Trynnie (3.5e Creature)

Trynnie

Trynnie

CR —

	CG Small Humanoid
Init/Senses	+2/Listen +2, Spot +2
AC	12 (+1 size, +1 Dex), touch 11, flat-footed 11
hp	5 (1d8+1 (5 hp) HD)
Fort/Ref/Will	+0/+0/+0
Speed	30 feet
Base Atk/Grp	Spear/
Abilities	Str —, Dex —, Con —, Int —, Wis —, Cha —
Advancement	—

Trynnies are small mammalian humanoids who resemble white-furred rodents. Dwelling in trees and on the forest floor, these fast-multiplying creatures have adapted to their environment by constructing a city, Trynton, in the canopy of the woods to act as a capital and as a place of refuge from their enemies.

Strategies and Tactics

Trynnies use stealth and the element of surprise. They are masters of using the woods as cover for throwing spears, and have been known to set traps, drop down from the trees, and surround their enemies with great numbers.

The Trynnie military is armed quite simply, with melee spears and throwing spears. The most basic unit is the drafted patrol, which has minimal training and is armed with a simple spear. Just above the patrol are the guards, which are regular soldiers who are responsible for defending the city of Trynton. The countryside is guarded by spear-throwing hunters, who are civilians who hunt animals for a living who have converted their skills for military purposes. Second-highest on the list of soldiers are the spearmen, the elite hunters who guard the temples and shamans of the Trynnie; note that all spear-throwing Trynnie use poison on their stone-tipped weapons. Highest on the list of soldiers are the Champions, who are armed with only a spear, but possess great skill and can outmaneuver most opponents.

Trynnie females are sometimes used as scouts and are armed with small hand-axes which are of minor use but can be utilized to defend themselves from small threats; they never go into front-line combat.

Ecology

Environment: The Trynnies live in a great forest that is filled with wild, often magical, game. To adapt to various threats posed to them by the frequently harsh woods, the Trynnies have built a city in the woods, high up in the most massive trees.

Typical Physical Characteristics: Trynnies stand about four feet tall, and have a body that is covered in white fur. With four fingers (including an opposable thumb) plus three toes, their four, clawed limbs are well-suited for climbing trees. Trynnies have good eyesight and a keen sense of smell, as well as a good sense of balance.

Alignment: Usually chaotic good; Trynnies are kind to those who are kind to them and usually don't harm other humanoids, but they have been known to show a disregard for property laws and have been known to carry away small items which don't belong to them, especially bright, shiny objects. A few Trynnie have been known to be more violent and/or immoral; those Trynnie are outcast from society or else become outlaws of their own free will. There are also a few Trynnie who go around stealing ("liberating items" in their words) and selling items for their own profit; the human money system has corrupted a few Trynnies...

Lore

Knowledge (Local)

DC	Result
5	Trynnies live in the woods, most on the ground, but some live in a city in the trees. They are known to be pickpockets and have little concept of private property or marriage.
10	Their religion is centered around harmony with nature, and establishing harmony with nature spirits provides the basis for the rule of the chief. The Trynnie are known to seek their destiny at their mystical seventh bough.
15	The chief is appointed by the high shaman, who tests and evaluates any potential applicants. The new high shaman is chosen by the older one. Local Shamans are first chosen by woods spirits themselves, who in turn pass on their mantles to an apprentice.
20	The Trynnie believe that they are chosen to inherit the Earth when all other races pass away; when this happens, the harmony of nature will be restored and a great age of peace, prosperity, and plenty will be upon them.

Society

Trynnies live in a two-tiered society, but unlike most other humanoid races, the divisions of the Trynnies are not based on class or race. The division are the differences between the Trynnies of the city and the Trynnies of the woods; most of the population lives in the latter. The Trynnies are not advanced and have no metalworking skills; all of their tools and weapons are made of stone and wood, but it would be misleading to call them primitive as their development has taken them along alternative paths of development.

Most of the skilled Trynnies can be found in the city of Trynton, the only city the Trynnies have. Here, alchemists, representing the new way of life indirectly imposed on the Trynnies from the outside can be found, and some of the best alchemy in all the world can be found in Trynton. Representing the old ways are the shamans, who have existed since time immemorial; their temples and totems can be found in Trynton and all over the surrounding forest.

In the woods, the Trynnies live in hunter-gatherer bands of several dozen. With the exception of the few tribes that do not accept the leadership of the chief in Trynton, all Trynnie groups in the forest accept newcomers and out-goers from their group with little trouble. Trynnie clothing consists of nothing more than a pair of pants for both males and females, and a mask for the chief or a shaman. Shirts and footwear are never used.

Divisions regarding class and gender are less important to the Trynnie than most other humanoid races; land ownership and marriage are unknown, and children (who have a childhood of only one year) are raised in communal sanctuaries in Trynton or else by the whole hunting band. Trynnie females are weaker and smaller than the males, but this does not lead to active discrimination, save for the fact that only males may be shamans or the chief, and even this was only so because the spirits of the woods said it must be. Besides the obvious mammalian differences between the males and females, it is known that females typically have blue eyes, while males have slightly smaller but no less keen green eyes. Also, Trynnie females have proportionally larger feet and brighter-colored fur.

The Trynnie believe that they are the chosen ones and that their ways are inherently better than those of other lands. While they very rarely say this outright, this belief of theirs manifests itself in their unwillingness to adopt foreign ideas, even when it could be to their advantage to do so. It also manifests itself in the form of the Trynnies' primitive technology and half-naked appearance, revealing them as every bit the less-than-civilized race they are.

Recently, the Trynnie have started to use money, but they don't mint coins themselves. Because they will sell to anyone, value all coins of similar material and weight equally, and because they have been known to steal currency from many lands, the variety of coinage fund in Trynton is amazing.

History

At first, the Trynnies lived in peace in a series of camps and caves on the ground level of the woods. There, a shamanic culture skilled in calling upon nature spirits developed. In those days, the shaman of each Trynnie tribe was the leader, and there was much harmony with the land. There was very little private property and no money system at all. Then as now, the Trynnie wore and still wear little clothing, consisting only of pants made of jute, leather, or hemp, and only wear wooden masks if they are of high status.

Then, contact with more advanced races began. Initially, the Trynnie welcomed the chance to barter their goods (animal hides, ivory, medicinal herbs, handicrafts, etc) with other races in exchange for luxuries such as metal goods or glass, but as time went on, it became clear that other races saw their woods as a place to be exploited, and its resources used for selfish gain. Attempts to resist the other humanoid races led to warfare, and this in turn led to disharmony with the land, and ancient presences were unleashed that made the forests a very dangerous place indeed.

To cope with the new dangers posed by the conflicts, most of the Trynnie tribes united under a single chief with a high shaman, and worked at a breakneck pace to establish their capital and only city of Trynton. While most outsider ways have been resisted, a new form of living has been forced on the Trynnies by necessity.

Religion

Rather than worship fixed deities, the Trynnies revere nature itself, and have been known to carve out elaborate totems and idols. The burning of incense is also used as a means of worship. Females are not allowed to be shamans, but they do fill an important role in raising children in religious sanctuaries.

Trynnies consider the world to be their paradise, and place no true value on the afterlife. While Trynnie spirits have been known to exist in the hereafter (and are sometimes summoned back to the world to haunt people), the Trynnies don't consider their actions to have any effect on what happens after their death. When Trynnies die prematurely, their families typically seek out help from a sufficiently powerful shaman to help them resurrect the deceased; the Trynnie say that no one really dies, as the shamans can restore life. The tendency to worship life comes from the belief that the earth is the paradise that other religions say will be reached after death. In keeping with their belief that the earth is their heaven, the Trynnie believe that lands such as deserts are cursed, due to their inability to support much life.

An interesting side effect of their belief system is that Trynnies are easy to summon as ghosts. Apparently, their deep connection to the world makes their spirits very willing to accept a semblance of life on Earth over the glory of heaven.

Magic

The Trynnie have great skill in two forms of magic: conjuration of nature spirits (via the summoning and calling subschools) and alchemy, especially alchemy as it is related to earth magic. The magic of the former school is closely tied to the Trynnie religion, the latter is not. The Trynnie also have a moderate amount of skill with divine magic, even though this is often tied to conjuration for them.

For Player Characters

Trynnies as characters:

• +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength, -2 Constitution: Trynnies are small and weak, but have great balance.
• +4 racial bonus on climb, balance and move silently checks.
• Automatic languages: Common.
• Base speed of 30 feet, climb speed of 15 feet.
• Small size
• Favored Class: Rogue.

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