Brasswatchman
First Post
A new race I put together for my campaign. Created for a friend who has something of a water fowl fixation. Here's what I've got:
PENPENS
Also called “gwyniads,” these odd creatures, which resemble nothing less than human-sized penguins, are the loyal guardians of Sylphus and the Ice Country.
Personality: Penpens are highly intelligent creatures, highly skilled in magic and in the technical sciences, but often seem absent-minded or lacking a certain amount of common sense. They are great lovers of theory over practice. They are a mostly harmless race – unless their homeland, the Ice Country, is threatened. When defending their home, they become focused, coldly logical warmages, willing to use any strategy, regardless of the cost in sentient life.
Physical Description: Penpens resemble nothing so much as five-foot-tall penguins, capable of speech and with long, claw-like fingers extending from their “wings.” They usually weigh between 180 and 250 pounds. They are generally live to be about 65 years old, having a slightly shorter lifespan than humans. Skin color ranges from light grey to black, spotted with white.
Relations: Penpens get along fine with most races, being a tolerant, well-meaning species. They find the hatred of the gnomes hard to understand, since there is no rational explanation. Though they rarely express this emotion, penpens as a whole are extremely hostile to the Empire.
Alignment: Penpens are usually neutral good. They are almost never evil.
Lands: The penpens live in the Ice Country, which they share with the Ice Palace, residence of Sylphus. Their three main cities – Whitehead, Gywnius and Todo – stand on the inhospitable north coast of the country. Since there are very few sailors willing to venture within this area, the penpens have also established the cosmopolitan trading center of Archangel on the south coast. The four settlements – plus the massive fortifications around the Ice Palace – are politically aligned in a civil republic; this nation is generally referred to as the Gwyniad.
Religion: The penpens as a whole tend to follow Sylphus, with very few exceptions. The second most favorite religious alignment is atheist, in so far as it is possible to deny the existence of the Seven. Penpens of this persuasion tend to make a go at it; their arguments tend to revolve around mirages, naturally-occurring illusion magics, and swamp gas.
Language: Penpens do have their own language, an extremely complicated tongue that makes use of grammatical structures from nearly every other language on the planet. However, this language (even the name of which is up for debate) is under constant revision, with an individual often creating new words on her own without telling anyone else. The language has gotten increasing complex to the point that every individual has a different concept of how it should be spoken, which makes the common tongue more or less non-existent. The penpens thus generally tend to speak Common when they must resort to mere communication.
Names: Just as penpens frequently borrow the languages of other races, they are also known for borrowing their names. A penpen might bear an orcish, human or even gnomish personal name; he or she might even change this name if they find one they like better. There are only two things that do not change in a penpen’s name: first, their family name, which ties them to a larger clan group, generally remains the same. This surname is also frequently borrowed from other cultures; hyphenated names are popular, especially when a family can’t make up their minds as to which clan name they want. Second, since changing one’s personal name is a common occurance, in order to be able to practically conduct affairs, a penpen is given, as their middle name, their date of birth. A typical penpen name might therefore well be Jebeddo 12 December Stevens-Ivellios. Outsiders dealing with this particular aspect of gywniad culture tend to either come up with nicknames for their penpen friends, or develop headaches.
Adventurers: A penpen who leaves her homeland generally does so in the pursuit of knowledge or interesting experiences. They are generally uninterested in material wealth; that having been said, penpens have been known to join adventuring parties on little more than a whim.
PENPEN RACIAL TRAITS:
- -2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom. Penpens are extremely intellectual creatures, with an average intelligence far into the range of genius among humans. However, they are physically awkward creatures, especially on land, and tend to be absent-minded and easily confused.
- Medium size.
- Base land speed of 20 feet.
- Base swim speed of 40 feet.
- Cold resistance 5. Penpens are adapted to cold temperatures and climates.
- Vulnerable to fire-based effects. Penpens take half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from fire-based spells and effects, regardless of whether or not a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or a failure. Penpens also receive a -2 penalty to all Fortitude saves made to resist heat dangers (see pg. 303, DMG).
- Tremorsense 60 feet in water.
- +2 to Intuition checks with other penpens. Due to the particularities of their language, penpen children learn early on to become extremely sensitive to their parents’ body language. Otherwise, they would have no clue what was being said.
- Automatic language: Common. Bonus languages: Aquan, Auran, Draconic, Ignan, Terran and Undercommon.
- Favored class: Wizard.
PENPENS
Also called “gwyniads,” these odd creatures, which resemble nothing less than human-sized penguins, are the loyal guardians of Sylphus and the Ice Country.
Personality: Penpens are highly intelligent creatures, highly skilled in magic and in the technical sciences, but often seem absent-minded or lacking a certain amount of common sense. They are great lovers of theory over practice. They are a mostly harmless race – unless their homeland, the Ice Country, is threatened. When defending their home, they become focused, coldly logical warmages, willing to use any strategy, regardless of the cost in sentient life.
Physical Description: Penpens resemble nothing so much as five-foot-tall penguins, capable of speech and with long, claw-like fingers extending from their “wings.” They usually weigh between 180 and 250 pounds. They are generally live to be about 65 years old, having a slightly shorter lifespan than humans. Skin color ranges from light grey to black, spotted with white.
Relations: Penpens get along fine with most races, being a tolerant, well-meaning species. They find the hatred of the gnomes hard to understand, since there is no rational explanation. Though they rarely express this emotion, penpens as a whole are extremely hostile to the Empire.
Alignment: Penpens are usually neutral good. They are almost never evil.
Lands: The penpens live in the Ice Country, which they share with the Ice Palace, residence of Sylphus. Their three main cities – Whitehead, Gywnius and Todo – stand on the inhospitable north coast of the country. Since there are very few sailors willing to venture within this area, the penpens have also established the cosmopolitan trading center of Archangel on the south coast. The four settlements – plus the massive fortifications around the Ice Palace – are politically aligned in a civil republic; this nation is generally referred to as the Gwyniad.
Religion: The penpens as a whole tend to follow Sylphus, with very few exceptions. The second most favorite religious alignment is atheist, in so far as it is possible to deny the existence of the Seven. Penpens of this persuasion tend to make a go at it; their arguments tend to revolve around mirages, naturally-occurring illusion magics, and swamp gas.
Language: Penpens do have their own language, an extremely complicated tongue that makes use of grammatical structures from nearly every other language on the planet. However, this language (even the name of which is up for debate) is under constant revision, with an individual often creating new words on her own without telling anyone else. The language has gotten increasing complex to the point that every individual has a different concept of how it should be spoken, which makes the common tongue more or less non-existent. The penpens thus generally tend to speak Common when they must resort to mere communication.
Names: Just as penpens frequently borrow the languages of other races, they are also known for borrowing their names. A penpen might bear an orcish, human or even gnomish personal name; he or she might even change this name if they find one they like better. There are only two things that do not change in a penpen’s name: first, their family name, which ties them to a larger clan group, generally remains the same. This surname is also frequently borrowed from other cultures; hyphenated names are popular, especially when a family can’t make up their minds as to which clan name they want. Second, since changing one’s personal name is a common occurance, in order to be able to practically conduct affairs, a penpen is given, as their middle name, their date of birth. A typical penpen name might therefore well be Jebeddo 12 December Stevens-Ivellios. Outsiders dealing with this particular aspect of gywniad culture tend to either come up with nicknames for their penpen friends, or develop headaches.
Adventurers: A penpen who leaves her homeland generally does so in the pursuit of knowledge or interesting experiences. They are generally uninterested in material wealth; that having been said, penpens have been known to join adventuring parties on little more than a whim.
PENPEN RACIAL TRAITS:
- -2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom. Penpens are extremely intellectual creatures, with an average intelligence far into the range of genius among humans. However, they are physically awkward creatures, especially on land, and tend to be absent-minded and easily confused.
- Medium size.
- Base land speed of 20 feet.
- Base swim speed of 40 feet.
- Cold resistance 5. Penpens are adapted to cold temperatures and climates.
- Vulnerable to fire-based effects. Penpens take half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from fire-based spells and effects, regardless of whether or not a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or a failure. Penpens also receive a -2 penalty to all Fortitude saves made to resist heat dangers (see pg. 303, DMG).
- Tremorsense 60 feet in water.
- +2 to Intuition checks with other penpens. Due to the particularities of their language, penpen children learn early on to become extremely sensitive to their parents’ body language. Otherwise, they would have no clue what was being said.
- Automatic language: Common. Bonus languages: Aquan, Auran, Draconic, Ignan, Terran and Undercommon.
- Favored class: Wizard.
