Description
Khæn originate from a large group of islands, mostly situated in subtropical regions of Etera. They are a bit taller than other races (averaging around 6'1" / 185cm), have dark, tanned skin, hair and eye colours ranging from brown to black, and are well-known for their fit statures. Their many island-states form the Confederation of Khæn Islands, and they are the only race known for having a monolithic culture.
Between having short gestations and small newborns, and being no longer functionally mammals, the Khæn are rather lacking in sexual demorphism compared to the continental races.
Template
Khæn [+17]
3D Spatial Sense [+10] Acceleration Tolerance +8 [+2] Daredevil [+15] Khænish Spatial Talent 2 [+10] Skills: Piloting, Area Knowledge, Flight, Acrobatics, Aerobatics, Aquabatics Reaction bonus: Aircraft-related people, outdoorsmen etc. Perfect Balance [+15] Foolproof Reproductive System [1] Selfish (6) [-10] Code of Honor (Khaen) [-15] Honesty (Racial -50%) (6) [-10] Carnivorous (few exceptions) [-1] Sugar Rush [0] Natural Archwork [0] Split TL [0]
Template notes
Foolproof Reproductive system means that, for males, groin hit penalties are halved, while for females, gestation and menses are extremely light. Also, Khæn in physically mediocre shape become temporarily sterile.
Khæn posture is similar to Archwork posture from Bio-Tech, which gives up to +3 inches to average height. Khæn cannot wear rigid non-Khæn shoes and vice-versa, but mocassins are interchangeable.
Khæn are carnivorous by diet: they can substitute on meat alone, can eat raw (and/or somewhat rotten) meat with no ill effect, and can drink blood as easily as water; on the other hand, they gain negligible sustenance from plant food, and will be nauseated if forced to rely on it (but small additions for flavour are OK).
Sugar Rush: Concentrated sugar has an IQ-reducing effect similar to alcohol. However, for each point of IQ lost to sugar rush, Khæn gain +1 DX for the same duration. (This is Quirk: gets drunk on concentrated sugar and Perk: Drunken Fighting combined.)
Racial Honesty applies only to other Khæn.
Khæn have +1 TL for aerospace inventions, and -1 TL for Bio-Tech purposes. Thus, their use of First Aid restores 1d HP instead of 1d+1; it takes a Perk to get up to date training. Khæn also get access to TL10^ stats for aerospace vehicles, including the Backpack Dragonfly and supersonic Ornithopters.
The Code of Honour is detailed below:
Khæn Code of Honour
ARTICLE - EXPLANATION
- Competition - Frequently test your abilities against those of all others, in a mostly harmless way.
- Followship - When confronted with a better person, heed the advice.
- Leadership - When confronted with a weaker person, take at least some time to offer help and/or advice.
- Respect - Treat others with politeness and respect, at least as long as they do. Even an enemy deserves it.
- Defeat - When defeated, do not backstab the victor.
- Victory - Have mercy if your defeated opponent is honorable and will not harm you further.
- Interassistance - Give at least 1/5 of what you gain to those in need (children, military, medicine etc.); this can be replaces by a tax in other jurisdictions, but can not be less than 20% of income.
- Readiness - Carry and know how to use at least one (preferably more) weapons (unarmed styles count, but weapons are preferred)
- Purity - 'Do not cross blood'. This means no blood transfusions between Khæn and non-Khæn in either direction, and no procreative intercourse with non-Khæn (protected intercourse is OK).
- Honour - A mutually binding agreement is to be upheld, as long as it is reciprocal.
- Vengeance - Betrayals and insults must be avenged, even though not necessarily to the death (even a prank might be proper vengeance).
Childhood
Khæn are rather unusual for being much more inclined towards r-strategy of reporoduction than other humanoids. The race's gestation is short, and newborns are much smaller and lighter than those of continental races. However, they're capable of autonomous survival from day one: dextroes, quick, vicious and tough for their size. It is considered normal to simply release children into the wild jungles of the islands, where they proceed to live as a very cunning and small (but quickly growing) predator. In fact, they're considered the most resourceful and dextrous predator of their size category, and with the highest statistical rate of survival until adulthood, especially in the latter half of childhood, when they begin forming packs.
If approached, such children tend to shy away from vehicles and 'big people', resisting violently if pursued and/or caught. The adults normally leave such the feral kids alone, and will stop foreigners who try to interfere with their lives.
By adolescence, the feral ones lose some of their quickness, perceptiveness and fearfulness, while simultaneously gaining in terms of curiosity and reasoning ability. At this time, they tend to start approaching settlements and establishing social contact with the adults. They are very quick to pick up the Khænish language, but not other languages. It is traditional to offer them to become apprentices of whatever skills the settlers have at this point, and soon fully integrate them into society.
Epithets
Birdies, Proud Hunters, The Digitigrade People, Skymen, Junglers, Islanders.