Unaligned Terata

"Monstrous" beings based on unaligned stories and legends.

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Geliqurofi

Cerosian beings who do not like change.

• Lifespan : 200 years
• Diet: Hardy mortal fare
• Habitat: Arid mountains
• Socioeconomic Status: Privileged oppressed

Cerosian stoics. The average geliqurofi stands about 7’ tall. They have the heads of rhinoceroses, but they are far more expressive. They have large snouts with three keratin horns. They have broad frames with stocky arms and legs. Their hands have bone spurs on the knuckles. Their skin ranges from ruddy brown to dark grey, and they have pitch black eyes.

Geliqurofi have supernatural size, strength, and endurance. They can curl up into a ball and appear to be craggy rocks.

The horns of a geliqurofi are infused with magic. Every impact makes them stronger. They can shatter solid rock, rend metal, and break muscle and bone with ease. If they strike each other, the impact will cause both geliqurofi to temporarily have an aura of invincibility (about 15 seconds).

Non-geliqurofi in the presence of a geliqurofi can be overwhelmed by them, neutralizing them and their powers.

Geliqurofi are immune to one each of celestial, infernal, poioumenonic, and aetherial energies. Each geliqurofi has a different set of immunities.

In the arid mountains on a southern continent, the geliqurofi live in small cities carved into the terraced heights. They fashion great aqueducts, tunnel systems, and massive walls and catwalks that create stone fortresses out of their cities. They have a complex culture surrounding several ruling families and the industries they have influence over. They try to remain neutral in the world, but that is often not an option. All geliqurofi come together once a year for the Great Games, a series of combat games where they fight only with their horns. This festival is the biggest day of the year.

In the empires, they are privileged but still oppressed.

PRO 10 ATH 8 STR 12 AWA 8 WIL 9 PRS 8 STH 7

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Kukuran

Massive hairy canid-like people whose shaggy fur hides their massive, singular eyes.

• Lifespan: 80-120 years
• Diet: Common mortal fare
• Habitat: Anywhere
• Socioeconomic Status: Privileged oppressed

Kukurans are 8’ tall, shaggy canine-like hominids with floppy hair covering their singular, massive eye in their head. Their eye takes up two-thirds of their face. They have clawed hands and feet, small dog-like snouts, and sharp teeth.

Kukurans can see (even through their bangs) extreme distances. Their eyes are tougher than normal eyes, but still a weak point. They cannot go blind unless the eye is completely removed, and even then, the eye might regenerate. They are able to alter their vision if given enough time to refocus. The more unusual the refocus, the longer it takes. Becoming near-sighted or far-sighted might take a few hours. Changing their eye to see magical energies will take a month or more.

Kukurans are said to come from the satellite of another world, and their culture on Shem includes an astronomical component - they love scopes of all kinds, especially telescopes and microscopes, and they often employ them in their work, culture, and community. They are led by elected councils and do work as watchguards and observers for others. They love visual arts. Imperials exploit them for their vision and strength.

PRO 8 ATH 8 STR 10 AWA 12 WIL 8 PRS 7 STH 7 ESS 8

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Kurum

Ruddy-skinned mine-lurking “monsters” with huge claws.

• Lifespan: 60-100 years
• Diet: Subterranean fare and minerals
• Habitat: Subterranean
• Socioeconomic Status: Privileged oppressed

Kurums are ruddy-skinned beings with huge claws. They are about 6’ tall, have massive claws that are shaped like scoops, and six eyes on their heads. They are completely bald, hunchbacked, and have alligator-like tails. Some of them have glittery spots on their skin.

Kurums are able to breathe toxic gases or in low-oxygen environments. They are resistant to cold and heat. Their huge claws are used for digging, mining, tunneling, and gathering. They are able to see in the dark, and they can smell sweat in great distances underground. They are able to sift what they dig in their paws.

Kurums live in small communities underground, where they have mines and vast, subterranean farms. They grow strange plants and fungi deep underground, herd subterranean animals, and gather from mines the minerals they need to supplement their diets. They work with earth and stone, and they use dim lamps for illumination made from glowing animals. They are often exploited by imperials; their farming skills translate well to the surface.

PRO 9 ATH 7 STR 9 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 7 STH 9 ESS 8

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Pelledare

Huge bacteria people.

• Lifespan: 40-60 years
• Diet: Sugars, chemicals, oxygen
• Habitat: Subterranean acidic lakes
• Socioeconomic Status: Obscure privileged oppressed

Pelledares have spherical bodies with crystalline, tetragonal flesh. They have large, rounded arms and legs, and a small spherical head. They stand about 10’ tall. They have no facial features.

Pelledares are giant single-cell bacteria. They have a nucleus inside their heads; their tetragonal flesh is a cell wall. They are much more intelligent than that would suggest. They can sense bacteria, which they repel from themselves, and they are immune to acid, heat, cold, radiation, and lack of air. If they have no oxygen, they do not grow or age, but fall into stasis. Any oxygen will revive them, and they will resume their lives as if nothing happened. Their bodies are very squishy and they can fit through small passages easier than you would expect from a 10’ tall person.

Pelledares live in communities deep underground near acidic lakes. They are led by a warrior caste who protect the community, and they are known for their intricate sculptures carved into the cavern walls. They are very quiet and contemplative people, and many are scientists. They are sometimes used by imperials as soldiers or laborers, but most are unaware of them.

PRO 8 ATH 8 STR 12 AWA 8 WIL 8 PRS 7 STH 6 ESS 8

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Vaettir

Legendary beings of mortal law.

• Lifespan : 1,000 years
• Diet: Offerings
• Habitat: Temperate to subarctic
• Socioeconomic Status: Oppressed

Vættir appear to be broad-shouldered anthropomorphic figures who stand about 4’ tall. They are similar to gnomes and dvergars, but they are broader and have animalistic features in their faces. Most have goat-, cat-, fish-, deer-, lizard-, or dolphin-like features in their faces.

Empowered by ancient laws (though not Divine ones), vættir are bound to rules that give them powers and have great consequences if broken.

Individually, they have the ability to vanish twice daily, calm or panic animals twice weekly, shatter or mend objects twice monthly, exert extra strength (+9 for 30 seconds) twice yearly, and bind a mortal to the laws of the vættir twice in their lifetimes.

The rules that dictate the powers of a vættir:

• A vættir cannot be washed in warm liquid. This will cause their magic to be weakened or taken away for up to seven weeks.
• A vættir may not use or suffer the likeness of a dragon on any structure, vehicle, or statue within their community, lest their strength be lost until the likeness is removed.
• A vættir must remain in their domains (earth, mountain, forest, sea, lake, or house) and shall not move to a new location without performing the proper rituals of protection, lest they lose all of their powers, which derive from the laws of the domain.
• A vættir must exchange gifts with visitors and neighbors at certain times of the year, lest they lose their connection to their domains, causing terrible things to happen as the protections fade.
• A vættir dwells in a domain - an earthen area such as a mound or hill, a great mountain, a forest, the sea, a lake, or a home belonging to another kind of mortal - and may place protections upon it, usually for prosperity and health. There is a limit to their protections, of course, but they are generally able to provide adequate protection to be worth the offerings they require.

If they fail to live by their rules, the protections will weaken, and bad things will begin to happen within a week: livestock will sicken, crops will wilt, children will go missing, fields will fallow, adults will grow ill, objects may vanish. If they follow the rules meticulously, the opposite tends to be true: livestock remain healthy, crops and fields yield good harvest, children remain safe, objects are found easily, and adults remain hale.

Vættir must exchange gifts eight times per year:

• The first day of the year
• On the two equinoxes
• On the two solstices
• On Samhain
• On the first day of harvest
• On their birthday

The vættir are offered porridge with butter, apples and pears (preferably sliced into eight pieces), mulled wine, cider, warm bread, a fresh slaughtered pig, and so on are examples of offerings, but any offering of food or drink made politely will be accepted, so long as it is not poisonous to the vættir. Respect and politeness in offerings is of the utmost in importance. In exchange for these offerings, the vættir provides a song that promises protections, except on their birthdays, when they would instead perform chores around the house or do minor services for those making the offerings.

Vættir are bound to their own rules, which they are taught from a young age. They do not have to follow the rules until they understand them or until they reach the age of seven, whichever comes first. They dwell in small hollows under the ground or in shallow caves under the water, often under trees or houses or large rocks.

Each vættir family is headed by the parents, who share duties around the home and the domain. All vættir are expected to learn domestic skills, fighting, hunting, gardening, and more, for they never know which tasks the rules may require of them.

A vættir child is considered an adult by the age of 21, at which time they are tested by their family on the rules. If they do not pass the test, they are punished with a birch stick to the head and given a week to correct. They do this every week until they pass or run away. If they run away, they violate their own rules and die within a year and a day unless they find some supernatural means to survive.

As an adult, a vættir is expected to find their own domain and start a new family elsewhere, though in places where there are not many other vættir, they may remain with their original family for a long time. Their adulthood is spent taking on tasks and seeking someone to build a new family with. If they must find a new domain and not take one over, they must also make friends with the local mortals and share with them the laws, which the vættir learns from the domain itself after staying there for a fortnight.

Vættir make friends by making offerings, usually of food, and doing small tasks around the land, water, or house.

The main differences between national cultures is what kinds of spots they live in, the offerings they prefer, and their relationship with local mortals:

• Landvættir: they dwell in burrows and hollows under mounds; they tend goats and prefer offerings that can be shared with their herds (apples are a favorite); they mostly work with farmers and ranchers and try to be good protectors of the livestock and crops. If things go sour, they are quick to be driven off. They have a mischievous streak that sometimes gets them in trouble.
• Fjallvættir: they dwell in mountain caves near small towns or passes; they protect bridges and roads and keep them clean; they engage with travelers and locals alike; they prefer offerings of warm foods. If things go sour, they get blamed for avalanches and missing travelers, but this tends to enhance the locals’ desire to keep good relations. They tend to be very serious folk.
• Sjóvættir: they dwell in caves next to or under the sea; they protect sailors and fishers; they engage with locals from nearby fishing communities; they prefer offerings of fresh fruit and vegetables. If things go sour, they get blamed for shipwrecks, poor fishing seasons, and bad storms. They tend to be equally loved and feared. They tend to be jovial and like a good, bawdy song.
• Skogvættir: they dwell in great hollows within trees; they protect travelers and rangers and others in the forest, as well as the forest itself; they engage with the locals and travelers and also the animals of the wood; they prefer offerings of freshly butchered domestic animals such as pigs, for they will not hunt in their own wood. They tend to be respected greatly by the locals. They tend to be quick-witted and love riddles.
• Vatnavættir: they dwell in caves near or under lakes, rivers, and ponds; they protect travelers on rivers or those who live near lakes and ponds; they are often blamed for local drownings. They are feared and disliked. They prefer offerings of fresh fruits and cold meats. They tend to be a little romantic and love their stories.
• Húsvættir: they dwell under homes, usually in farming communities or small towns; they protect those who dwell in the homes; they do tasks around the house and protect from fires and illness; they usually have very good relations with those in the house and are considered part of the family. They prefer offerings of buttered porridge and warm bread. They are very serious about the rules of the house.

What is always made clear between vættir and those they dwell with or near is that they are not slaves. If ever there is not an equal exchange of gifts and services, they will exact payment or make clear the consequences. Furthermore, consequences are made clear beforehand, and if no agreement can be reached, the vættir will either relocate (after casting appropriate spells) or force the mortals to leave, depending on who has ownership. The laws follow the vættir.

Most in the empires are slaves brought from other parts of the world or their descendants.

PRO 8 ATH 9 STR 7 AWA 8 WIL 9 PRS 8 STH 9