A simple reference for a relatively new species I've drawn and played with.





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Name: Skraelings

Description

About every Skraeling shares the same general appearance, being fairly tall and thinly built on the verge on emaciation. Ribs and rib-cage are visible and their limbs look frail.



The fur of a Skraeling lies within a spectrum of black to white. The deciding factor for the color is their age. A newborn Skraeling is pitch black while the an elderly Skraeling is snow white. Their fur gradually turn brighter as they age.



In place of their tongue, there's a set of five vibrantly colored tentacles, usually in the spectrum of yellow to red. Skraelings cannot swallow things normally, nor do they chew, so the tongues are there to help pull things down. Due to this, Skraelings prefer their meal in chunks, swallowing pieces whole instead of eating normally using knife and fork. They're fully capable of unhinging their jaws if necessary. Their tentacles are fully prehensile and when fully extended, being about the length of an arm. Akin to that of a snake, the tongues can "taste" the air and let the Skraeling have a very perceptive view of their surroundings. The saliva covering the tentacles is thick and doesn't drop.



On their back is a thick ridge of fur which tips are colored in contrast to the fur. The highlighting color is determined by the color of their mouth tentacles.



They've long claws on their hands and feet plus paw-pads in their palm and under their feet.



A Skraeling always got round pearl white eyes that glow menacingly in the dark. On top of this threatening visage (which is something that the Skraeling themselves cannot control), the glowing eyes provide a excellent sense of vision in the darkness.



Female Skraelings only give birth to a one single cub at a time and it can instantly eat solid food.



Racial Traits

Unique traits that define the Skraelings, something that each and every member of the species share.

Predetermined Death - While a Skraeling is due for an unnaturally long life, the date of their death is set in stone. Each and every Skraeling succumb to death on the first day of the fourth month, of their 154th year. The passing happen during sleep.

Ravenous Appetite - If there's something that Skraelings are adept at, its eating. A hungry individual can eat for 3-5 full grown men in a single sitting. After a good meal, their stomach quickly digest the content within 24 hours and then the Skraeling doesn't have to eat anything for upwards to a month. There's weirdly no need for a Skraeling to drink anything, only the eating is required to sustain them.

Gourmands - On top of their appetite for consuming large volumes of food, Skraelings have developed a great distaste for badly made, unprepared and raw food. In most cases, a Skraeling would pass up an opportunity to eat if they deem the food not to their liking.

Acid Spit - One of the ways a Skraeling can defend itself is by regurgitating potent stomach acid. The acid is strong enough to cause plenty of damage to organic material within a short time and should be washed off immediately. On top of everything.. it reeks.

Supernatural Luck - When thrown the dice, the Skraeling tend to come up on top. Especially when it comes to gaining wealth.

Supernatural Endurance - Despite their frail-looking physique, Skraelings are surprisingly sturdy. A Skaeling doesn't feel the freezing chill of frozen wastelands or the blistering heat of the most inhospitable deserts. They're not afflicted by sickness or disease. Their stamina is also unnaturally high, making it seem like fatigue's not something that affect them.

Animal Animosity - Although a pretty one-sided affair, animals of all sizes show disgust toward Skraelings and don't wanna be close to them.. turning hostile if cornered.



Temperament

Skraelings tend to come off as neutral. They're often in a good mood. They don't mind socializing but they don't mind being alone either. They can come off as dismissive and prideful but its often misunderstood as they priority is most of the time finding a place where they can eat. A Skraeling wouldn't intervene to stop a fight between strangers.



A fed Skraeling tend to be more sociable and easily conversed with. They've had their fill and won't think about eating for several weeks, so this would be a good time to learn to know one.



Skraelings like it when they're being offered food, especially when its from a shared plate and a Skraeling will never eat more than "their" share of it. Offering a Skraeling services (and expecting no reward), be it food or a place to stay, is highly appreciated as Skraelings that wander live very nomad lifestyles.



A Skraeling friend is a reliable friend. A wanderer would return on occasion to visit someone they've befriended and share a meal, keeping in tradition to eat and to catch up on events.



As everything tends to come back to food when Skraelings are around, there's also fairly easy to lose respect and offend one.

Denying an offer to partake in a meal, eating more than "your" part of a shared meal, leaving food on your plate.. all are easy ways to make you appear disrespectful to a Skraeling. Eating is, after all, sacred.



A Skraeling hired to perform a job will do their job dutifully and to the best of their capabilities.



Society

The Skraelings are descendants of demons inhabiting a mountain valley. The reason behind their origin is unknown. What is known is that the valley was their own. Generations of adapting to their environment and the decreasing wildlife resulted in creatures that ate ravenously and went into hibernation.



The current generation of Skraelings, a far cry from their forefathers, still lives in their valley. The valley has been long polluted by ancient mining operations created by other civilizations, rendering the valley inhabitable from toxic water poisoning its lake and landscape. As the heat rise, the water creates a dangerous fog which pose a danger to most life.. apart from the Skraelings themselves, who've adapted.



The mining operation is still active and very lucrative. Skraelings hit a motherlode in the mountain, filled with rich veins of gold and silver. This massive wealth gained from a mountain valley where no one can reach its hoard, has given the Skraeling a large diplomatic advantage as they can fund and afford anything any civilization would love to have.



The Skraelings themselves care little for the gold itself, they're not much for material possession. Most are more interesting in tasting the culture of others, leaving home to wander and eating the food of the other races. When their gold runs dry, they simple travel back home to fill their pockets and occasionally doing small jobs or tasks if necessary.



Skraelings are content when they've experienced a life-time of good eating and full of recipes that they can share with their kin.



Outside the barren valley, the Skraelings have expanded their hold to a city where they keep livestock and deals in diplomacy with other civilizations. Since the Skraelings themselves struggle with handling animals, they've taken to hiring members of other races (which can be used to improve diplomatic relationships) to help.



Skraelings are rarely at war thanks to their economic influence to other civilization.. as well as their wealth being inaccessible by a literal valley of death. Individual Skraelings wandering the world tend to therefore be considered important figures, as no one would want to risk a diplomatic relationship with them. Likewise, bandits and brigands tend to not target Skraelings due to the man-hunter parties that would be sent out to hunt offenders in order to stabilize a relationship.



Clothing

Skraelings dress very simple, choosing only to wear pants or shorts. Most Skraeling don't care how their clothing looks like, so the quality of garment varies from a patchwork mess to fine custom-tailored variants. The latter be only worn by Skraelings doing work for (or with) other civilizations for longer periods, so they can present themselves with some class.



Small bags, pouches, purses or other accessories are often strapped via belt or rope to their hips so that the Skraeling can carry whatever few possessions they have.

