This is the third of the posts about the races in my fantasy setting, this time covering the three races that are (for the most part) unique to the setting, and which contributed to my conversion of the setting away from its D&D roots.
I originally came up with the Aeralons back in high school, or maybe even middle school, in the '80s. Imagine my surprise when I discovered later that they had a counterpart in GURPS Classic: Fantasy Folk! Over time, I've adjusted the racial template in repeated attempts to fit them closer to my vision of them.
Orfs came from an interesting idea: If Humans can interbreed with both Elves and Orcs, what would an Elf-Orc hybrid race be like? Of course, many D&D-ites I spoke with asked me, "aren't those just Humans?" BORING! So were born the Orfs (the name is a contraction of "Orc" and "Elf". Because I have Elves and Orcs inhabiting vastly different locales - sub-tropical forests and northern fjords, respectively - I made it so that Orfs are incredibly rare in the world.
Vulptens have had a more interesting evolution. They actually began as Gnolls, D&D's hyena-people. After I realized that what I was coming up with wasn't really hyena-ish, I started fiddling with the phenotype. At first I started with wolves, but that didn't quite fit; "Wolfen" types were far too common. After running through an online thesaurus for words similar to "canine", the word "vulpine" popped up. Then things just clicked; foxes!
I originally came up with the Aeralons back in high school, or maybe even middle school, in the '80s. Imagine my surprise when I discovered later that they had a counterpart in GURPS Classic: Fantasy Folk! Over time, I've adjusted the racial template in repeated attempts to fit them closer to my vision of them.
Orfs came from an interesting idea: If Humans can interbreed with both Elves and Orcs, what would an Elf-Orc hybrid race be like? Of course, many D&D-ites I spoke with asked me, "aren't those just Humans?" BORING! So were born the Orfs (the name is a contraction of "Orc" and "Elf". Because I have Elves and Orcs inhabiting vastly different locales - sub-tropical forests and northern fjords, respectively - I made it so that Orfs are incredibly rare in the world.
Vulptens have had a more interesting evolution. They actually began as Gnolls, D&D's hyena-people. After I realized that what I was coming up with wasn't really hyena-ish, I started fiddling with the phenotype. At first I started with wolves, but that didn't quite fit; "Wolfen" types were far too common. After running through an online thesaurus for words similar to "canine", the word "vulpine" popped up. Then things just clicked; foxes!
Aeralons
36 points
Average Height: 5' 4".
Average Weight: 115 lbs.
Age of Maturity: 16 years.
Average Lifespan: 80 years.
Attribute Modifiers: DX +1 [20].
Advantages: Acute Vision 2 [4]; Flight (Temporary Disadvantage: Vulnerability to Crushing Damage (Damage Modifier ×3), -45%; Winged, -25%) [12]; Temperature Tolerance 1 [1].
Quirks: Proud [-1].
Aeralons are a proud people, winged warrior folk that live in villages high up in the Wyrmspire, Occam's Wall, and Barrier Mountain ranges. Their own legends claim they are descended from tribal, mountain-dwelling humans who, millennia ago, aided Galsus the sky god when he walked the world. In exchange for their aid, he granted the entire tribe the ability to fly via large, feathered wings.
Lending credence to their origins as a human offshoot is the Aeralon ability to interbreed with humans. The offspring of a human and an Aeralon will always take after their mother; if the mother is an Aeralon, then the offspring will be an Aeralon.
Psychology
Much like the people themselves, Aeralon society evolved from that of a human one. They maintain many of the customs of the original human tribe they are descended from. They still live primarily in tribes, the number of which has never been calculated due to their remote domiciles.
The tribes live in caverns high up in the mountains, and many of these villages are considered part of a nearby nation; for instance, the tribes that inhabit the northern Wyrmspire Mountains are said to be part of Ered-Dûm, while the tribes that live near the corner of the Occam's Wall and Barrier Mountains are considered part of Iturnum. Among their own kind, they are a matriarchal society, led by the priestesses who select a chieftain every five years from the men of the tribe. While the chieftain is often the best war leader, this is not always the case; during a period of peace and prosperity, the chieftain will be chosen from among the older and wiser elders.
Occasionally, a lone adventurer or family of Aeralons will descend from the mountains to live among their human forebears. Due to their nature, they make excellent scouts and trackers.
Combat
Against ground-based opponents, Aeralons use bows and crossbows while staying out of range of similar ground-based weapons. Many of them also carry javelins and spears. Against aerial opponents, whether other Aeralon tribes or against the aerial cavalries of the human nations, Aeralons tend to employ similar tactics. At present, Aeralons don't use muskets for several reasons. First, most muskets have long barrels, making them unwieldy while carried airborne. Second, the smoke and noise from the powder going off hurt their eyes and ears. Finally, the "kick" of the musket tends to throw them backwards while flying. Despite this, the carbines and dragoon pistols carried by Marach's aerial cavalry intrigues them.
Aeralons tend to wear light armor, if they wear any at all; at most, a metal breastplate and mail coverings on the limbs. Most go unarmored, even when facing large numbers of opponents.
Orfs
Average Weight: 165 lbs.
Age of Maturity: 9 years.
Average Lifespan: 55 years.
Attribute Adjustments: ST +1 [10]; DX +1 [20]; IQ -1 [-20].
Secondary Characteristic Adjustments: Will +1 [5], Per +2 [10].
Advantages: DR 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; Longevity [2]; Rapid Healing [5]; Teeth (Sharp Teeth) [1]; Ultrahearing [5].
Disadvantages: Short Lifespan 1 [-10].
Quirks: Bloody Mess [-1].
Orfs are a rarity on Ranoc, a half-breed race that has one elf parent and one orc parent. It is unknown whether orfs will breed true like the half-elves and half-orcs have; they are so rare that no two orfs who are not related have ever been seen at the same time.
Orfs have many of the traits of their elven and orcish parents. They are slender, like elves, but strong and wiry, with thick, leathery skin. They have sharp teeth, although they lack the fangs of their orc parents. Their slightly pointed ears enable them to hear sounds in frequencies above those of most other races. They heal rapidly from wounds, and are longer-lived than their orc parents, although nowhere near as long-lived as the elves. They reach maturity at 9 years of age, like their orc parents, and while they reach old age at around 45 like their orc parents, their elven blood prevents them from succumbing to old age as quickly; some orfs have been known to reach the age of 90, nearly as old as their human cousins.
Psychology
If there was one word that accurately describes an orf, it would be "outcast". Orfs are painfully aware that they don't really fit in anywhere, so many leave their homeland to try and find a home of their own. Most have grown up painfully aware that they don't fit into their parents' worlds; those raised by elves are seen as being exceptionally hasty, lacking the elves' trademark patience, while those raised by orcs are seen as being "weak", and have to be twice as ferocious just to be accepted.
Because of their unique hybrid nature, orfs seem to be the epitome of graceful brutality. Their elven nature gives them a natural grace, while their orcish nature gives them a brutality and aggression that seems unrivaled. All known orfs, save one, have channeled their aggression into the combative arts; watching an orf in combat has been likened to orchestrated mayhem.
Vulptens
Average Weight: 420 lbs.
Age of Maturity: 16 years.
Average Lifespan: 70 years.
Attribute Adjustments: ST +5 [50]; IQ -1 [-20]; HT +1 [10].
Secondary Characteristic Adjustments: Will +1 [5]; Per +1 [5].
Advantages: Acute Hearing 3 [6]; DR 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; Night Vision 7 [7].
Perks: Fur [1].
Disadvantages: Colorblindness [-10]; Extra Sleep -1 [-2].
Vulptens are humanoids of canine stock, physically resembling foxes who stand on their hind legs, although with a more humanoid stance and proportions. Their faces have the snouts and ears of their canine heritage, and their fur comes in shades of white, brown, black, red, gray, and tan.
Multiple births are the rule rather than the exception for vulptens. The usual mix of males to females is three to two; vulpten women have been known to give birth to as many as ten cubs at once.
Psychology
Vulptens are the last of the so-called "monster" races on Ophari to have adopted the trappings of civilization. As such, they are still learning the ropes, so to speak, and have evolved a society that fits their species quite well.
At the center of the vulpten civilization is the family unit. As many as four generations of vulptens have been known to live under one roof. A vulpten town consists of as many as sixty or seventy unrelated families.
Vulptenish society is matriarchal; the eldest female heads the family. When vulptens marry – and they marry for life, although some vulpten females have been known to marry more than one male at a time – the couple is expected to move in with the bride's family, at least until they gain a permanent residence of their own. However, only one couple in twenty ever moves out on their own. When the family matriarch passes on, the eldest daughter inherits the family estate, and the other sisters move on with their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to another estate nearby.
Vulptens have a reputation for being lazy and shiftless, interested only in hunting, foraging, and fighting. However, vulptens have proven to be hard working craftsmen and farmers. They still tend to be hunters, but are consummate conservationists who kill only what they need to survive and always try to use even the minutest portion of their kill.
Average Weight: 115 lbs.
Age of Maturity: 16 years.
Average Lifespan: 80 years.
Attribute Modifiers: DX +1 [20].
Advantages: Acute Vision 2 [4]; Flight (Temporary Disadvantage: Vulnerability to Crushing Damage (Damage Modifier ×3), -45%; Winged, -25%) [12]; Temperature Tolerance 1 [1].
Quirks: Proud [-1].
Aeralons are a proud people, winged warrior folk that live in villages high up in the Wyrmspire, Occam's Wall, and Barrier Mountain ranges. Their own legends claim they are descended from tribal, mountain-dwelling humans who, millennia ago, aided Galsus the sky god when he walked the world. In exchange for their aid, he granted the entire tribe the ability to fly via large, feathered wings.
Lending credence to their origins as a human offshoot is the Aeralon ability to interbreed with humans. The offspring of a human and an Aeralon will always take after their mother; if the mother is an Aeralon, then the offspring will be an Aeralon.
Psychology
Much like the people themselves, Aeralon society evolved from that of a human one. They maintain many of the customs of the original human tribe they are descended from. They still live primarily in tribes, the number of which has never been calculated due to their remote domiciles.
The tribes live in caverns high up in the mountains, and many of these villages are considered part of a nearby nation; for instance, the tribes that inhabit the northern Wyrmspire Mountains are said to be part of Ered-Dûm, while the tribes that live near the corner of the Occam's Wall and Barrier Mountains are considered part of Iturnum. Among their own kind, they are a matriarchal society, led by the priestesses who select a chieftain every five years from the men of the tribe. While the chieftain is often the best war leader, this is not always the case; during a period of peace and prosperity, the chieftain will be chosen from among the older and wiser elders.
Occasionally, a lone adventurer or family of Aeralons will descend from the mountains to live among their human forebears. Due to their nature, they make excellent scouts and trackers.
Combat
Against ground-based opponents, Aeralons use bows and crossbows while staying out of range of similar ground-based weapons. Many of them also carry javelins and spears. Against aerial opponents, whether other Aeralon tribes or against the aerial cavalries of the human nations, Aeralons tend to employ similar tactics. At present, Aeralons don't use muskets for several reasons. First, most muskets have long barrels, making them unwieldy while carried airborne. Second, the smoke and noise from the powder going off hurt their eyes and ears. Finally, the "kick" of the musket tends to throw them backwards while flying. Despite this, the carbines and dragoon pistols carried by Marach's aerial cavalry intrigues them.
Aeralons tend to wear light armor, if they wear any at all; at most, a metal breastplate and mail coverings on the limbs. Most go unarmored, even when facing large numbers of opponents.
Orfs
30 points
Average Height: 5' 6".Average Weight: 165 lbs.
Age of Maturity: 9 years.
Average Lifespan: 55 years.
Attribute Adjustments: ST +1 [10]; DX +1 [20]; IQ -1 [-20].
Secondary Characteristic Adjustments: Will +1 [5], Per +2 [10].
Advantages: DR 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; Longevity [2]; Rapid Healing [5]; Teeth (Sharp Teeth) [1]; Ultrahearing [5].
Disadvantages: Short Lifespan 1 [-10].
Quirks: Bloody Mess [-1].
Orfs are a rarity on Ranoc, a half-breed race that has one elf parent and one orc parent. It is unknown whether orfs will breed true like the half-elves and half-orcs have; they are so rare that no two orfs who are not related have ever been seen at the same time.
Orfs have many of the traits of their elven and orcish parents. They are slender, like elves, but strong and wiry, with thick, leathery skin. They have sharp teeth, although they lack the fangs of their orc parents. Their slightly pointed ears enable them to hear sounds in frequencies above those of most other races. They heal rapidly from wounds, and are longer-lived than their orc parents, although nowhere near as long-lived as the elves. They reach maturity at 9 years of age, like their orc parents, and while they reach old age at around 45 like their orc parents, their elven blood prevents them from succumbing to old age as quickly; some orfs have been known to reach the age of 90, nearly as old as their human cousins.
Psychology
If there was one word that accurately describes an orf, it would be "outcast". Orfs are painfully aware that they don't really fit in anywhere, so many leave their homeland to try and find a home of their own. Most have grown up painfully aware that they don't fit into their parents' worlds; those raised by elves are seen as being exceptionally hasty, lacking the elves' trademark patience, while those raised by orcs are seen as being "weak", and have to be twice as ferocious just to be accepted.
Because of their unique hybrid nature, orfs seem to be the epitome of graceful brutality. Their elven nature gives them a natural grace, while their orcish nature gives them a brutality and aggression that seems unrivaled. All known orfs, save one, have channeled their aggression into the combative arts; watching an orf in combat has been likened to orchestrated mayhem.
Vulptens
55 points
Average Height: 6'.Average Weight: 420 lbs.
Age of Maturity: 16 years.
Average Lifespan: 70 years.
Attribute Adjustments: ST +5 [50]; IQ -1 [-20]; HT +1 [10].
Secondary Characteristic Adjustments: Will +1 [5]; Per +1 [5].
Advantages: Acute Hearing 3 [6]; DR 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; Night Vision 7 [7].
Perks: Fur [1].
Disadvantages: Colorblindness [-10]; Extra Sleep -1 [-2].
Vulptens are humanoids of canine stock, physically resembling foxes who stand on their hind legs, although with a more humanoid stance and proportions. Their faces have the snouts and ears of their canine heritage, and their fur comes in shades of white, brown, black, red, gray, and tan.
Multiple births are the rule rather than the exception for vulptens. The usual mix of males to females is three to two; vulpten women have been known to give birth to as many as ten cubs at once.
Psychology
Vulptens are the last of the so-called "monster" races on Ophari to have adopted the trappings of civilization. As such, they are still learning the ropes, so to speak, and have evolved a society that fits their species quite well.
At the center of the vulpten civilization is the family unit. As many as four generations of vulptens have been known to live under one roof. A vulpten town consists of as many as sixty or seventy unrelated families.
Vulptenish society is matriarchal; the eldest female heads the family. When vulptens marry – and they marry for life, although some vulpten females have been known to marry more than one male at a time – the couple is expected to move in with the bride's family, at least until they gain a permanent residence of their own. However, only one couple in twenty ever moves out on their own. When the family matriarch passes on, the eldest daughter inherits the family estate, and the other sisters move on with their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to another estate nearby.
Vulptens have a reputation for being lazy and shiftless, interested only in hunting, foraging, and fighting. However, vulptens have proven to be hard working craftsmen and farmers. They still tend to be hunters, but are consummate conservationists who kill only what they need to survive and always try to use even the minutest portion of their kill.
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