Thri-Kreen

THERE ARE STORIES FROM BEYOND THE BAZAARS. They speak of colonies of mysterious creatures far removed from any heard of society, with four arms and large bulging eyes. Known as the Thri-Kreen, tall insect nomads who hunt and live in the furthest reaches of the deserts of the world.

Farwin had been surveying the great dunes for months, for any sign of life in the barren sand scape. Yet, the day his waterskin broke was, of course, the day he stumbled upon the nest of a giant scorpion. He had been running from the creature for what felt like hours before his legs gave up. With the looming monster moving in, he prepared himself. Then he heard it, odd clicking behind him, the scorpion glanced up, seconds before a metal star sliced its eye open.

It shrieked in pain before the creatures moved in, a team of ten tall mantis folk, who all began striking at the beast as if it were a rehearsed dance. Before it had a chance to react its stinger was cut from its body, and the slaughter did not stop. It didn't take long for the Thri-Kreen to kill the monster, and as they began cutting it open they realised Farwin existed at all.

After a quick glance, they saw he was no threat, and continued on with their work.

-- Darnest Talling, Fables from the Far Reaches

From the furthest corners of the realm, Thri-Kreen are anything but common knowledge. They travel across deserts as nomadic people, they work and live for their clutch, a small group of other Thri-Kreen whom they care for. Though this is in of itself an abnormality for Thri-Kreen, as they are rare to make attachments at all due to their asocial nature.

All those not members of their clutch are either seen as strangers or enemies, these clutches are small independent packs that rove from dune to dune. Permanently settled colonies of Thri-Kreen are completely unheard of.

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They spend their days foraging and hunting for food and supplies, they can survive on little water and food, needing minimal nourishment.

While it is rare for Thri-Kreen to venture far out from their desert homes, it is known to happen. Deals can often arise from Thri-Kreen that venture into badland settlements and forge agreements between them and the citizens, allowing easier living and trading for both parties, no matter the species.

Exotic Fighting Style

Thri-Kreen are well known for their peculiar weaponry to compliment their agile and idiosyncratic fighting style. While hunting prey they use their natural camouflage abilities to get close and observe, they then close the gap in a matter of seconds when their target has their defences down.

In melee, they use the balance of their arms to spin through the air, slashing at their targets multiple times in a single strike. They can easily craft and deftly wield specific weapons; the gythka, a double ended, crescent-headed polearm; and the chatkcha, a crystalline throwing wedge. With four arms, the Thri-Kreen can wield two gythkas or throw up to four chatkchas at a time. These weapons come naturally to the trained mantis warriors.

The Chatkcha and Gythka have weapon stats specific to them, which can be found in the racial traits section.

Short Lived

Thri-Kreen has never been known to live past ones mid-thirties, and age extraordinarily fast comparative to most other beings of the realm. This short lifespan is thought to be in turn due to their inability or lack of need to sleep, as they instead remain awake and enter a state of lethargy. When resting, Thri-Kreen are completely awake and aware of their surroundings, and can complete minor tasks during this period.

Thri-Kreen often die young, as almost all members of any egg chamber perish shortly after hatching. Most Thri-Kreen are considered middle aged around 12, elderly by 18, and a truly venerable member of the clutch at 25.

Strangers of Society

Thri-Kreen have a reputation for being savage and emotionless killers. One contributing factor being their utterly nomadic nature, as they hardly stay in one location, and rarely return to previous homes unless advantageous for the clutch, such as easy access to food and water.

As a contrast to this, it is common for clutches to have members that have followed a druidic path, as Thri-Kreen worship their birth land, and will oppose any that would seek to harm it. Though this is their only form of worship, as they follow no religion or faith, and have no gods of their own.

The largest factor to the detached view of Thri-Kreen is their uncaring attitude to all not in their clutch, even others of their own kind. Thri-Kreen won't go out of their way to help others of their species if they do not know them, nor would those in peril expect help. In extreme circumstances, they may even cannibalise one another in order to survive.

Any truths of how the Thri-Kreen came to be have been lost to time, their origins are unknown to the world.