Araku
Images of the Races: Araku
Araku come from the icy mountain forests of Geronfrey. There are very few of this race left alive. Many years ago the race declared itself dying, and since then aarakocra individuals have travelled more than they once did, seeking personal fulfillment before the race's extinction. They are honored by the satamharanthu, and many have left the Cognoterre to visit the Shadowed Seas.
Build: Araku are tall and slender, with wide chests and wings with manipulable claws on the ends. Hollow bones. Beak and feathers.
Coloring: Reddish-brown skin, black or brown eyes, bird-of-prey plumage.
Endurance: Excellent in flight, but poor on the ground. Cannot carry heavy loads.
Height: Six to seven feet tall, 30' wingspan.
Lifespan: Sixty to eighty years.
Special abilities: Flight 36", dive attack, feet-hands (talons fold back).
Ethnic divisions: Araku, Aarakocra (FF) - Geronfrey; Araku, Kiar (DS) - Chaos Wastes/Iron Autocracy; Ku, Kenku (FF/MC) - Helluo/Sasiru Kian (see separate description)
PC Availability: None
Clothing and decoration: Multicolored ribbons around their limbs that symbolize social status and Eyrie affiliation. Enameled beaks and claws in warlike geometric designs.
Fears and inabilities: Subject to claustrophobia.
Lifestyle: Araku: Shamanistic society, highly individualistic but traced by Eyrie-affiliation. There were nine Eyries before they all disbanded.
Marriage pattern: Araku no longer have any institution of marriage.
Art: The traditional art of the araku is primarily found in araku feather-weaves, great tapestries woven of dyed or naturally-colored feathers in abstract, but colorful, designs. These tapestries are quite heavy and very expensive, especially in light of the decline of the race. There are very few, if any, araku left who possess the traditional weaving skill. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Araku tend to be very independent and aloof, but have a reputation for bravery in the face of death. They are fierce fighters given to hawk-like war screeches that often startle even trained warriors. Araku treat all sentient beings with respect, honoring that which will live on after their death. They will not accept pity, facing the demise of their race with stolid resignation.
Language: A whistling dialect called "Trillspeak" by non-araku . Only araku can physically manage Trillspeak; all other races must communicate with musical instruments such as flutes. Most araku have mastered Low Empyrian.
Prejudices: Araku have no natural prejudices.
Aseku live scattered through the Cognoterre, and have one of the most ancient, and certainly the most advanced, societies there. For quite some time, much aseku lore was considered to have been lost over the centuries, and until recently the old ways were all but forgotten. With the return of the satamharanthu, however, many old ways have come back, and aseku enjoy the privilege of being the satamharanthu's preferred servants. Aseku have a low birth rate and tend to slip into a racial ennui that has led many into arcane studies and decadent pastimes. Most aseku study magic.
Build: Tall and slender, with no facial hair. Pointed ears, oval faces with delicate features.
Coloring: Pale skin and hair from blonde to red for all but drow, who have black skin and white hair. Light-colored eyes.
Endurance: Average.
Height: Five to six feet tall.
Lifespan: Two hundred to three hundred years.
Special abilities: Infravision.
Ethnic divisions: Drow - Bahr al'Raml, Iron Autocracy; Grey - Arquian, Saldon, Geronfrey, Iron Autocracy; Half - Cognoterre, Iron Autocracy (rare); Wild - Arquian, Empyrias, Travioch, Somadios
PC Availability: Grey, Half, Wild
Clothing and decoration: Traditional aseku garb consists of simple silk garments highly ornamented with precious stones and engraved metal plaques. Many aseku have adopted the fashion of wearing ornate, bejeweled masks in public shaped into the visages of strange beasts. Aseku living in heterogenous communities often adopt local dress.
Fears and inabilities: A tendency toward boredom and decadence.
Lifestyle: Traditional aseku trace their lineage through matriarchal Families, with the most honor going to those whose line is oldest. However, many aseku in the Cognoterre have forgotten their lineage and can only trace their heritage back a generation or two. Such rootless aseku are looked down upon by the more traditional, especially by those from the Iron Autocracy. Properly, drow are inaseku and all others are ana-aseku.
Marriage pattern: Monogamous, hetero- or homosexual. The bloodline is traced through the eldest of the couple. Human-aseku marriages are rare but acceptable, and these races can interbreed. The offspring, half-aseku, may take after their human or aseku parent equally, but tend to be more accepted among humans than among aseku. Drow are forbidden to father or bear half-breed bastards, so tend to take same-sex lovers from other races if at all.
Art: Traditional aseku art is stylistically formalized and can be divided into two sections, inhre'atu (depictive art) and jhere'atu (nondepictive art). Inhre'atu primarily encompasses painting and sculpture, and is marked by realistic but stiffly posed forms with elongated features and richly textured surfaces. There is a delicacy and etherealness about these forms that is emphasized rather than denied by the lavishness of their depicted garments or coverings. Older inhre'atu works were richly painted in deep, rich hues, and often decorated with gold leaf or precious gems. For last five hundred years, however, there has been a trend toward subtler, paler colors that seem to better capture the philosophic, retiring nature of most aseku. Inhre'atu artwork is more likely to depict scenes from nature than an aseku figure. Architecture also falls into the inhre'atu category, and is easily recognizable for rich ornamentation, delicate spires and fluting, and slim, arching flying buttresses; the most common examples are the cathedrals of the Elder Gods. Jhere'atu is non-representative, usually border patterns on clothing or jewelry, or panels of bas-relief decoration. Such designs are obviously linked to the bade'in traditional style of mohrait, composed of interlocked chains of delicate lines and traceries. Unlike mohrait, however, the jhere'atu figures have no story-telling or symbolic function, and have not evolved past the simpler designs. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Aseku are highly individual in personality and tastes, although most aseku tend to be prompted by motives other races find confusing or nonsensical. Their long lifespan and ancient traditions make aseku reasoning difficult for other, shorter-lived races to understand. They tend to be aesthetic and delighted by objects of beauty. They often avoid developing close ties with shorter-lived races, giving them a reputation for being cold or heartless - when in fact this standoffishness derives from a fear of losing friends too quickly.
Language: Aseku have a variety of dialects that spring from a common root, kh'indaranya. The eldest tongues are those of the grey and drow, while communities such as the high aseku have slipped into a creole of racial tongues. Most aseku are skilled at languages, speaking at least Empyrian and bade'in.
Prejudices: Many aseku mistrust the drow, although the lineage of the drow is one of the most ancient and thus commands respect. Traditional communities of aseku do not readily welcome foreign visitors, although acculturated aseku get along well with other races and cultures.
Bade'in come from Holdings in the mountains of the Northern Continent (Dominarchus) in the Cognoterre - none dwell within the Shadowed Lands. Most of the Holdings are in poor repair now, and many of the bade'in have delved deeper beneath the earth, abandoning the higher reaches of their Holdings. It is said these deep dwellers have turned to unwholesome practices of blood magic and black rites. In Cherient, immigrant bade'in carved rough, new holdings in the Narcoris Mountains, but these were abandoned due to raids from the Sacrament Sanguis and the deprivations of the satamharanthu invasion. Few bade'in survived the invasion, being stubbornly unwilling to surrender.
Build: Short and broad, heavily muscled. Males have thick facial hair.
Coloring: Bade'in have similar skin coloration to humans, running from copper to dark brown, with a variety of hair and eye colors tending to darker colors.
Endurance: Bade'in are very strong and seldom tire.
Height: Four to five feet tall.
Lifespan: One hundred to one hundred fifty years.
Special abilities: Infravision. Detect slopes, depth, etc. Able to walk any path once and retrace it from memory and instinct.
Ethnic subdivisions: Derro - Shadowpt Mts/Arquian, Geronfrey; Duergar - Shadowpt Mts/Arquian, Geronfrey; Mountain & Hill - Empyrias, Travioch; Uhruk (DS) - Rusted Lands/Iron Autocracy, Bone Mts/Iron Autocracy; Wild (MC2) - Sasiru Kian.
PC Availability: Mountain, Hill, Uhruk*, Wild*
*must work with DM on background
Clothing and decoration: Bade'in traditionally wear utilitarian clothes from day to day, although they love jewelry and often sport ornate armlets, head fillets, rings, bracelets and earrings with their casual clothes. Unmarried male bade'in wear their beards loose, while married males tie their beards.
Fears and inabilities: Bade'in are not fond of swimming or flying.
Lifestyle: There are three dwarven matriarchal Holdings in the Cognoterre, each containing about 2,000 individuals divided into assorted patriarchal clans. The Holdings are: Citik (Shadowpt. Mts.), Parmarzak (Crystalgleam Mts.), and Spoff (Border Mts.). The Citik Hold clans are Iron Mask, Ash Mask and Pallid Mask. The Parmazak Hold clans are Anvil Friend, Diamondkin, Hammerbearer, Ironvein and Mithrileye. The Spoff Hold clans are Darkflame, Icehand and Shadowclaw. Derro and duergar are inbade'in, and all others are ana-bade'in.
Marriage pattern: Monogamous, always heterosexual. The line is traced through the female. Bade'in shun interracial marriage and consider homosexuality disgusting. The inclination does not seem to be genetically carried in bade'in. Bade'in cannot breed with other races.
Art: Traditional bade'in art is called mohrait, and carries with it a long and rich heritage. Mohrait designs may incorporate highly stylized figures of birds, plants, beasts or beings, but such figures are deeply intertwined with a complex mesh of labyrinthine knotwork. These designs are used on jewelry, clothing, furniture and walls, and depict stories, legends, parables and historical fact. Mohrait-riddling, the reading of these knotwork tales, is an advanced skill that requires extensive memorization of the vast "alphabet" and "punctuation" that has developed over the centuries. Bade'in architecture is similar in spirit to its decorative art; while the Holdings are designed to be functional and comfortable, they wind through the mountains like a great mohrait labyrinth, virtually inaccessible to any but the bade'in. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Bade'in are traditionally thought to be no-nonsense, somber individuals, fearsome warriors and hard partiers. They are usually very group-oriented in making plans and setting goals. The current move of the bade'in away from the sunlight has begun to set darker rumors in motion, however, and the bade'in are quickly developing a new reputation as tight-lipped, sinister beings.
Language: Bade'in have one common tongue, bade'shana, that descends from the same root language as aseku dialects. Bade'in speech may have regional variations from Holding to Holding. Few bade'in bother learning another language, although some speak a smattering of Empyrian and a bit of drow dialect.
Prejudices: Bade'in have no time for other races, and are internally divisive, with each Holding deeply mistrusting the other.
Canis are wolf- or jackal-like humanoids who live in Geronfrey and Kanpa on the continent of Khes. Although derived from the same people, Hutaakan and Lupin have vastly different cultures. Hutaakan are a priestly, urban and formal society. Lupin are primarily hunters, living a more rugged and tribal lifestyle.
Build: Hutaakan are slender and well-formed, with short sleek pelts. Lupin are somewhat stockier, shorter, and have longer hair.
Coloring: Hutaakan range from blond to red hair; Lupin vary widely.
Endurance: Average.
Height: Five to six feet tall.
Lifespan: Sixty to eighty years.
Special abilities: Hutaakan: infravision, move silently; Lupin: detect werewolf.
Ethnic divisions: Hutaakan (MCMy) - Kanpa; Lupin (MCMy) - Geronfrey, Cherient
PC Availability: Yes.
Clothing and decoration: Hutaakan wear light robes or skirts and value jewelry. They often wear earrings and decorate their nails. Lupin wear sturdier hunting garments but often braid and decorate their mane-like longer head hair.
Fears and inabilities: None.
Lifestyle: Hutaakan: Theocracy. Lupin: Hunter-gatherer.
Marriage pattern: Predominantly heterosexual. Hutaakan often mate with relatives. Most canis mate for life.
Art: Hutaakan love ornate, delicate designs and produce excellent filigree work and embroidery. They also lay mosaics and enjoy painting the walls and ceilings of their buildings. Lupin produce wonderful wood and bone carvings, some of which are sacred fetishes and talismans. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Hutaakan are aloof and arrogant, tending to prefer quiet revenge to direct confrontation. Lupin are cheerful and friendly, but can become ferocious when roused.
Language: Hutaakan speak mariekhes. Lupin speak their own tongue, lupin, and the human dialects of Geronfrey or Cherient.
Prejudices: Canis dislike the sati.
Hadjjin dwell in Bahr al-Raml and the Rharihu Plains on the northern continent, where they are the most populous race of the desert, the plains and the surrounding mountains. Hadjjin often tame wyverns for riding and warfare, and have a thriving, nomadic culture with one large city, Spir, in the southernmost mountain pass of the desert. The hadjjin in the plains live nomadic and primarily iron-age lives. The hadjjin greatly resent the satamharanthu slaughter of their ancient guardians, the lamia and sphinx, and regard the Dawn Masters with fear and hatred. See also Hadjjin Jokes & Proverbs.
Build: Average-sized, broad, heavily muscled. Facial hair tends to be thin. Prominent tusks in a prognathous face. Ears close to the skull and somewhat pointed.
Coloring: Hadjjin have dark brown skin, and dark hair and eyes. Hair is coarse and black.
Endurance: Hadjjin have high endurance for desert climes, but are sucseptible to colds in colder areas.
Height: Six to seven feet tall.
Lifespan: Forty to sixty years.
Special abilities: Infravision.
Ethnic divisions: Hadjjin - Bahr al'Raml; Half - Bahr al'Raml, Rharihu; Tarek - Bahr al'Raml, Rharihu
PC Availability: Hadjjin, Half, Tarek
Clothing and decoration: In the desert, hadjjin wear the typical garb of Bahr al-Raml; loose robes and clan-patterned kaffiyeh to protect them from the sun. In the Rharihu Plains, the hadjjin more often wear leather garments and ceramic or glass ornaments traded with other lands. All hadjjin mages emulate the lamia, tatooing their flesh in complex, arcane designs.
Fears and inabilities: None.
Lifestyle: In Bahr al' Raml, a nomadic and harsh existence divided into four clans. The unquestioned head of the desert hadjjin clans is the clan of Kharad Thar. In Rharihu, there are about 30 clans, of which the Nimristi clan is the largest.
Marriage pattern: Polygamous and heterosexual, with stronger males taking the most wives. Willing interracial marriage is rare, but hadjjin often take slave-wives from other races and seem capable of breeding with both humans and aseku. Homosexual relations among the hadjjin are only discussed derisively, and at least among males are apparently only engaged in to assert dominance over another. Hadjjin don't believe female homosexuality is possible, and their women don't discuss the subject.
Art: Hadjjin art is surprisingly intricate for such an apparently barbaric race; hadjjin specialize in leatherwork, weaving and enameling, creating beautifully detailed and richly colored abstract designs apparently based on ancient lamia works. The most ancient of the designs are somewhat simple, concentric patterns like eddies or ripples on the surface of a pool of water. More recent designs demonstrate a northern influence, becoming increasingly more complicated and sometimes representational. In all works, however, color plays an important role, as if to counter the often montonous, monotonal landscape with a vivid, brilliant life. Hadjjin seldom sculpt items larger than amulets, and their architecture consists of huge tents that, at their most complicated, become palaces of translucent, brightly hued fabric rooms and corridors. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Hadjjin are highly concerned with personal and clan honor, and will fight to avenge a perceived insult to such honor. Raised to be warlike and proud, hadjjin are seldom lightly challenged. Few hadjjin are thieves, as this is a potentially fatal occupation among the violence-oriented clans. With the end of Dominion strength in the aftermath of the Shattering Wars, many hadjjin believe they will see a new age of the desert's dominance over the green lands.
Language: Hadjjin have their own clan tongues, and the common inito tongue of Bahr al'Raml and the kobkode trade tongue used most often in the Rharihu Plains. Some hadjjin, especially those near the passes, may pick up Somadion.
Prejudices: Hadjjin are willing to dominate any race equally, except for the sphinx and lamia, whom they respect. Hadjjin despise whom they consider weak.
Humans dwell throughout the Cognoterre, predominantly in the Shattered Realms, and in Sasiru Kian and the Iron Autocracy. Humans breed regularly, and as such tend to have advantages of number over the other races. The satamharanthu use their aseku servants to oversee the more populous human race.
Build: Average-sized. In the Cognoterre, facial hair on males, rounded ears. In Sasiru Kian, both sexes tend to be cleanshaven, with epicanthic folds.
Coloring: Humans have skin ranging from pale cream to dark black. Hair and eye color tends to be light for lighter skin shades, dark for darker skin shades. Helar humans tend to be lighter-skinned. Hansi and Saarai are dark-skinned, Kiani are the color of old ivory. Mul tend to be darkly tanned. Dark are very light-skinned, almost albino.
Endurance: Average.
Height: Five to six feet tall.
Lifespan: Sixty to eighty years.
Special abilities: None.
Ethnic divisions: Helar - Cognoterre, slaves in Iron Autocracy (tattooed faces); Dark ("Urlin": Creeper, Stalker, Tul'k) - Unders; Hansi - Cappadocia, Galicie, Kanpa; Dominarchus human - Cognoterre; Kiani - Sasiru Kian; Mul - Iron Autocracy (a sterile half-breed); Saarai - Iron Autocracy.
PC Availability: Hansi, Helar, Kiani*, Mul*, Saarai*
*must work with DM on background
Clothing and decoration: Humans prefer to cover rather than reveal flesh. Females tend to paint their face. There are otherwise vast differences by culture.
Fears and inabilities: A tendency toward xenophobia that varies by individual.
Lifestyle: Humans are very social creatures, almost always living in communities. Status, wealth, physical beauty and education are valued by humans.
Marriage pattern: Monogamous, either hetero- or homosexual. Humans often marry outside their race and can interbreed with aseku and hadjjin.
Art: Primarily representational and realistic, but otherwise varies by culture. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Humans are adaptable and open-minded, ceaselessly exploring new methods of action or thought to further their goals. They enjoy novelty and the exotic. They also tend to be short-sighted and careless of their environment. Humans are highly motivated by their sex drives, which may account for their high rate of reproduction and subsequent territorial expansion.
Language: In the Cognoterre, humans almost all speak Low Empyrian and Realm-centered dialects. In Sasiru Kian, humans speak their own language, kiiri, and the slave-tongue isirin. In the Iron Autocracy, humans speak jhalhasu.
Prejudices: Some xenophobia.
Kobkode dwell in the Cazmorin jungle of the northern continent and the Djerjain jungle of Kanpa in the southern continent - there are none in the Shadowed Lands. Kobkode make excellent traders, and travel far to meet and trade with foreign cultures. Their ways are considered primitive by most races, but kobkode society and culture is harmoniously intertwined with the jungle in which they live, so that kobkode and jungle are mutually dependent.
Build: Small but well-proportioned, with tails, horns, sharp teeth and slightly rounded muzzles.
Coloring: Kobkode have dark brown and black scales and red eyes.
Endurance: Kobkode are given to bursts of energy, but tire quickly over prolonged periods of activity.
Height: Three feet.
Lifespan: One hundred to one hundred thirty years.
Special abilities: Infravision, excellent night-vision. Pick up spoken languages at a third of regular cost.
Ethnic subdivisions: None
PC Availability: Yes
Clothing and decoration: Kobkode enjoy personal ornamentation, especially earrings, arm and ankle bands, and brightly dyed harnesses and headdresses. Their ornaments tend to be natural - furs, carved bone and wood, and feathers. Some kobkode also enamel their teeth and horns, usually in reds or yellows.
Fears and inabilities: Tend to think in terms of contracts, social and legal.
Lifestyle: Shamanistic, tribal Villages close to nature and dominated by religious concerns. Kobkode are gregarious, social creatures that prefer large groups to solitary living. Their family/tribal units are large with little privacy afforded individual members. Any task that one kobkode takes on becomes the task of the tribe and all will help and benefit from the completion of the task.
Marriage pattern: Kobkode do not marry, having specific breeding times and rites that are observed each year. Children are raised communally. Kobkode grow up in familes of 2 to 5 grandparents of either sex, 4 to 7 mothers, and 4 to 10 fathers. Anywhere from 1 to 10 families may make up a tribe, although the average is 4 or 5.
Art: Kobkode art is symbolic, with irishetani carvings and pigment-paintings that tell the history of the heshetani and villages in terms of color, design and shape. Traditional architecture is simple but functional, with curved-roof huts and tree-paths lined with vine ropes and wooden pathways. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Kobkode are reticent around strangers, but once their trust is gained they enthusiastically participate in whatever is going on around them. They are fierce guerilla fighters and exhibit almost foolhardy bravery when enraged in battle. Kobkode are highly adaptable to new situations.
Language: Kobkode are excellent linguists and mimics, and often act as translators for the hadjjin. They have their own village tongues, but know all other tongues of the surrounding villages.
Prejudices: Kobkode are naturally garrulous and have no prejudices.
Ku are native to Sasiru Kian, although they live isolated lives and tend to keep themselves apart from the yuanu-ti and other races there. They maintain ambivalent relations with other races, but have never gone to war.
Build: Wide and stocky, but hollow-boned. Hawk-headed, with wings folded behind a humanoid body.
Coloring: Ku have very pale flesh and light-colored feathers (usually grey or white with darker markings). Ku eyes are amber.
Endurance: Ku have amazing endurance for cold climes, but tire easily in the heat.
Height: Five to six feet tall, 20' wingspan.
Lifespan: Two hundred to three hundred years.
Special abilities: Flight (18").
PC Availability: None
Clothing and decoration: Ku do not ornament their bodies or clothing, but enjoy fine craftsmanship in their tools and weapons. Often, however, they hide this workmanship in cloth wrappings, so that they appear to be simple travellers to strangers.
Fears and inabilities: All ku are mages.
Lifestyle: Ku tend to travel constantly through the mountain ranges, usually alone and seldom in groups over three. They meet in a ornate city carved of jade and lapis lazuli once a year to share the knowledge they have learned.
Marriage pattern: Ku form no lasting ties and seldom breed, averaging one birth every century or so.
Art: Little is known about the traditional artistry of the ku, who rarely let outsiders see their fabled Jade City. A few examples of carved gemstones exist, miniature sculptures of great precision and masterful expression (many maintain they are magically sculpted), but otherwise it appears the ku shun all ornament, concentrating on an "art" of fine, but utilitarian, craftsmanship. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Ku are mystics, and their nonlinear thought processes can frustrate members of other races who are attempting to work with them. Ku are noted for answering in riddles, questions and non sequiturs. They love playing practical jokes, and their humor sometimes transcends other races' bounds of propriety. Ku don't understand shame or guilt, apparently living always in the here-and-now and never concerning themselves with what might have been or should have been.
Language: Ku have their own tongue, but do not allow anyone else to learn it. They are quick to pick up languages and tend to have flawless accents when speaking others' tongues.
Prejudices: Ku have no prejudices against other races, but other races often find them annoying and bothersome.
Phanaton are racoonlike humanoids with prehensile fingers, toes and tail, and gliding membranes beneath their arms. They have little interaction with other races, dwelling primarily in the Poisoned Forest of Sasiru Kian.
Build: Phanaton are small and slender.
Coloring: Silvery fur, dark mask over eyes, ringed tail. Eyes are green, red, or yellow.
Endurance: Average.
Height: Three feet.
Lifespan: Eighty years.
Special abilities: Silence, empathy in home forest, gliding
Ethnic divisions: None
PC Availability: Yes*
*must work with DM on background
Clothing and decoration: Phanaton wear very little and prefer garments, weapons and tools that can be constructed from their surroundings without needing to weave or forge. They enjoy bright trinkets but hoard rather than wear them.
Fears and inabilities: Uncomfortable in cities.
Lifestyle: Clan-based tree villages within the forest. Phanaton live in harmony with the land and are very environmentally aware.
Marriage pattern: Heterosexual, mating for life.
Art: The closest thing to art that phanaton possess is their intense care for the land around them. A well-groomed and healthy forest is aesthetically pleasing to them. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Phanaton are quiet and thoughtful, often considering the long-term effects of their actions, especially with regard to the environment. They have a streak of friendly mischief among themselves that is seldom seen by strangers.
Language: Phanaton speak phanos and have picked up some ciali and isirin.
Prejudices: Phanaton don't like spiders, except as food.
The satamharanthu rule the empire called the Iron Autocracy; they have a complex civilization based on technarcane ability and truemagic. Native to the continents of the Iron Autocracy in the Shadowed Lands, the satamharanthu have recently taken over the Cognoterre, and are still in the process of stabilizing their hold over these lands - especially after the disaster of the Theophany. All satamharanthu have picked up a smattering of magical ability and many have wild psionic talents. Some satamharanthu are asura, or vampiric. Satamharanthu who achieve great magical ability usually become dragons-ascendate. (See On the Genesis of Dragons.)
Build: Tall and slender, with feline characteristics, covered entirely with soft fur. Pointed, erect ears. Sharp canines and claws. Can move comfortably on two legs or on all fours, although they usually walk upright except when in need of great speed.
Coloring: Pale skin covered with fur of any feline pattern. Eyes are predominantly green or blue, although other colors are known.
Endurance: Satamharanthu have unbelievable tolerance for hardship.
Height: Seven to eight feet tall.
Lifespan: Naturally immortal.
Special Abilities: Many, inc. tendency for natural psionic ability.
Ethnic subdivisions: Sati, Rakasta - Iron Autocracy; Sati, Satamharanthu - Iron Autocracy; Sati, Tabaxi - Iron Autocracy; Kevalinu. - Cognoterre
PC Availability: Tabaxi*
*must work with DM on background
Clothing and decoration: The satamharanthu wear little in the way of clothing, using it for ornamental or utilitarian purposes rather than as protection against attack or the elements. Certain castes have caste-specific garb. Most satamharanthu wear ornate harnesses to carry weapons or tools, and often enjoy jeweled headbands, earrings, collars, bracers or greaves. Satamharanthu love complex designs and glittering gemstones.
Fears and inabilities: Satamharanthu tend to collectively underestimate other races, although they can come to respect the power of an individual.
Lifestyle: Bloodline means little to satamharanthu, and they no longer pay attention to family ties; they live in a caste-governed society, but the castes are loose and fluid. Satamharanthu respect only power and ability.
Marriage pattern: Satamharanthu do not marry, and seldom breed or even engage in casual sex. A satamharanthu who "fell in love" or took many lovers would be regarded as eccentric at best, and perverted at worst.
Art: Satamharanthu art is abstract and complex, with repeating patterns and a great use of gemstones. Much of their art is innately magical, functioning as some sort of spell effect; however, few non-satamharanthu races can "read" this aspect of their artistic endeavours. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Satamharanthu are extremely individualistic and focused on personal betterment, with little if any regard for others. However, the satamharanthu value their power as a race, and will as a rule not allow their personal ambition to endanger the stability of the Iron Autocracy, making them lawful in their political gamesmanship. They tend to be arrogant and self-confident.
Language: Satamharanthu speak two languages, their own kh'indaranya, and their imperial tongue of jhalhasu, which is similar to kh'indaranya but does not pose the danger of the truetongue to untrained speakers. They tend to be fluent in the languages of other sojourner races, as well, and those satamharanthu who live in close proximity to other races pick up the local tongues, as well.
Prejudices: The satamharanthu do not trust each other or any other races (although there are always individual exceptions based on perceived merit). They see all other races as subordinate to themselves, with the possible and unspoken exception of the yuanu-ti.
Selkie are were-seals who dwell in the northern, colder regions of the Eavon Ocean and had a permanent settlement, the glassteel city of Ambriel, off the coast of Candor until the sahuagin drove them out. They often befriend dolphins and whales. Selkie are now predominantly a slave-race to the Empire of the Ebon Depths, bred as their slaves to spy upon the air-breathing races.
Build: Large seals, or medium-sized humans with muscular shoulders and legs.
Coloring: Selkies have pale skin, hair and eyes, often of a silvery or bluish hue.
Endurance: Selkie have a high endurance in the water as seals, and average human stamina on land. They gradually grow ill in hot weather.
Height: Five to six feet (as humans).
Lifespan: Sixty to eighty years.
Special abilities: Shapechange from seal to human.
PC Availability: None
Clothing and decoration: Selkies wear nothing in their seal form, and as the transformation does not include clothing, they tend to wear whatever is at hand when they adopt a human guise.
Fears and inabilities: Must return to seal form after three days.
Lifestyle: Selkies once dwelt in the undersea city of Ambriel with their allies, the dolphins and whales; however, savage sahuagin attacks led to the city's fall and the scattering of the selkie race throughout the Eavon Ocean. Most have fled to the northern waters, staying near to the coast where they can better hide from the sahuagin, who can only remain on the surface for a limited amount of time. Most selkies have lost contact with family and friends, and few of this race still survive.
Marriage pattern: Monogamous. Human-selkie or aseku-selkie matches have been known and these races can interbreed, the children always being selkie.
Art: Selkies enjoy creating bright, scintillant mosaics of pebbles, shells, glass and mirrors; the mosaics may be purely abstract, or may illustrate scenes from legend. Their weapons and day-to-day items are often carved or inlaid, although this requires transforming into human form, and is probably a learned rather than culturally native art-form. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Selkies were once playful and light-hearted, living simple lives both on and off land. Now they are a slave-race, and while they keep their sense of humor, it has taken a dark turn. Even among the free selkies, the survivors have no hope for the future and tend to be brooding or vengeful.
Language: Selkie have their own language, and can sing the same tongue as dolphins and whales. Enslaved selkies speak Ic'itilik', the trade-tongue of the Empire of the Ebon Depths. Many selkie speak the language of the inhabitants of the nearest human or elven coast.
Prejudices: Selkie often hunt sharks. They harbor a bitter hatred for sahuagin and will go out of their way to kill one whenever they can without getting into trouble with their Ebon Masters.
T'chiik males are necessary for work and play, but never carry much true responsability, except in matters of war. Males suffer from the Guchik Chikak or the Period of the Red Temper. Until the age of 16, males are easily be overcome by uncontrolled bloodlusts when angered and duels to the death are frequent. Both sexes are aware of the dangerous tempers of males. This makes males unsuitable for most positions of authority in Tribal administration except maybe that of Arms of a House. The head of this section of a House can easily be occupied by a male or female Tari. In general, young, male Tari are perceived as a burden and a threat by females and by males who have conquered the Red Temper. Any serious slip by a male and he could be thrown out of the Tribe, which is usually the same as death.
Each self-sufficient and self-contained nomadic group is called a tribe. There are anywhere from 50 to 500 members per tribe. Only females head Tribes and the head female holds the position until some other female in the Tribe is strong enough to kill her in combat or devious enough to be rid of her behind the scenes. The Longsoul Houses form units within a Tribe. Therefore, Tribes are allied Houses that maintain various levels of interaction within a mobile whole. Within a Tribe, Houses vie for the top position.
Marriage pattern: Any female can have up to three mates at a time. There is no such thing as marriage in Tari society. A litter will typically consist of one or two females and two to four males. There might be more males at an early age, but it thins out quickly, for males are highly irrational and frequently engage in physical contests of superiority.
Art: Tari art tends to be derivative, copying the other races the tribes have commerce with. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Tari are friendly among themselves, although they treat young males with caution and even some dislike. This tends to affect their interactions with other races, so that both female and older male Tari will prefer to deal with women or older men in other races. They are polite and have a strong sense of personal honor, but beneath this smooth veneer are calculating, crafty minds.
Language: Tari speak tari'ki and isirin.
Prejudices: Mistrust of young males.
The yuanu-ti dwell in the continent of Sasiru Kian in the Shadowed Lands, and maintain an uneasy peace with the satamharanthu based primarily on mutual isolationism. The yuanu-ti are characterized by three distinct sub-species: the venefaxae, which are large serpents with arms (marl included); the ophidae, which are smaller serpents with arms; and the toxicae, which look much like sexless humans with scales, slit eyes and forked tongues (medusae and maedar included). Each of these species can be transformed into another through rites known only to the yuanu-ti.
Build: Serpentine, with scales and narrow features. Slit pupils, forked tongues, usually sharp canines.
Coloring: Any, ranging from subtle patterns to vivid hues. Yellow eyes.
Endurance: Higher in warm climes, lower in cooler areas, but somewhat lower than the mammalian overall; yuanu-ti tend to tire quickly after a short-term burst of energy.
Height: H, or nine to ten feet long average, or 40' long for marl.
Lifespan: Unknown, at least up to 600 years.
Special Abilities: Innate magical use, other.
Ethnic subdivisions: Marl (MC2); Medusae & Maedar; Ophidae (Ophidian); Toxicae; Venefaxae
PC Availability: None
Clothing and decoration: The yuanu-ti tend to shun clothing, preferring only harnesses for weapons or tools. Toxicae may cover themselves with loose robes if travelling around other races. Yuanu-ti enjoy beauty and ornament in all things, and any sort of armor worn will be covered with filigree, enameling or engraving. Curves, spikes and wavy edges are common decorative motifs in yuanu-ti work.
Fears and inabilities: Yuanu-ti live in a permanent state of heightened paranoia.
Lifestyle: Yuanu-ti life is based around escer [rank], a combination of jirar [caste] and power. There is little to no movement between castes. Ideas of family or blood-descent are foreign to yuanu-ti consideration.
Marriage pattern: None. Yuanu-ti mate during regular fertility rituals, and the eggs are laid two months later in caste-segregated Nests. Children are raised by Nestwardens and seldom if ever learn their parents' identities. There is no social or emotional bonding between mates.
Art: The yuanu-ti value beauty and grace in all things, and art is an integral part of their culture. Yuanu-ti art works may be representational or abstract, complex or simple, plastic or solid. The yuanu-ti can find art in all things, including their favorite art of assassination and treachery. To do something without a sense of aesthetic is a great shame. (For more on art, see Art & Artists.)
Demeanor: Yuanu-ti are not emotionless, although they are extremely difficult to read. Violence, assassination and betrayal are common among the yuanu-ti, where personal advancement is gained over another's corpse. Thus, phenthe [honor] is paramount to this race; the only sins yuanu-ti recognize are those of phenthar [breaking honor]: palphenth, mistrusting another's word of honor, and ephenthar, causing somebody to break their word of honor. The only crimes yuanu-ti recognize are those of phenthar or jirir [breaking caste]. If such incidents as murder, theft, and so on do not break honor or caste, then they are not considered crimes among the yuanu-ti. When they are crimes, they are usually punished by death.
Friendships are powerful bonds, although rare; some yuanu-ti may adopt each other or someone of another race in a bond called rinyir, perhaps as close to "loyalty" and "friendship" as they come. A rinyire bond is usually only broken by the death of one of the parties. Yuanu-ti may also feel sherar for someone, which indicates respect and honor, but not necessarily friendship. One who feels sherar for another will be honest and fair while dealing with that person. Many classic tales of chuhyre [blood vengeance] have concerned feelings of sherar.
Language: Yuanu-ti speak their own language, ciali, among themselves or their equals from other races, and speak isirin to slaves.
Prejudices: Yuanu-ti trust nobody. They particularly dislike the satamharanthu, who would like to claim that they rule the yuanu-ti, although this is not the case.
Abberants are physical or mental mutants of any race. A true abberant was affected by magical energies before birth that have changed its genetic structure. The most commonly recognized cause of abberancy is the Hierodule Plague although there are other ways an abberant can be born. Abberants are usually destroyed, either at birth (if the abberancy is physical) or once discovered (if the abberancy is mental). However, some people are more tolerant of difference, and have developed ways of incorporating abberants into their societies. (See The Lines Metavitae.)
Build: With the exception of hierodules, abberants usually have a superficial resemblance to their parent race.
Coloring: Varies
Endurance: Average.
Height: Varies.
Lifespan: Varies.
Special abilities: Varies.
Ethnic divisions: Al-Jahar/Dazzle (emotion eaters); Coryphei (psionics); Hierodule (physically altered); Shapeshifter, Adaptor; Shapeshifter, Metamorph; Skulk/Mystif (hermaphroditic)
PC Availability : Skulk/mystif*
*must work with DM on background. Suggested reading: Clive Barker's Imajica, Storm Constantine's Wraethu trilogy.
Clothing and decoration: Varies
Lifestyle: In most cultures, abberants are tolerated at best, hated and feared at worst. Thus, they tend to either lead solitary, hunted lives of paranoia, trying to pass as normal, or band together in ghettos trying to lead "normal" lives among others of their own kind. Often, various abberant subdivisions have formed secret societies to help each other.
Marriage pattern: Any.
Art: Varies.
Demeanor: Most abberants are paranoid and fearful. They are usually well-spoken and scrupulously polite, to avoid giving offense.
Language: Abberants speak the language of whatever area they live in.
Prejudices: Some abberants hate each other or normals, whom they call "kine."
