Badgerkin (“Brave Folk”)

One of the minor races of the Sea of Stars.  Created for a player who is a big fan of Redwall.

Badgerkin (“Brave Folk”)

In the Crimson-Lined Valley, the Clans are guarded by the warriors of Drake’s Hold, the bravest of them are from the Badgerkin line.  The origins of the Brave Folk are traced back to the Sundering when the Baron of Jackery drew upon all of their resources to defender the Crimson-Lined Valley from invasion.  Among the defenders were the trained badgers of the young Baron.  What happened has never made clear, but the Brave Folk returned from the battle having driven off the invaders, their leader was the young Baron henceforth known as Rolland the Brave.

Since then the Brave Folk have guarded the Crimson-Lined Valley from harm.

Personality: The Badgerkin are brave, loyal and stubborn.  True friends and implacable enemies, the Brave Folk are well titled.

Physical Description: The Badgerkin are stocky and powerfully built, their bodies ripple with muscles under their wiry fur.  Their fur is grey above and black on the under parts with a distinctive black and white striped face and white-tipped ears.

Their eyes are usually black, brown or amber eyes, occasionally green with blue eyes being exceptionally rare.

Relations: The Badgerkin have no serious enemies, they keep to themselves and expect others to do the same.  They manage a small amount of trade but not so much that they are much noticed.  While the occasion raider of the Crimson-Lined Valley is soon shown the error of their ways.

Alignment and Religion: The Badgerkin are very clan-oriented, working hard to support one another.  Most have an overriding sense of duty and loyalty, usually to their home valley.  The Badgerkin are very pragmatic but they do revere their ancestors, sometime going so far as to cross into actual ancestor worship.

Badgerkin Lands: The Badgerkin are at home in the mountains and hills that ring their valley home and the nearby forests.  The vast majority of the Brave Folk never leave the Crimson-Lined Valley.

Adventurers: Badgerkin mercenaries are rare but not unknown, they are in high demand as bodyguards.  Even more rare are Badgerkin merchants-venturers or bards, but occasionally they are seen.

Names: Each of the Brave Folk has a personal name, usually a nickname or title and is a member of one of the three clans.  The three clans are Axe, Oath and Tower.

Badgerkin Racial Traits
•    +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma: the Badgerkin are powerful and tough, but gruff and prone to falling back on tradition and blind loyalty.

•    Medium: Badgerkin are medium-sized creatures and suffer no bonuses or penalties due to size.

•   Slow but stalwart.  Badgerkin have a base speed of 20 feet.  However, Badgerkin can move at this speed even when wearing armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).

•    Low-light Vision: Badgerkin can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination.  They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

•    Animal Ancestry: due to their unusual heritage, all Badgerkin are affected by spells that target animals.  However, they do receive a +4 circumstance bonus to resist such spells.

•    Bestial Visage: Many find the nature of the Badgerkin highly disturbing.   This causes the Badgerkin a -2 penalty to all Charisma-based skills (except Intimidation) and checks when dealing with people and animals from beyond the Crimson-Lined Valley.

•    Healthy: the badgerkin are exceptional hardy and little slows them down gaining a +1 racial bonus to saves against disease and poison.

•    Illiterate: Badgerkin do not start the game being able to read or write.  A Badgerkin may spend 2 skill points to gain the ability to read and write all languages he is able to speak.

•   Intimidating: Badgerkin are quite frightening when they choose to be with a +2 racial bonus on Intimidation checks.

•    Stubborn: Badgerkin are hard to sway from their path once they have set their mind to it, gaining a  +1 racial bonus to saves against mind-effecting spells, raised to +3 against fear.

•    Sturdy: A badgerkin gains a +2 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).

•    Tough fur: The dense fur and thick muscles of the Badgerkin turns blows that would cripple a normal human, +2 Natural Armor.

•    Languages: Badgerkin speak the language of the Valley, most also learn the Imperial Tongue as well.  The Badgerkin language has no written version, they rely on memorization through story and song.  Mercantile records are kept by the scribes of Drake’s Hold in the Imperial Tongue.