Author Topic: Chanwyr [Spellsong Race]  (Read 851 times)

Stratovarius

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Chanwyr [Spellsong Race]
« on: June 21, 2017, 06:08:18 PM »
Chanwyr
 
 The Chanwyr are the great artists of the Arhosan landscape, having created much of the artwork and architecture that adorned the cities of the Llethu and the other great races of Arhosa. Today, they are but a mere fragment of what they once were, for with the collapse of the Arhosan Empire came the collapse of the market for their goods and services, leaving them as a species without a purpose to strive towards. To that end, they have taken it upon themselves to rise each morning and focus upon a given goal for the day, knowing that if they accomplish the chosen task, they can go to sleep knowing their day's work was successful. But it has been a challenging transition, and all too many of the Chanwyr communities could not survive such an alteration in their way of life. Some died beneath the blades of warring factions, tarred for their association with the Llethu. Others simply let the world end, sitting and waiting for their time to die, no purpose left in a life that had once had so much. So where there were once thriving communities, especially in urban areas, there are now only a few pockets of the Chanwyr left, most of them scattered about the realms in places that once showed them sympathy.

 
 Personality
 "Obsequious" is the word that would be used to describe the Chanwyr by most of those who have met them, for they have always been servants of one kind or another to a race greater than their own, latching their star onto the rising greatness of another. Granted, at least some of that came about through their prediliction for art, for who else buys art aside from the rich and famous? However, it has left the Chanwyr with a stigma attached, one that they, perhaps, will never quite be rid of, even though they have now chosen to go their own way. Which is something of a pity, for amongst their own kind, the Chanwyr are animated and intelligent, conversing frequently on erudite topics that have long since departed other realms.
 
 Physical Description
 The Chanwyr are small creatures, well muscled for the size of their forms. Possessed of an impressive ability to grow facial hair, they wear it in fanciful patterns, the unique knots and flourishes indicating their status within their clan, as well as some general markers as to their life's history. The hair from the top of their head is worn long and detailed in the same fashion as that of their beard. Both males and females are blessed in this manner, and amongst the older members of the race, it is not uncommon to see hair that drapes down almost to the floor. The skin of the Chanwyr is comprised of tiny scales, so small that they are easier to detect by touch than by sight, and they have a strong curve to their spine, one that would have them considered hunchbacks if they were from a taller people.
 
 Relations
 The Llethu look with favour upon the Chanwyr, regarding them as a kind of harmless child that they once sponsored. Most other races remember the Chanwyr as being willing patsies of the Llethu and thus complicit in both the formation of the empire (which is untrue), and as being partially responsible for its collapse, for they were always negotiating the centres of power at that time. This is also a false statement, for none of those with real power ever gave any to the Chanwyr, but the association between the two to those people further afield has never lapsed, and so they are always mistrusted, as if there is a Llethu force waiting just over the horizon.
 
 Religion
 As befits their once highly artistic background, the Chanwyr find the teachings of Fasnachu to be entirely to their taste, and they worship her mostly to the exclusion of the other gods, although they can find a certain beauty in the teachings of Awyr Leuad and Amserwch. Especially the latter, for he is the deity of creation, albeit a distant and unspeaking one. But with Fasnachu no longer beginning to respond to those who pray to her, some small handful of the Chanwyr have turned in other directions. There was, for a time, a cult of Drancedigaeth that sprang up around the time the Arhosan Empire tore itself to pieces, but it seems to have vanished with the death of those who believed in it.
 
 Language
 Given their long association with the Llethu, it is hardly surprising that the Chanwyr took on the language of the giants as their own, and they now use it in most daily communication. Only those few scholars of Chanwyr who still converse with one another retain a functioning usage of the original language of the Chanwyr, and as they die, it is all but certain the language will be lost entirely.
 
 Adventurers
 It is hardly surprising for a Chanwyr to become an adventurer, for there is almost nothing for them at home now, with their small communities and limited resources. Although this exodus of the best and most energetic of the Chanwyr is doing ever more to destroy what little culture and people they have left, sometimes leaving communities with little more than the old and the young, the adults with drive having gone off to see the world, to try and create a purpose for themselves that is greater than simply tilling a farm field or smoking a side of bacon. It is the hope of the elders of the Chanwyr that as the adventurous ones begin to crave the safety and security of a family, they will return to those communities they once left so impetuously. If they do not, it will be the end of the Chanwyr as a people.
 
 Chanwyr Racial Traits
 Small: Chanwyr 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 use smaller weapons than humans use, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.

 Chanwyr base land speed is 20 feet.
 Talented: At 1st level, the Chanwyr selects two skills. These skills are always class skills for him and he counts as trained in them. He gains a bonus with each of those skills equal to the maximum number of ranks he can have in that skill. This bonus does not stack with the benefits of having actual ranks in the skill, nor does it grant any other benefits of having ranks in them, such as meeting prerequisites.
 Daily Challenge: Each morning, a Chanwyr wakes and chooses a specific task that will be his goal for the day. This drive sustains and nourishes him, improving his skill in the task at hand and making him quite resistant to interruptions. He recieves a +2 bonus on any actions directly related to achieving his specific task. This bonus applies to skill checks, attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws. When choosing his specific task, he mustknow that he can complete it within the day.
 Automatic Language: Llethu. Bonus Languages: Trade Common, Chanwyr, TBD
 Favored Class: Spellsinger