Uqur (Silver Pariahs Supplement)

The Breathless

The Uqur are simple in their nature. They swim, they eat, they eke out cities for themselves on the shallow-water guyotes wherever they can find them, from whatever they can find. Aside from that, they are also avid pleasure-seekers, swimming where the waters are blissfully warm and clear, performing aquabatics, and as far as all of the other races can tell, being lazy.

Personality: Uqur seem absent-minded, easily distracted and perfectly happy most of the time, and while this is usually true, it’s not out of ignorance. While underwater, they have exactly what they want: a relatively uncontested breeding ground of fish, plentiful potential mates (Uqur casually mate for fun in almost the same way dolphins might), and all the therapeutic warmth year-round that they could desire. Now, most Uqur do live in tropical waters, though there are some Uqur who have found far Northern or far Southern guyotes that also sport geothermic vents that keep their local waters nicely heated. A warm Uqur is a happy Uqur, even on land, and once pleased an Uqur is more than happy to do any small favors asked of them, short of violence or intimidation.

Physical Description: An Adult Uqur is usually just under seven to just under eight feet from head to toe, and have a tail roughly as long as they are tall, though its is usually flat and thin, along the length of their spine, so that the easy side-to-side motion of their bodies transfers all along the tail’s length to make the relatively easy act of gliding through the water even more effortless. No self-respecting Uqur would ever dream of removing the webbing from their feet and hands like some of their surface cousins. In fact, most Uqur actually possess longer, most slender fingers and toes so that their feet and hands are more like flippers than anything else. This causes them to move slower on land, but much faster underwater. In terms of appearance, an Uqur is smoother and sleeker than any other kind of Ghuvor, scales blending seamlessly together into a coat that shimmers in sunlit water. Uqur are almost exclusively shades of oceanic blue or green on most of their body, with lighter coloration underneath to mimic the sky through the water.

Relations: Uqur are exceptionally friendly, and are considered the most temperamental of Ghuvor. They get along well with anyone who is willing to share a meal and a few stories with them. Anyone resourceful enough to find a way to survive in their cities is also well-met. Uqur are social, and gentle. As long as the person they’re with isn’t too bullheaded, an Uqur is generally receptive to what they refer to as “positive vibes”. In truth, most Uqur possess a level of empathy just strong enough to let them know what others are feeling.

Alignment: Uqur are laid-back. Those few Uqur that attempt to champion a cause go about it slowly and deliberately. They know that they have as much time as they need. On the whole, Uqur tend to be quite Neutral, though enough have tendencies toward Good that it’s not uncommon to find Uqur in the medical profession, even plying their craft for little to no cost outside of their cities.

Uqur Lands: Water. While it is true that the Uqur do have large cities and settlements built upon shallow underwater plateaus called guyotes, they can dwell just about anywhere in salinated water. There are even some rare Uqur that prefer a freshwater climate.

Religion: Life is a game to most Uqur, and they’re in no hurry to win or lose. They’re content to have fun along the way. Uqur do possess a religious structure, though, complete with myths surrounding the origins of life. Much like themselves, and much to the chagrin of other races whose disappointment would be infinite if they learned how accurate the Uqur were in their guess, they believe all life came from the ocean. They revere the water and the sun as spirits or, in some cases, deities. The water and the sun give them everything they could want, and everything else that are the bounties of these two aspects of nature are the blessings of the Gods. Uqur recognize a spirit for the fish and the seaweed that they eat, the massive stones that are used in the construction of their cities, and also their Venerable Elders. Though in recorded history there have only been four Ghuvor to live past their sixth century, two of them were (and usually still are) Uqur, to become living relics of the past, and many Uqur consider it a privilege worth the journey to meet a Venerable Elder. The typical gentleness of their lives makes it long and fruitful indeed, and almost all Uqur pass from the mortal plane contented with the comforts of a life full-lived.

Language: Uqur speak either Shallows Uqur or Deep Uqur and Common automatically. In addition, they usually learn at least one surface language before visiting the coast, and one additional surface language before they begin any long journeys.

Names: Names are either official or familial to the Uqur. An Uqur named by his or her family, and their names are only important when they are called to business or in tense diplomatic situations. To most others, though, the name of an Uqur is just another label for an otherworldly thing. Most Uqur are happy enough with the nicknames given them by others, and overjoyed when one of them sticks. Some nicknames include: Deepender, Fishkin, Guppy, Lily, Sandy, Splash, and Sunny. These are just examples, though, and are only guidelines to avoid players and DMs from having to sing their names at every opportunity. Uqur also possess pod names, though these too are specific to the Uqur languages.

Adventures: If it sounds like fun, it probably is. It doesn’t take too much to convince a young adult Uqur to strike out on their own, or with a small adventuring band, and explore new horizons.

Uqur Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom. Their movements are graceful, with the exception of their rather plodding land speed, and they are quite hardy, but their easily distracted mindset causes them to miss certain things. While dangerous on the surface, this does them little harm in their aquatic realm, where the only things that can hurt them are easy to spot and easier to outdistance.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, Uqur have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Uqur base land speed is 20 feet. (Four squares) Uqur also have a 40 foot swim speed, and can take 10 on any swim checks made to avoid non-lethal damage.
• Uqur carrying capacity is treated as 1.5x the amounts listed in the beginning of the Adventuring chapter in the PHB on land, and 2x the amount while underwater. However, they cannot use their swim speed unless they are carrying less than their maximum light load.
• Uqur have a +4 racial bonus to Swim and Sense Motive. The Uqur are good at judging how other people are feeling, and even better at performing their carefree underwater tricks.
• Aquavision: Uqur can see twice as far underwater (in any light except pitch blackness) than surface races.
• Natural Weapons: 2 Claws (1d4) and bite (1d4).
• Special Qualities: Amphibious.
• Automatic Languages: Epanuqucz (Shallows Uqur) or Taupanuqucz (Deep Uqur), and Common. Bonus Languages: Coastal Jherron tribal languages, including Cheterron, and Kaelaen.
• Favored Class: Monk. While it’s difficult to find an Uqur that enjoys fighting, they generally have a much easier time honing the perfection of their bodies due to the high-resistance nature of their underwater home. A multiclass Uqur’s monk class does not count when determining whether they take an experience point penalty for multiclassing. (See PHB 3.5, pp 60) (See PHB 3.5, pp 60)

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