Hyzalians
The Hyzalians are the elder people of the Marram — careful, wise, and cloistered across the unforgiving summits where the air thins and the snowcaps settle year-round. They value tradition and deep understanding, reciting the wisdom of the past before deciding on the future. To the wider Realms, they are an unusual and ominous bunch: a people without a Paragon, living above the Pact’s roads, whose long memories outlast the politics of the modern day.
Ancient Hyzalian literature is of a distinctly religious nature. According to Inazrian mythology, they are said to be the original descendants of Tamid’Zelnah, the being which first unified men in mind and spirit. However, the Hyzalians were cursed: a perfect creation cast down to mortality and left to struggle for themselves. A handful of Hyzalians truly adhere to this ancient religion even in contemporary times, though their numbers are few and dwindling.
Hyzalians are known to view outsiders with distrust. To them, outsider civilization has perverted and twisted their concepts of morality until they are deeply unrecognizable. The few Hyzal that venture away from their homes often return with stories of misguided, impulsive, self-absorbed, and untrustworthy men; on the flip side, the other races often consider Hyzalian culture to be primitive, rigid, and conservative. Though earning their trust is a trial of its own, a Hyzalian companion is a lifelong ally.
History has given the Hyzalians reason for their caution. Alone among the races of man, they have no Paragon, and the Marram was set apart from the Great Pact by the Marram Covenant rather than signed into it. Officially, this was out of reverence for the elder people, though few Hyzalians tell it that way. Due to the way historical events have unfolded, the world’s grief hardened into a suspicion of all Hyzalians that has never fully thawed. Famously, it was Karhu’s campaign that drove the Hyzal from the lower slopes; the Treaty of Marram (890 1G) that ended it divided those slopes between Inazria and Bisengal, granting the Hyzalians citizenship on paper that was never asked for nor honored. Families and whole communities were split by borders drawn without them, and generations-old squabbles from that fragmenting persist to this day. Hyzalians are said to have extremely long memories, and they are not known to forgive easily. The rare Hyzalian met on the roads of Azergad is usually walking through a world that seems to have forgotten them: to trade, to study, or to search out kin scattered by the passage of time.
Daily life on the peaks is quiet, ordered, and built against the cold. Hyzalian cloisters are carved into ridgelines and icy hollows; stone halls with low doors, thick shutters, and long tables where the eldest speak first. Meals are simple and sustaining: barley and mountain greens, dried meat, and a fermented milk drink called Salli kept warm beside the hearth. Hyzalian crafts are rugged, practical and durable: sturdy rope work, bone and stone tools, and cloaks woven tightly to break the howling wind. Though guests are highly unusual, it should be assumed that speaking first, especially over an elder, will not establish a mutual connection. When a youth comes of age, their hair is measured before their community — uncut since birth, bright as snow — and they recite the names of all their ancestors from memory. Only then do they earn the elder’s blessing to walk down into the Realms, if they must. Most never do.
Hyzalians are elegant creatures. Men are around the same height as humans, while women tend to be a few inches shorter. Hyzalian skin is very thick and lustrous like metal. Skin tones are various shades of gray: light and dark, and sometimes with brown or bluish tints depending on the family. Their maw is large, holding a grand set of teeth including two exaggerated upper canines. Their ears protrude from the skull significantly and are quite circular in shape. Their eyes are shades of brown, yellow, red, or violet. Healthy males are heavy and weigh between 250 and 400 pounds on average, while women are typically 50 to 60 pounds less. Hyzalians reach adulthood at age 25 and commonly live beyond 500 years.
Hyzalians are famously known for their thick, bright white hair that grows like a lion’s mane around their heads. While soft, it is exceptionally durable and difficult to cut. As per tradition, Hyzalians do not ever cut their hair. It grows until the Hyzalian reaches adulthood and, once cut, can never grow back. A Hyzalian with very long hair is held in very high esteem, while a shaved Hyzalian is shameful and not to be trusted.
Te-Hyzalians trace their ancestry to Te, who is said to be the first Hyzalian to discover darkness. Extremely little is known about them apart from stories and folklore. A living Te-Hyzalian encounter has not been documented for many centuries, though rumors and tales of their presence linger on. Te-Hyzalians are not available as a player option; they remain a matter of legend and GM-side mystery.
Traits
- Ability Score Increase: +2 Wisdom, +1 Constitution. Hyzalians naturally desire understanding and truth, while their tough constitutions carry them through the harshest environments in the world.
- Age: Hyzalians reach adulthood at age 25 and commonly live beyond 500 years.
- Size: Hyzalians are broad and imposing. Men stand about the height of humans and weigh between 250 and 400 pounds; women are typically a few inches shorter and 50 to 60 pounds lighter. Your size is Medium.
- Speed: 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 gray.
- Marram Fortitude: Hyzalians are bred to the highest peaks of the world, with impressive athletic bodies. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill, and you are acclimated to high altitude and extreme cold.
- Thick Skin: Hyzalian skin is difficult to penetrate and can shrug off heavy blows. When you take slashing or piercing damage, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage by your proficiency bonus. Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
- Glare Resistance: Hyzalians have adapted to a snowy life above the clouds, where the sun strikes twice: once from the sky and once from the white below. You have advantage on saving throws against being blinded.
- Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Hyzalian. The Hyzalian language combines physical gestures with a variety of sounds, but is highly expressive and rich in vocabulary; none but the most studious of outsiders ever learn it. Among their own peaks, many Hyzalians live whole lives without needing Common — but those who walk down into the world, as you have, must learn the Pact’s tongue as a matter of survival.