Verdan
Welcome to the chapter of the Verdan. If you saw the cover for this chapter and thought "Oh that's just a goblin or hobgoblin", congratulations! You're wrong! But that's nothing to be ashamed of friend. Many people get them confused as they are descended from these fine goblinoids. And despite those differences, they have some similarities. Though be careful what you think about them because you never know when one will be inside your head.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Verdan share a similar appearance to goblins and hobgoblins due to their lineage, being bipedal humanoids of their bloodline. However they do shift in appearance in relation as after they reach adulthood, they go from 3 - 4 feet tall to 5 - 6 feet. That isn't the only change in their apperance, however. More Intelligent Verdan will have larger foreheads/heads, stronger ones will have bigger muscles, wise ones seem to have clearer vision and sharper ears. A Verdan's appearance is always shifting and mutating based off the skills they learn.
Growth Rate & Stages
Verdan don't reach adulthood until their mid 20s, being one of the slowest growing races in Avestra. However, they are known to live 200 years as a start and can even reach 500 years.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
While the Verdan lost the darkvision of the goblinoids, they gained a limited form of telepathy and have a greater insight into people thanks to their psionic talents.
Civilization and Culture
History
The Verdan are another example of the experimentation of the Elders. While they mainly dominated the different goblinoids, some took it upon themselves to experiment on them as well. These experiments gave rise to the Verdan from the goblins and hobgoblins who served. Their blood turned black and their innate traits changed to serve more psionic purposes, the Verdan were an abomination in the eyes of the goblinoids they were once like.
However, their experiments made them harder to control and as Eternals freed more and more of them, the Elders lost what little connection they had to this new race. For the Verdan, this gave them freedom to do what they wished in the world. It also exposed them to how they were truly seen. Many goblinoid tribes on the Jade Coast refuse to accept them, casting them out as exiles and monstrosities. In other lands, they are viewed with suspicion due to their origin and the mutations that constantly change their body.
In the end, the Verdan put up with these flaws, either hoping to convince the others that they have as much right to exist as the goblinoids do or simply casting aside these opinions and living their lives as best they see fit. They didn't choose the lives they were given but they will live them as best as they can.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
While Verdan are rejected by their goblinoid cousins, they have found acceptance in other groups. The Kalasthar welcome the Verdan as they were both creations of the Elders. Since they both persecution due to this fact, they look out for each other and it is not uncommon for a Verdan group to house a Kalashtar or vice versa. Additonally, due to the social chameleon aspect of many Verdan, Changelings have taken a liking to them as they are the only ones that can see their their different personas and actually get to know them as their true selves.
Some Verdan have willingly fallen back into the arms of Elders and Aberrations, driven to darker thoughts by the hardships they face. These Verdan cause the prejudice of the innocent ones to continue, using their talents to aid the mysterious entities in their bid to eradicate reality.
Comments