Nobubele
by Cab DavidsonOne could easily mistake the nobubele for chimpanzees, being dark haired, smallish (4’ to 5’ tall), simian creatures with similar facial features and builds to chimps. Few really notice any differences, and the generally secretive nobubele are quite happy with that. They are more slender, gracile creatures, who are slightly less muscled than chimps, with a rather more reflective demeanour.
The name they give themselves is “the people”. The Karimari (who also call themselves “the people” in their own language) call them Nobubele, meaning (in their language) “the kind folk”, a fair description of their temperaments and natures. The live a mostly nomadic, arboreal life, making nests of folded branches each night, eating fruits, leaves, and small game (rodents, birds, eggs, and some smaller monkeys). They have a surprisingly complex culture, with a ‘written’ language in the form of tree fibres twisted into cord and knotted in complex sequences (this being sufficient even to form spellbooks). They value family time, love, conversation and understanding above treasures but they understand that other races value such and are happy to trade for gold and jewels.
Nobubele are capable of using tools and prize metal and stone tools that they themselves do not fashion. The would be capable of making such items, they have the strength and intelligence to do so, but their lands lack the resources needed for this, and frankly they have better things to do with their time. For trade, they fashion superb strong, resilient but soft fabrics from the fibres of trees, and harvest fruits, game and rare, valuable spices, and in return they buy worked metal, stone, and rare books.
Advancement and physical attributes: Nobubele characters require 15% more experience points per level of experience. They are generated with the following stat modifiers: Str: -1, Int: -1, Wis: -2, Dex: +1, Con: +1. Cha: +2
Special Abilities: As well being able to travel from tree to tree (see movement, below), nobubele can choose to ‘freeze’ if within a tree, an ability similar to a halflings ability to go unobserved. A nobubele thus freezing is undetectable on a 1-2 on a 1d6. Note that any character in a tree may also go un-noticed if a foe simply doesn’t think to look up.
An unarmoured or leather armour wearing nobubele can climb any tree with no ability check required, and can climb walls as a thief of equal level. A nobubele thief gains a +15% bonus to all climb walls checks.
Character Class: All classes available to humans are available to nobubele, but there are no known nobubele merchants or rakes. Clerics are common, they have a complex belief system, revering within their pantheon Ordana, Ka, Chiron, Ixion, and Fugit. But above all the nobubele revere Valerias, viewing the acts of physical love as both essential in social bonding and sacred in all forms.
Hit Dice: Nobubele advance with standard class hit dice.
Movement and Encumbrance: Nobubele may move on the ground at normal speed (120’) and are also superb in the trees. They may choose to either treewalk or brachiate as appropriate, moving through trees at the same speed as they can move on the ground.
Nobubele are poor swimmers and dislike getting wet. To voluntarily enter water a character must succeed in a wisdom check. Their swimming speed is half that of other characters (1/10th of their normal movement rate, rather than 1/5th as for other characters).
Languages: Nobubele speak their own tongue, and that of the local human population (typically Karimari). They may also communicate with apes (but not monkeys) and delight in hearing their tales.
Weapons and Armour: Nobubele can use arms and armour appropriate to their class, but typically prefer lighter weapons (spears, javelins, slings, shortbows). They are especially dangerous with shortbows, often choosing to loose a few arrows from one location in the trees before moving to another, often having multiple well prepared, hidden shooting platforms if they have had time to prepare. To be able to move freely in trees a nobubele needs at least one arm free, and many choose not to carry a shield to ensure this remains possible. Armour made for small humans or elves is, with little modification, a good fit for nobubele.
