Pehnu

The pehnu are a rat-like race of small humanoids that inhabit the Mirabi Desert. They, along with the Taukal, insist that their ancestors came from far across the desert from a homeland of animal-kin. Many pehnu have become adventurers in order to seek out their forgotten homeland, but have come up empty handed. The Seelie and Unseelie courts have offered them little help, and Scheherazade offers them only riddles. So they soldier on, intrepid little wanderers in the Walking Wastes. Many live in caravans around the Mirabi, while other live as urchins or sellswords in Bizarre Bazaar.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

The pehnu are cunning creatures with sharp wits, giving them an edge over the average human.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Pehnu have typically Persian and Egyptian naming conventions.

Common Dress Code

Typical pehnu tend to wear leather wrappings or clothing over their ears and hands, to protect their sensitive skin from burning in the desert sun, along with tinted goggles to protect their night-adapted eyes from sand and bright light. Otherwise, pehnu dress similarly to other desert races.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Pehnu have a mostly neutral relationship with other races, with two notable exceptions. They view the Taukal as a sort of kin, both sharing folklore that they come from a distant kingdom across the desert. Lizardfolk, however, they fear deeply if they have not had many experiences with them. Lizardfolk, being proud and noble beings, would mean no harm to a pehnu, but some primal fear wells up in the pehnu who do not know better.

D&D 3.5e

Pehnu Traits

Pehnu possess the following racial traits.

-4 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence.
Small size: +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits ¾ those of Medium characters.
A pehnu's base land speed is 30 feet.
Low-light vision
Scent
Immunity to non-magical disease
+2 to hide and move silently checks.
Automatic Languages: Common.
Favored Class: Rogue.