster than creatures in the Discordant Expanse. No plane embodies change as thoroughly, rapidly, or constantly, so it is unsurprising that adaptable, consummate survivors like the crab-like brach evolved among its unpredictable, violent flux.

Crabaceous Forms

Countless generations iterated within the Discordant Expanse led the brach to become exemplars of carcinization: the phenomenon that creatures, over enough generations, tend to evolve into crab-like forms. Though generally bipedal and humanoid, the brach bear a clearly crustacean nature, possessing chitinous carapaces and vestigial limbs that serve as fins or other specialized appendages like claws. They are also amphibious, able to swim and breathe water as easily as they can navigate land and breathe air. Fully grown brach reach up to nine feet long, though their thick dorsal tails account for up to three feet of that length. They typically stand no more than six feet tall, hunching under the bulk of their dense bodies, often weighing several hundred pounds. Brach come in every color imaginable, often kaleidoscopic with iridescent patches.

Creatures Of Necessity

Evolved among constant chaos and threats, brach had no choice but to develop an alien psychology compared to most sapient creatures. Their survival depended on it.

Brach think of survival first and everything else second, leading other species to often regard them as entirely cold or callous. Contrary to first impressions, brach experience a full range of thoughts and emotions, though they perceive them through the lens of necessity and practicality.

For instance, friendships are well within the brach experience, though the main motivation might be to secure strength in numbers, balancing this with the group’s increased need for resources. Any subsequent bonding is incidental, and should a friend prove too great a liability, brach seldom have much problem abandoning an alliance, though they will likely issue a warning to correct misbehavior first.

Although they are fiercely practical and self-centered, this rarely results in needless violence. In fact, many brach prefer to avoid violence unless absolutely necessary. After all, with violence comes the greatest risk of all, something brach are conditioned to minimize.

Brach Names

Brach adopt various names over their lives — often hoarding them like treasure or badges of honor — ranging from natural sounds their exoskeletons make to slurs spit at them by enemies to nicknames affectionately granted by allies.

Example Names: Clacker, Clawson, Dad-a-chum, Fischk, Klik, Lobstrosity, Pinch, Sheldon, Slarrk

Brach Traits

As a brach, you have the following traits:

• Ability Score Increase. Choose 3 of your ability scores, increasing each by 1.
• Age. Brach walk within days of birth and are adolescents by year 3. They are adults by year 10, and they can live as long as 200 years.
• Size. Your size is Medium.
• Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
• Senses. 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.
• Chitinous Exoskeleton. Your carapace gives you a base armor class of 17. Your dexterity modifier doesn’t affect this number. You can’t wear armor, but you can benefit from wearing a shield as normal.
• Amphibious. You can breathe air and water.
• Dorsal Tail. Your carapace extends down your back, trailing behind you to form a broad tail that grounds you and aids your balance. You have advantage on ability checks and saving throws to maintain your balance or avoid being knocked prone.
• Fins. Your base swimming speed equals your walking speed.
• Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and 1 language of your choice.

Brach Variants

As creatures born of chaos, there are many variations among the brach. Different circumstances and evolutionary paths lead to different adaptations.

• Armored Appendages. You evolved for a more terrestrial existence than many brach, developing exceptionally heavy plates of protective chitin on your vestigial limbs, leaving them unarticulated, calcified slabs. Your armor class increases by 2, but you can’t benefit from wearing a shield. Additionally, your base walking speed is 25 feet. This trait replaces the Amphibious, Darkvision, Fins, and Speed traits.
• Crushing Pincers. Your vestigial limbs and tail instead developed as secondary arms. They lack fine motor control and end in powerful crustacean pincers that are too bulky and inarticulate to use as normal hands, though they are formidable. When you hit with an unarmed strike using one of your pincers, it deals your choice of bludgeoning or slashing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, and the target you can with ten that use pincer. a bonus action to attempt to grapple. Additionally, when a creature is grappled by one of your pincers, you can use a bonus action to viciously squeeze it. When you do so, the target takes your choice of bludgeoning or slashing damage equal to your Strength modifier (minimum 1). This trait replaces the Dorsal Tail and Fins traits.
• Evolved Survivor. You lack a dorsal tail, prompting you to rely on other traits to survive. You have proficiency in the Survival skill. This trait replaces the Dorsal Tail trait.
• Reactive Shell. Rather than developing an armored carapace, your shell is flexible and protects you by adapting to absorb or deflect harm. When you take any type of damage, roll a d10. On a roll of 9 or 10, you gain resistance to that type of damage until the start of your next turn. This trait replaces the Chitinous Exoskeleton trait.