Venr'ad (/vɛnɛræd/)

Powerful yet squishy, the humble Venr'ad are a good and friendly ally to have in the cold depths of space. Besides the Lashunta, these "worms with legs" are the charismatic talkpieces of the Pact Worlds, fostering peace through kind gestures.

Biology

Big and soft invertebrates, the Venr'ad were born of the humid and dark jungles of Esonoe. They are carnivorous in nature, and on the occasion they are not eating prepared meals, they ensnare their prey by shooting a sticky slime from their cheek papillae. After immobilized, they either dissolve their meals using their saliva (by biting them open and injecting them with acid), or just eat them whole (usually when in a rush).
If it weren't for the shade provided by the particular trees that cover much of Esonoe's supercontinent, and the sheer size of their bodies retaining water well enough for everyday living, the Venr'ad would desiccate quickly due to the thickness (or lack thereof) of their skin.
Has low-light binocular sight, vibrational hearing, and basic olfaction capabilities.

Appearance

The average Venr'ad is 16 feet long, although it is usually hard to notice as they don't typically stand at their full height. Instead, they rear up on their first 3 sets of legs, and curl up their body as to not take up to much space.
Fashion in Venr'ad society is quite fascinating. Because of the dark environment Venr'ad are accustomed to, most jewelry and clothing is adorned with bioluminescent flora found in the vast Esonoe jungles. Another interesting tidbit to mention is that it is typical to only cloth a small portion of the body as ornamentation more than anything, due to the large material cost needed to cover such a long body, and the low necessity of personal temperature control in a typical jungle or spacer colony.

History

It is hard to overstate just how significant, prior to the introduction of Drift travel, the shaded jungles of Esonoe had on the Venr'ad's development. They relied on the shade to keep from desiccating in the bright sunlight, and cultivated the numerous flora and fauna for clothing, building materials, and food. Any overharvesting would soon result in less jungle to live in, so the Venr'ad actually spread the jungle farther across the planet, growing with the jungle itself. Before long, basically all landmass that could handle jungle trees was covered in them.
They also didn't industrialize as quickly as other races, because of this fact. Air pollutants and large fires would have caused much damage to the jungle, which would in turn damage the Venr'ad. As such, more eco-friendly options were prioritized.
Because of the jungle, however, they hadn't really desired space travel. While Venr'ad knew of the stars (due to ease of travel outside of the jungles during night hours), they did not venerate them as other civilizations did, as most of their daily lives were built with the leafy roof in mind.
This all changed when a rogue Drift experiment landed a Human and Hylotl research ship on Esonoe. After the researchers left, the Venr'ad quickly started exploration of their own star system. When drift travel (and therefore drift communication) was eventually completed, the species started communicating more. When the Silent War started, the Venr'ad were one of the first to join the Pact Worlds.
When the newly liberated Shirren refugees made their way to the Pact Worlds, it was the Venr'ad who offered to shelter the Shirren. They ultimately established Esonoe as the Shirren homeworld, relinquishing all land on the planet unable to be developed by the Venr'ad.

Gameplay

Ability Modifiers: +2 Strength, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution
Hit Points: 6
Size: Large
Type: Monstrous Humanoid (Venr'ad)
Speed: 30 ft walking, 20 ft climbing
Languages: Venr'ad begin play speaking Venr'ad, Galactic, and one other of their choice.

Slime Shot

Once per day, Venr'ad can shoot a sticky slime from their cheek papillae up to 20 feet away from them as a standard action. Any Huge or smaller creature hit by the slime is entangled (Reflex DC 16 negates). The entangled condition persists until the target escapes with a successful DC 18 Acrobatics or Athletics check as a standard action, the target cuts itself free with a slashing weapon (EAC 26, KAC 22, 20 HP), or 2d4 rounds pass, at which point the slime dries, and becomes weak enough to escape automatically. This slime can then be consumed again as a standard action if desired, which regains 2x thier character level + their con modifier.

Light Blindness

The jungles of Esonoe are dense and covered, making light levels on the ground rather dark. The Ven'rad, as such, have not evolved with bright sunlight in mind, and have developed light blindness. Creatures with light blindness are blinded for 1 round if exposed to bright light, such as sunlight or the daylight spell. Such creatures are dazzled as long as they remain in areas of bright light.

Low-Light Vision

Venr'ad can see in dim light as if it were normal light. Low-light vision is color vision, unlike darkvision. A creature with low-light vision can read as long as even the tiniest source of light is next to it. Creatures with low-light vision can see outdoors on a moonlit night as well as they can during the day, since the moon casts dim light.

Long Body

Because of their long but relatively thin body, as well as their squishy nature, Venr'ad don't need to squeeze to fit in holes larger than their typical diameter of 2.5 ft, or pass through others space (including foes) of an equal or smaller size.

Gripping Claws

Venr'ad have sharp claws under their squishy stub feet, which they only deploy when they need to have a strong grip on a surface. These are basically the only non-squishy things on their body. These claws give them a 20 ft climb speed, as well as a +2 to Acrobatics checks.

Many-Armed

Venr'ad have four to six available arms, depending on what they want to do, which allows them to wield and hold up to six hands’ worth of weapons and equipment. While their multiple arms increase the number of items they can have at the ready, it doesn’t increase the number of attacks they can make during combat.

Roleplay

You Likely...

• Hold sacred the life around you, and try to preserve its beauty at all costs.
• Stay positive about whatever situation you are found in, even if it feels overwhelming.
• Try to please everyone you can, despite the difficulty or time required to do so.
• Are irrationally uncomfortable in places where you can see the sky clearly, especially if there are no trees near.

Other Races Probably...

• Find your unusual anatomy simultaneously comforting and intimidating.
• See your kindness as saccharine and ingenuine, ready to drop whenever it stops working on others.
• Mistake your physical weakness, particularly around light, as a liability.
• Appreciate how in-tune you are with nature, even if they find the eco-talk grating at times.

Scientific Name
Molliter Serpensid
Origin/Ancestry
Esonoe
Lifespan
170 Years
Average Length
16 ft (4.7 m)
Average Weight
850 lbs (385 kg)