Varg

The loyal beastmen created by giants who have inherited the legacy of their Dwarven Forefathers

Base Racial Traits

Ability Score Modifiers: Varg are both strong and wise, but also a bit simple-minded. They gain +2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, and –2 Intelligence.
Size: Varg are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Type: Vargs are humanoids with the Dwarf and Varg subtypes.
Base Speed: Varg have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
Vision: Varg can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet. Additionally, they are capable of seeing through snowstorms, blizzards, and other cold based extreme weather conditions, ignoring the miss chance and perception penalties for these obstructions up to their normal normal range of vision.
Languages: Varg begin play speaking Giant only. Varg with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following languages: Giant, Terran, Sylvan, Goblin, Aklo, Draconic, Orc, and Common.
Ancestral Form: Said to have been born from the most loyal hounds of the Dai-Yukai, Varg can as a move action shift between their own form and the form of a mundane wolf. This functions as Beast Shape I.
Hound's Habits: Despite their new forms, Varg most keenly recall their ancestry and the skills that they once held dear - they gain Survival and Perception as class skills, and gain a +2 racial bonus to one of them(Player Choice).
Unobtrusive: Varg, with bodies designed to be as unobtrusive as possible, do not impede allies from charging through their square and act for such purposes as if they were not located in their square. They are likewise immune to allied tramples and overrun maneuvers and do not impede such actions. As an immediate action, a Varg can accompany a charging, overrunning, or trampling ally that passes over their square or through an adjacent square and end up in any square beneath or adjacent to the ally at the end of their charge, overrun, or trample. This movement does not provoke Attacks of Opportunity.
Hardheaded: Varg, with skulls as strong as Iron, gain a slam natural attack using their head - this headbutt attack is a primary natural attack that deals 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage at base(x2 Critical) and allows them a free bull rush attempt that does not Provoke against a foe hit by this attack. Additionally, it ignores all hardness less than 10 when dealing damage and ignores all metal-based DR when used against creatures of the construct type.
Musclebrained: Varg, though strong and loyal, are often times better at thinking with their muscles than their brains - Varg may use STR in place of INT for any three INT based skill checks and may remove the 'requires training' aspect from such skills if they have such a restriction. Additionally, they may, once a day as a free action, ignore a condition they would recieve such as Blindness, Fatigue, Exhaustion, Etc., and nullify its effects upon them - though they do not in any way nullify anything else surrounding it, such as an attack or spell used to deliver it, if such thing would have other effects such as damage.
Dwarven Inheritors: Said to have inherited the legacy of the Dwarven people with the blessing of the Dai-Yukai Creator Goddess, Varg nurture the embers of that legacy within them always - they gain Fire and Cold Resistance 5 and may cast Enlarge Person as a 1/day SLA using their Character level as the Caster Level. This SLA can be cast as a swift action if it is targeting themselves.
Unstable Physiology: With bodies and genetic structures not yet fully actualized or completed, Varg take a -4 on saves versus polymorph and hostile transmutation effects. However, this unstable biology gives them the constant benefits of an Extraordinary Ring of Sustenance effect.
Undying Loyalty: Each day at dawn, a Varg can designate a creature they can see as their charge(Who can be a trusted ally, chosen master, or otherwise) - doing so immediately un-designates all previous charges besides the currently selected one. Once chosen, a Varg and their Charge gain a two-way empathetic link that works so long as both remain on the same plane of existence. While this link remains in effect(Which can be dismissed by either creature by spending one minute in uninterrupted concentration), the Varg and their charge gain a constant Life Pact effect as per the spell except for the extended range of the pact(functioning at the range of the link). The link can be dismissed by either party as a full-round action that does not provoke to summon the other party to their side so long as both were within one mile of each other.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Created by Aslauge Daenic and the Dai-Yukai through secretive and profane rituals, Varg anatomy is an overall mysterious and as of yet poorly researched thing - believed to be a fusion of wolf and dwarven biology, they are bipedal creatures who bear similiarities to their parent species but who have yet to be examined in any great detail by biologists.

Genetics and Reproduction

Because the Varg were created so recently by Aslauge Daenic and her Dai-Yukai of the Aslagan Mountains, their biology was never quite completed - as greater emphasis was put on creating a stable genetic base than ensuring the species' complete independence, the Varg do not yet have a totally stable means of reproduction.
While they are designed to eventually reproduce via Sexual Reproduction much akin to the likes of Humans, this process in the current day is not yet perfected - meaning most Varg remain asexual entities with little biological concept of males or females, with most of their numbers being grown under unknown conditions via unknown means by Dai-Yukai shapers, with assistance from a handful of the first-generation Varg who yearn to eventually complete their species.

Growth Rate & Stages

Varg, once born, come of age exceptionally quickly - they have almost no childhood to speak of, and reach full biological maturity by one year of age. Full mental maturity follows close behind by age 4 or 5, whereupon they are considered to be adults by the standards of their people.
Once they come of age and reach adulthood, their animalistic biology which to that point ensure rapid growth and biology begins to give way to their more stable and long-lived Dwarven and Giant biology, which ensures Varg do not reach Middle Age until age 85.
Reaching Old Age at age 130 and later on becoming Venerable age 155, Varg die of old age shortly thereafter - or, at least in theory.
In actuality, these numbers are mere estimates of the Dai-Yukai Shapers and their Varg assistants - as the Varg have not been around long enough for any Varg to have died of old age.

Ecology and Habitats

Varg, created from animals, dwarves, and giants as they were, are best specialized for underground life - equipped to survive for long periods of time while acting independently with the support of animalistic senses, Varg thrive best underground or in mountainous or cavernous environments where they can mine, dig, and use their senses to work where other species might fail or become exhausted.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Varg are omnivores - capable of devouring anything and everything to acquire nutrients.

Biological Cycle

Much of the Varg Biological cycle is as of yet unknown - they have not existed longer than a handful of decades, so studies done upon them have yet to bear fruit.

Behaviour

Varg, on the whole, draw heavily from their animalistic heritage - they are often skittish and quick to distrust, but place great emphasis on loyalty and steadfast friendship once they come to trust someone. In this way, they also hearken back to their Dwarven Ancestors - though in many ways their Dwarven Tendencies toward diehard bonds and friendships for life has only been magnified by their new animal heritage. Because so many Varg have intense biological memories of serving for decades as the Guard Dogs and Hunting Hounds of Aslauge Daenic and her Dai-Yukai of the Aslagan Mountains, they often "imprint" on others quite easily during their formative years - treating the beings they imprint upon as their equivalent of "parents".
Derided by some as "dogs in dwarven skin", they do sometimes come off as obedient and overly loyal, but they are by no means slaves - great care was taken by their creators the Dai-Yukai to make the Varg their own species, and while the Varg's natural emotional intelligence and loyalistic tendencies may incline them towards working alongside their creators, just as many strike it out into the world at large to find their place within it. To many Varg, once they have found those they consider as steadfast friends and close allies, they will do anything - even die - to protect those they care for.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Varg faces are strange things, like an odd cross between a Dwarf and a Wolf - overwhelmingly hairy with a sloped forehead reminiscent of Hobgoblins, they lack a visible nose beyond slits in their face and sport a massive mane of hair that hides much of the rest of their face.
Because of their odd faces and strange bodies, many Varg prefer to wear masks, helmets, and bulky attire to alleviate a condition many of them suffer from not entirely dissimilar to Body Dismorphia, which causes them to feel vaguely uncomfortable showing their true appearance to others out of a fear of being mocked or chided for their odd appearances.

Average Intelligence

Varg, though they are often eager and loyal, lack the full intelligence of other species such as Humans - making them a bit simple-minded by comparison.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Owing to their Dwarven Heritage, Varg have excellent vision in dark environments as their eyes process light in the same hyper-efficient ways that the eyes of Dwarves once did - however, in addition, the ancestral vision of their creators the Dai-Yukai have blended with the old Dwarven biology and granted the Varg the blizzard sight the Dai-Yukai themselves are so well known for.

If anyone's to blame for the extinction of the Dwarves, it's Moradin - in more ways than one. The Giants may have gotten the ball rolling, but in the end, it was Moradin's grudges that did them in.
In the end, the Dwarves really only had two choices - fade into extinction as their population slowly dwindled away, or let the Dai-Yukai under Aslauge Daenic try and save them with what little time and expertise they had.
For alot of them, the choice was obvious.

— Unknown

Lifespan

155 Years

Conservation Status

Varg, created by Dai-Yukai, are found almost exclusively found in and around the Aslagan Mountains - their numbers are overall quite low and while they may be currently endangered, they are steadily growing their populations thanks to efforts by their creators.

Average Height

3.3ft - 4.6ft (1 - 1.4m)

Average Weight

132lbs - 176lbs (60 - 80kg)

Average Physique

Though their intelligence may be lacking, Varg are unnaturally strong of body - with well developed muscles, they are stronger than average and capable of incredible feats of strength.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Varg are often dark-skinned and dark-furred, though this may change and adapt depending on the environment they inhabit. They tend to have a massive amount of fur on average that hides much of their body and makes them look bulkier than they otherwise are, though their skin can range the gamut from light white to dark tan or outright black.
Their eyes tend to be muted colors, however - rarely leaving the grey or monotone spectrum, for reasons that are not fully known.

Discovered by

Aslauge Daenic