Beetling
Also known as the “Humans of The Underrealm”, beetlings are nearly as diverse and take up a large portion of the Enthos population.
Basic Information
Biological Traits
All beetlings possesses an extremely hard shell that helps protect them from the dangers of the Underrealm, but many also grow long horns on their heads that can be used for offensive measures.
Genetics and Reproduction
Beetlings generally lay clutches of eggs, usually around three to six.
Growth Rate & Stages
Beetlings go through several stages in childhood, as they start as a larva, and must go through several molts to grow their shells. A beetling reaches adulthood at 10 years of age.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Most beetlings subside on a diet of mushrooms, although some surface dwelling beetlings also add various plants to their diets.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Beetling society ranges immensely from tribe to tribe, however a common shared factor among beetlings is loyalty and selflessness. Beetlings are always eager to prove themselves helpful, and can often be found working service jobs that other races might balk at. However, there are many beetlings that see their brethren as foolishly optimistic, and take advantage of their kin to rise into positions of power.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Beetlings are prized as slaves due to their hardy constitutions.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
A vast majority of beetlngs dwell in the Underrealm, mostly in the city of Khansa, but some stay on the surface in Ardlams' massive forests.
Average Intelligence
Beetlings are empathic, driven, and diverse. While many in remote regions lack education, beetlings that dwell in large scale villiages and cities are often able to receive education.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
All beetlings have darkvision and the ability to see in low-light conditions, although some beetlings can see much farther in the dark in exchange for being blinded by light.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
Many beetlings raise giant beetles as forms of pets or guards.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
In Enthos, Beetlings refer to their own species as ǃʰoǂoǂʰoǀoǂ; roughly translating to "Varied Beetle".
Major Organizations
A majority of the beetlings are members of the religious order of Gromir, known as the Order of the Unbroken Shield.
Many beetlings are also members of D.E.C.K. or the Duergar-Enthos Coalition of Kingdoms, a formal alliance with the duergar against the drow. While the benefits of the alliance are numerous, many beetlings still remember the time of which thier ancestors were at the mercy of duergar slaveowners, and have yet to forgive the sullen dwarves.
Beauty Ideals
While local customs vary, many beetlings enjoy painting their shells or wearing jewelry crafted from elaborate Underrealm crystals.
Gender Ideals
While ideals differ from tribe to tribe, most beetlings stand on equal footing to one another, with no particular gender receiving special treatment.
Courtship Ideals
Courtship among beetlings differ from region, but they have no particular set courting ritual. Many female beetlings are known for getting easily flustered or even obsessing over a potentaily mate.
Relationship Ideals
Beetlings are friendly, optimistic and social creatures creatures. They often form lifelong friendships and are one of the most relatable of the enthos race.
Average Technological Level
Beetling society seems to mimic the surface world, with many creations acting in a similar manner to items on the surface world.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Most beetlings speak only Enthos, but some beetlings can be found also speaking Common, Hive-dance, Terran or Undercommon.
Common Etiquette Rules
Most beetlings are quite polite, and will often go through the effort of being as hospitable as possible to their guests.
Common Dress Code
Many beetlings either wear large, baggy clothes that can fit over their shells, or clothes that can avoid most of their shells, such as short vests or suspenders.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Most beetlings view working in the town guard for at least a year as an honor and a rite of passage, and thus many beetlings will join their local town guards at some point in their life.
Common Taboos
While each tribe has their own expectations, for a beetling to abandon a friend in need, or to not fight to defend their tribe would bring much dishonor on their family name.
Historical Figures
The Nessarad is a mythologized warrior-saint of beetling culture, who was crucial in the freeing of Enthos-kind from the Duergar. It is said that they still patrol the lands, helping to free suffering enthosian slaves, although debate on whether this is still the original Nessarad, living far beyond the lifespan of a normal beetling, or it is a title passed on from those who are found worthy.
Common Myths and Legends
A majority of beetlings worship their racial demigod Gromir, the Defender, who personally defends the beetling capital from the constant invasions of the other Underrealm races.
Although a recent memory in the mind of the duergar, the story of a Beetling named the Nessarad as become mythologized. The Nessarad, and her loyal companions, were arrested immediately following the duergar Day of Pain, an event that claimed the lives of nearly 1/4th of the duergar population. Accused of the crime, The group was brought before the duergar king. The Nessarad demanded to be allowed to take the Hammer Trial, a test to life the duergar kings hammer, of which only one chosen by Gunter could hold aloft. Since the group had a duergar among them, the King agreed, faling to see how a lowly enthos could ever be deemed worthy. Under the Nessarads lead, and utilizing a combination of magic and science, the group was able to remove the section of the floor the hammer rested upon, and utilizing some leverage, allowed them to hold the hammer up, if just for a breif moment. The test, they argued, was simply to hold the hammer aloft, not that it needed to be removed from its place on the ground. The King, furious at first, laughed and remarked that they indeed had upheld the spirit of Gunter, and allowed them their request to be set free. With their guidance, the King decided that an alliance was to be made, and together, the Duergar-Enthos Colition of Kingdoms, or D.E.C.K. was founded.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Beetlings have a relatively good relationship with other races, due to their loyal nature. However, they are still looked down upon and often exploited because of their willingness to help. The Drow in particular love to capture and emotionally break beetling slaves just for the joy of seeing their cheery nature evaporate. Duergar value them as slaves just as much, but more for their labor potential rather than as entertainment. Many of the other Underrealm enthos view them as weak and foolish, but surface dwellers who get to know the beetlings often find themselves moved by their acts of bravery and heroics.
In recent times, with the ousting of the duergar from their ancestral home by the drow, many duergar have fled to Beetling cities, now bargaining with them on equal footing. The beetlings acceptance of their once oppressors has led to the duergar granting the a begrudging respect, and their metalcraft contributions have greatly boosted the beetlings economic standings.
Racial Table - Beetling: Hit Dice: D8; Class Skills: Knowledge (Geography), Perception, Sense Motive, Stealth, Survival; Skill Ranks Per Level: 2 + Intelligence modifier; Weapon Proficiency: Simple; Armor Proficiency: Medium, plus all forms of shields
| Level | BAB | Fort | Reflex | Will | Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Cave Dweller, Hardy, Natural Armor, Vermin Empathy |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +0 | Burrow, Protective Roll |
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +1 | +1 | Natural Armor Increase, Paralysis Immunity |
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Rebuke Death, +1 Constitution, +1 Wisdom |
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Supreme Shell |
Random Starting Ages
| Adulthood | Intuitive1 | Self-Taught2 | Trained3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 years | +1d4 years (11 - 14) | +1d6 years (11 - 16) | +1d8 years (11 - 18 years) |
Random Height and Weight
| Gender | Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 2 ft. 4 in. | +2d6 in. (2 ft. 6 in. - 3 ft. 4 in.) | 25 lbs. | +(2d6 lbs.) (27 - 37 lbs.) |
| Female | 2 ft. 2 in. | +2d6 in. (2 ft. 4 in. - 3 ft. 2 in.) | 20 lbs. | +(2d6 lbs.) (22 - 32 lbs.) |
Beetling Aging Table
| Middle Age (-1 to Str, Dex, and Con, +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha) | Old (-2 to Str, Dex and Con, +2 to Int, Wis, and Cha) | Venerable (-3 to Str, Dex, and Con, +3 to Int, Wis, and Cha) | Maximum Age (GM secretly decides maximum age) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 years | 30 years | 40 years | 40 + 1d10 years (41 - 50 years) |
Random Beetling Homelands
| % Rolled | Homeland | Trait Gained |
|---|---|---|
| 01-60 | Subterranean | Surface Stranger |
| 61-80 | Forest | Affable |
| 81-95 | Desert | Desert Child |
| 96-00 | Unusual Homeland | (Roll on Unusual Homeland table) |
Random Beetling Families
| % Rolled | Parental Status |
|---|---|
| 01-27 | Only Father is alive |
| 28-53 | Both of your parents are alive |
| 54-79 | Only Mother is alive |
| 80-00 | Both of your parents are dead |
| % Rolled | # of Siblings |
|---|---|
| 01-30 | 1d6 Siblings |
| 31-60 | 1d4+1 Siblings |
| 61-90 | 1d3 Siblings |
| 91-00 | No siblings |
Lifespan
41 - 50 years
Average Height
2 ft. 4 in. - 3 ft. 4 in.
Average Weight
22 - 37 lbs.
Average Physique
Beetlings are immensely bulky, but their shell slows their movements.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Beetlings come in all sorts of shapes and colors, with varying shell sizes, pigments, and features. Beetlings are proud of their diverse heritage, and are happy to discuss at great lengths the differences that make their particular tribe special.
Geographic Distribution
Beetling
Type
Vermin (Enthos)
Ability Score Modifier
+2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Dexterity: Beetlings are tough, but slow.
Size
small
Speed
Beetlings have a base speed of 20 feet
Language
A beetling begins play speaking Enthos. A beetling with a high intelligence score can pick from the following languages: Common, Hive-dance, Terran or Undercommon.
- Materil: Beetlings are tied to both the Earth Matera and the Shadow Matera, allowing them to become Earthbreakers or Shadowbringers.
- Darkvision: Beetlings can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.
- Low-light Vision: Beetlings can see twice as far as humans in low-light conditions.
- Cave Dweller: Beetlings naturally prefer being underground. They gain a +1 racial bonus on Knowledge (Dungeoneering) and Survival checks while underground. These bonuses increase by 1 for every two hit dice beyond the 1st the beetling possesses.
- Hardy: Beetlings gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities. These bonuses increase by 1 for every five hit dice beyond the 1st the beetling possesses.
- Improved Natural Armor: Beetlings gain a +3 natural armor bonus to their AC. This bonus increases by 1 at 3rd racial level.
- Vermin Empathy: All enthos can utilize the Handle Animal skill on vermin creatures, despite them being mindless. An enthos spellcaster can cast spells that normally only affect animals on a vermin creature, and enthos druids can utilize wild empathy on vermin as if they were normal animals. An enthos gains a +4 racial bonus to handling vermin of a similar nature to them.
- Burrow: Starting at 2nd racial level, a beetling gains a burrow speed of 10 feet.
- Protective Roll (Ex): Starting at 2nd racial level, as a full-round action, a beetling can roll up into its shell to protect itself. Its shell is treated as an object with hardness equal to 2 x the total hit dice of beetling. While in the roll, the beetling gains a +10 racial bonus to its CMD against all Combat Maneuver Checks and opposed Strength checks. While in a roll, the beetling is considered prone and can’t take any actions other than to unroll (another full round action).
- Paralysis Immunity: Starting at 3rd racial level, a beetling becomes immune to all forms of paralysis.
- Rebuke Death: Starting at 4th racial level, a beetling becomes immune to any effect that would slay it instantly, such as finger of death or slay living.
- Supreme Shell: Starting at 5th racial level, a beetling gains DR 1/-. This DR also applies to the beetlings shell while in a protective roll and increases by 1 for every five hit dice beyond the 5th that the beetling possesses.
Alternate Racial Traits
- Horned Beetle: Some beetlings develop a horn they can use as a primary gore attack that deals 1d4 points of damage. This trait replaces the Hardy trait.
- Stinker (Ex): Some beetlings work in squalid conditions and gain an aura of stench that constantly cling to them. They gain a stench aura of 15 feet. All living creatures within the aura without the stench ability who enter the aura must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 hit dice + the beetlings Constitution modifier) or be sickened for 5 rounds. This trait replaces the Cave Dwellers trait.
- Undersight: Some beetlings have eyes that have adjusted to living in only darkness. These beetlings lack low-light vision and have darkvision of 120 feet, but have the light blindness trait. This trait alters the beetlings senses
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