Trowls

The Trowls are perhaps the most ancient beings on the face of Gaeis, for it is obvious the are the most enduring. They carry centuries of wisdom behind their small, bleak eyes and the force of a siege-ram accompanies every swing of their arms. Nestled in cavernous kingdoms at the end of dark, winding mountain passages, the Trowls look down on the world below, observing, and occasionally, interfering.

Physiology

Trowls achieve heights from 7′ to 8′ in height. They have two digits on their broad feet and four stout fingers on their hands. Long braided hair or thick manes fall from their stony faces and horns sprout from their temples. Their large mouths sport large fangs that can protrude in an under-bite. Their eyes can be the color of coal, or as bright as diamonds, but lack much color, and they have broad noses. Their bodies are covered in ancient runes and spiral designs, painstakingly chiseled into their tough skin at "birth," (see below).

Appearance

Trowls are so rough and unyielding that they seem carved from solid rock. They adorn themselves with gold, silver, bronze and copper jewelry set with many precious stones, but prefer bold jewelry to the dainty, fragile things other races opt for. Trowls enjoy tobacco, and smoke pipes and cigars like chimneys. Trowls also have a tendency to be very loud when excited and their deep voices boom with authority.

There is little noticeable difference between Trowl men and women with regards to size, but the females are slightly shorter than the men and much wider in the bust and hips. Females also have shorter, more elegant horns than the men whose horns tend to be thicker and longer. Females tend to lack the protruding lower fangs so prominent in the men. Both genders grow thick manes of long hair.

Since they are large and broad, Trowl armor is usually pulled together piecemeal. They enjoy spiky or studded pieces, which accentuate their intimidating demeanor. Large gauntlets, prominent pauldrons, and sturdy vambraces and greaves are popular. Trowl men and women dress in scant clothing, with males frequently going about topless. Their fashion is practical and basic. Trowls like kilts and skirts, with the males wearing shorter ones than the women. One notable piece of Trowl clothing is the "War Apron", which is made from thick, resilient fabric and reinforced with small, square steel plates. Trowl war aprons are outfitted with lots of pockets for all the odds and ends Trowls need for war and utilitarian use (gunpowder, tools, tobacco, pet rocks, etc). Trowls do not decorate, pierce or modify their horns and see this practice as profane.

Personality

The Trowls are slow to act, and slow to anger, but when their ire is raised, they become truly horrifying. When enraged, a Trowl becomes little more than an angry juggernaut bent on destroying enemies. When they are calm, Trowls carry centuries of knowledge, even if they have a hard time recalling it or getting it into words. Trowls are slow to make promises, but take them very seriously. The term "carved in stone" is one which reflects the honor of the Trowls. To question a Trowl's honor is likely to invite disaster upon oneself.

Habitat

Trowls live in the mountains, hills and caves, where they can most easily find the precious stone from which they craft. For the promotion of their race, they cannot leave the rock for long. They prefer quiet, dark places of surety and security. They look unfavorably on things built of unsound materials. As such, they are found in Stone Falls, Spire, Bosemya, Kadwal, Tenebra, and around the abandoned city of Greygate.

Society

Trowls start life off as pure rock. When a new member of the clan is desired or needed, an existing Trowl will work at a single piece of stone for days, months, or years, until they are satisfied or until need declares the task finished. After a new Trowl clan member has been sculpted, the Elders place the animating runes on the Trowl and it becomes flesh and blood inside, with organs and all. Trowl skin starts off soft and clay-like and hardens over time to become stony and tough. So in this way, new Trowls are created, not birthed. Some say the Trowls created the Stone Princes ages ago, but have forgotten the secrets of their creation and have become estranged from them.

When a Trowl dies, news of his or her death must travel back to their kin and their name will be chiseled into the tablet of the dead, which is nothing more than a colossal wall of names of the dearly departed. Trowls prefer to have burial mounds erected over their corpses after death. Trowl legend has it that the mountain ranges of Gaeis are the burial mounds of the first Trowls of the world.

Relations

Trowls are one of the races which have adapted to fully embrace Industrialism. Not all Trowls ride the turning wheels of progress and technology however, but most at least seem to enjoy explosives, as it makes mining, masonry, and engineering much more interesting, if not easier as well. They also seem to enjoy guns. The Trowls strongest bond is with Humans. They dislike the tendency for Vayu and Pookah to be impatient and flaky. As they value things that last, Trowls have little involvement with the Entropism movement.

Motivations

Trowls will often leave the clan in search of inspiration for a new creation, more exotic tools with which to work the stone, in search of a lost or stolen item of value, or in search of a new material to craft from. A typical adventure for a Trowl might be to find a meteorite which contains a rare ore which the Trowl seeks to use in the creation of a new member of his clan, or to track down and kill a vandal who desecrated a very important sculpture: his life's work.

Max Caps

• Muscle 12
• Endurance 12
• Intellect 8
• Cunning 8

Powers

• Darkeyes: Trowls can see perfectly in low light and natural darkness. Their eyes glow with a faint reddish sheen.
• Gore: A Trowl's horns may be used to gore opponents. Treat this as a hand-to-hand attack with a Harm score of 5.
• Horned Charge: At the end of a charge, if a Trowl makes a hand-to-hand gore attack, the bonus to damage from charging is increased from +2 to +4.
• Howl: A Trowl may spend 4 AP and 2 MP to perform a Trowl-howl. This is a sonic attack which shakes the ground in front of the Trowl. The howl has a 10 ft. wide, 20 ft. long radius originating from the Trowl and extending outwards in the direction faced. Anyone caught in this radius must make a Gymnastics check opposed against the Trowl's Perform or be thrown to the ground, prone and stunned.
• Mountain-dwellers: Since they are used to traversing the difficult terrain of the hills and mountains, Trowls receive a racial bonus of +2 to Grip for climbing.
• Big and Bad: Being so large has its drawbacks. Trowls are at a −2 to Dodge. However, they possess a +1 racial bonus to their armor score due to their naturally tough hide.