Thri-kreen

From UTRPG

Thri-kreen are savage carnivores. Many humanoids don't believe they're even intelligent. It doesn't help that very few thri-kreen ever enter the seven cities, usually can't speak the Common language, usually know nothing about human culture, don't sleep at night but instead wander around, and insist they didn't eat any beggars that went missing in the night "because they make poor prey!"

Thri-kreen are governed by tikchak (hunt mind) and tokchak (clutch mind). A thri-kreen without a packmate will bond with nearly any intelligent creature and make them into a clutchmate. The duties of a clutchmate are strong, but the kreen expects their new clutchmate to do the same for them, otherwise they can be killed for being a g'tokxhko• (clutchbreaker). (For this reason, thri-kreen despise domination-type effects as "clutchbreaking" effects.) Note that for a non-kreen, refusing to be a clutchbreaker is difficult, due to cultural gulfs, and the inability to produce rejection pheromones.

While most thri-kreen belong to tek (hunting packs), these generally avoid humanoids, so most contact with thri-kreen is with kek (raiding packs). Kek tend to have a better understanding of humanoid culture and are even willing to use non-kreen weapons. Unfortunately, they gained this knowledge in order to more effectively feed themselves on said humanoid. Kek are disdained by other thri-kreen for picking on weak prey; they also give other kreen a bad name. Thri-kreen that come to a city tend to be starving, desperate or kik (a member of a kek); again, contact with humanoids tend to end badly.

Thri-kreen tek are generally composed of the following "jobs":

• Tik, generic hunters. The majority of the pack.
• Kalak, scouts. Thri-kreen rangers are usually either tik or kalak.
• Tik-tik, hunter of the hunters. Thri-kreen defenders, soldiers and brutes tend to be tik-tik. They tend to be larger than other kreen. Most packs have only one or two. Mike's character is probably a tik-tik, as he's a defender with a high Strength score.
• Tekchakak, pack mindbender. Most packs have only one or two. They tend to be powerful wilders, learning a great degree of psionics in a shockingly short period of time.
• Ik, shamans. Most packs have one or two. Thri-kreen shamans tend to be ikkos (air priests) or ikthok (earth priests). Fire priests (riikik) are unknown, and the last famous one, who led his pack, was hunted down and killed by other packs. Kreen generally use the cleric or shaman class to represent their shamans.

Tek refuse to eat other sentients unless desperate, and even then prefer to let the other sentient expire first. The exception are elves, which produce pheromones when they are frightened or run, either of which make kreen unbearably hungry. Elves often cross thri-kreen in deserts, and thri-kreen can often outrun (or at least outjump) elves. This is ... unfortunate. Elves have developed the tradition of thri-kreen slayer for this reason.

Thri-kreen have a variety of weapons, but the most common are the chatkcha and the gythka. The chatkcha is a crystalline throwing wedge which returns when thrown. All thri-kreen are proficient with the chatkcha, even if they've never actually learned how to use them. (This information comes from their racial memory.) Despite what the Dark Sun Creature Catalog says, elves using chatkcha makes no sense. You can't acquire them in large numbers, and they'd cut your hands anyway. The gythka is an exotic weapon for most races but a military weapon for the thri-kreen, meaning most thri-kreen are proficient in its use.

These weapons are usually made of dasl, a crystalline substance made from kreen enzymes mixed into sand. Kreen have to chew zik-thok to make dasl. This prevents them from making venom, converting in into the dasl-creating enzyme. This prevents venom creation for a whole day, and it usually takes ten days to make a chatkcha, or twenty days for a single gythka head. (Fortunately, the kreen doesn't have to do the work all at once.) This is also a racial secret. Dasl weapons don't break any more than metal weapons. There's really no market for them though. Thri-kreen generally make their own weapons (not as a pack but as individuals) and won't sell or trade them, especially not heirloom chatkcha. (Indeed, the fastest way to provoke a thri-kreen into violence is to steal their chatkcha, and even if a thri-kreen is killed in a duel, the victor "generously" gives back the chatkcha to their pack.) Furthermore, dasl can only be made into three-sided weapons. A dasl greatsword couldn't be made by the most skillful thri-kreen weaponcrafter.

Outside of the pack system are gladiators. Despite being raised away from other kreen, they know how to speak Kreen and can use chatkcha. While generally not given zikthok (it's a secret anyway, but it has completely different uses by humanoids) they do know how to make chatkcha. Unfortunately, gladiators are often taught cruelty, and they make a poor fit for a tek. (Kek welcome them with open arms.)

Finally there's the Kiltektet, a special extended pack whose purpose is to hunt knowledge. Kiltektet refuse to eat sentients. Many Kiltektet "seekers" are mindbenders or shamans, or both! They can use exotic weapons (for them) called kyorkcha (essentially larger chatkcha).

[edit] Rules

• Average Height: 5’ 4”-6’ 6”
• Average Weight: 180-240 lb.
• Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity; +2 Strength or Wisdom
• Size: Medium
• Speed: 7 squares
• Vision: Low-light
• Languages: Common, Thri-Kreen
• Skill Bonuses: +2 Athletics, +2 Nature
• Multiple Arms: Once per turn, you can draw or sheathe a weapon (or retrieve or stow an item stored on your person) as a free action instead of a minor action.
• Natural Jumper: A thri-kreen is always considered to have a running start when jumping.
• Torpor: Rather than sleep, thri kreen enter a torpid state. In this state, you remain aware of your surroundings, and you require only 4 hours of torpor (rather than 6 hours of sleep) to gain the benefit of extended rest.
• Thri-Kreen Claws: You have the thri kreen claws power.
  • You quickly lash out with all your claws, tearing at nearby enemies.
  • Encounter
  • Minor Action
  • Melee 1
  • Target: One, two, or three enemies
  • Attack: Strength, Dexterity, or Wisdom + 3 (6 at 11th level and 9 at 21st level) vs. AC
  • Hit. 1 d8 + Strength, Dexterity or Wisdom modifier damage. You gain a bonus to the damage roll equal to the number of targets.
  • Level 11: 2d8 + Strength, Dexterity, or Wisdom modifier damage.
  • Level 21: 3d8 + Strength, Dexterity, or Wisdom modifier damage.