The Mantis Tribe
"Deep within the Fungal Grove, the Mantis tribe keeps watch, nails and claws at the ready"
— Archiver Quirrel
Fierce and honorable, the Mantis Tribe present a challenge to anyone who dares trepass on their lands.
Honor and Mercy
The Mantis tribe is fiercely territorial, having faced continuing threats from their boundaries of Deepnest and Hallownest. A mantis will protect their territory with their lives and attack any intruders that enter their territory. They do believe in honorable combat, thus they will not kill an unarmed intruder if they do not have to and they look down upon bugs who attack innocents. Only bugs that have defeated their leaders in honorable combat or are granted permission are freely able to move around their territory.
Who Wears the Crown
The Mantis Tribe are lead by the strongest members of their tribe, with the Mantis Crowns being passed on to the greatest warriors of each generation. There are a total of four crowns that can be held at a time, with the current bearers being the Sisters Freya, Astara, and Myrna, and their brother Cyrnus. Not only are these lords meant to lead militarily, they are also expected to give birth to the future leaders and warriors of the tribe.
The Mantis Tribe has a truce with the Pale King to keep their independence, as long as they hold off any attacks from the Nest.
Mantis Traits
Your mantis character has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score is increased by 2.
Age. Mantis go through evolution their entire lifecycles, with each maturation a chance to adapt to a new environment. You reach maturity around 20 years, after which you can chose what type of Mantis you want to be. You live to be 100-200 years old.
Size. You are a medium creature.
Speed. You have a base walking and climbing speed of 35 feet.
Darkvision. You are able to see in total darkness as if it were in bright light up to 60 feet and dim light for another 60 feet. You can not discern color with this trait and instead see everything in shades of gray.
Long-Armed You have claws that deal 1d4 slashing damage, you can use these to make unarmed strikes using your Dexterity or Strength modifier. These claws also increase your melee range by 5 feet.
Mantis Training You have proficiency in martial weapons.
Languages. You know Common and Mantis.
Subraces. There are 2 kinds of Mantis, Vastum and Petra.
Vastum Mantis
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score is increased by 1.
Great-Armed Your claws do 1d8 slashing damage instead of 1d4, and you have advantage on attackers who are within your melee range and on opportunity attacks.
Strong You are proficient in Athletics and Constitution saving throws to avoid an attack that you can see.
Relentless Endurance When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
Petra Mantis
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score is increased by 1.
Flight. You've kept your wings from your childhood, thus gaining a flight speed equal to your base walking speed. You can only use armor you are proficient in to use your wings.
Quick-Winged You are proficient in Acrobatics and Dexterity savings throws to avoid an attack that you can see.
Forceful Shot. You know the Sword Burst cantrip as well as the spell Zephyr's Strike. You can cast Zephyr's strike once with this trait, resetting on a long rest, or with an appropriate spell slot. Wisdom is the spellcasting ability for these.
