races

Known Intelligent Races Of Kalioka
Arachnalians-
These are small (45-55kg) spider people with fine reddish brown fur with white markings. They are very quick moving and with their small manipulating digits on their first two sets of limbs. They are largely peaceful, prefer to flee predators and attackers. They can be very formidable if they are forced however. They have a venom which is paralytic, allowing them to drain their foes. They live in small aviary villages, 40 and 50 feet off the ground in forested areas. These villages are difficult to spot because the Arachnalians camouflage them by twining vines and branches through the silk that makes up these villages. They are hunters though many also maintain small flocks of birds as food. They keep trained giant spiders as guardians for their villages and themselves. Many of them are mages, though only a few are of great power. A few who have come into human society work as thieves. They usually trade beautifully woven silk fabrics and extremely strong silk rope (can support up to a ton) that is also very expensive (8-15sp per foot).
Arachnalian communties are very tight-nit. Occasionally a rare individual will leave the community to trade or explore, or as an envoy to nearby societies, but many arachnalians encountered outside of their communities are exiles, cast out for some violation of arachnalian law.
In combat they wield short bows with arrows coated with their poison, or double pole arms.
Chuross-
These were originally of the same basic stock as the Arachnalians, but over thousands of years, they have developed into something else. While the Arachnalians are smaller and red, the Chuross are 80-100kg, gray-black with silvering as they age and bright green and blue markings. The Chuross are now non-poisonous, though like the Arachnalians they keep giant spiders as pets. The Chuross� pets are great (30-35kg) wolf spiders. The Chuross� themselves take after wolf spiders and tarantulas. They are able to leap up to 40� forward, and tend toward axes and pole arms, as well as javelins. A few of the Chuross� remain linked to the Arachnalian�s magical ability, though these tend to be Witch Doctors with only oral training. The Chuross are nomadic hunters, moving in packs of 10-30 Adults. They carry their young or allow them to ride the pet spiders. Chuross are master stalkers, able to approach prey without a sound, and often without being seen either. The Chuross are a very violent people, with the leadership of each tribe determined in battle, sometimes to the death. They regard most other races as prey, though enforcing this view is a more problematic affair. There are bounties on Chuross throughout the Empire and elven lands; 1gp per Chuross head.
Crustaki-
These malevolent beings are large (170-250kg) bipedal crustaceans. They live near rivers, lakes, swamps, and oceans. They bury themselves in the sand near the shore, waiting for something to approach. When something draws near, they lunge out at it, attacking with their huge (3� long) sharp serrated claws. They are further camouflaged by the frequent presence of a coating of algae on their shells, allowing them to hide among water and land plants with relative ease. They have acute smell and can smell blood (or liquor) from half a mile away in water.
They are greedy, allying themselves with Nerusha or river dragons to gain money. They are all very susceptible to alcoholism, and most will trade very vigorously for alcohol. They are also gluttonous, seeking never ending supplies of meat, with a preference for rotten meat. The unscrupulous have hired them using leavings from slaughterhouses, though on more than one occasion this has backfired as the Crustaki tracked their employers back to the source and took all they wanted.
Juvenile Crustaki are sometimes eaten by other intelligent races (particularly those the Crustaki have alienated), leading Crustaki to become even more ill-tempered. Though Crustaki themselves have no parenting instincts, they release hundreds of gametes into the water and leave them to fend for themselves until they are 3 or 4 years old, when they will be adopted by a nearby tribe. Occasional attempts have been made to capture these young and use them as slaves, but the lack of manipulating digits limits their usefulness, as does their basic unpleasant demeanor.
There are occasional (about 1 in 10 or so) Crustaki Shamans, with access to limited priest spells.
The Crustaki will frequently be found allied with Sahaguin.
Coraxi-
These humanoids look like great black crows or ravens, with 8� wingspans from a body that is a fusion of humanoid and avian. Coraxi are very smart, and many are mages. Many others are thieves or warriors however. They fly in flocks of 8-20, eating fruits, carrion, and animals they can bring down. They cannot wear armor or wield bows due to their bodies, but they carry halberds and long swords with shields, and each usually has a quiver of javelins.
Coraxi are curious and greedy, interested in acquiring either information, gold or gems. They are not violent by nature but are also not at all adverse to violence. They are, as near as has been determined, cheerfully amoral. They can be found in most cities, sometimes in the gaols. Many can also be founded roaming the countryside as brigands, messengers, merchants, or even occasionally spell merchants. They appear to pursue whatever course they think will make them the most wealthy.
The more powerful/successful will wear ornate silver and gold jewelry with precious and semiprecious stones. They do appear to follow some sort of code of honor among themsleves, but nobody has really been able to find out about Coraxi society.
Coraxi cannot speak very well and tend to use Trade Sign for most communications.
Hymenopterans-
This race is relatively new to Kalioka, having only appeared in the last hundred years. Nobody is sure where they have come from but they have been felt in almost all parts of Kalioka by now. They are still more common on the plains than in the mountains and forest. Hymenopterans are bipedal hornets, 4� long. They are unable to fly but instead are capable of great wing assisted �hops� and running at high speeds with the aid of their wings. They are still fairly mysterious, having only been seen a few times. They live in giant mounds, sometimes reaching 80� above ground and 300� across at the base, made of some strange concrete made from dirt, sand, and an unknown binding agent.
Hymenopterans are strangely territorial, building a nest in an area and waging a slow guerilla war with the other intelligent races to drive them away. The nest is not always as large or as easy to find as their mounds. The nests are always some distance underground and frequently located near river so that the tailings can be easily transported away. It is the tailings that usually identify a nest, and so Hymenopterans are careful to conceal them until the nest is large enough to repel an assault.
Little is know about their culture or lifestyle. What facts exist are rumor and hearsay. One is that they attack creatures that approach the nest too quickly or are otherwise threatening. Another is that, once roused, they will hunt people over 50 miles if they have damaged a nest or killed a Hymenopteran. On a three occasions nests have been attacked by the Imperial Legions. In all three cases it was very unpeasant, with the Hymenopterans using their speed advantage to strike out from hidden tunnels around the main mound, harrying the legions, and when the legions pursued into the tunnels, the hymenopterans used a number of unpleasant strategies, including collapsing tunnels, and trapping tunnels with incendiary, corrosive, and poisonous anti-personnel devices.
In battle the hymenopterans most feared attack is their sting, which injects an excruciating but fast-acting poison into the victim. Most die within a minute. However, they also wield hardwood dart/javelins and thin scimitars with deadly efficiency. And spell using hymenopterans have been encountered on numerous occasions, including some very powerful ones on the mound assaults. One source of much enjoyment among humans is that Hymenopterans and Velyakoi seem to be made to kill one another, with the velyakoi being immune to the Hymenopteran sting, and the Hymenopterans being too fast for the velyakoi in many cases, and being of no use for �parts� or recruits.
Green Men-
There is some debate as to whether these are another race or a subdivision of humanity. These humanoids are very human in appearance, looking like human beings with green skin and leaves growing out of their heads, shoulders, and arms. The have leafy tendrils sprouting from all over their bodies, with many small ones growing out of their mouths and nostrils. They are unable to make sounds but communicate by a sophisticated sign language, which the trade language is taken from.
They are a very gentle people in most cases, gathering nitrogenous waste from nearby communities and taking it back with them. They are skilled farmers, trading their crops for land. As near as anybody can tell, the only two things the Green Men are REALLY interested in are wastes and land. They take the wastes back and buy more land.
If threatened they are very strong and tough, with bodies that are resistant to blunt and piercing weapons. They do move slowly.
There are rumors that they prey on the weak and crippled in human society, transforming them into other Green Men. These have never been confirmed. The rumors contribute to a dislike and distrust of the Green Men, stemming from their ability to compete very well with human farmers, and in many areas having effectively developed a monopoly on certain crops. In many areas Green Men are discriminated against and attacked, though in others they have received grudging acceptance as a useful part of the community.
There are some mages among the Green Men, though they can only cast spells with no verbal components. Some of the Green Men are also skilled fighters, though they are also relatively passive until threatened.
Murani-
The product of an Elven experiment millenia ago, these are now an established part of many regions in Kalioka. They appear as huge (7�2�-7�9�, 150-200kg) humanoids, covered in fur which can be either relatively short (Varieties in S. Kalioka have fur 1-2� long) or yak-like in length (Murani in mountainous N. Kalioka have fur over 18� in length). Their heads are those of bison, with broad, muscular bodies. They are slow to anger, but once angered, their rage is truly terrifying. Of all the races targeted at different times by the Humans, the Murani have been oddly � passed over. They are primarily farmers and heavy laborers (which their bodies are ideally suited for). They are primarily vegetarians, eating vast quantities of grains and vegetables to sustain themselves.
Murani are not stupid, but they are �long thinkers� as they call themselves. �Patient� is another euphemism used around Murani. There are no Murani mages but some Murani become priests of the human harvest god, the god Murani most frequently worship.
The Murani have no special abilities other than being very tough and almost ridiculously strong. Many humans are standoffish towards them, but very few go so far as to actually insult or be offensive to Murani, creating a �politeness zone� that is possibly unique in Human controlled Kalioka. For their part, Murani keep to themselves. They have a very simple worldview. Crops, family, hearth. They have leaders who they keep to concern themselves with other, complex issues so that the rest of the Murani can worry about Crops, family, and hearth. Young adult Murani will often leave their communities to expore the world and make their fortune, but as they age they will rejoin Murani society, often in a new region. Murani have a slightly shorter lifespan than humans, about 50 years. But all but the last 10 or so are in very good health and full power of their bodies, which gives them a period of productivity (from age 10 to age 40ish) far greater than that of humans. Many of the Murani in the priesthood are in this �twilight period�.
Murani in battle wear a studded leather over their already tough hides, and wield axes and throwing javelins (which have punched through shields and gone 12� into the boles of trees in the past).
Murani surprisingly hold no particular grudge against elves in general (though elves still look down on Murani and this tends to sour relations between individual Murani and elves). For other races, the Murani tend to be cautious with humans, but they like Dwarves, appreciate Dwarves stolid worldview and levelheadedness, though they miss out on the whole greed thing a little. Murani and Green Men are an almost stereotypical pairing. Murani will actively seek out Green Men to associate with, the the two communities will often be located close to one another.
Muscots- This race appears as huge (25-30kg) bipedal rats. They are scavengers and thieves, living off of stolen foodstuffs, corpse, pets, etc. They are accomplished thieves and spies and are found almost exclusively in cities and large towns. They are usually careful not to engage in violence against their host communities, instead using blackmail as a threat and a tool of retribution against those who they must oppose. They deal in information fairly frequently, though they are careful to avoid getting caught in the middle of conflicts. They will try to keep their involvement secret if at all possible. Muscot are very stealthy due to their small size and are difficult to detect for normal people.