Didn’t Make The Cut: CHURGRUN

Posted on by RPCraftPublishing

During the 2nd draft editing process, I read Churgrun and immediately wondered: “Are goliaths OGL?” I did my research and to my dismay, it was not. So, I decided to cut this half-orc variant from the book and offer it as free content on our website. (Free homebrew and sold homebrew are subject to different rules)

Below you’ll find what was cut about Churgrun from the book. Finding and purging all references to Churgrun also needed some time and discussion, so, I hope this free race will help you forgive me for the additional delay.

A sketch depicting a Churgrun character by our Creative Director – İbrahim M. ÇELİK

Churgrun

The man who stood out with his gleaming armor had an imposing physical appearance. Standing close to 8 feet tall with broad shoulders, he looked formidable. A battle axe and a long sword hung on both sides of his waist. When he spoke, his voice was deep and booming. As he removed his helmet, it was clear he was not Human. His greenish skin, pointy ears, and long gray hair flowing to both sides showed his Orcish lineage. “You can surrender and lay down your arms, friends. As you can see, I may not be exactly like you, but I, too, can be considered an Orc. So, you might as well think of me as one of your kin,” he said. As he finished speaking, there were murmurs among the Orc ranks. It was apparent that some of them were not entirely opposed to the idea and had started debating fervently. However, out of nowhere, an arrow silently glided and struck the man’s shiny breastplate, sticking right in the middle. The burly man neither flinched nor seemed to take it seriously. After flicking the arrow away with his hand, he spoke again. “Some of you might not have understood what I said. I don’t want to fight you, and I don’t want to stain this land with your blood. But I will do it if I have to! Those who wish to live, drop your weapons and step forward to the front row. There will be no mercy for the rest!” The sound of metal items dropping came among the Orc ranks, and nearly twenty Orcs threw down their weapons and stepped forward. The burly man smiled, reassuring them. Shouts came from the Orc ranks, and as their numbers dwindled, the remaining Orcs began to flee into the forest’s depths.

Goliaths are people who bear both cultural and physical similarities to Orcs. They show almost as much aggression towards Goliath and Orc Half-breeds as Elves do. As a result, these Half-breeds have no name or acceptance among Goliaths. They also view Churgrun as the offspring of Goliaths and Orcs and feel no affinity towards them. If a Half-breed has a Goliath mother and it becomes clear that the father is an Orc, various elixirs, and other methods are used to prevent the birth. If the nature of the offspring is discovered after birth, the infant is abandoned in the wild. If the mother refuses to part with the infant, she is banished from the tribe.

These extreme attitudes of Goliaths are undoubtedly rooted in their own culture. However, Orcs, like many other physically powerful Half-breeds, are much more positive towards Goliath Half-breeds. In the Orcish language, the name for Churgrun translates to “Stonelike,” highlighting their physical prowess, which rivals that of Orcs.

One of the most surprising aspects of Churgrun is their rapid growth, which is even faster than Orcs. While Orcs generally reach adulthood at the age of 12, typical Churgrun matures at the age of 7 or 8. This brings about other challenges. Those raised among the Orcs who are accustomed to the rapid growth of Churgrun are treated as adults almost immediately. This means they are given weapons and sent off to hunt or fight, although they lack the mental maturity of an adult. As a result, the Churgrun, who may look like adults but cannot think like adults, are prone to losing their lives in battles, fights, or encounters with dangerous creatures. They don’t know how to behave, hide, or run away effectively. Consequently, nearly all Churgrun lose their lives at these younger ages. Even those who survive this period rarely live beyond 50, making the population of Churgrun much lower than other Half-breeds.

However, those who somehow survive or grow up among different races reach a significant mental maturity at 13 or 14, far younger than expected. They develop stronger characters, unwavering determination, and substantial physical strength. Despite their short lifespan, they rarely become hasty individuals. Instead, they focus on making the most of their brief lives and become steadfast and patient. Their early maturity plays a significant role in this. As a result, Churgrun, who reach old age, become elite people in every sense, although their numbers are scarce, and they usually end up living in the wilderness. Those Churgrun living in civilized lands, such as large towns or cities, typically hold esteemed positions.

Their appearance resembles a blend of both parent races. While they mostly have a gray color, like Goliaths, they can also appear greenish, depending on the lighting around them. They have thick and very voluminous hair and enjoy growing it long.

Roles and Classes

The rapid physical and character maturity, combined with their lower numbers, makes Churgrun even more valuable to any commander. A regular villager may overlook a Churgrun’s abilities and only see a large and strong individual. However, experienced individuals and adventurers from various areas of knowledge know how valuable these warriors are on the battlefield.

Therefore, seeing Churgrun in military and command positions in cities and large towns is unsurprising. They are rarely seen working in taverns, engaging in trade, mining, or practicing crafts. 

In the wild lands, those living among Orcs often rise to become chiefs or advisors to the chiefs. Similar tendencies can be observed among those living apart from Orcs. Whether in mercenary or bandit groups, they know how to carve out high positions with their skills. 

Among Churgrun, the most common classes are undoubtedly Paladins and Warchiefs. Similarly, Fighters or Barbarians are also seen.

Churgrun generally shows sufficient respect to Repetnuk. Due to their influence and power, Repetnuk Clerics take a special interest in the Churgrun. As a result, most adult Churgruns come into contact with Repetnuk Clerics at some point in their lives. This contact is usually in the form of offers or persuasion, but sometimes more complex methods and intrigues can also be seen. While the number of those who enter the service of the Repetnuk Church is not small, diverting a Churgrun from their faith and attracting them to another belief is equally challenging.

Churgrun Traits

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score is increased by 2, and your Constitution or Charisma score by 1.

Age. Churgrun grows at an incredible pace. Even though they may not be mentally at that level, a Churgrun between ages 8 to 10 reaches physical maturity in every sense. Due to their early growth, they also achieve mental maturity around the age of 15, owing to the expectations placed upon them as adults of their kind. However, their lifespan is limited, and most do not live to age 50.

Size. Churgrun are larger than Orcs. They typically stand around 8 feet (2,4 meters) tall and weigh between 300 to 350 pounds (135 – 160 kilos). Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Powerful Build. When determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift, you count as one size larger.

Dominating Presence. You have proficiency in Intimidation or Persuasion skills.

Muscular Burst. Starting at 3rd level, you gain the ability to release the potential energy stored in your body. You can use Muscular Burst as many times as your proficiency bonus and regain the expanded uses when you finish a long rest. Muscular Burst can be used in two different ways.

  • Crushing Impact. You can use your bonus action to roll one additional weapon damage die when determining the damage for a successful melee attack.
  • Reflexive Contraction.  You can focus on yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d6 and reduce the damage by that total.

Voice of the Mountains. Starting at the 5th level, you can cast Command spell. Charisma is your spell-casting ability for this spell when you cast it. You can gain this ability after a long rest.

ONE FEAT:

Tribal Tactician

Prerequisite: Churgrun

Increase your Charisma score by 1, up to a maximum of 20.

Your blend of Goliath strategy and Orcish fervor makes you a beacon of tactical prowess on the battlefield.

  • When you roll initiative, you can choose up to three allies you can see within 30 feet. Those allies gain a bonus to their initiative rolls equal to your Charisma modifier. 
  • Every round, you can use your reaction to force an ally who is 30 feet from you and hears you, re-roll one damage die, and accept the result of the second die when they make a successful melee attack.


ONE NPC:

Churgrun Hero

Medium Humanoid (Churgrun), Lawful Good

Armor Class 20 (full plate armor, shield)

Hit Points 114 (12d8 + 60)

Speed 30 ft.

STR 20 (+5)

DEX 10 (0)

CON 20 (+5)

INT 10 (0)

WIS 12 (+1)

CHA 14 (+2)

Skills. Intimidation +6 or Persuasion +6

Senses. passive Perception 11

Languages. Common, Giant

Challenge Rating. 5 (1,800 xp)

Proficiency Modifier. +3

Powerful Build. The Churgrun hero counts as one size larger for determining carrying capacity and the weight they can push, drag, or lift.

Muscular Burst. The Hero can use Muscular Burst 3 times and regain expanded uses at a long rest. It can use it for:

Divine Smite. When Churgrun hero hits with a melee weapon attack, it can expend a spell slot to deal additional radiant damage to the target in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 9 (2d8) for a 1st-level spell slot, 13 (3d8) for a 2nd-level spell slot, and 17 for a 3rd-level spell slot. The damage increases by 4 (1d8) if the target is a fiend or undead. 

Crushing Impact: It can add an extra weapon damage die to a successful melee attack as a bonus action.

Reflexive Contraction: It can roll d6 to reduce damage by that amount as a reaction.

Voice of the Mountains. The Churgrun hero can cast the command spell once, regaining the ability after it finishes a long rest. Charisma is their spellcasting ability for this spell.

Spellcasting. The Churgrun hero is a 7th-level spellcaster. Their spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). They know the following paladin spells:

1st level (4 slots): cure wounds, divine favor, shield of faith

2nd level (3 slots): lesser restoration, magic weapon

3rd level (3 slots): dispel magic, revivify

ACTIONS

Battle Axe. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) slashing damage, or 10 (1d10 + 5) slashing damage if used with two hands.

Lay on Hands. The Churgrun hero has a pool of 35 hit points to use with its Lay on Hands feature. It regains spent points from this pool when it finishes a long rest. It can use this ability to cause a creature within 5 feet of it or itself to regain any number of hit points up to their hit point maximum, or Churgrun hero’s pool of hit points is reduced to 0.

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