Thri-Kreens

Basic Information

Anatomy

A thri-kreen resemble a giant insects, bipedal and standing 1.4–2.1 meters high and weighing 45–170 kilograms. A full-grown adult average at 6 1.8 meters 90 kilograms. They have exoskeletons over their entire bodies. Some have six limbs protruding from their thorax: two for walking and four for use as arms, ending in four-fingered claw-like hands capable of tool- and weapon-use. Their insectoid heads have two black, multi-faceted compound eyes; two small antennae sprouting from the top; and a complex jaw structure with large sharp mandibles. It is extremely difficult to distinguish the males and females.

Genetics and Reproduction

Thri-Kreen mate in the spring. The females dug egg chambers and lay clutches of up to 120 eggs, before reburying and abandoning it. The eggs hatch in mid-summer; the larvae look like miniature adult Thri-Kreen.

Growth Rate & Stages

They survive on instinct alone, discovering hunting and tool-making skills and how to survive, but 90% of larvae perish before reaching adulthood after only 5 or 6 summers.

Ecology and Habitats

Deserts, Plains[

Dietary Needs and Habits

They can survive on relatively little food and water, and are carnivorous, pursuing a variety of creatures as prey. Thri-Kreen tribes typically hunt rabbits, horses (which they consider a delicacy), and other herd beasts. They also especially enjoy the taste of Light Elves. Leftover meat they dry and save to eat later, but when times are tough, they would eat carrion or even cannibalize each other, even their young.

Behaviour

Thri-Kreen have no clear or definable personalities as humans know them. No emotions can be discerned from their insectoid faces or their patterns of behavior, though rapid twitching of their antennae or mandibles indicat agitation. Acting spontaneously, they are unpredictable and always of chaotic alignment, showing no inclination towards good or evil. These traits make them utterly alien and inscrutable to other races, and folks unfamiliar with them regard them as savage and brutal monsters.
In fact, Thri-Kreen simply view themselves and other beings in terms of the relationship between predator and prey. They see themselves as noble hunters, and are wholly focused on survival and the basic needs of existence, a life in which the weak died and the strong survive. They are not cruel or evil if they have no need to be, but nor do they go out of their way to aid others if they do not have to. By instinct, they see humanoid beings as food first and as trading partners or allies second.
Their alien thought patterns make it hard for them to understand the advanced concepts or sophisticated social rules of other races. They lack ideas of devotion, honor, or loyalty, but they respect skill and strength and recognize the convenience of working with talented hunting companions. They maintain no traditions, and saw no benefit in the traditions of others. They value little that humanoids make.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Thri-Kreen are distinctly not social in nature. Each Thri-Kreen develope deep personal attachments to only a small handful of other Thri-Kreen, their clutch-mates. They will defend these companions at all costs, even at the cost of their own lives. All creatures outside this small band are viewed as strangers and enemies, though a wandering Thri-Kreen don't advertise such beliefs for the sake of peace. They form small and independent packs, almost always of their clutch-mates, but sometimes lone young Thri-Kreen or survivors of failed packs will join existing packs or find each other and establish new packs. Rarely, a few packs will ally to combine their strength when they faced a more dangerous threat.
They have very nomadic lifestyles, with packs journeying great distances within their extensive territories over their relatively long lifespans. Permanent settlements of Thri-Kreen are completely unheard of. Thri-Kreen packs spend their days foraging and hunting for the food and other supplies they need to survive.
Sometimes—usually requested by a Thri-Kreen leader, but not always—a Thri-Kreen leaves their pack to explore lands outside their territory, on the basis that the information gain would be useful for the pack's survival. Such lone Thri-Kreen often fall in with others who wander the land, simply in order to survive. In the process, they learn their ways and bond with them, adopting them as new clutch-mates. Most become caravan guards across the plains, but rarely a wandering Thri-Kreen joinwith an adventuring party.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Some collectors value Thri-Kreen harnesses and their exotic weapons. Some trophy-hunters even mount whole Thri-Kreen exoskeletons for display, even having them magically animated like undead skeletons. A Thri-Kreen's head can even be hollowed out and worn as a helmet or mask.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Dragon Desert

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Thri-Kreen have superior physical abilities compared to a human, with high strength and great agility. They are faster on their feet, and naturally and supremely good at jumping. They are quick enough to deflect or dodge an incoming projectile. Their carapace is naturally armored, being tough and resistant to impact, and its sandy color helped them hide in sandy or barren landscapes. Thri-kreen typically grow to be skilled in their senses, hiding, jumping, climbing, and balancing.
A Thri-Kreen's four claws and a bite from its mandibles are dangerous natural weapons. They secret a paralyzing poison from their mouths, sufficient for a single venomous bite per day. This can hamper a victim's agility, or cause paralysis for several minutes.
Thri-Kreen are naturally psionic beings, possessing psionic energy and knowing innately a number of powers. A Thri-Kreen can manifest the powers chameleon and know direction and location thrice each per day, and greater concealing amorpha and metaphysical claw once each per day. 
They can see in the dark through darkvision, and do not sleep at all, making them immune to sleep spells and the like.

Civilization and Culture

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Language of animals, Kreenorak, Some human language, Bestial

Common Dress Code

Thri-kreen wear little to no clothing or armor. Instead, they wear only simple leather belts, harnesses, or slings to hold their food, equipment, and weaponry, and only as much as they need. They do not make or wear any kind of adornments.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Thri-Kreen are not religious and had no establish faith, nor gods of their own. Instead, they prefer druidic traditions of nature worship and Thri-Kreen druids serve as spiritual leaders for their kind. Thri-Kreen druids are usually attuned to nature deities like Artemus and Ongaku, those with portfolios of hunting and natural resources.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Predictably, it is also very difficult for Thri-Kreen to deal with others, and they are hard to negotiate with. They neither avoid nor sought out other races, but merely existed alongside them, sharing territory without conflict. They appreciate folk who live off the land, respectfully hunt prey, and care for the environment. Farmers and city-dwellers are seen as "not-hunters", not worthy of attention nor hostility. However, they will treat with others. 
However, those who overhunt, despoil the land, or otherwise waste natural resources, such as Onis, Orcs, and others, are seen as dangers to be driven off or destroyed. A Thri-Kreen pack will attack without pause or consideration for their own safety. They typically do not attack without provocation, however.Nevertheless, there will always be some vicious examples—as in any species—who will attack and kill strangers without pause or thought, purely for the sake of it. Either way, when they do attack, it is without mercy or guilt.
Humanoid races sometimes make alliances with Thri-Kreen neighbors that encouraged the insect warriors to oppose folk from a rival race or assist in some activity, if they can be persuaded.

Lifespan

275 years

Average Height

1.4–2.1 m

Average Weight

45–170 kg

Average Physique

The carapace of a Thri-Kreen is typically a sandy yellow in hue, but could vary from a sandy brown to a pale green color, as best suited the environment. This enable Thri-Kreen to blend in with the dry savannas and grasslands they dwell in.