5E Amongst the Stars Races

RACES:

Mashari

Wisdom +1
Age: Mashari live around the same time as humans. They come of age at sixteen and live until about eighty five years old.
Alignment: Mashari are almost always lawfully aligned; believing in a strict code of ethics and honor. They are not particularly selfish nor particularly altruistic.
Size: Mashari stand at eight feet tall and weigh on average three hundred and fifty pounds. They are Medium creatues, but only just.
Speed: Mashari have a base land speed of thirty feet.
Low-Light Vision: Mashari are capable of seeing in twilight and starlight very easily, or when the ambient light level is very low. Dim light counts as normal light for seeing distance, and they can see twice as far in bright light.
Hunter's Senses: Mashari have advantage on Perception checks relating to scent and hearing, as well as Survival checks while tracking a scent.

Physical Description: Massive, catlike humanoids hail from the hot savannahs and jungles of Masharan. Mashari typically stand aroud eight feet high, towering above most other species. Their bodies are covered in thick fur, their ears are large and triangularly shaped. Their face tapers down into a short, broad muzzle with a large nose. Their eyes appear like solid orbs of one color, with black slits in the center that vary according to the level of ambient light; getting larger when light is dimmer. Most typically wear a shoulder-length mane; some choosing to braid or ponytail it. Mashari are a sexually dimorphic race, though the differences are very slight. Men are slightly stockier, women are slightly fairer and flat chested. Mashari are digitigrade; riding on the toes of massive paws.

Subraces:
Tyshari Tribe
The Tyshari tribe hail from the dense jungles of their homeworld of Masharan. In ancient times, they tended to be a bit more solitary than the others, their prides tended to stay away from one another. However, as populations increased and became more advanced, the elusive Tyshari were forced to join the fold. Their fur is orange with black stripes and a white ventral side. Sometimes, their fur can be completely white with black stripes, but this is fairly rare. Typically their eyes are blue, or green when white-furred.
Tyshari Tribe members gain a +2 to Strength.
Power of the Ancients: Once per long rest, Tyshari tribe members can call upon the strength of their ancestors. Before rolling any Strength-based check, they may declare they are using this ability, and gain advantage on that check.
Striped Fur: When most of their fur is exposed, the Tyshari's natural coloration blends in well in their natural environment. When traversing forest or jungle terrain and wearing no armor, Tyshari have advantage on Stealth checks.

Lo'ari Tribe
The most numerous and common tribe amongst the Mashari, the Lo'ari tribe are the masters of the great plains and savannahs common to their homeworld. The most social and accepting tribe, even in ancient times the Lo'ari lived in huge groups; many prides living, hunting and working together. They were the ones that brought all the tribes together in the Empire. Lo'ari have a solid yellow coloration, similar to that of wheat with a lighter shade on their ventral side, and their eyes are typically blue or yellow. Men wear an impressive mane, usually dark colored, while women have a mane but it is much less grand.
Lo'ari tribe members gain a +2 to Constitution.
Regal Presence: The Lo'ari tribe pride themselves on their presence and force of character. Once per long rest, as a bonus action, they may use their presence to inspire another friendly creature, granting them a d4 Inspiration die. Alternatively, they may use this presence as a reaction to let out a roar, using that d4 Inspiration die as a penalty against a hostile action.
Savannah Hunter: Lo'ari are very patient and know how to hide themselves well in the flat plains. While wearing no armor, Lo'ari gain advantage on Stealth checks when hiding in tall grass, or bushes that matches their coloration.

Pothari Tribe
The Pothari tribe come from the savannahs and jungles of their homeworld Masharan, however unlike the other tribes, they've developed a unique hunting style; climbing up in trees with their natural agility and dropping down on unsuspecting prey. They also use the trees as elevated positions to survey, or even just to sleep in relative safety from other, more dangerous creatures. Pothari are golden like their Lo'ari cousins, however their fur features black markings called 'rosettes' which help to break up their outline in a tree or when hiding in tall grass. Their eyes are typically blue or yellow. Though a rarity, there are Pothari that are black. In bright sunlight, the black fur can appear slightly brown and reveal the rosettes still there as even darker areas.
Pothari tribe members gain a +2 to Dexterity.
Tree Climber: The Pothari are naturally adept at climbing. When they have decent hand holds and are attempting to climb an object, a Pothari tribe member has advantage on Athletics checks to climb. In addition, when wearing no armor and are up in a tree or in forest or jungle terrain, the Pothari tribe member has advantage on Stealth checks.

Sabari Tribe
The Sabari tribe are another plainsfolk, however they tend towards the flatlands and stayed away from the Lo'ari clans. They were the last tribe to formally join the Empire. Like the Lo'ari and Pothari, the Sabari are golden in color, though a lighter shade than the other two. And similar to the Pothari, their fur features dark spots to help them hide in tall grasses. Their eyes are typically blue or yellow.
Sabari tribe members have a +1 to their Dexterity.
Speed Demon: Sabari tribe members have incredible speed on flat terrain. Their speed is increased by 15 feet when they are on flat or gently sloping open terrain.
Sprinter: When on flat terrain, Sabari are incredibly quick. They have advantage on Athletics checks involving running or jumping. This advantage is negated when the Sabari is wearing medium or heavier armor.

Sociology: Mashari are mostly social creatures, though the Tyshari tribe tend to be more loners than most. Their society, while called an Empire, is a tribal hierarchical system. The society is organized into clans of a similar bloodline, who hold territories as large as a whole star system or a single province on a planet. The leader of a clan in all cases of clan politics is called a Chieftain, however many choose to honor their holding title instead, Counts of counties, Dukes of provinces, Princes of planets and Kings of star systems. One does not need to be Chieftain of a clan to have a landed title, but typically only Chieftains of recognized clans are given titles of significant enough authority to grant landed titles. At the top is the Emperor, who rules over the entire Empire and enacts edicts, while also making decisions at the imperial level. A landed title is held until the holder's death, in which case it passes onto their first born child.

Every eight years, all landed title holders are required to attend the Senate meeting on Masharan in person. During this meeting, great sweeping changes can be made to the Empire as a whole, and it is the only time the Emperor's rulings can be overturned. At any time, any member of the Mashari Empire may settle a dispute with an honor duel, under supervision of proper authority(usually a member of the territory's ruling clan). Honor duels may also be fought for station, and these types of duels can cause great upsets in the power structure of the Empire. Sometimes, great enough disputes between two clans can lead to war between them. This is not only allowed under law, but encouraged, as it reinforces the Mashari's martial nature and keeps the warriors trained in rare times of peace. Civil war in Mashari society is a strictly bloodless affair, but for enemies outside their Empire, they do not show such mercy.

Slavery is very important to the Mashari Empire, and often a clan's prestige can be measured in how many slaves they have. Slaves make the bulk of the working class for the Empire and likewise, the Empire tends to treat them well as they depend on them heavily. Slavery has been common even in ancient times, when the clans were largely independent, and the tradition of taking slaves from a rival clan when winning a dispute is still held up to this day.

An unusual trait of Mashari society is the fact that the females typically out number males by almost one-to-three. Given the uncommonness of Mashari males, this makes them very valuable in their society. A Mashari male is typically expected to take at least two females as mates, forming a family unit called a pride. Sometimes prides with as many as five or six females have been observed, though most typically have between two and four females. All members of a pride, even the male, are viewed as equals in Mashari society and all are capable of making decisions for themselves or on behalf of the pride, but most tend to defer to the male pride leader. Children are shared between pride members equally.

Psychology: Mashari are very martially driven. They like fighting, and like getting into fights; especially to settle disputes with one another. They are also honorbound, and follow a very strict code of conduct that precludes deception and not declaring your true intentions when taking an action. Any form of deception, aside from stealth and ambush, is considered dishonorable. And while a Mashari may not like when others in their group do not follow their code of conduct, they understand that other people come from othe cultures and will generally not force their views on others. Due to the hot climates that they originate from, and their thick fur, Mashari are not given to wearing very heavy or very covering clothing; typically just loose robes or even loincloths. There is very little personal modesty in Mashari culture due to this, and often times a Mashari will go completely nude in private; though a Mashari may have a very different definition of privacy to others. Typically they will treat their home area and places with their friends exclusively as private and sometimes eschew their clothing. Mashari are very open with their feelings and sexuality, believing that suppressin their instincts is denying part of what makes them alive. This makes sex a common and casual occurrance between friends, and especially between pride members.