Infernal Illittum

Species descended from greater infernal powers.

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Grile

Subterranean devourers of emotions.

• Lifespan : 2,000 years

• Diet: Emotion and meat

• Habitat: Subterranean Realm

• Socioeconomic Status: Ruling class

Griles appear to be 8’ tall, mottled, cobalt-blue-skinned and palest white beings with motes of light and shadow throughout their flesh. They have sharp claws that can rend stone and eyes made of molten metal. Their mouths are disproportionate to the size of their heads and filled with many different kinds of teeth - tusks, fangs, blunt molars, curved razors, and more. Their faces are blunt and broad, and their hair runs in a furry mane down their backs.

Griles can breathe a blue and white flame that transforms the target’s emotions into a wave of energy that is consumed by the griles. The stronger the emotions felt by their victims, the more they can consume. They do not need to devour negative emotions, but they choose to do so culturally.

Griles can cause negative emotions with their rasping, rumbling voices. They are natural ventriloquists, bouncing their voices throughout the caverns they dwell within. They have minor empathic senses for all emotions if they are close to someone, and they can see fear, loneliness, and sorrow as auras around people.

They hate sunlight and can only tolerate it if they find ways to block it from their eyes and shade their skin.

The original girls lie in nomadic bands of 289. If a 290th grile is born, the parent and baby leave the band and seek another to dwell with or the baby is killed.

Every band is led by the strongest warrior. In theory, griles could feed each other their emotions and survive without any help or support from others. Two griles could lead long, healthy lives feeding off one another. Loving couples do this in remote places, though if they meet a grile band, they are tortured and killed. But grile culture has evolved to instead torture others to desperate actions in order to feed. So griles take other mortals as slaves, keep them barely fed and watered, and torment them so they may feed off them.

Because grile society is so brutal, many slave griles escape their circumstances and seek a better life elsewhere. These are hunted, enslaved, and eaten. Many who manage to escape face discrimination in the cultures they seek refuge in and are driven out. But some find meaningful lives, especially among the jark’aqana. In the imperial lands, griles are almost always ruling class. The rare ones who aren't had a bad fall from grace.

Griles worship Thacyilzok, a mother goddess figure they credit with birthing them from the tears of desperate mortals. They believe that by driving others to desperate actions, they honor and feed her, and therefore, they are more in her favor.

PRO 11 ATH 9 STR 13 AWA 8 WIL 9 PRS 6 STH 7

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Kashirum

Gossamer illittum who molt into new forms.

• Lifespan : 100 to 3,000 years
• Diet: Bug-heavy mortal fare
• Habitat: Temperate
• Socioeconomic Status: Ruling class

Kashirum appear to be humans with arthropodal features. Their appearances range from humans with half of their bodies and arthropods with the rest to humans with just a few slight arthropodal features. The commonest arthropods they resemble are spiders, ticks, centipedes, beetles, flies, locusts, mantises, mosquitos, moths, scorpions, dragonflies, and wasps. Culturally, these are chosen because they are associated with power. When they are born, they resemble their parents’ physical appearances, but they molt by the age of eight and get to choose a new form if they wish.

Kashirum have the innate ability to spin light into gossamer light, the infernal energy of manipulation. They do this using mouths, their saliva, which transforms any light they “consume”, then spitting it out as a white slurry. They consume light simply by shining it into their mouths, closing them, and filling up with saliva.

Kashirum use their gossamer salvia to bind other living things. If they apply enough saliva, the person will be bound to them. Each binding allows for more control, each binding gives the kashirum power over another facet of the target’s Name: first mind, then heart, then body, then soul, then the full True Name.

Binding the mind requires only a little saliva. Anything they apply a drop of their saliva to will dissociate mildly, allowing the kashirum to more easily manipulate them.

Binding the heart requires a stronger dose. Anything they apply a mouthful of their saliva to will dissociate significantly, allowing the kashirum to more deeply manipulate them.

Binding the body requires a full wrap of the torso and legs (or equivalent). Anything they tie up in their saliva will be bound as if in spiderwebs, drained physically and slowly, allowing the kashirum to drink their blood for nourishment.

Binding the soul requires a total body wrap. Anything they enshroud in their saliva will be bound as if in spiderwebs, drained metaphysically, allowing the kashirum to steal a tenth their remaining average lifespan (maxing out at 500 years per victim) if they are of an intelligent mortal species. Non-conscious animals, plants, and fungi simply nourish the kashirum as if they ate a significant meal. Inmortal species give a kashirum an extra 500 years. An average kashirum will do this enough to live to the age of 300 or so, but most cannot afford the slaves or victims needed to do this. No kashirum can live beyond 3,000 years of age without some kind of potent supernatural intervention beyond their abilities. If they never consume a single soul, the average lifespan is about 100 years.

Binding the True Name requires performing the four previous bindings. Anything they bind four times will be subject to the fifth binding, which allows them to consume elements of the target. If the target is an arthropod, this allows the kashirum to take on parts of the arthropod in their appearance. If the target is any other living thing, it allows the kashirum to manipulate other beings of that species supernaturally through speech, touch, or gaze for up to a year and a day.

Binding something is exhausting, and most kashirum must rest up to eight days after consuming an intelligent mortal victim at any level. Non-intelligent creatures take less energy, unless they are otherwise supernaturally potent.

While bound in gossamer light, victims may resist. If they successfully resist, they may break free, and during the first 30 seconds or so after the binding is broken, the kashirum will be dazed and vulnerable.

Kashirum are born resembling their parents, having the same arthropodal features as their birthing parent and the same human-like appearance as their other parent. But at age eight or so, they molt, losing their arthropodal features and remaining vulnerable and raw until they find an arthropod of their own to bind and consume. If their parents are supportive (for any reason), they will be provided with one, but many are forced to find one on their own.

After their first consuming, they have to molt every eight to 64 years, depending on their powers. After they molt, they are very vulnerable until they find another arthropod to consume. For this reason, most keep a stock of their favored arthropod. If they do not consume a new arthropod within eight days, they regrow their arthropodal form but minimally. Their gossamer saliva powers will fade over time, and they will become nearly indistinguishable from humans, having only a few minor arthropodal features inherited from their birthing parent.

Most choose to keep using the same arthropodal form over and over, often preferring their first form consistently, but some choose to change it up.

All kashirum have some kind of venom, even if their arthropod doesn’t. If they have a stinger, they will have a venomous sting. Otherwise, they will have a venomous bite.

In the region of Talune, most are cicada-kin or wasp-kin. Their cultures are either based on being disconnected and aloof or based on being dominant, cruel, and sadistic.

Any PC playing a kashirum would play one who has given up their privilege and become a criminal.

PRO 9 ATH 8 STR 15 AWA 9 WIL 10 PRS 8 STH 8

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Lzs'ma

Deep-dwelling beings descended of unknown powers.

• Lifespan : 2,000 years

• Diet: Children, eggs

• Habitat: Deep sea

• Socioeconomic Status: Unknown

Lzs’mas range from 6’ to 10’ tall. They are palest white with nodules all over their leathery flesh. They have disproportionately long arms ending in sharp claws. They have no necks; their heads come directly out of their torsos. They have huge maws filled with sharp teeth, small snouts, and pinpoint, drab grey eyes. Their legs are stubby and their feet are clawed.

All lsz’mas have keen senses of smell. They live deep underwater and are immune to cold and the incredible pressures of the deep. If they move higher, they must adjust their bodies to the lessened pressures slowly or they will explode. Those on land must use special magic or technology to survive.

Lsz’mas are carnivorous. They do not need to eat juveniles or eggs to survive, but if they do, they gain powers similar to the way ogres do. However, instead of specific powers by species, they just gain more energy that they use to fuel one of three powers they might have: a slime that burns the flesh and poisons reproductive organs, a tentacle (growing out of their shoulders) that stuns and paralyzes, or a needle in their tongue that injects poisons that senesce the target rapidly.

Lsz’mas live in huge cities of bizarre construction deep under the sea. They are ruled by a Priest-King of the Lord of the Deeps, an undead deity who promises them an infinite feast and power. Those who come to the imperial lands are there to work with various land-dwelling powers on some strange task, or they come as refugees who have rejected the vile religion and feudal power of their homeland.

PRO 9 ATH 7 on land 9 in water STR 16 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 6 STH 7

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Tantum

• Taxonomic Order: Illittum
• Alignment: Infernal
• Lifespan: Varies
• Diet: Varies
• Habitat: Arid and semiarid mountains, temperate swamps
• Socioeconomic Status: Ruling class or Exotified privileged oppressed

Tantum are chaotic beings dwelling in the swamps of eastern Ansulym. Every tantum born takes one of eleven forms, which happen randomly without regard to the parents. These forms are as follows:

• Extremely tall horned snake person with six mouths, seven tongues, and seven belly buttons.
• Lion-headed, draconic body, winged, four legs.
• Lion-body, bird-legs, seven serpent heads.
• Eagle talons, lion arms, long neck, long tail, horned head, snake tongue, crest, reddish scales.
• Hairy hominid.
• Lion-headed person with bird feet.
• Dog person with human head.
• Scorpion person with human head and torso and arms, scorpion lower body and stinger tail.
• Living storm.
• Human head, arms, and torso, with fish lower body and tail.
• Human arms, torso, and head, and bull or bison hindquarters, ears, and horns.

Tantum are beings of chaos, and therefore, they have no consistent powers. Some powers they might be born with include the following:

Power	Description	Roll
Venomous bite	the bite of the tantum inflicts poison at a power of 11.	1-10
Increase or decrease size	they can grow or shrink themselves bodily at will, ranging from half their size to thrice their size.	11-12
Expanded diet	they can consume and digest objects others might not be able to at a power of 11.	13-15
Venom instead of blood	their blood is entirely replaced with a venomous fluid at power of 11.	16-20
Splendorous appeareance	they glow slightly and are perceived as impressive (PRS+3) at will.	21-24
Control river current	if they swim in a river, they can control the current around them, power of WIL.	25-29
Domestic animal influence	they can subtly influence the behavior of domesticated animals at a power of PRS.	30-33
Protect from infernal powers	they can grant someone else protection from infernal energies at power of 11.	34-36
Instill Name	they can give an extra (False) Name to someone or something.	37-38
Protect from death	they can prevent someone from dying of a mortal wound with their touch.	39-42
Summon natural disaster	once per year, they can summon a natural disaster that would not naturally occur in the area they are in.	43-44
Empowered by the sun	while the sun is out, they take +1 to all base stats.	45-49
Protect from disease	they can spit on someone and give them a +3 vs. any disease or poison.	50-53
Dual image	they can create a mirror image of themselves that can act independently for an hour, once per month.	54-58
Death gaze	their gaze (WIL) can kill if they lock eyes with someone, once per week.	59-60
Shadowwalk	they can vanish into shadows and teleport to another shadow within 300'.	61-64
Terrifying presence	they appear terrifying to those who can see them (PRS+3) at will.	65-68
Chaossight	they can see the primordial origins of any target, but they risk entering a psychotic break for three days (roll WIL vs. 14, +3 for every use subsequent, with no restoration).	69-72
Storm control	they can control any storm with their shout, howl, or scream, power of WIL.	73-76
Summon storms	they can summon a storm by stamping their feet, power of WIL, once per year.	77-78
Bond to weapons	they can bond their life to a weapon they have wielded in combat and spilled blood with, meaning they die only if the weapon is broken (conversely, they also die if the weapon is broken).	79-81
Shapeshifting	they can take one of their other potential forms once per year.	82-85
Alter luck	player rolls a d8-1, and that many people within 13' of them rolls a d4. If they roll a 1, no change. If they roll a 2, they take the low die for all rolls until their luck changes. If they roll a 3, they take the middle die for all rolls until their luck changes. If they roll a 4, they take the high die for all rolls until their luck changes.	86-89
Give Divine favor	if they mark someone with their blood, that person will have +6 favor from a random deity, which will be presented to them the next time the target dreams.	90-92
Repel intruder	if the tantum marks their abode with their own blood, intruders suffer a -3 to all actions if they come with ill intent toward the tantum.	93-95
Inflict hex	the tantum mark metaphysically mark someone within line-of-sight, inflicting a randomly generated bad effect on them.	96-98
Astrological insight	the tantum can look into the stars and gain insight into the events of the next month.
99-100	Every morning (whether they have rested or not), the player rolls a d4. What they roll on the d4, that's how many times they roll a d100 to see which powers they have for the day. If they roll a power that has a recovery period, they do not restore the power if it has been used within the recovery period (i.e., if it is once a year, and they have used it within a year, they do not get it again, they simply have no power for that roll).

Tantum live in tribes in the marshes and deserts to the east, but those in the imperial lands come as revered beings who come from powerful, ancient dynasties and great magic. They are revered as sages and protectors by the imperials.

Any PC playing a tantum would be one who lost their privilege.

Stats vary drastically by form. Confer with the GM.