Cricalan (3.5e Race)

Cricalans

The Cricalans ruled an empire across Lagrisi long ago. Due to uprisings, it fell and now they hide in small tribes in Cricala. They are few and their race is dying slowly. A few Cricalans leave the nest-cities in the high peaks and even fewer leave Lagrisi for other lands. Those remaining live in either mountainous regions or forested areas where they can remain hidden when necessary.

Personality

Proud, resourceful and cunning, Cricalans usually keep to themselves in their mountainous land of Cricala. They are good at hiding, mostly due to their plumage's color. They hunt and explore actively, but remain true to their homesteads. Cricalans have a natural tendency to be curious of other races and cultures that are as advanced as theirs used to be.

When Cricalans reach about 20 years old, they begin to mate with other Cricalans of the opposite gender and the two become bound together. The female lays about 3-5 eggs in spring which hatch in late fall.

Cricalans mourn their dead and immortalize them in vast caves underneath the main nest-city. Those killed away from their nest-cities are usually burned on pyres so that their ashes can rise to the skies and find their way to Kindorsian's throne.

Since Kindorsian encourages the Cricalans to follow their dreams, their society is rather open to outside customs, goods, and activities.

Physical Description

Cricalans average about 5 and a half feet in height with only minute differences between genders. Their bones are hollow and cause them to weigh around 100 pounds. Their skin is between dark brown and light tan beneath their plumage, which is dependent on the tribe's sun exposure. The feathers are usually fitting to their environment (brown, white, black, etc. depending on the mountains that they live in) and can typically trace them back to their birth tribes. Plumage is one solid color. Cricalan eyes are solid and usually green or yellow, with the rare few of Kindorsian's chosen having purple eyes. Kindorsian's chosen usually have white feathers and always have purple eyes. (They look much like aarackocras.)

Relations

Cricalans are secretive but welcoming to most other races.

Humans: Cricalans rule the human tribes beneath their mountains and love to use humans as pawns. Humans outside of their territory hold disdain for ricalans, but the tribes beneath the mountains worship the Cricalans and would gladly throw themselves in front of an arrow to save one.

Gnomes: Cricalans hate gnomes for beginning to colonize their lands and usually scare them off or kill them if they get to close to their nest-city. Some cricalans go off in hunting parties called Gonii to slay gnomes. Gnomes see Cricalans as yet another enemy to destroy and remake their land in the Industrial Glory.

Elves: Elves get along with Cricalans and they usually form alliances, though elves find the Cricalans hate of gnomes strange. Some drow cities near the surface trade with evil cricalan nest-cities.

Dwarves: The duergar and Cricalans fight over Cricala's caverns, so Cricalans are suspicious of dwarves. Some dwarves(Duergar the most)love to kill Cricalans to sell their feathers.

Halflings: Having traded with the halfling tribes who migrated to northern Cricala's gentle plains, Cricalans generally are on good terms with halflings.

Goblinoids:The goblins in the desert lands beneath Cricala's peaks are greedy and insane, chopping down trees in their vast lumber camps and getting bugbears to destroy villages to further their miniature empires. Cricalans hate them nearly as much as they do gnomes.

Wemics:The wemics live in the fields to the west of the desert the goblinoids inhabit. The Cricalans trust some of them, but some have gotten to close to the gnomes who corrupt those fields. Many Cricalans don't know why the druidic wemics would side with the industrial gnomes.

Alignment

Cricalans are usually neutral some leaning towards neutral good if they are Kindorsian's chosen, or neutral evil due to their prejudice of gnomes.

Lands

Cricalans live mostly in the high peaks of Cricala. Mountains are where they feel the most secure. Here they build their elaborate nest-cities.

Cricalans live in nest-cities which combine rock towers with nests atop them and cliff faces full of caverns with even more nests and other areas, such as a shrine or “restcaves” (like inns).

Religion

Cricalans worship the Skylord, Kindorsian. Kindorsian is said to rule the highest peak in Cricala 'The Throne of Skies'. Kindorsian's priests rule the Cricalan nest-cities and are known as Skyspeakers.

Skyspeaker -The local priest of Kindorsian is the tribe's ruler. They are advised by numerous Cricalans.

Head Adviser -The head adviser to the Skyspeaker and usually a trainee priest.

Hunting Adviser -An adviser to the Skyspeaker on hunting.

War Adviser -An adviser to the Skyspeaker on war.

Supply Adviser -An adviser to the Skyspeaker on supplies.

Language

Cricalans speak Cricalan, an advanced variant of Auran. Many learn Common and other languages of the nearby people. Cricalans enjoy learning many languages to improve their knowledge of the world.

Names

Cricalans are given a name by the Skyspeaker of their tribe and usually are compound words. Their last name is that of their tribe's name. Males tend to have names corresponding to daylight and females to night and weather.

Male: Skywatcher, Windwalker, Airlord, Cloudstalker, Skyrunner

Female: Mooneye, Misthealer, Starsong, Rainsong, Moonmaiden

Surnames: Wistiklia, Fuindor, Miikir, Onddir, Kiurssin

Racial Traits

• Type: Humanoid (Avian)

• Stat Bonuses: -2 Str, +4 Dex. The frail bones of the Cricalans makes them weak but able to move quicker.

• Size: Medium

• Base Land Speed: 40 ft, Fly 50 ft (perfect)

• +5 racial bonus to Jump checks. Cricalans wings aid them in jumping. +2 to Hide, +6 in rocky areas

• Resist cold 10

• Low-Light Vision

• Natural weapons: Beak (1d4), talons (1d6)

• Automatic Language: Cricalan. Bonus Languages:Any
• Favored Class: Rogue.

• Level Adjustment:+1

Vital Statistics

Table: Cricalan Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
14 years	+1d4	+1d6	+2d6

Table: Cricalan Aging Effects

Middle Age^1	Old^2	Venerable^3	Maximum Age
30 years	45 years	60 years	+2d10 years
At middle age, -1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, -2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, -3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Cricalan Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	4' 6"	+2d12	70 lb.	× (2d2) lb.
Female	4' 4"	+2d12	65 lb.	× (2d2) lb.

Notes

This race is unique to the Crivis campaign setting. With some changes though you could drop Cricala into any world, it could be some random mountain range with warring goblin tribes nearby and wemics(or some other druidic tribal peoples)somewhere in the vicinity. It would work best in a wilderness area being settled by gnomes, humans, dwarves, and any other industrializing races you could think of.

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