Firenewt

Firenewts, also sometimes known as salamen, were reptilian humanoids native to volcanic regions, who evolved from lizardfolk and gained the ability to breathe fire.

Description
Firenewts were about the size of a slim human. They appeared like lizardfolk with simpler faces and larger, dark-colored eyes. Their speckled, smooth-scaled skin appeared eel-like and was colored dark reddish brown at their spines and faded to nearly white on their front sides. They had long feet, giving them the appearance of "reversed knees", which gave them an advantage while running or leaping.

Personality
Firenewts were known for being extreme sadists and cruel marauders. They delighted in torturing virtually every creature, especially sentient ones.

Abilities
These creatures were highly resistant to harm from fire and could even breath small bouts of it out to a range of. However, they were vulnerable to extremely low temperatures and cold-based spells.

Priests within firenewt society were typically capable of casting the spells animal friendship, faerie fire, predict weather, produce flame, heat metal, and pyrotechnics.

Combat
Firenewt warriors typically wore chain mail and carried longswords, battleaxes, scimitars, longspears, pikes alongside swords, and handaxes. Battleaxes were most commonly used by their elite warriors, while their priests favored the use of maces.

Society
Firenewts required a heated source of water in order to survive and breed. Separation from warm water for more than a tenday would cause a firenewt to slow mentally and physically, eventually entering hibernation.

Due to their race's demeanor firenewts were often enemies or rivals of one another. Because of this tribes living in close proximity of each other were almost never on good terms. They typically either ignored each other or engaged in vicious wars. This also made murder not uncommon within many tribes &mdash; only fear of retribution from one's leader, priests, or the family of the slain kept it from being a common occurrence. Whenever a firenewt died the standard assumption was that the individual had just wandered away and failed to return. Otherwise, they would just let their rivals die in the heat of battle from their enemies.

It was considered a tremendous honor for a raiding party to find the hatching chambers of a rival tribe and destroy their eggs. Because of this, firenewts kept their hatching grounds secret and closely guarded, with their activities monitored by priests. Priests oversaw many of the day-to-day functions of firenewt society. They decided which of their captives became meals, offered healing as needed, and attended to their tribe's welfare. The major decisions in a tribe were made by an overlord, who was typically the most charismatic individual in a tribe.

Diet
Firenewts were a carnivorous species. They preferred to dine upon humanoids of almost any kind. Their preferences in order were humans, elves, dwarves, and then all other types of humanoids. They could survive on the meat of herd animals, wild beasts, or even rodents &mdash; but they only resorted to such fare when their preferred food was completely unavailable.

They delighted in roasting their victims alive before eating them. In fact, their traditions held that brutally torturing a creature before its death made it tastier. The juiciest part of any meat was first served to their society's priests, then the rest were distributed among the members of a tribe.

Homelands
Most firenewts lived in mountainous peaks or areas with volcanic activity.

In Chult they could be found in the Peaks of Flame. In south Faerûn they could be found in the Lake of Steam region and its island Arnrock Island. In northwest Faerûn they could be found in Mount Hotenow. In interior Faerûn they could be found in the mountains of Turmish. And in Anauroch they could be found on the Hill of Lost Souls.

Beyond Toril, firenewts could be found living on the sun of Realmspace.



Religions
Firenewts were known to worship Kossuth and Imix, the latter of which leading them to be aggressive, wrathful, and cruel.

Relationships
Besides other firenewts, these creatures typically concentrated their raids against other humanoids. Such as goblins, orcs, and other mountain-dwellers. In Anauroch they were a constant source of harassment for Bedine tribes.

Firenewts domesticated giant striders, which were trained by the priests in their society and made into very capable combatants in their own right. The firenewts provided shelter and food for giant striders, as well as breeding grounds in their lairs. After fifteen years of service, firenewts typically killed and ate their giant striders.

Besides giant striders, firenewts domesticated fire lizards and used them to guard the hatching grounds of their lairs.

They sometimes acted as servants of, or were enslaved by, efreeti.

Rumors & Legends
How firenewts came to acquire their race's primary form of mounts, the giant striders, was a matter of some speculation. Some among them believed they were a gift bestowed upon them by their deity Imix because they were able to breath fire.

According to another legend the red dragon Imvaernarhro was in search of fire-based creatures to serve him when he came upon the firenewt colony of the Peaks of Flame. In return for a large band of them, he offered the firenewts an immense pile of gold with which could recast their statue of the deity Kossuth. But having looked upon knights and recognized how valuable mounts were to them in combat, the firenewts countered &mdash; in return for some beast they could ride and breed, they would give him fifty of their warriors. Imvaernarhro agreed to their terms and returned six months later with an immense bag, filled with giant strider eggs, and after quickly discovering their usefulness the firenewts honored their agreement.