Salamanders (Codex)

Race: Salamanders

Genders: Males and Females occur naturally, though transformative items leave none too few Salamanders as hermaphrodites or genderless.

Body Structure: Salamanders stand taller than most humans – usually between 6.5 and 7 feet tall. They have human-like bodies, though their forearms and legs, up to the mid-thigh, are covered in thick, leathery red scales. Their hands and feet have powerful claws that, combined with the natural strength of a Salamander, allows them to easily rend through even some metals. Salamanders also possess a long, prehensile tail that is usually alight with a burning fire.

Facial Structures: Salamanders have human-like faces, save for the smattering of scales on their cheeks (akin to freckles on a human), and frilled, reptilian ears.

Hair & Eye Coloration: Salamanders have red, orange, and rarely, pink hair. Most members of the species have bright red eyes, though some few manifest yellow or grey-blue eyes.

Fire Mastery: Salamanders have a natural, elemental mastery over fire. Their tails are a natural source of fire, which they are able to extinguish and re-light at-will; a Salamander’s interior is also described as exceedingly hot, often leaving lovers sweating on contact. They are by and large immune to natural fire, including that of dragon-morphs, though spell-fire’s effect on them is unknown.

Berserking: Salamanders are notorious for their fiery, impassioned personalities, and this is nowhere more evident than their enraged fighting style. Salamanders throw their heart and souls into combat, letting their rage overcome them until they’re literally half-mad and their bloodthirst seems unquenchable. Even after battle, it is difficult to calm their passions, and most Salamanders prefer – if not need – to engage in visceral activity after combat, usually taking the form of sexual intercourse with friends, loved ones, or defeated enemies.

Sexuality: Thankfully, the remote nature of Salamander society has prevented the race from being overexposed to demonic influences. Still, even before the demons came, Salamanders were energetically sexual, and were infamous for their enthusiasm for group sex. Salamanders are a notoriously infertile race, however, and their birth rate was dangerously low. This was only exacerbated by the demonic invasion, and most of the remaining Salamander tribes have crumbled to single-digit populations. A Salamander pregnancy takes many months to complete, though they tend to be less encumbered by their pregnancies than human women are.

History: One of Mareth’s less civilized races, even before the demon invasion, the Salamanders lived in hunter-gatherer tribes in the wide open plains, foothills, and mountains. Though exceedingly violent, the Salamanders destructive tendencies were kept in check by the savage gnolls, and the two races have shared a bond of mutual hatred for centuries. They will attack each other on sight, and their bloody battles have kept both races from posing a serious threat to the civilizations of Mareth before the demons, and to Lethice after their arrival.

(Written by: Savin)