Ra'Virr (Asylon Supplement)

Ra'Virr

Personality

Heirs to a complex cultural heritage that reaches back for millenia, the Ra'Virr value individual and family honor above all else. This honor is most often exhibited through a system of rituals and sworn oaths (or life debts), and a Ra'Virr is faithful to his word to a fault. However, the Ra'Virr are most commonly an ethnocentric culture, and have a hard time taking the laws and customs of other cultures seriously. You can rest assured that if a Ra'Virr gives you her word, she will do her very best to carry out that word.

Sadly, many Ra'virr are manipulated when traveling in civilization because of their loyalty. Everyone is aware of the oath system of the Ra'Virr, and many figures of ill repute will attempt to trap a Ra'Virr into service by "saving" her from thugs hired expressly for the purpose of trapping the Ra'Virr. Because of this, many Ra'Virr are shifty and distrustful when traveling, and insist on doing things themselves.

In the Jungles of Virrah, the Ra'Virr survive thanks to their excellent hunting skills. They utilize stealth and the terrain to maximize their skills, and often remain on the hunt for days at a time before returning to their village. Their refined senses also make them naturally curious, however, and younger Ra'Virr are famous for getting caught up in small amusements and getting into trouble for it.

Physical Description

Ra'Virr are feline humanoids, and are uniformly the shortest of all player character races in Aina. The males and females both range freely from 4 to 4.5 feet tall. Their bodies are lithe and tightly muscled, and are covered in fur that is patterned similarly to their evolutionary cousins, and are assorted according to their geographic location. In the thickest parts of the jungle the Ra'Virr are patterned similarly to tigers, with white tiger patterns being extremely rare. Throughout much of the jungle, they are patterned after jaguars and black panthers, both of which are the most common strain. To the north, they live on the skirts of the jungle near the plains, and their color is often like that of a cougar. Finally, in the high mountain reaches of the Shrouded Peaks in Eastern Virr, above the treeline and into the near-constant snows, there is a strain of Ra'Virr that are patterned similarly to snow leopards. Ra'Virr age similarly to Atralonians, coming to maturity at age 15 and rarely living longer than 100 years.

Ra'Virr have long tails that help them balance, and are partially prehensile. These tails are deft enough to pick up objects (but not enough to manipulate any sort of gadgetry), and are not strong enough to lift more than 5 pounds, nor can they support the weight of a Ra'Virr.

Relations

Ra'Virr are agreeable (albeit a little skittish), and get along well with almost every race. Because of their complex system of oaths and rituals, they are slow to make fast friends, but have no problems with giving anyone a shot at becoming a friend. They are least likely to ally with Hressh because of constant struggle in the southern reaches of the world, and consider Atralonians to be imperialistic warmongers because of recent Atralonian expansion into Virran territory. They are fond of Bosmer, feel a loose connection with the furtive Dunmer, are fascinated by the magical prowess of Altmer, and can appreciate the vitality of the Geats. Krônians are somewhat of a mystery to the Ra'virr, but this doesn't deter them from being friendly.

Alignment

In Virrah, Ra'Virr would be considered lawful creatures because they stay true to the traditions of their culture to a fault. However, this devotion holds outside of their homeland also, so the Ra'Virr are rarely considered lawful when traveling abroad. Racially, they are just as inclined to do works of good as they are acts of evil, although individuals are much more likely to be devoted to one of the three alignments on the good-evil axis.

Lands

The jungles of Virrah are home to many dangerous beasts, ancient ruins, and breathtaking beauty. The Ra'Virr live in this world organized into small tribes that live off of the land, and commonly inhabit the ancient Merran ruins that have been reclaimed by the hand of nature. Collectively, these tribes all submit to the will of the Heartfang tribe, which dwells beside the Swelterine in the heart of Virrah. Each tribe is generally autonomous, but they consider themselves to be united in spirit and are rarely in conflict with one another. When such a conflict does take place, it is marked by secret raids and guerilla tactics, and never features open warfare.

Ra'Virr are also found outside of the jungles of Virr fairly commonly, although they prefer to avoid the colder climates of the north.

Religion

Ra'Virr religion is centered around their tradition of oath, sacrifice, and the hunt. Because of this, they revere Verilarh (their name for the Draenic Prince Qabu) equally with Avlamak, whom they call Vessli. Other deities in their pantheon are Daraith (whom they call Bahrumbo), and Addirhanir, their name for the Aenen En-Salus.

Language

The Virran tongue is filled with guttural purrs and growls, but is nonetheless marked by distinct grammatical structure. It is difficult for other races to learn, but not impossible; if another races seeks to learn Virran, they must expend 1 extra skill point to do so.

Names

Ra'Virr names are full of the richness of their own language. The Ra'Virr consider their names to be sacred expressions of their inner natures, and are never translated into any other language. Even when one is familiar with Virran, it is considered taboo to attempt to translate a Ra'Virr's name. Ra'Virr have no family names, despite being bound into family groups.

Male Names: J'Raksa, Baadargo, Hassiri, Dro'Shavir, S'razirr, Ma'Khar, Qa'Darr

Female Names: Aravi, Shamada, Ekapi, Zabhila, Khinjarsi, Tsavi, Ayisha

Adventurers

Unfortunately, many Ra'Virr are adventurers because they were manipulated into swearing an honor pact with some seedy individual, and are thus often seen as burglars or low-level enforcers. Just as often, however, Ra'Virr are seen outside of the jungles of Virrah because of their curious natures, in which case they often travel with a pack of their brethren or find an wandering group of adventurers with which to travel. They are curious of civilized culture and cordial, but extremely skeptical of placing their trust in another being, and thus very independent. It can sometimes be very hard for Ra'Virr--who are often Rogues of the wilderness or Rangers--to keep themselves from putting their noses into trouble.

Roleplaying Flavor

Ra'Virr have many traits in common with their feline cousins. They are notoriously curious, they are fond of "perching" in high places both to sleep and just to stretch, and they are usually either in motion or completely still and relaxed.

Ra'Virr are primarily nocturnal, explaining their darkvision and aversion to bright lights and loud noises. Many Ra'Virr eventually acclimate themselves to daytime activity, but they are likely to be the first in a group to volunteer for a night watch. They are also primarily carnivorous; there's literally no animal in the forest they don't hunt. Even though they are among the smallest creatures in Virrah, their intelligence has placed them into the niche of dominant predator; it is their role to prey on all other life forms.

Because of their hunting instinct, Ra'Virr have no aversion to eating anything they kill. They will avoid obviously unhealthy meat (such as an unwashed, emaciated goblin or an undead creature), and are conscious of (albeit confused by) the customs of their neighboring races, but have sometimes even been known to dine on human flesh after a battle. This has no special reverence attached to it, such as "ingesting one's life-force," but is rather simply a matter of survival: there is meat right there, so why not?

Finally, Ra'Virr culture is obsessed with honor, and the taking of trophies from kills is very common. Most Ra'Virr have a necklace of some kind with feathers, claws, or bits of bone from their most prestigious kills.

Racial Traits

For Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition

• +2 Dexterity, −2 Strength: Ra'Virr are extremely agile, but their slight frames make them physically weaker than other races.
• Humanoid
• Medium: As Medium creatures, Ra'Virr have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Ra'Virr base land speed is 30 feet; Climb 20 feet: Ra'Virr can use their claws as climbing tools.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• Special Attacks: Rake (ex): Ra'Virr can use their claws to attack an enemy, dealing 1d3+2 damage.
• +2 Spot, Listen, Move Silently, and Tumble: Ra'Virr have keen senses, and are naturally light on their feet.
• Automatic Languages: Virran, Common. Bonus Languages: Bosmeri, Sylvan, Hresshi. Ra'Virr often learn the languages of their allies the Bosmer, and their enemies the Hressh. They also almost always learn sylvan to communicate with the creatures of Virrah.
• Favored Class: Rogue. The Unearthed Arcana variant rules on Wilderness Rogues are a popular choice for Ra'Virr rogues hailing from their homeland, Virrah.

For Pathfinder RPG

• +2 Dex, +2 Wis, -2 Str
• Medium
• Speed: 30 feet, Climb 10 feet. Ra'Virr can use their claws as climbing tools, though it is slow going.
• Darkvision 60 feet
• +2 Acrobatics, Climb, and Stealth checks.
• Nine Lives: Ra'Virr receive a +1 racial bonus on all saving throws
• Languages: Common and Virran

Vital Statistics

Table: Ra'Virr Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
15 years	+1d4	+1d6	+2d6

Table: Ra'Virr Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
35 years	53 years	70 years	+2d20 years
At middle age, −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Ra'Virr Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	4' 0"	+1d6	40 lb.	× 3 lb.
Female	4' 2"	+1d8	45 lb.	× 3 lb.

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