Dec 14

Saurials



A human and a saurial, both wearing the same type of equipment.

[NOTE: A "prestige race" is similar to prestige classes in that they must be "unlocked." A prestige race cannot be chosen for a player's first character in TKL. However, a player's second and any subsequent character applications may be a character with a prestige race. Prestige race characters are subject to more scrutiny during the application process.]

The People

Lizardmen can be found all over The Shattered Isles, and even in some parts of the western Known Lands. Little is known about them, for many reasons, the main one being that they rarely share territory with other humanoid races. Lizardmen thrive in climes most races would neither dare nor bother to settle, such as deserts and swamps. It is often assumed that lizardmen are cold-blooded and they prefer certain places because of their warmth, but this is not true; like dracosaurs, lizardmen are warm-blooded creatures. And they thrive in places like deserts and swamps simply because their scaled hide protects them from sunburn, harsh winds, insects, and other conditions which make those areas inhospitable to other races. There is also the fact that lizardmen, for the most part, have no inclination whatsoever to interact with other intelligent races.

This tendency to keep to themselves has stagnated the development of lizardman civilization. Most lizardmen live their lives almost exactly the same way their forebears did when the Third Age began. Theirs is a simple, tribal, some would say "savage" way of life. There is but one known exception - the saurials of Kswantu Isle.

The saurials were first "discovered" by the elf linguist Wa'tso'ncri'ic Men'del, a descendant of the infamous "naturologistopher" Dar'ween Men'del. Wa'tso, as he was nicknamed by his family, is the first known westerner to visit Kswantu, and it was in that isle's metropolitan city-state, Mjinte, that he saw his first saurial. This did not particularly impress Wa'tso, since saurials look just like any other lizardman. But the saurial had a small dracosaur in tow, and was carrying a large bundle of what he later found out was dracosaur meat.

Curious, Wa'tso managed to get introduced to the saurial by a trader. The elf had inherited the lisp which had allowed his famous ancestor to speak the language of the yuan-ti, and here it helped him attempt to pronounce words in the lizardman tongue. It was the saurial's turn to be impressed, and Wa'tso parlayed this good impression into a trip to the saurial's tribe in the Mjukiwa Plains. Wa'tso was allowed to tag along with the saurial traders who went back and forth from Mjukiwa to Mjinte as an interpreter, for he was able to become nearly fluent in their language. What lore we know of the saurials has come from Wa'tso's expeditions. Finding them to be much more advanced than any other lizardmen he had ever encountered, the elf came up with a separate name for them - "saurial", from the Oldespeak word for lizard and a suffix meaning "of" or "concerning." This was meant to parallel the saurials themselves, who in their own tongue simple call themselves "The People."

History

According to the saurials, in the beginning there were the plains, and on them lived two dracosaurs. They were giants, nearly taking up the island by themselves. The giant dracosaurs gave birth to children, who were a little smaller than their parents. They were also a little bit different, in shape and color. Some of the children were misshapen, and could not live well on the island, and died. Others had a shape which allowed them to thrive, and they did so, having children of their own, those children being a bit smaller and differently shaped.

And so it went on for years and years, until the island was populated by all manner of dracosaurs. And so it went on for more years and more years, until one day, from one egg, hatched the first saurial. In other words, the saurials claim to be descended from dracosaurs. (Wa'tso has taken this origin myth at face value, and often points to it as evidence that his ancestor's theory of Changeolution is indeed valid.)

Saurials have a calendar, and have made complicated arrangements of erected stones which they use to tell time, but these were built mainly as a way for them to know roughly when certain dracosaur herds would be in certain parts of the plains. Saurial tribes do not keep detailed historical records, and rarely know the exact year when a specific historical event occurred. The history of their people on Kwsantu is recorded in an epic song, the Sslaalssla, which is memorized by at least one person in the tribe, usually the tribe's minstrel, sometimes one of their shamans. Though the details of the Sslaalssla - which is so long it'd take over a week to sing - vary from tribe to tribe, the general story is the same. Long ago, the saurials were like the dracosaurs, divided into many different types, and they fought each other. Some of them communed with The Fire, and used its denizens and its knowledge to defeat their enemies. But slowly they became able to speak to the spirits of the land, who showed them the way of nature, and how they had turned from it. The People then forsook The Fire, and embraced Nature and its guiding spirits. They put down their arms against each other, and became one Group, (Some translate this as "Nation," but the saurials have no concept of land ownership, or borders, so the word is not exactly apt.) though they are divided into separate Clans and Tribes.

Wa'tso noticed that the saurials speak the same language as all lizardmen of The Known Lands, but that their dialect was more advanced than any he'd ever seen, containing complex grammatical constructions, an extended vocabulary, and numerous loanwords (when pronounceable), most often from Shatteredspeak. Wa'tso's linguistic analysis concluded that both saurial and other more primitive lizardman dialects shared a root language of middling complexity. The saurial language became more advanced, while the other lizardman dialects slightly devolved. Based on this analysis he concluded that saurials originated on Kswantu, having changeoluted from dracosaurs, and then migrated from there to the rest of The Known Lands, where they now live in numerous primitive, isolated pockets. However, many sages object to Wa'tso's analysis, which they claim he skewed to fit his hypothesis that saurials came from dracosaurs, and point out that the saurials' own history makes no mention of any exodus or attempts to migrate to or colonize other regions.

Government

Saurials are divided into tribes, family groups which can number from a few dozen to several hundred. These tribes are connected by family ties to other tribes, and together all of those tribes constitute a clan. Clans will gather a few times a year to barter, perform religious rites, and swap members for mating. All of the clans - Wa'tso estimated there are about a dozen or two - make up the saurial Group or Nation. The clans send representatives to meet each other several times a year to exchange information, settle disputes, decide on interclan mate swaps to ensure good relations, and handle trade with foreigners.

Every saurial has one or more roles in his tribe, be it hunter, gatherer, child-rearer, storyteller, shaman, druid, weapon-maker, etc. Saurial tribes are never led by a single person, but by a group of at least three people. In the smallest tribes, the three people are usually the tribe's best warrior or hunter, the best druid, and the best shaman. In larger tribes other roles have a member on the ruling council. Likewise, clans are governed by councils made up of representatives from each tribe, and the Nation is governed by a council made up of representatives from each clan. These councils always have an odd number of people, so that if a vote if necessary to decide an issue there will always be a majority.

Living off of the Land

Saurial civilization is completely based around dracosaurs. They live nomadically; some tribes follow the herbivores as they migrate to and from food and water sources, and others follow the carnivores, who follow the herbivores. Some tribes keep smaller dracosaurs as herd animals, but most hunt the wild specimens. Every part of a dracosaur is used; meat is eaten, hides are used for clothing, armor, and tents, sinews and other organs are used for strings for bows and musical instruments, bones and teeth are used for weapons and armor, etc.

The saurials do not see themselves as masters of their domain, or the pinnacle of some sort of food chain. Indeed, many saurials are eaten by dracosaurs. To them, the dracosaurs are distant relatives, spawn of a common ancestor. As the saurials would tell it, they and the dracosaurs "share" each other - share their meat, share their blood, share their life. This is the cycle of nature, and the way it should be.

Economy

Saurials have no monetary system - tribes and clans barter with each other. But they understand the concept of money, and in recent centuries they have become rather good merchants in one regard. Since the rise of Mjinte, saurials have been transporting dracosaur meat to the city-state; in fact, saurial-culled dracosaur meat is Mjinte's largest import. The saurials send meat caravans either across the desert or through the mountains to Mjinte. These caravans are heavily guarded against attacks by the savage humanoids who roam between the plains and the desert. In return for this meat the saurials get all sorts of items - metal weapons and armor, gems, exotic foods and spices, potions, even magical items. As exporters of Mjinte's main food source, the saurials are held in high regard; rarely are they victims of crime within its walls. Saurials are also allowed to study anywhere within the city-state: at churches, wizard colleges, the city guard or army, even the rogue's guild.

Culture

Saurials are a spiritual race with deep ties to nature. They consider themselves not masters, but simply part of the interconnected ecosystem of the plains. Druids and shamans are numerous among their tribes. Saurials are on good terms with local fey, and heed the wisdom of animal, nature, and ancestral spirits.

Saurials are aware of the existence of the deities. Some of the humanoid tribes worship them, and from time to time missionaries from Mjinte come and try to convert them to an "organized" religion. But most saurials feel no ties to the gods and goddesses. The feeling seems to be mutual, for saurials are seldom favored by any deity. In the past, favored souls mistook their patron deity for a nature spirit, but now the saurials know better. Though never ostracized by their peers, saurial favored souls, realizing they will never fit into their tribe anymore, usually exile themselves and go to Mjinte. In the rare case that a saurial is converted to an organized religion, or decides on his own to take one up, they almost always go to Mjinte for clerical training.

While saurials are very proficient with divine magic, they are not adept at magic of an arcane nature. Saurials have a writing system, and use the hides of smaller dracosaurs as something akin to paper, but wizardry never told hold with them, even after it was introduced by the thouls. While they have been sorcery cast (on them, by many of the savage humanoid tribes), saurials lack an affinity for it and there are only a few saurials who take it up. Witchcraft has been known to the saurials for as long as they can remember - what is commonly referred to as Hell the call The Fire. Though the use of witchcraft fell out of favor once the saurials turned to druidism and shamanism, there is still usually at least one warlock in each tribe.

Saurials have difference attitudes towards sex and romance than do other intelligent humanoids, likely due in part to differences in biology. Saurials (and all lizardmen) are warm-blooded, but they are not mammals. Female saurials do not have milk-producing glands in their breasts, and male saurials do not have external sexual organs. Indeed, to a non-saurial, males and females are impossible to tell apart. The male and female sexual organs of a saurial are different, but to a non-saurial they look basically the same, a slit in the pelvic region. Females lay eggs (usually 1-3 at a time) which are then fertilized by males, who spray them with a secretion from their genital slit. In most tribes many females will lay their eggs at the same time, and then a group of males will spray all the eggs. The result is that no one knows who has fathered the children when they hatch, though sometimes it becomes apparent due to shared physical traits which have obviously been inherited from a particular male. All children are reared by the tribe communally, with certain members having the specific task of caring for the children. In other words, a tribe is one large family; to saurials, the concept of incest is completely alien. It also means that saurials are sexually incompatible with all other humanoid species.

One aspect of this method of reproduction is that sex is completely separate from romantic love. Saurials do fall in love with each other, and they have a ritual where two saurials are considered spiritually bonded to each other. But this bonding has nothing to do with reproduction - indeed, homosexual bondings are just as common as heterosexual ones. In extremely rare cases two saurials, if the pair is heretosexual, will decide to only mate with one another, but this is considered unusual by most tribe members.

Another side effect of the separate of sex and love in saurials is that saurials can fall in love with members of other races. Though rare, there are instances where saurials have been romantically involved with men or women of other races, such as the various humanoid races who live in Mjinte. It is rumored that Wat'so had a saurial wife. Of course, such relationships can never be consummated. Technically, men can have intercourse with female (or even male) saurials by penetrating their genital slit, but no child will result, and most saurials don't see the need, since they don't connect sex with love. To the average saurial, the mammalian humanoid sex act is at once fascinating, weird, overly complicated, and extremely disgusting.

Since physically speaking the only difference between male and female saurials is their genitalia, and since female saurials do not have pregnancies which would temporarily incapacitate them, there is no gender discrimination among saurials. Female saurials are just as strong and as fast as their male counterparts, so none of the duties or labor among the tribe, child-rearing included, are divided between gender lines. Saurials find it curious and strange that other races would do this.

More on Saurials

Saurials stand six feet tall on average. As mentioned above, male and female saurials look identical to other races. They are hairless, and their skin is covered with scales which are usually green, yellow, or brown in color, with red in some rare instances. Saurials have tales which help them to keep balance when they walk or run. Saurials do not sweat; they shed excess heat by means of a cooling fin atop their heads (a trait shared by some dracosaurs). These fins can be a multitude of colors - red, yellow, and blue are common. Saurial eye color is within the same range of pigments, though eye and fin color do not necessarily match.

Personality Traits

Contemplative - Saurials are a wise race. Aside from the occasional attack from humanoids who enter the plains and their trade expeditions to Mjinte, saurials have little contact wit other races, and for the most part they like it that way. In spare moments many saurials like to sit and meditate on the nature of life and the world; some call them a race of philosophers.

Familial - Saurials place great importance on family. Tribes are thought of as one large, extended family, and other tribes as more distant relations. Saurial tribes rarely fight with one another. Saurials who leave Kswantu often soon become lonely and homesick, and seek a "replacement family" by joining a church, company, union, or some other organization or group.

Uncultured - Saurials know little of the customs of other races. Though they are usually wise enough to watch and learn, they will sometimes make a cultural faux pas in the presence of other races.

Classes

Wizard - saurials have a written language, but never adopted wizardry, even after the thouls introduced it to them. Saurials who choose wizard as their starting class have most likely been trained in Mjinte.

Cleric - saurials have no organized religion; their spritual leaders are shamans and druids. However, they know that the gods exist, as sometimes individual saurials are favored by them. Curious saurials will sometimes go to Mjinte and train to be a priest in one of the formal religions. Saurials can take cleric as their starting class, but those who do have received training in Mjinte.

Saurial Stats

Ability Adjustments: +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma

Scaly Hide: Saurials' scale-covered bodies are more resistant to physical damage than the skin of most races. A saurial's scaly hide provides a natural +2 bonus ro Armor Class.

Natural Weapons: Saurials gain the Weapon Proficiency: Creature Weapon feat as a bonus feat. They have a bite attack which they can use when not wielding weapons. This bite does 1d6 damage. This bite attack gains a +1 enhancement bonus for every five hit dice the saurial reaches; at 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level the saurial’s natural attack gains a +1, +2, +3, and +4 enhancement bonus, respectively, out to a maximum of +5 at 25th level.

Darkvision: Saurials can see in the dark up to sixty feet.

Leaping Prowess: Saurials are very good jumpers, and many excel at acrobatics. They gain Skill Focus: Tumble as a bonus feat.

Martial Ability: Life on Kswantu is harsh, with hostile dracosaurs and the occasional attack from humanoid tribes. All saurials are taught to use shields and tribal weapons from an early age. Saurials get Weapon Proficiency: Simple and Armor Proficiency: Shield as bonus feats.

Dracosaur Companion: Saurials' lives depend on the dracosaurs that roam Kswantu's Mjukiwa Plains. Many of them domesticate and train some of the smaller species, much as other humanoids may keep a dog or cat, or train a wolf or bear from birth. As a result, saurials get the Dragon Companion feat as a bonus feat. (This is only of use to druids, rangers of sufficient level, and clerics with the Animal domain.)

Favored Class: Druid.

Effective Character Level (ECL): 1

OOC Notes:

- Saurials in TKL are slightly different from the saurials found in The Forgotten Realms of standard D&D. There is only one kind of saurial as opposed to four, and some of their abilities are different. Also, saurials in TKL arean indigenous species (unlike the saurials of FR, who were transplanted from another plane).



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