Zora (species)

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These amphibious folk can walk on land just as well as any hylian, but are also capable of living in freshwater or saltwater indefinitely. Zora (“ZOAR-uh”) live near or sometimes in water, as a way to press their amphibious advantage.

A zora's forearms and heads bear fins used for swimming. Most have webbed feet as well, but only a minority have webbed fingers. Unsurprisingly zora make for exceptionally strong swimmers, and some of them can even swim directly up waterfalls.

Aside from these traits, zora vary widely in appearance from region to another, with some barely even resembling the same species. The majority of zora are colored some shade of blue, with generally lighter coloration on their face, chest, and belly.

Long-Lived

Like hylians, zora are born through parental bonds. Unlike hylians, zora are born from a set of eggs—a batch ranging anywhere from one to six—who typically take after their mother. A zora initially hatches as a tadpole-like stage, before growing limbs and growing into a humanoid child, with similar abilities to hylian children. Somewhere between 10 and 20 years of age a zora enters a "growth spurt," and quickly ages into adulthood.

After reaching adulthood a zora can live for centuries with few signs of aging. A zora's expected lifespan might be around 200 years, but the oldest of their kind have lived to see over 400.

Fishy Fisher-Folk

Zora rarely employ agriculture, instead relying on their swimming skills and natural instincts to procure food of the sea, from hunted fish to scavenged seaweed.

The pearls, gemstones, music, and other treasures found or created by zora are highly admired by hylians, gorons, and many other folk. But due to the water-preferring nature of zora they infrequently become scribes or smiths.

Seashore Cities

Zora cities almost universally are made on coastlines of large water bodies, ranging from freshwater rivers to saltwater seas. On the coasts, the amphibious nature of zora can prove particularly effective against monsters, invaders, and hunted prey. A zora can evade an aquatic predator and a land-dwelling predator quite easily, and even in Hyrule few monsters are as amphibious as zora.

Settlements vary widely. A few zora live almost like beasts in the wild, but most zora engineer ornate kingdoms rivaling those of the legendary Hyrule Castle Town. Rather than construct buildings, zora typically adapt existing coves, waterfalls, or other natural structures to be their homes and castles. The beautiful concert hall cove of bay zora is particularly famous.

When zora do build structures, they use seashells or other materials of the sea. Only rarely do they borrow the wood of hylians or the stones of gorons—but when they do, the good relations between the three make trade easy.

Zora royalty typically have close relations with other monarchs, such as the Hyrule Royal Family.

Lineage details

 Size. Zora can vary greatly in size, but an average adult is about 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
 Age. Zora age at inconsistent rates, but generally they age much slower compared to most humanoids and as a result can live much longer. A "growth spurt" marks the transition between a zora child and adult; this can occur as early as 20 years of age or possibly as late as 100 years. The oldest of zora have survived through three centuries with few apparent signs of aging after their growth spurt.
 Alignment. A typical zora dutifully obeys their monarch and family ties, and many of them remain true to traditions across generations. Few civilizations are more structured and organized than those of the zora. The zora as a whole tend towards law, but even among this race there are many less orderly groups.
 Diet. As a zora, each day you prefer to submerge yourself in water for at least 1 minute. Some zora prefer saltwater or freshwater, but all zora are capable of subsisting off either. Zora tend to be particularly fond of seafood, and like typical humanoids prefer to have at least 1 pound of food a day.
 Names. Zora culture is quite diverse, which has led to few similarities between zora names. Usually names with three or more syllables are reserved for royal lineage, but even this isn't consistent across all zora. Male examples include Bazz, Cleff, Dento, Dorephan, Gruve, Japas, Kayden, Keye, Laflat, Ledo, Mikau, Ralis, Rivan, Sidon, Tijo, Toto, and Tumbo. Female examples include Dunma, Finley, Kodah, Laruta, Laruto, Lulu, Marot, Mipha, Oren, Rutela, Ruto, Tona, Torfeau, and Tula.

Random Height and Weight

Subrace	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Zora	4′ 10"	+3d10	110 lb.	× (1d6)
River Zora	5′ 1"	+2d10	120 lb.	× (2d6)

Character traits

 Ability Score Increase. Increase your Constitution or Wisdom score by 2.
 Speed. Decrease your walk speed by 5 feet. You have a swim speed of 40 feet.
 Amphibious. You can breathe both air and water.
 Natural Armor. You are covered in a thin layer of sleek, protective scales. While you aren’t wearing attire, your AC equals 12 + your Dexterity modifier, but any lightning damage you take is maximized. You can't benefit from a shield's bonus in addition to this AC.
 Fisher-Folk. You have advantage on any ability check made to locate or capture creatures in water.
 Moisturized. While you are Soaked, add a +2 bonus to any save you make that doesn’t add your PB nor any other bonus.
 Languages. You can speak, read, and write both Hylian and Zoran.
 Heritage. Zora are shaped by the type of water they call home. You have one heritage of your choice from bay zora, cascade zora, deep zora, prismatic zora, and river zora.

Bay Zora

 Ability Score Increase. Increase your Charisma score by 1.
 Spiraling Swimmer. Your swim speed increases to 50 feet. You can jump out of the surface of water as high and as far as you can jump off a solid surface.
 Magic Touch. You know one cantrip of your choice from foam spray, lightning field, and shocking touch. Your casting ability for this spell is the highest from Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
 Arts of the Bay. You are proficient in one skill of your choice from Animal Handling, Medicine, Nature, and Performance.
 Musical Proficiency. Music and arts are abundant in bay culture, to the point almost all of your kin can play music fairly well. You're proficient in a musical instrument of your choice.

Named for their ancestral homeland in lagoons, bay zora are particularly drawn to coves, coral reefs, and other natural beauty along the sea. Within bay culture, music is said to be magical.

Bay zora are uniquely inborn with minor lightning magic, reminiscent of an electric eel. A few bay zora even resemble eels. In some tales this electricity was used to power musical instruments, and even give energy to ornate mechanic temples.

Several famous musicians, like the Indigo-Gos, hail from this heritage. Lulu, Mikau, and the other zora encountered in Majora's Mask are bay zora.

Cascade Zora

 Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 1.
 Waterfall Rush. Your swim speed increases to 50 feet. During a turn you Dash, you ignore any difficult terrain, and you can swim directly up a waterfall.
 Regality of the Falls. Cascade zora widely honor their royal legacy and spirits of their ancestors. You have proficiency in one skill of your choice from Arcana, History, Religion, and Survival.
 Cascade Crafting. Among your kin, everyone is taught how to craft survival weapons from what washes up on the shore. While at sea or in the wilderness, as a phase action you can fashion a dagger, spear, or javelin. This crude weapon can't be sold but it can be wielded by others. You are always proficient with a weapon you craft this way. If you become proficient with all martial weapons, you have a +1 bonus to damage rolls you make with these weapons.

Sometimes called zora of the falls, these zora traditionally make their homes atop high waterfalls. With the rare ability to swim up falling water, such a zora can access its home while still keeping it far out of any monster's reach.

These zora are particularly renowned for their standing armies, as most of them are trained from a young age in the art of the spear—both crafting and wielding it. Though these zora are peaceful, the widespread capability to defend themselves lends legacy to their monarchies and ancestors. Indeed, these zora tend to place a particularly high importance on royal lineages and those who came before.

Cascade zora have noticeably hylian-like facial features.

Rutela, Ralis, and the other zora encountered in Twilight Princess are all cascade zora.

Deep Zora

 Ability Score Increase. Increase your Intelligence score by 1.
 Magic Adept. Your magic point maximum increases by 2.
 Water Magic. You know one cantrip and a single 2-point spell, both chosen from the Sage of Water spell list. Your casting ability for these spells is the highest from Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
 Cold Resistance. You have resistance to cold damage, and you can't be Frozen.

Deep zora are so named in part because they have the deepest recorded history of all zora varieties, going back thousands of years to time immemorial. Many believe they are the closest relative to their ancestral cousins, the parella.

According to legend, a great evil froze solid the domain in which these zora once lived. In more contemporary stories, these zora adapted to the frigid temperatures of abyssal ocean depths. Whatever the cause, deep zora are especially well suited to cold waters and deep seas—though not all choose to live in such a dark abyss.

Ruto and other legendary sages hail from this heritage of zora. These zora are born with a tinge of magic, and many of them learn a cantrip or two before reaching adulthood.

The various zora encountered in Ocarina of Time are deep zora, as are the sea-living zora in Oracle of Ages.

Prismatic Zora

 Ability Score Increase. Increase your Dexterity score by 1.
 Jet Swimmer. Your swim speed increases to 50 feet. While swimming, you can carry a creature of your size or smaller, and you aren’t Slowed for doing so.
 Prismatic Versatility. You are proficient in any one skill of your choice, proficient in any one martial weapon of your choice, or can cast any one cantrip of your choice. If you choose a cantrip, its casting ability is the highest from Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. You gain this benefit twice.

Prismatic zora, true to their name, can come in a rainbow of colors instead of merely blue. Some prismatic zora have red scales, some blue, some green, some violet, and others a more subdued brown, among many other possibilities, but all prismatic zora have a cream-colored chin, chest, and belly. The color is usually hereditary. These zora tend to be particularly tall, often standing a foot or two above most other zora.

Whereas most heritages of zora hail from a specific type of water, the widespread prismatic zora live in lakes, rivers, swamps, and oceans alike. Like lake zora they are organized and generally peaceful, but more than capable of defending themselves from most threats.

Prismatic zora include Mipha, Sidon, and the other zora from both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

River Zora

 Ability Score Increase. Increase Strength score by 1.
 Fire Spit. You know the fire bolt cantrip. Your casting ability for it is the highest from Intelligence, Wisdom , and Charisma.
 Intimidating. You have proficiency in the Intimidation skill.
 Claws and Fangs. When you hit with an unarmed strike using your teeth or a free hand, you can deal slash damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the normal damage for an unarmed strike. If both hands are free, this 1d4 is instead 1d8.
 Sly Swimmer. While you swim, your movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks nor any other reaction.

Also called zola or swamp zora, this heritage has a distinct appearance with bright orange lips and skull-fins. They historically have a nasty reputation among most folk, including other zora, and are often regarded as no different than monsters.

River zora traditionally defend territory they claim to be their own with bolts of fire spat from their mouths. This and their bright orange colors are meant to thwart any would-be threats, though they don't have outright murderous or vicious intent like actual monsters do. The few folk which manage to get in the good graces of a river zora will find they are as amicable to their friends as any folk could hope to be. They even have a royal family to rule their marshland kingdoms.

These zora aren’t the only ones to live in rivers, but they seem to have a strong preference for shallow freshwater.

Zora enemies found in top-down Zelda titles, as well as Oren and the friendly zora of A Link Between Worlds, are all river zora.

The material on this page is based on content found throughout the Legend of Zelda series, which is copyright Nintendo Co., Ltd.