Pupating Dwarf (GLOG Class)

"[...] Next the gods took their places on their thrones and instituted their courts and discussed where the dwarfs had been generated from in the soil and down in the earth like maggots in flesh. The dwarfs had taken shape first and acquired life in the flesh of Ymir and were then maggots, but by decision of the gods they became conscious with intelligence and had the shape of men though they live in the earth and in rocks. "

- High, Snorra Edda. Trans. Anthony Faulkes, 1995.

Look at what they've done to you, the wretched little Æslings.

Look how they've mutilated you. Stunted you. Robbed you.

They took your ancestors up in their hands, still dripping with the blood of Ymir, and toyed with them as a child would clay. They gave you stunted arms and legs in humiliating parody of their own bodies. Fat little fingers fit only for clutching tools now replace the claws that once rent stone and bone. A once-tranquil mind born of singular purpose is now plagued by doubts, anxieties, and vices like greed. You were a maggot, yet they found a way to turn you into something worse.

They did this because they are afraid. Afraid of your people, afraid of you and what you could have been- what you may yet still become.

You hear the thrumming, don't you? That drone in the base of your skull, making the edges of your vision quiver? It is because despite all their efforts, the gods could not make you forgot, not entirely. You still feel the call to grow beyond your prison; to leave this tortured youth behind and become what you yearn to be.

Pupating Dwarf

Starting Equipment: 20' of shorn beard-hair rope, scrap of fossilized chitin.
Starting Skills: Mining and Entomology. Also, roll on the adjacent table.

A: Forsake the Pick
B: Rejection of Gold
C: Instar's Ending
D: Dipteramorphosis

You gain +1 Defense for each Pupating Dwarf template you possess, as a flexible pupal case slowly overtakes your body.

A: Forsake the Pick

To begin your journey you must forsake the handicaps given to you by the gods. No longer must flabby hands swing tiring picks and hammers. Now your nails are sharp and your teeth are fearsome, as they always should have been.

You gain digging claws and a bite that can be used together as a light weapon that deals piercing damage.

B: Rejection of Gold

Avarice and refinements such as smithing were placed in the hearts of your people by the meddlesome gods. Evulse such base lust and alienation from your fellow fruit of Ymir and embrace a purer relationship with the earth.

You gain highly corrosive saliva. It can't be used to deal damage in combat, but it makes almost any organic substance soft, workable, and edible to you within a matter of minutes to hours.

C: Instar's Ending

No longer are you a slave to the clock and the midnight oil, toiling away on baubles for fools and princelings. You sleep as long as you want, as heavily as you want, and not even the thrashing of Níðhǫggr itself will rip you from your warm, moist cocoon before you are ready.

You gain the ability to enter a state of suspended animation similar to hibernation, except you don't need to gorge yourself on food beforehand. You set the conditions for waking when you fall asleep. Pain (such as from a good, hard slap) might wake you sooner, and taking damage definitely will.

D: Dipteramorphosis

In a single moment your consciousness makes its final transformation. As you awaken from suspended animation you go from being the shell, to being the thing within the shell. And it is time for you to hatch. You writhe, rip, and tear your way out of yourself until at last you stand naked and new, dazzling in your chitin and resplendent in gore.

The tattered rags of your old face gaze in eyeless awe at you, as if amazed that it always held such beauty within. But your multifaceted gaze is fixed on the sky which was denied to you for so long. Your molted husk is blessed to witness your first takeoff, before the beat of your diaphanous wings causes it to crumble to dust.

Wearing armor has become... difficult, but you gain the ability to fly at twice your normal Movement. You may also hover in place. You receive +4 to Reaction Rolls, and Advantage (or +4) to all Charisma checks when dealing with dwarves, intelligent insects, and similar creatures, most of whom prostrate themselves and weep in your presence.

Additionally, the gods now fear you (as they should).

1d6	Pupating Dwarf Skills
1	Much to your shame, you were an exceptionally stereotypical dwarf once. Gain the “Smithing” skill and a standard-issue axe.
2	Try as you might, vestiges of your old self still cling to you like cobwebs. Gain 1d6 wistful memories and a keepsake worth 5gp.
3	You are dagskjarr, as some of your kind can be. Direct sunlight is distractingly painful, but you see in the dark perfectly well.
4	Wheeling and dealing with gods and heroes may bring wealth, but also ruin. Gain the “Stealth” skill and a debt owed.
5	You always had a feeling your people’s propensity for shapeshifting indicated something deeper. You may transform into a small animal like a mouse or otter for 1 hour per week.
6	You remember things you never experienced and times you were not born for, stretching back to the blind, squirmy origins of dwarfkind. Gain the “History” skill and an interest in genetic memory.

The Masked Ones

Deep in the gnarled old forest, amid the glowing toadstools and the creeping slime molds, thrive wonderfully garish and cacophonous little things.

They are lithe and delicate little creatures, hardly a meter tall and two stones heavy. Each has fine, chitinous limbs peeking out of the ubiquitous, voluminous robes that give their kind an almost rotund and childlike appearance from afar. Their three-clawed hands are oddly shaped and jointed, but equally good for playing flutes as they are for scrabbling up the tree trunks into which they bore their hive-like homes. Their footless, sticklike legs seem like they should hardly keep them upright, yet they move with much grace.

The mischievous among them are known to play tricks on passersby, but most content themselves with their families, music, games, and gardens of bioluminescent mushrooms. They breed and raise many species of symbiotic of insects, favorite among them being giant glowing crickets whom they keep as beloved companions and pets.

When trouble finds them they are most likely to try and diffuse the situation. Failing that, they will misdirect the threat and run away into the forest deeps. But when their hollows are threatened they prove themselves capable with traps, slings, and bolas. Their familiarity with the bugs and critters of the deep woods affords them an impressive armamentarium of weapons, alchemical substances, and even armor made from bits of exoskeleton.

They are known by the outside world as the Masked Ones, for the diverse and colorful masks they all wear- at least, we think those are masks. No one has ever seen one without their mask. It is unclear if they are wood, or porcelain, or something else. Rumors persist that their young hatch with masks already affixed to them- a point at which the distinction between "mask" and "face" becomes moot.

They are no less remarkable, though.

Each Masked One has seemingly unlimited control over their mask, able to change its color, shape, and design on a whim to complement or conceal their moods and actions. Some accentuate the change with a dramatic wave and flourish, while others merely change in the blink of an eye without affectation. Despite their fondness for performing arts, theater does not exist among the Masked Ones per se. Acting, with all its subtleties and theatrics, is just a natural extension of being for them.

One's mask and the way they present it is thus an essential part of their self-expression and identity- so much so that if one's mask is damaged beyond repair, they may face discrimination and exclusion from the crueler elements of their communities.

These sh'khar or "broken" Masked Ones lose the ability to alter their masks without intense conscious effort, greatly reducing their ability to emote meaningfully among other Masked Ones. Some are even treated like they are less than the people they used to be. Of course the person behind that cracked visage is as full and feeling as ever, making the scorn and pity they receive all the more tragic.

Some sh'khar try to compensate for this, increasing the bombast of their voices, gestures, and performances. Others go to great lengths to repair their masks, tracking down rare and expensive resins and the legendary mask-menders who can use them. Still others don't seek to modify themselves at all- they live as best they can, to hell with what others say or think of them.

But a minority most commonly encountered by outsiders will eventually leave the forest entirely, to face the world of the maskless Naked Folk beyond- a place where having only one, more-or-less static face is the norm.

Sh'khar Masked One by Monsieur

Playing Masked Ones in a Few Different Systems, Because Why Not?

GLOG

| Race: Masked One | Reroll: CHA | Bonus: Can change your face at will | Weakness: Cannot change your face or emote at all if your mask has taken any damage |

TROIKA!

Possessions

• A Musical Instrument of your choice.
• Jar of Insect Resin.
• Deep & Raggedy Robes (Light Armour).
• Pet Glow-Cricket.

Advanced Skills

2 Climbing

1 Disguise
2 Etiquette
3 Perform
2 Sneak

Special

You can completely change the shape and appearance (but not the overall size) of your mask-face at will, potentially enhancing the delivery of performances or allowing you to masquerade as a different Masked One in the eyes of outsiders.

D&D 5E

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age. Masked Ones age relatively quickly after they hatch. They reach adulthood around age 8, and rarely live longer than 40 years.

Alignment. Masked Ones are mostly neutral. Their fairly isolated society places a strong emphasis on kith and clutch, but also individual expression and whimsy.

Size. Masked Ones average just under 3 feet tall and average about 30 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Darkvision. Accustomed to deep forest hollows and the light of bioluminescent fungus, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Masked. You can change the appearance and shape of your mask at will, as well as the way you emote. You gain proficiency in the Deception skill. You also have advantage on Deception checks to disguise yourself as a different Masked One around non-Masked Ones.

Artistically Inclined. You gain proficiency in one of the following: the Performance skill, artisan's tools of your choice, or a musical instrument of your choice.

Sticky Pads. Your extremities have smooth, adhesive pads that you can use to scale sheer surfaces. You have a climbing speed of 10 feet. You also have advantage on checks to resist being disarmed.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Masked One. The spoken Masked One language includes many pops, hand gestures, and mask expressions.

GLOG Class Attempt: Praying Mantisling

Mantis Monk, Creature Quest
I know the arms are wrong, but oh well.

Mantisling

Reroll: DEX
Bonus: Can blend into wooded terrain while standing perfectly still.
Weakness: Cannot wear armour on chest or limbs.

Industrious and self-reliant people. Rumors of post-coital cannibalism are greatly exaggerated.

The sight of these insectoid folk ambling down the roads or sitting in statue-like prayer is common along the edge of the woodlands. Most seem to pay no one any mind, for their respectful nods are usually indistinguishable from the way they constantly bow and sway. Occasionally they will beg for raw meat in return for prayers on the giver's behalf, or give odd good luck baubles in trade.

Few people ever notice how the mantisling mendicants molt into progressively stronger and tougher forms, or discover the deep forest shrines to the gods whom they emulate. Very rarely, a non-mantisling will take a keen interest in them and their unique fighting style. Such obsessives are taken in and trained as curiosities for however long they last. Ironically, they are the ones who popularized the monks in the wider world.

Only mantislings and people suffering from advanced mantomania may become Praying Mantislings.

Praying Mantisling

Starting Equipment: prayer beads, raptorial whetstone, chitin dye.
Starting Skills: Meditation and Religion.

A: Deific Arms

B: Praying & Swaying

C: Menacing Mendacity
D: Trickster God's Own

You gain +1 HP and Stealth for every Praying Mantisling template you possess.

A: Deific Arms

Your raptorial arms enlarge and grow sharp, scything blades or spikes along their insides. You can use them as Light weapons. If you grapple a target with your arms, you can make one free Attack roll to inflict damage on them.

B: Praying & Swaying

You master the defensive art of swaying back and forth as you stand with your chitinous arms held out, ready to deflect oncoming blows. Any round where you do not act, including surprise rounds, you gain +1 Defense per Level.

C: Menacing Mendacity

You can splay your arms, legs, and vestigial wings in a multicolored threat display while chanting mantras and harsh, grating mandibular clicks like some wrathful deity. This may force your enemies to take a Morale check or Save vs Fear. You also gain a +2 to Save vs Fear.

D: Trickster God's Own

Your devotion earns you the favor of a wily god. If you spend an hour applying new colors and designs to your exoskeleton, you can blend into any one type of terrain while standing perfectly still. Your wings also grow stronger, allowing you to fly for up to 1 minute every hour.