Scurriers

From HOTGT

Scurriers have an unusual creation myth. It seems Southern, the god of magic wished to create a small servant race to help him with his experiments. However, Southern accidentally made them extremely fertile, resulting in an explosion of population. Since he didn't need so many servants, the god set the Scurriers loose into the world. They quickly grew to have the largest population of any race in Aeryn and found themselves filling the lowest niches of society. If large communities of Scurriers do live in city sewer systems, as rumors suggest, it is because they know the sewers so well from building and cleaning them.

Contents 1 Patron Diety 2 Personality 3 Lifespan 4 Relations with other races 5 Sample names 6 Racial Traits 6.1 Attribute Modifiers 6.2 Size 6.3 Base Speed 6.4 Special Abilities 6.5 Weaknesses

Patron Diety

The Scurriers were created by Southern and he still keeps a fatherly eye on them.

Personality

“	This one is very sorry, mistress. He did not mean to get under your feet. You are just so tall and your feet so large, it seems impossible not to!	”
—Skoin, Scurrier Sewer Worker,

Despite their name, Scurriers actually appear more bird-like than rodent-life. Their skin is rough and ridged and can be various shades of blue and grey. Their eyes and beaks are a dull yellow in color. All Scurriers grow plumage from the top of their heads as, sometimes, from their jaw and cheekbones. Younger Scurriers keep the plumage clipped short and white while older Scurriers keep their plummage and often color individual feathers. Scurriers stand between two and three feet tall and generally weigh close to twenty-five pounds.

Lifespan

The average lifespan for a Scurrier is two hundred years and they are considered adults at the age of ten.

Relations with other races

Many people consider Scurriers to be little better than rats and there is an active perception of Scurriers being unclean. Many businesses refuse to serve Scurriers. However, governments have to privately acknowledge that Scurriers can't be driven out. They perform tasks that are essential, such as garbage collection and sewer cleaning. Without Scurriers many city-states would have a very hard time of things. Scurriers, for the most part, take the long view. Actively fighting back would result in violence and death for their people. They can wait for the right moment to have a little fun at the expense of the bigoted big people.

Sample names

• Male: Zobonile, Disix, Bekauv, Laneg
• Female: Echele, Sywad, Laroxo, Yllufie

Racial Traits

Type: Humanoid

Attribute Modifiers

+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -4 Strength. Scurriers are agile and quick witted but their small size makes them physically weak.

Size

Small: As Small creatures, Scurriers gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but they must also use smaller weapons than medium sized people, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of Medium-sized characters.

Base Speed

Scurrier base land speed is 20 feet.

Special Abilities

• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects. The Scurriers were created to be resistant to magic in case of laboratory accidents.
• +1 bonus to all saving throws. Scurriers are suprisingly hardy. This does not stack with their saving throw bonus against spells and spell-like effects.
• +2 racial bonus to Move Silently, Escape Artist, and Tumbling checks. Small size and natural agility combine to make Scurriers hard to hold and easy to miss.
• All Scurriers have Use Magic Device as a class skill. They have an innate aptitude for enchanted objects thanks to their creator.

Weaknesses

• Racial Reputation: Scurriers take a -4 penalty to Charisma checks when dealing with other races. Few people like Scurriers.

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