Difference between revisions of "Minor races2"

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Here are listed the sentient races of Felarya that are either too rare, too few, too mysterious, or too extinct to be properly classified. Some of these may later become full fledged races. Because the page is reaching the maximum size, it has been split into multiple pages. The first page is here: Minor races.

Scorpisaïs

Scorpisaïs are tauric half-human half-scorpion beings. They scuttle on their eight legs throughout their domain, steadily giving chase to prey until they can catch them with their formidable pincers, situated below their upper human torso. They aren't picky about eating, and some don't have any qualms about devouring even one of their own kind if it is small enough. They can use their wicked stingers attached to their arching tails to paralyze larger creatures. Dosage can be controlled, from calming a raging opponent of similar size, to putting them instantly into a coma. Scorpisaïs are immune to their own kind's venom. In a duel they will mostly aim their attacks at their opponent's human body. They are tough and resilient however, possessing sub-dermal plating under the surface in many areas that would be considered a weak spot in human anatomy, making successful strikes a lot less damaging than they would be otherwise.

Scorpisaïs can also spit a highly acidic saliva from their mouths, that attacks flesh and light materials, causing very painful burns. Their weapons of choice are long tridents, used both to parry attacks and to strike with precision. With so many weapons at their disposal, Scorpisaïs are formidable opponents indeed. They are rather rare though, found mostly in places where they can reside over great tracts of territory, such as the Great rocky fields and Lamina. They are not a very friendly race in the least, widely seen as cranky and ruthless. The only way to make an ally of one is to defeat them in battle to gain their respect. Scorpisaïs often wear complex and beautiful tattoos on their skin, along with numerous scars from their past battles.

Pale Scorpisaïs

Pale Scorpisaïs live in forest environments and wear green colors on their carapace, instead of the characteristic black of their cousins. They grow thick hairs on the exterior of their limbs which resemble grass when they crouch down and hide, and their scorpion frame is smaller and lighter. They sport two small horns on their forehead as well, which are frequently used for headbutting.

These Scorpisaïs do not burrow, living as close to the surface as they can, and are far more tribal than the rest of their kin. They build their habitat often close to dense areas of trees, using wood and foliage to camouflage their homes to look like part of the landscape, like large round bushes around the base of trees. They are usually circular in shape, using the base of trees as the center pillar of the structure.

It’s possible to spot their territory with a sharp eye, however. If you come across some wood sculptures in the wilderness, you might be close to one of their settlements. Indeed pale Scorpisaïs are excellent at carving out extremely elaborate wood sculptures in a remarkably short time. They use their pincers with amazing agility, carving the rough parts of the piece, then refining it with their human hands. Creating statues or totems is a staple of their culture and their homes are decorated with all sort of carved patterns and fine bas-reliefs.

Pale Scorpisaïs form a very oral based society; songs and stories are very important in their cultures and information of all kinds are passed down mostly by word of mouth. There are exceptions with papyrus made from native plants but they are rare. Pale Scorpisaïs love wind instruments such as panpipes, preferring them over percussion. Their music can be heard, flowing in the jungle, emphasizing melody and harmony over chest pounding music of their warlike cousins. They tend to favor ranged combat over melee, and are remarkable archers, very good at sensing their prey or opponents and where they will move next. This leads them to be highly accurate, including on quickly moving targets. Their interaction, ironically enough, is more friendly toward other species than any other kind of Scorpisaï.

Saurotaurans

Saurotaurans are a species of reptilian, spiked centaurs with a head similar to that of a crocodile, sharp claws, and a lizard tail. Their scaly skin is most often brown, orange, or dark green in color, acting as a natural camouflage in the swamp environment where they live. Their size ranges from 6 to 10 feet tall with a bulky body covered in hard scales. Saurotaurans can be surprisingly stealthy though, and combined with their keen senses and sharp vision, that makes them excellent hunters. They are amphibious creatures and live in small tribes. They form a sentient and rather crude species, with a language made of growls and snarls. They aren't the brightest people out there, but they are not easy to fool, seemingly possessing an uncanny ability to tell if a person is telling the truth or not. They use primitive weapons and tools like swords, bows, lances, and shields, and are known for their love of traps, such as holes in the ground, dead falls, and snares. With their bellicose and combative mindset and their great strength, they can present a danger to adventurers. Moreover, most of them are linked to swamp dryads, whom they worship and to whom they offer prisoners as sacrifices.

Fungoïds

Fungoïds are a race of sentient fungus. Their size varies depending on how much water they have absorbed, but generally they range from 7 to 20 feet tall. There appears to be no standard as to how many limbs they have, with some having the familiar 4 limbs, but others having any odd combination, such as 8 arms or 4 legs! Their head resembles a toadstool, on top of which there can be up to 30 "eyes". Their "mouth" is more or less just an opening in to their stomach. They prefer dead or rotting food in most cases, but they will be more than willing to ingest a living being if it suits them. Once inside, the victim is digested by an accelerated process of decomposition. As one can imagine, since they primarily eat rotting food, they usually emit a horrible stench, which is a sure-fire way to know if one is nearby. At first glance, the Fungoïd society seems to be very primitive. They use basic tools to carve out homes in the stalks of the giant mushrooms growing in Mycoria forest. Their social structure seems poorly defined as well, and they communicate with each other by using spores or bioluminescent lights that are on their skin. They have no verbal language or any known form of communicative gestures. Thus, they are seen as little more than monsters and are possibly the most underestimated race of Felarya, which suits them perfectly. Fungoïds are actually very wise and philosophical beings with an incredible understanding of their surrounding. They live in perfect harmony with mycodryads who love to inform them on what is going in the jungle and receive their thoughts in return. Some of them are powerful, but discreet, spellcasters as well. Many mages would be shocked to know how much they could learn from some Fungoïds shamans.

Actiniaes

Actiniaes are a race of giant undersea predator that are a fairly common sight in most tropical, undersea regions in Felarya. They have the upper body of a woman, and the lower body of a sea anemone. Their lower body is attached to the sea floor by an adhesive foot-disk. The trunk of their column-shaped lower body extends up from the disk, and dozens of tentacles protrude from the top of the column, spreading out in all directions. The torso of an Actinia rises out from the center of the mass of tentacles. Actiniaes can come in an amazing variety of shapes and colors. Everything from tentacle length and thickness, to the coloration of their lower bodies and torsos will vary greatly from individual to individual. There really are no common physical traits amongst them, much like the dryads on land. Also like dryads, Actiniaes remain stationary for great periods of time, and tend to be a very solitary race. If the need arises, an Actinia can detach her adhesive disk from whatever it is anchored too and use a series of flexing motions to swim to a more advantageous spot. This is only done when necessary though, as they can only swim short distances at a time, and rather clumsily, and the process is very tiring.

Actiniaes are ambush predators. They lie in wait, still, with their tentacles drifting lazily in the water until potential prey swims close. Once the intended meal is within grabbing range, the tentacles will shoot out, wrapping around the creature and paralyzing it with the venom contained in the stinging cells of the tentacles. The vast majority of an Actinia’s diet is made up of fish. They lack the illusion magic that other ambush predators have, and have trouble catching intelligent prey items. Occasionally a small mermaid or a diver will wander too close though, which will provide the Actinia with a welcome change of course. Their tentacles not only help them to catch food, they provide a powerful form of self-defense as well. Their sting is extremely painful, and their venom is potent enough to kill most attackers. As another defense, Actiniaes are capable of retracting their vulnerable torsos into the column of their lower body, leaving their attacker staring at a tangle of venomous pain and potential death.

Actiniaes reproduce by budding, a piece of their body, such as a tentacle, being able to regenerate into a small Actinia. It should be noted that a particular species of human-sized mermaid is completely impervious to an Actinia’s sting. These mermaids do not set off the stinging cells in an Actinia’s tentacles and actually enjoy a fairly good relationship with the larger predator, living among its tentacles. These mermaids will often aid their Actinia in its hunting by herding fish towards it, or by luring fish into the reach of the tentacles (pissing off sharks and swimming back to their Actinia, for example!). One of the most interesting behaviors that these mermaids exhibit is how they handle baby Actiniaes. Once they spot one, they will actually rear the baby predator, moving it to a safer place, and keeping it fed and taken care of as it grows. Eventually, when the Actinia grows larger, the Merfolk who helped raise it will have a safe place to call home. An Actinia mother rarely ever meets her offspring, but in crowded regions like coral reefs, the Actinia mermaids will actually act as messengers between different Actiniaes, allowing them to keep in touch even if they live on opposite corners of the reef.

Achigates

Achigates are a a rare giant species of half-human, half-snail beings. They can easily be recognized by their gargantuan spiraled shells, which house most of their vital organs and serves as an efficient shelter if they feel threatened. However this massive defense comes at the expense of speed, and Achigates are, for the most part, even slower than Slug girls. Peaceful giants, Achigates spend most of their time sleeping within their shell and staying in place, only really moving if the situation calls for it, or if they exhaust the food around them. Save for a couple exceptions, they are herbivorous and friendly towards smaller races. Achigates are pretty harmless, unless you somehow hide yourself a bit *too well* in the foliage of a tree they are munching on. They are very voracious though, and can engulf enormous quantities of vegetation, shrubs, flowers and small trees before being satiated. Their bodies tend to be more rounded as a result. They can be the absolute bane of fairy gardeners, and dryads are fairly suspicious toward them, not liking very much to wake up and suddenly realize their leafy hair is gone! Some dryads will sometimes ask them to prune their hair though, and the Achigate will be more than happy to oblige.

Razia reference sheet by Nksrocks.

Razias

The first to report this race was the famous Felaryan biologist Ladimus Ehrinejahr.

Most razias are concentrated on the islands in the middle of the lake of illusions. They are half bird and half woman, but unlike harpies, their wings are poorly developed, almost nonexistent, to the advantage of their arms and their very strong, long bird legs, covered by thousands of microscopic feathers of the same color as their hair. They are an average-sized species, about 30 to 40 feet tall. Their eyes are without pupils, with colors that seem to change according to the razia's mood. They possess medium-length horns on the sides of their heads, that seem to be made of adamantine. They allow the razia to deflect magic to a certain extent and to see through most illusions.

Razias are extremely fast runners, able to reach 115 km/h in a straight line. Such speed comes with a price however, as they are unable to take sharp turns while running, and lack maneuverability. Rumors say this is also what made all razias flat-chested, and that's why they act rudely when in presence of big-breasted beings. Don't repeat these rumors in front of them though! Their hunting habits are curious, and based principally on a runner chasing the prey, and a second razia waiting in ambush to catch it. They always seem to hunt in pairs. Razias feed mostly on animals and are friendly with humans, except when in the middle of a run, as the high speed seems to set a fire inside them. In these instance they can become aggressive and predatory, and sometimes attack humans. With their stretchy throat, they can easily swallow one down whole but this happens very rarely. In the face of danger, a razia will usually run away. When cornered however, they can turn into aggressive and dangerous opponents, using a particular fighting technique called "Artena Deasha", some kind of martial art involving strong kicks while running, leaping, and sliding on the ground. The razias of the lake are trying to find a way to escape their island. They are a smart race so it is probably only a question of time before they succeed.

• credits to Nksrocks for the idea of the Razias, to Rcs619 for the Actiniaes description, to Slimetoad and those who submitted ideas in the forum to develop the Achigates, to Haar and Fish for the scorpisaïs, and to Archmage-Bael for the Pale scorpisaïs.