Neanderthals - Forgotten Realms Lore - Dungeons and Dragons

Playable (optional homebrew) Neanderthal Human Subrace and an example Neanderthal NPC stat block in available for Patrons and channel Members (via my Patreon page and Discord Server Members area) - membership on my Patreon is only $1 per month and really helps me out a lot.

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[Pyre]

AJ: "This video is about neanderthals."

Also AJ: *Gives a 12 minute history lesson about what is basically Faerun's Hyborean age.*

I am (still) loving this 'do a video with the possible seeds of half a dozen others' format.

[HaughtyToast]

This was going to be a reply to another comment but then I ended up making a whole playable option so I'm just putting it here, enjoy.

Most of the neanderthal lore in D&D just talks about them being primitive and feral. Here's a list of more notable things in their lore.

1. They live in family units with networks of around a dozen families
2. Most sapient species don't really distinguish between them and homo sapian humans
3. They are mostly displaced from colonization in settings where they are still around and are often nomadic as a result
4. Because of that last point they don't really seek out contact with the other sapient species but they do come into contact with cave dwellers like dwarves and kobolds more often than others since they often seek caves as shelter

For anything else it'd be better to just look into real world research to get an idea of how they lived. The player option from 3.5e isn't even all that bad and could easily be converted to 5e though if you wanted a more accurate one with modern design philosophy it would be more like:

*Ability Modifiers:* Increase one ability score by 2 and another by 1, or increase three ability scores by 1. <- Including this mainly because it's version dependent but also this makes more sense than the 3.5e spread due to how similar they were to humans, the skill monkeys of d&d. For reference the 3.5e used +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, —2 Dexterity, —2 Intelligence.
*Creature Type:* You are a Humanoid.
*Age:* Neanderthals reach adulthood at 18 years of age and can potentially live to 100, though most don't make it past 40 due to traumatic injury.
*Names:* A neanderthal’s given name is a jealously guarded secret known only to their most trusted friends and the other members of their clan. To outsiders, a neanderthal typically refers to themself by their class or profession in the clan, along with their clan's name. For example, a hunter might introduce themself as a hunter of the Elk Clan. <- This part and the following names are just ripped from the old player option in 3.5e's Frostburn
*Male Names:* Artok, Becksor, Brulak, Garthak, Kalak, Llurg, Murak, Orick, Ralagh, Thogart, Torak, Urak.
*Female Names:* Ayah, Bahgdra, Cirah, Drelli, Durana, Ilka, Kara, Lana, Magala, Neruh, Onsi, Orli, Svelani, Zura.
*Clan Names:* Clan names are typically named after a predominant animal in the region; Bear Clan, Branta Clan, Elk Clan, Mammoth Clan, Raven Clan, Tiger Clan, and Wolf Clan are excellent examples. Rarely, a clan may take the name of a particularly powerful local menace, such as Dragon Clan, Spider Clan, or Yeti Clan.
*Size:* Neanderthals are Medium creatures. They stand around 4' 10" to 5' 10" tall and weigh between 146lbs and 171lbs. <- These are real predicted measurements based on the size and build of their skeletons
*Speed:* Your base walking speed is 30ft.
*Cold Acclimated:* You are naturally adapted to Cold climates. <- Nerfed because there is no evidence that they tolerated hot climates like in the 3.5e statblock
*Keen Smell:* You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell. <- Nerfed from the Keen Senses equivalent they used to have because there is no evidence that their hearing or eyesight was any better than a typical human's
*Natural Athlete:* You have proficiency in the Athletics skill. <- They should have had this from the start
*Nimble:* You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours. <- It's known that they specialized in close combat and would get right in the space of things like elk and rhinos. This replaces their proficiency with simple weapons to align with modern design trends and help make up for the nerfs I gave them
*Languages:* You can speak Common and Neanderthal. You have the capacity to learn written word. <- another version dependant one ignore if not applicable
Note: Wheather or not Neanderthals had language is still debated. They very likely did have some form of spoken language but no written word has been found. This could be for a number of reasons regarding what materials that may have been used. You can choose to have your neanderthal character start with writing and reading if it suits your game's setting better.

[zacharyweaver]

3:03 a video going deeper into Lanten would be awesome

[OldOneTooth]

I'm reminded the Mediterranean pirates and slavers had a market for their raids and spent a lot of the year as fishing villages, just like other raiders spend most of their time as scattered herders or farmers. A bad year for crops makes for raiders as shortages before the next harvest hit.

[Saffy]

Thank you oh Lore Master. Personally I have struggled to find any info on Neanderthals since stumbling on their stat block almost a decade ago.

[wesmaass]

It would be great to see a video on the large cities of the Realms. Politics, trade, and daily life and life philosophies.

[zacharyweaver]

Holy crap those pirate islands sound amazing for an adventurering location? Why the hell does WOTC not give us books for that instead of more sword coast stuff

[davidlewis]

That image of you in armor at the end is amazing!!!

[itzybitzyspyder]

I'm running the Isle of Dread 5e module from Goodman Games and I needed neanderthal guidance.

[zacharyweaver]

Love these guys great underdark encounters especially as slaves of drow or duergar

[hoglump-orcbutler]

Gasp new content. Quickly I must grab myself a tasty beverage!

[willturnbull]

I'm baffled there isn't an Age of Thunder setting, I've done a google and unless it's under another name I can't find much.

It would make a great source book and a interesting civilisation light setting with non typical races.

A party of a Quaggoth, Lizard folk, Neanderthal and BullyWug would be amazing.

[FranzJosefHaymaker]

Man doing a prehistoric campaign with Neanderthal and Saurok characters at the beginning of time before all the established settings sounds pretty cool. Low tech high fantasy 👍

[Person-tgup]

Can you continue your hades series, that would be awesome, your gazetteer videos are amazing but I wish you did more of them!

[RichardPhillips]

I occasionally see one of these in my local pub in Sidcup, usually drinking carling larger

[adamsuperdork]

They look like Morlocks! The Time Machine.

[HesGotaGun]

Our daring Narrator better remember not to wear any of those extra-dimensional pouches and bags into that Magnificent Mansion. Seems like an accident waiting to happen.

[ARellFan]

So nice we have our cousins exist in dnd.

[smuggrog]

Interesting, I had no idea that Neanderthals were a thing in dnd. I had a character concept for a caveman/Neanderthal type character but I just used the Beast Hide Shifter race instead and reflavored the race to be descended from quaggoths rather then werebeasts. Kind of had the idea that they were a group of quaggoths that choose to go further north into the mountains rather then going into the underdark like most of thier race did and pretty much evolved into a Neanderthal like race but far more bestial and savage, due them being more closely related to quaggoths and yetis rather then apes.

[glorbojibbins]

I think humans and our relatives fit into fantasy settings so well because we ourselves are quite odd creatures