Okanta

Believed to be descended from giants, the okanta have a powerful, towering stature that is a testament to their great strength. They typically stand between 7 and 8 feet tall, and while they are powerful in stature, the okanta are also surprisingly quick for creatures of their size. While all okanta share the trait of being impressively sized, the features and builds of individual okanta vary wildly. Each okanta shares physical characteristics with a specific mammal, including both those native to the regions where they live and those not. This animalistic distinction is not shared across bloodlines; an okanta with boar features may have children that have bear and ram qualities. In spite of this variance, all okanta have impressive horns, irrespective of their other animal traits.

Okanta horns, regardless of appearance, grow with age and are never shed. An okanta’s horns are a point of personal pride, often adorned with inlaid runes, scrimshaw, or other adornments often detailing pictographs that tell an okanta’s personal or familial history. Removal of an okanta’s horns is taboo in their society, even as a means of punishment, and perpetrators of such an act are viewed with contempt.

Society: Okantan society can be found in many regions, some scattered across the temperate band or even near the world’s equator, while many live along the edges of the tundra to the north and south. However, okanta are a nomadic race and have formed a relationship with clans of giants (stone and taiga clans, primarily) in order to survive against the incursions of the frost giants who dwell in the subpolar and polar regions of their planet.

Though all okanta share a nomadic lifestyle with a long history of oral tradition and songs, each tribe holds different values. Tribes are led by shaman elders who practice varying degrees of animism unique to each tribe, though all okantan shamans trace their traditions back to the fabled city of Harmarandh that stood when the okanta were not a nomadic people. While each shaman may each interpret the whispers of the spirits in a different way, this unifying historic anchor ties a binding thread between all clans.

Strength is valued highly by all okanta, but not merely physical strength. Mental and spiritual strength are often more important than brute force and the okanta value well-rounded individuals more than exemplars of a singular aspect.

More so than even humans, okanta are a gregarious species that is quick to adept to change. The driving force behind this outlook is the okantan lifespan, which rarely extends beyond 25 years. Okanta are bold and passionate, making the most of their lives and striving to create a lasting memory that will be recorded in the traditional songs and chants of their people.

It is rare that okanta tribes ever war against each other.

Disagreements are settled by duels of honor between individuals, and exile from one’s tribe is considered a fate worse than death. Exiled okanta were once consigned to an isolated life in the frozen wastes, but now these renegades can find a new future in the societies of strangers beyond their shrouded homelands.

Relations: Having co-existed along with stone and taiga giants for generations, okanta understand the importance of forming alliances with others. Foreigners who do not openly display hostility are welcomed by most okanta tribes and treated with hospitality. Stories are always expected to be exchanged by those invited into okantan homes, and they are suspicious of those who are reserved and unwilling to share knowledge.

After giants, humans are the race the okanta are closest to, due to the arrival of humanity on Orbis Aurea multiple okantan generations ago. As relative newcomers to the interplanetary society, okanta are largely regarded as unknown quantities by other races, though they did choose to fight alongside humanity in the final days of the Century War.

Okanta share much in outlook with humanity, and while okanta are more willing to allow for another generation to finish the tasks set out by the first, they admire human ambition and aspiration. They sometimes take on a role of surrogate family and often unconsciously extend this attitude to humans from faroff lands. An okanta preening a human or offering constructive criticism the way one might to a family member is common. Okanta are a strongly familial people and oftentimes try to insinuate themselves into such structures without direct invitation.

Faith: A form of shamanistic animism called Uutoh is the primary okantan faith. The first of the shamans were called the Harmarandh, and they were the first to hear whispers from spirits in the land and the sky, which they later called the Song of the Stars. Okanta who can hear the Song of Stars are vessels for spirits who grant them powers great enough to fight all those who threaten the okanta, including the frost giants. Under the guidance of such shamans, the wondrous metropolis of Haj-Harmarandh was built, the only permanent settlement ever constructed by okanta. Even after the fall of this great city, belief in the Song of the Stars continues on. The Song of the Stars overlaps with the sacred and mystic music of the heavens heard by other races, and as such, okanta faith often overlaps with humanity when it comes to the importance of prophecy and prognostication, and they always are keen to learn more of the spiritual music of other cultures to see if it may lead to another possible means of interpreting the Song of the Stars.

Adventurers: Wanderlust has always flowed through okanta veins, making them travelers who rarely settle down for long. Though raised in tight-knit tribes and communities, this short-lived race is restless and has always heard the call of something more in the wider world. Though some okanta, especially their shamans, still cling stubbornly to the old ways, many of the younger generations are eager to let their nomadic lifestyle lead them beyond their home clans. Young okanta are easily lured away by promise of adventure; troublemaking exiles often seek employment from outsiders rather than facing a solitary existence in the unforgiving wilds. The okantan ability to learn quickly and their fearsome appearances have made them popular as bodyguards, especially for exploration teams and military units.

Names: Okantan names are typically consonantheavy and are followed by their clan name. Typical names include Arakhu, Tauth-el, Kithare, Lenshura, Yashka, and Zureen.

Traits

Okanta are powerfully built, but also flexible and varied.

• Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and one other ability score increases by 1.
• Size. Believed to be descended from giants, the okanta have a powerful, towering stature that is a testament to their great strength. They typically stand between 7 and 8 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
• Speed. Despite their bulk, Okanta are quick for their size. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
• 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 can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of grey.
• Fearless. Okanta are brave but not foolhardy. You gain advantage on saving throws against fear effects.
• Adaptive Mimicry. Okanta can learn new skills quickly. Once per day, you can spend 1 hour observing a creature using a skill that you are not proficient in. After this observation period, you gain proficiency in the skill. This proficiency lasts until you spend time observing a different skill, which then replaces the previous selection.
• Gore. An okanta’s horns are deadly weapons. You gain a gore attack as a natural weapon that deals damage equal to 1d6 + Strength modifier.
• Powerful Build. The physical stature of okanta lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger. You are treated as if you were one size larger (usually, Large sized) if doing so is advantageous to you. In addition, you can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger than you without penalty. However, your space and reach remain those of a creature of your actual size (usually, Medium). The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.
• Light Sensitivity. When in bright light, you have disadvantage on attack rolls as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
• Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Okanta.