Tuorn

Nomadic tribes of large, feline bipeds, constantly preparing for the Last War at the End of Days.

Appearance

With the face of a hunting cat and their huge size, Tuorns tend to dwarf and intimidate smaller people. They stand between eight and nine feet tall. They are covered in fur and their sensitive ears dart here and there on top of their heads. Whiskers sprout from their face. The fur of a Tuorn can be nearly any color, but many tribes possess similar colorings and markings. Their hands end in long claws which can be used in battle when deprived of other weapons.

Personality

Very little frightens the Tuorn. They like to respond to intimidation with violence, taunts with violence, and violence with... well, violence. They aren't a race particularly known for their wisdom or acumen, preferring brute force to subterfuge. The Tuorn are filled from a very tender age with stories of The Last War, the war which will end the world and determine the fate of the universe. In preparation for that fateful day, the Tuorn roam the world, sharpening their skills in battle and seeking cadence between mind, body, and the strange forces of the universe. As such, they tend to be disarmingly forward, gloomy, and just slightly fanatical.

Habitat

Tuorn are nomadic and tribal. As such, they roam the Southlands, content to stay in one place so long as they like. They pick up stakes and move whenever the mood strikes them. Long ago, the Tuorn lived on the Sigullian Peninsula, but after the Triadan Civil War and the fall of Rune, the Tuorn quickly abandoned that haunted land, moving across the sea in a mass exodus.

Society

In Tuorn tribes, there are no bonds of marriage. Members of the tribe may lay with whomever they like. Occasionally this creates rifts within the tribe as couples and rival suitors quarrel over mates, but mostly the Tuorn conduct their customs without issue. Bonds of love are considered secondary to the bonds tying a Tuorn to the tribe. The females rear the children of the tribe, though the entire tribe is responsible for the well-being and upbringing of any tribal child. If Tuorn are separated from their tribe, they will always make a strong attempt to rejoin them, if that is possible. Tuorn view exile from the tribe as extremely dishonorable. Tuorn also view surrender with distaste, preferring to retreat or escape or if cornered, to fight to the death, rather than be taken captive. Tuorn are exceedingly loyal to their “tribe,” even if that tribe is a group of like-minded adventurers.

Adventurers

Tuorn will often leave their tribe to embark upon tests of manhood or womanhood, or to go on “walkabouts.” These are spiritual journeys where a Tuorn sets off on his or her own with no particular destination in mind in order to ponder on and deal with personal conflicts or issues. A quest of atonement undertaken in order to rejoin a tribe, a walkabout, or a prophecy regarding The Last War which must be retrieved and returned to the tribe's elders are all great reasons for a Tuorn to stalk off into the big, wide world.

Max Caps

• Courage 12
• Muscle 12
• Intellect 8
• Insight 8