Monster Essays: Lizardfolk

Work was uncharacteristically busy today. Almost no writing but managed to wrap this up at the end of the day. I'm not sure there's a ton do with lizard people but I like them being around. They made a few cameos in stories as being your horny casual friend types. They literally can't get pregnant so what do they care if it feels good? Also threw a handful of "reptilians" paranoia theories in there with them being smarter than average by default. They just couldn't pass for humans for the life of them.

Dylan Eywind

History of Interspecies Relations II

Tipping the Scales. The History of Lizardfolk

**A-. Good work but largely focused on their anatomy over their culture.**

The introduction to the Saruashasks was a strange but peaceful one. The island-based, reptilian humanoids were isolated enough that meeting humans was a surprise but one of welcoming response. They were quick to adapt to human society, with their semi-tribal culture still surprisingly advanced for their simple lifestyle of hunting and farming. With a keen understanding of concepts such as psychology and advanced mathematics, they blended in even quicker than most other species. With their rapidly hissed native language and complex name of their race, they gladly conceded to lizardfolk as their overall classification.

Lizardfolk have the unique privilege of being among the only coldblooded intelligent species on earth. Their bodies are lines with scales, which vary from slightly rough to perfectly smooth depending on the variety and location on the body. Their fronts tend to be smooth and slightly off color to mark their bellies and chests, while their back has thicker and more heavily armored scales. Lizardfolk all possess sharper teeth, horns and dulled claws, better used for gripping, digging and climbing rather than combat. They have largely prehensile tongues and tails, which tends to come with muscular hindquarters. They come in some varieties based on various lizards, but they primarily maintain an iguana or dragon-like appearance.

Despite their reptilian nature, they possess minimalized but still notable secondary sex characteristics to largely resemble humans. Females tend to be smaller, more shapely, and often more brightly colored than their males. Wider hips and small but recognizable breasts are commonplace among them as well. Men tend to be slightly broader or taller than human males, and their horns are notably longer by several inches.

This has raised several questions and debates about the evolution of their species. Lizardfolk appear to have developed in isolated environments, likely where lizards thrived instead of apes and leading to advanced intelligence due to lack of outside threats. Their bodies are better regulated than normal reptiles, leading to a strange midway point between mammals and reptiles. They prefer hot or tropical areas out of sheer comfort, but lizardfolk have proven able to live in all parts of the world. Even Russia has a decent population of them. While it would be lethal to most coldblooded creatures, lizardfolk show signs of fatigue, discomfort or dizziness if exposed to cold and snow. They can regulate these effects with thick clothing, heating devices, magic or certain medications.

The most notable difference between most species and lizardfolk is their means of reproducing. Their orifices seem to match humans at a glance, though the vagina is technically closer to a cloaca. Spawning with a mate is a complex process, even in the words of their own kind. The females periodically lay eggs, normally one at a time. If they are not looking to reproduce, many of these are ignored, discarded or eaten as a common practice in their culture. A small market has even opened up along the lines of minotaur milk, with some doctors encouraging them as a relatively healthy and harmless foodsource.

The eggs remain lifeless unless fertilized by a male; that is, releasing their own seed over a fresh female’s egg. The egg must then be maintained at a warm temperature, ideally with the female’s body heat. The process is long and complex, so accidental births are simply not a thing in their culture. Due to the lack of need for birth control, lizardfolk have developed to be very sexually liberated. Orgies and random sex were a part of several of their local holidays, leading to some very surprised explorers during their early visits. The fact that they are absolutely unable to reproduce with humans and other mammalian species makes them very open, social and flirty compared to the average human.

As with most of the races, lizardfolk have taken many roles throughout society. They tend to prefer social workplaces such as offices or work crews, and their tough and intimidating builds make males commonly apply as soldiers or security guards. Their open minds help them become fast friends with goblins and fairies in particular, and a natural sense of teamwork and problem solving (on top of their unique biological advantages) have helped them adapt to their welcome place among the rest of the world.