Tuimelaar

Tuimelaar

The Tuimelaar (slang mudfolk) are a rural race that inhabits the swamps and jungles of Chalice World, though communities do exist in human areas, especially near rivers and harbors.

Racial Template

62 points

• Attribute Modifiers: ST-3 [-30]; HT+1 [10]; IQ-1 [-20].
• Secondary Characteristics: Basic Move +2 [10]; SM-2; 
• Movement Notes: Can brachiate at 1/2 Move, Swim at full Move and Jump an average of High 5' or Broad 22' from a standing start.
• Advantages: Amphibious [10]; Arms (Both arms are Extra-Flexible and Foot Manipulators) [4]; Brachiator [5]; Catfall [10]; Constriction Attack (discounted for having tentacles, TG p. 28) [5]; Double-Jointed [15]; DR 3 (Can't Wear Armor, -40%; Crushing only, -40%) [3]; DR 1 (Can't Wear Armor, -40%; Top only, -40%) [1]; Discriminatory Taste [10]; Good Grip 2 [10]; High Manual Dexterity 1 [5]; Injury Tolerance: Damage Reduction /2 (Crushing only, -40%) [30]; Innate Attack, Spit (Tox) 1d (Takes Recharge, 1 hour, -30%) [3]; Nictating Membrane 1 [1]; Payload 2 (BL/5) [2]; Perfect Balance [15]; Sensitive Touch [10]; Slippery 1 [2]; Sonar Comm (Vague, -50%) [5]; Super Jump [10]; Vibration Sense (Water) [10].
• Perks: Burrower, Drench
• Disadvantages: Cannot Speak [-15]; Chummy [-5]; Clueless [-10]; Cold-Blooded (50) [-5]; Curious (15) [-2]; Gluttony (12) [-5]; Impulsive (12) [-10]; Increased Consumption 1 [-10]; Semi-Upright [-5]
• Quirks: Broad-Minded, Responsive, Weird Sense of Humor [-3].
• Feature

* Drench: Can moisten body parts at will, providing enough water to extinguish small flames, rinse off gunk, etc.

Climbing bonus +12; Escape +6

Common Learned Skills

Acrobatics, Gesture, Jumping, 

Common Optional Traits

Trickster is common among those who have left their communities and wander the cities or actually adventure.

Racial History

The Tuimelaar are a fairly young race that are very well adapted to their natural environment. They learned farming and irrigation to build and support small communities of dens and burrows. Each community typically has a central hut in a lake where they congregate for town meetings and parties.

They met elves first but most elves considered them merely smart animals, it was not until they met the dwarves that their history was changed forever. They learned writing and the power of magical writing from the dwarves with whom they have an extensive farming trade. Some Tuimelaar even moved into dwarven underground cities where they are appreciated for their fine detailed craftsmanship.

They do sometimes come into conflict with humans and elves when they dam up rivers to expand their wetlands and marshes, but these tend to be small local conflicts rather than full out race wars. Small communities have been known to spring up near harbors where they create their own farms by dredging fertile soil from the harbor.

Physiology

Appearance

Picture a three foot otter with, two long knobbed tails, the oversize hind legs of a frog, and tentacles for the two forelegs. Each foreleg further splits into a dozen smaller tentacles that provide a very effective grip. That is a Tuimelaar!

Anatomy

The body of a Tuimelaar relies on thousands of small heart type muscles that can rapidly pump fluid into or out of almost every part of its body. They have almost no bones at all and rely on cartilage and hydraulic pressure to control their movement. This gives them fine control with their tentacles and explosive power with their legs and tails.These muscles can also expel water from pores in the skin, allowing them to more easily escape grips, slip through tight passages and soil or even clean themselves. A similar muscle is used to spit a small glob of toxic fluid they use to hunt small game, though it takes an hour to produce poison enough for 1 shot. They also have a large pouch in their mouth they can use to store things in, including their young or even tools and equipment.

The pair of forearm tentacles each support an extra brain near the shoulder. The brains are slightly underdeveloped and can only control the arm, not the rest of the body.  They can communicate with the main brain however so it can sense what they do and direct them.  This allows more effective foraging by touch and vibration. The tendrils are very sensitive and adept so can be used to sense and manipulate with extreme precision.

They can understand the speech of most races but are unable to speak complicated sounds. Instead they use their powerful tails to tap out messages to each other. These signals can be heard up to 3 miles away underwater, about a mile through rock, and 50 yards in open air or loose soil. Messages are fairly crude, though they can issue quick warnings or calls for help.

Habitat

They prefer warm and damp environments, such as jungles, rain forests, and swamps. Their extraordinary climbing and jumping ability is a great advantage in these environments and they tend to dominate them. Note that their whiskers also provide an advantage in murky water where visibility is low. They also favor wetlands for farming and are good at irrigation where they cut down trees like beavers and pile up dirt from their warrens into dikes.

Psychology

 The Tuimelaar are a playful and chummy race and aggression tends to be rare. They get along very well with each other and any conflicts tend to be along the lines of practical jokes.

Some take their playfulness too far however and that is pretty much the main type of crime to be found in thier communities. Those who leave the community tend to do it for the challenge more than a seeking of riches or fame and often have Trickster as a disadvantage. They tend to be scouts or thieves due to their desires for challenge and their innate abilities. Tuimelaar make excellent scouts and second story men, though mages are also popular second choices.

They do not wear clothes as they would jut rip or fall off very quickly.  They do sometimes use tattoos and jewelry piercings to decorate themselves but tend to be fairly mundane in appearance as they generally eschew wealth. Any goods tend to be of a practical nature or for their home, which tend to be rather colorfully decorated.

Culture

They tend to live in farming communities but most will hunt small game or even larger animals. They tend to be very active and their communities will have ropes strung from trees and travel perches which they also use as watchtowers and informal gathering places.

They are excellent craftsman chefs and export food, clothes, and jewelry all around the world.

Language

They have a very complicated written language that has a visual and a physical component. The visual style tends to be composed of curved lines and shapes, with a lot of circles. The physical component provides subtext and must be felt to be read. Despite its complexity the language is less precise than others, especially dwarven and is meant to convey emotional and abstract concepts more than engineering ideas or precise measurements. Due to their natural climate paper is avoided and sturdier materials like bone and stone are preferred. One thing others find odd is they often write on tubes which is given a mark for the starting point and then read left to right and then down. 

The audible language is likewise very rhythmic and can convey emotion pretty well and even be used to make powerful and moving music.  The tails make drum or cymbal like sounds, while the pair of auxiliary heads can (with practice) imitate bird and other sounds. They have developed a signal portion of the language that is used for communicating things like numbers, distance and warning of danger or invitations to the hunt.

Combat

.The Tulmelaar rely on mobility and communication to defend their homes. They set up rope bridges and swinging lines between the trees in their territory and where trees are not enough the build travel perches and watch towers. When bandits or other threats approach they use their tails to signal a warning and its relayed quickly all across the village.  Tulmelaar make a habit of dangling their tails in water so they can communicate as far away as possible.

They will typically flank their foes from all directions, including above and where possible below and use hit and run tactics. They can attack at range with their toxic spitballs when needed but mostly rely on blowpipes and boomerangs, with Atlatls for armored foes. While they lack the range of bows they are easier to maintain and bring to bear in their chosen environment. Damage can be comparable and when not used for hunting they may be poisoned.

However their most effective and scary tactic is to leap at their foes with a Pounce or Slam and then either grapple and bite or leap away before the target can recover. They typically curl up into a ball before hitting and hit with their back to reduce the damage they take. This is an especially useful tactic against mounted foes (who may be unhorsed as a result) but also deadly against those unused to the terrain.

Tumbling Water

As the water flows and overcomes so shall you..

While there is a theological basis to this style it is first and foremost a practical one. Practitioners are taught effective use of grappling, jumping and slamming into foes. Smaller foes may be grappled outright, though with larger foes the goal is to knock them down again and again and wear them out, while also making them more vulnerable to attacks from your allies.

• Skills: Brawling; Climbing; Jumping; Stealth; Wrestling.
• Techniques: Attack From Above (Brawling); Attack From Above (Wrestling); Bite; Ground Fighting (Wrestling); Targeted Attack (Brawling Bite/Neck)
• Cinematic Skills: Flying Leap; Kiai; Lizard Climb; Power Blow; Push
• Cinematic Techniques: Dual Weapon Attack (Brawling Bite)
• Perks: Ground Guard (Wrestling); Sure Footed (Mud); Technique Mastery (Bite)

Optional Traits

• Advantages: Extra Attack 1; Super Jump 2; 
• Skills: Acrobatics; Naturalist; Survival (Jungle); Survival (Swamp); Theology
• Techniques:
• Perks:

Hanging Death

As the water flows and overcomes so shall you..

While there is a theological basis to this style it is first and foremost a practical one. Practitioners are taught effective use of grappling, jumping and slamming into foes. Smaller foes may be grappled outright, though with larger foes the goal is to knock them down again and again and wear them out, while also making them more vulnerable to attacks from your allies.

• Skills: Blowpipe; Lasso; Traps
• Techniques:
• Cinematic Skills:
• Cinematic Techniques:
• Perks:

Optional Traits

•  Advantages:
• Skills: Theology
• Techniques:
• Perks: