Species of Shark Kin
by gnomish dwelfThese were my ideas
Stats:
A.Minako sharks (Bull shark x mako shark) + halfgiant + halforc (alignment is any non lawful non good)
B.Great white shark able to bite through steel as well as having extrasensory abilities + shark kin + ice troll (but alignment is "any non good, non chaotic)
C.Hammerhead shark + shark kin + gnome (but alignment is any non lawful, non evil)
D.Megalodon + lantern shark + shark kin + giant (any neutral)
E.Tiger shark + shark kin + elf + rakshasa + weretiger (without the ability to change shape of course, any neutral)
F.Whale shark + shark kin + dwarf + pech (alignment is non chaotic non evil)
Culture:
A.The most open and friendly of all shark kin, mongolian like. They have no compunction about traveling in the world outside their waters, and they do so much more often than other shark kin. Since they have the most contact with the non-shark kin world and since the minako shark kin subrace is more adventurous than other shark kin, most shark kin PCs are minako shark kin
While at first they may seem aloof and arrogant, a glimmer of true self can be learned with a little effort. The minako shark kin know the value of cooperation and alliance with the other chaotic races of the world. However, they are not always easily befriended. Many shark kin are cautious about trusting the shorter-lived races; quite a few learned to distrust merfolk and tritons in their younger days. Thus, although these shark kin serve the cause of chaos, one can never be sure of what the reception from them will be.
They are mostly possessed of golden gills and blue eyes. The other variation, equally numerous, seems far more mysterious. They have dark gills, ranging from sandy brown to sheerest black, and intense green eyes. These two varieties of these shark kin have no other significant differences, but they are nonetheless often treated differently simply because of their appearance. Sandy red gills and grey eyes are also possible among them.
This shark kin civilization is much like that rumored in children's fairy tales. Their homes are enchanted, the lands under their jurisdiction places of goodness. The realms of these shark kin are fabled in the lands of men, and the highest aspiration of many a human is to slip into the arms of death while basking in the serenity of these shark kin reefs.
These shark kin do not place a great deal of value on society, preferring instead to live as they wish rather than how someone tells them to. Their villages are peaceful places, for these shark kin all look out for one another. They have a royal bloodline of sorts, but few shark kin pay it much heed. They do not respect someone purely on the basis of birth.
These shark kin live in a constant relationship with nature, never taking more than they need and giving back ever more. They replenish the reefs and the deeps constantly, ensuring that there will always be nature within their world. As such, they are often regarded by other nature-aligned races as the highest epitome of caring over nature. Although those who prefer goodness over chaotic freedom do not always agree, they nearly always have respect for the quality of shark kin life. There is no doubt that these shark kin lead a fine life: Freedom, nature, and the sheer vitality of being alive comprise the daily existence of a shark kin.
These shark kin have few cares or worries, and their lives are often characterized by idyllic splendor. While they face problems from rampaging humanoids or the encroachment of shalarin, they seem to live free of the cares that so often plague other shark kin. Because they live so closely in harmony with nature, they have little trouble finding sustenance in the areas near their homes. Game proliferates near their communities, and the seabed is fertile for them. However, should these shark kin roam farther afield, they often discover a different matter entirely. A band of minako shark kin on the march must sometimes rely upon the generosity of others.
Thes stockier minako shark kin often weight 50% than other shark kin their size. This girth is not all fat, however--Minako shark kin are more muscular than any other shark kin and tend to regularly best their kin in the wrestling contest that are a favorite entertainment alongside combat with kicks and tail slaps, indeed they even have a form of martial arts that combines kicks, wrestling and tail slaps.
Their tools are kept in sturdy bags and sturdy cases and such, commonly made of well-cured sea-leather. They prefer practicality to appearance, and thus the members of a community tend to carry their stuff with an almost drab sameness, distinguished only by runic monograms for each individual. However, they will try to make a point of having a brightly colored outfit of exotic material (such as cotton, wool, or, rarely, silk), for use on special occasions.
Minako shark kin tend to segregate themselves from land based society prefering the company of sea dwelves. These shark kin and sea dwelves mix very readily, and their communities will often be located near to each other. Military and defensive alliances between the two races are common, and prosperous trading is also the norm.
Their villages tend to be within deep chasms near important ports. They are the shark kin with the most affinity to mining, and they are quite good at it and will often develop a bustling business from the excavation of minerals. These shark kin can also be skilled jewelers, stone-masons, builders, smiths, traders and carvers. They are lackluster farmers at best, except where corals are concerned, and as merchants they excel primarily at selling the products of the above trades.
Preferring underground habitation more than any other shark kin subrace, they will typically live in a fully-excavated burrow. He or she will have several round, shuttered windows placed in a few walls to let in light and air, but the overall place will be cooler, darker, and somewhat more rich in chiaroscuros than that of other shark kin.
The most industrious of shark kin they can accomplish a great deal of work in a short time. They make doughty soldiers, and their infravision (60' range) gives them a great advantage in night-fighting. They are skilled swimmers and have used small, slender submarines with great effect in night attacks against larger vessels.
With a typical life expectancy of more than 130 years, they are not considered adults until they reach 30 years of age. The eldest of the race have been known to exceed two centuries in age.
They also come in all variants of bard and song mages. They priorize Ördög Khan (Turkic/Mongolian god of death, their version is also a deity of justice and the jduge of the dead) and are a mash of Egyptian and Mongolian.
B.Great white shark-kinnes are at once the most noble and most reclusive of the shark-kin. They have withdrawn from the world after making their mark, which was to ensure that the world was well on the path to goodness. The great white shark-kinnes view themselves as the protectors of good in the world, but they will stir from their deep chasms and coral reefs to protect the "lesser" races only when they are faced with great evil.
Great white shark-kin act much like human knights—supercilious and condescending, full of their own importance. They think nothing of speaking their minds, provided that this remains within the bounds of sharkin decorum. They are often haughty, disdaining contact with most others, including all other shark-kin save Great white shark-kinnes. They are outstanding artisans and sages.
This subrace decorates their tools in copper, bronze, silver, black or green. They store them in bags of dark purple. The equipment alone often makes them the most striking of the shark-kin, and their elegant bearing and pure beauty make them almost appear as supernatural creatures.
When arming themselves for battle, they don shimmering suits of plate or chain mail, protecting the head with winged helmets. Their weapons, created by master shark kin crafters, shine brightly under any light. Animal masters bring terrible beasts alongside them, properly trained for interaction in battle, quickly swimming upon their enemies with dreadful perfection.
Taller and more slender than the other shark-kin, great white shark-kinnes typically have silver gills and amber eyes. This does not give them any special abilities, but it does serve to distinguish them from their most of their brethren. Somewhat rarer are those great white shark-kinnes who have pale golden gills and violet eyes. These shark-kin are often known as faerie and are probably those who first made contact with humans.
While not exactly bigoted toward other races, the Great white shark-kinnes do believe in the purity of the shark-kin line. They are the least tolerant of other races, and they take pains to ensure that they remain secluded from all—sometimes even other shark kin. Only the mightiest mages of other races are allowed within their deep citadels, and these are greeted with suspicion. The Great white shark-kinnes are not rabid in their dislike of the shorter-lived races, but they do fear the corruption that the other races can bring to the shark kin.
Because of their reverence for the sanctity of great white shark kin, Great white shark-kinnes have striven to maintain their original ideals. They consider themselves to be the purest form of all shark kin. They believe that, since the other shark kin do not concern themselves with maintaining their purity, their role in the shark kin world is less than that of the Great white shark-kin. These shark kin feel that they are the "true" shark kin and that others are somehow lesser versions. The Great white shark-kinnes staunchly believe this to be true, despite the fact that they are an offshoot of the original shak kins.
Great white shark-kinnes disguise the entrances to their coral reefs and remote cities with powerful magic, ensuring that only those who are shark kin or familiar with the shark kin dweomer can discover their retreats. If members of another race find their hideaways, the Great white shark-kinnes are not averse to casting a high-level forget spell. They have worked long and hard to achieve their hidden lands, and they welcome not those who stumble across them.
Of all shark kin, Great white shark-kinnes rely the most on their intelligence. While other elves are by no means stupid, Great white shark-kinnes trust less in physical prowess than they do the mind, yet they have great physical prowess, they just take it for granted. Their line breeds more mages and mage combinations than any other, and some of the most esteemed of their subrace are scholars.
Their entire existence is based on developing and discovering new knowledge, and they therefore spend less time on the pleasurable pursuits that occupy other shark kin' lives. Their mages are without peer in the shark kin world. Even mages of greater power from other races speak of the knowledge of the Great white shark-kinnes with no small measure of fascination.
Because the only wizard specialties available to great white shark kins are artificers and storm mages, not all great white shark-kinnes become specialist wizards. Instead, many learn more about magic in general; their long lifespans ensure that they are among the most knowledgeable mages on any world, though not necessarily the most powerful.
However, like all shark kin, their crafters have had centuries to perfect their art. Since the Great white shark-kinnes have a much fiercer dedication to perfection than other shark kin, their products are finer than any others in the world. Only some aquatic dwarves can rival the expertise shown by Great white shark-kinnes—but even then they cannot rival the sheer beauty exhibited in shark kin manufacture.
It is a guaranty that almost any great white shark kin work can hold the strongest magic and enchantments. The very qualities of the manufacture work subtle charms into the item, making it more receptive to whatever potent magic a mage might use to enhance it. The Great white shark-kinnes have produced most of the magical items attributed to shark kin. They are particularly devoted to the creation of tomes and scrolls.
Great white shark-kinnes often have the most extensive libraries of anyone in the world. Any Great white shark-kin community of more than 50 years will have a communal library rivaling those of any major city or wizard. Such libraries are open to all shark kin who wish to better themselves and increase their knowledge. Since the Great white shark-kinnes value the constant expansion of their stores of books, many spend their lives in research (either magical or scientific), writing learned treatises.
Because they spend so much time in research, Great white shark-kinnes often have little time to spare for physical labor, although this does not preclude craftsmanship. In order to maintain their cities, they must rely on "lesser" shark kin for the upkeep of their realms. Since almost all of these servant shark kin have been brought up in the particular atmosphere of the Great white shark-kinnes, they believe that their lot in life is to serve the Great white shark-kinnes. Although some do leave, most do not have the spirit to do so. Many are truly happy performing tasks for their masters and would not dream of departing. The stratified society offers them security and comfort.
Great white shark-kinnes are not harsh taskmasters, but neither are they forgiving. When a servitor shark kin fails in a task or performs it poorly, punishment is swift and to the point. Few make the same mistake twice.
Great white shark-kin society is among the most rigidly defined in any world. They are ruled by a hereditary monarch, either male or female, who can be succeeded by any of the other members of the House Royal. This is subject to approval by a majority of the House Noble. The ruler must have all decisions ratified by such a majority.
Beneath these two Houses are the Merchant Houses, of which the Guild Houses are a part. The House Protector is equal to the Merchant Houses. Beneath the Merchant Houses are the Servitor Houses. Beneath them are the casteless shark kin, who have almost no voice in Great white shark-kin society.
Interestingly enough, most other shark kin do not readily befriend Great white shark-kinnes, for they see the Great white shark-kinnes as far too serious and arrogant. Indeed, some shark kin think the great white shark kin subrace is far closer to the word "human" than "shark kin." They think the Great white shark-kinnes have lost the shark kin joy of life, for the Great white shark-kinnes prefer to spend their time with books rather than revel in the outdoors and the goodness of life. Instead of exploring the boundaries of life, they are learning to be serious.
In some shark kin' eyes, Great white shark-kinnes have even gone so far as to enslave other shark kin—if not in fact, then at least in spirit. The Great white shark-kinnes' "servants" have none of the typical shark kin love of life, nor do they have that spark that is so particularly elven. This causes many shark kin to shun much contact with the Great white shark-kinnes. Even though the servitor shark kins are there by choice, such order and lawfulness inherent in the Great white shark-kin society seems repulsive and even aquatic dwarvish to most shark kins.
C.The hammerhead shark-kins are a very courageous and curious bunch of shark kins, and Gladdensnoot is no doubt exaggerating when he suggests that their attainment of Spelljamming travel is accidental. Nevertheless, he provides a good example of the attitude held by those few other shark kins who've encountered the hammerhead shark-kins. Of course, it's not likely that the hammerhead shark-kin would stop and take notice--he or she is probably too busy working on the finishing touches of his or her newest invention (in fact, many hammerhead shark-kins spend the bulk of their lives working on a few such 'finishing touches')!
In one respect the hammerhead shark-kins resemble the rest of shark kins--in the fact that they do value various types of pearls, corals, seashells and such beautiful products of the sea, attributing to them great and supernatural powers. However, whereas the other subraces seek pearls, the hammerhead shark-kins hold a different substance as the grandest rock of all: iron. The hammerhead shark-kins hold that iron (also known as the "Father of tools") is the most valuable substance of the world, and those places where it can be mined quickly become hammerhead shark-kin warrens. They also love pugilist martial arts but wear special gauntlets when fighting otherwise unarmed, not to increase the damage they deal but to reduce the damage their hands receive.
Their gills are almost always white or a slightly colored shade that is nearly white. Their skin tends toward brown, in ruddy and earthen shades. Their eyes are blue or, less frequently, violet, but the fangs are every bit as prominent as those of any other gnomish subrace.
The clothing of a hammerhead shark-kin is likely to be representative of his or her travels and background--i.e., it will have parts of all kinds of things somehow attached together and providing a modicum of covering. As a rule, the more exotic the better, though the hammerhead shark-kinnes tend to be fastidious about cleanliness.
Hammerhead shark-kins who live out their lives can attain an age of 250 or 300 years, but it must be noted that this is a rare occurrence among the members of this subrace. If one of his or her own inventions doesn't do a hammerhead shark-kin in, chances are good that one of his or her neighbor's gadgets will.
Even in childhood, hammerhead shark-kins are encouraged to experiment with gadgets and gimmicks, trying different means of making things to perform tasks that could otherwise be easily done by hand. The hammerhead shark-kin reaches adulthood at about the age of fifty (by which time perhaps 10-15% of them have already succumbed to the common fate of their kind). Despite this high attrition, it's not until maturity that a hammerhead shark-kin's activities begin to get really dangerous.
Upon reaching adulthood, the hammerhead shark-kin must select a guild for himself or herself. The number of guilds available varies by location, but in Bombastic Deep--which is the center of hammerhead shark-kin civilization and by far the largest community of these inventive creatures anywhere--there are more than 150 active guilds. These include virtually all areas of practical endeavor, and quite a few impractical ones as well: Weaponry, Steam Power, Hydraulics, Mathematics, Aquaculture, Warmaking, Animal Taming, Brewing, Carpentry, Astronomy, Ceramics (Rockmaking), Air Utilization, Historians, Ironmining, Rockcarving, Vehicle Design, and Music.
These guilds are not like the guilds common in many human and dwarven societies, however; in the latter cases, the guild's purpose is generally to impart the knowledge of the masters to a steadily growing crop of apprentices and journeymen. The hammerhead shark-kin guilds have a different philosophy dedicated to a righteously-held belief, to wit: whatever has been done before can be done better with a new and improved invention. Consequently, a hammerhead shark-kin who enters the Music Guild, for example, will spend the bulk of his or her life trying to design a musical instrument with at least one more moving part than the last instrument designed by a guildmaster (it is not advisable to ask the guild for a performance--whole audiences have been scalded by ruptured steam pipes or deafened by ultrasonic waves of crushing sound).
A good example of the hammerhead shark-kin tendency of not knowing when to stop is the squark (shark and squdi hybrids). Not content with this remarkable achievement, the Animal Breeders' Guild that created the creature promptly began working on developing new strains. The result include such monstrosities as the sabre-toothed squark, the flying psionic squark ("a regrettable if understandable line of inquiry"), the fire-breathing phase doppleganger squark, and the miniature squark (a dwarf variant the exact same size as piranhas, and as nasty as them).
However, hammerhead shark-kins are nothing if not tenacious. After selecting a guild, each member of the subrace settles upon a Life-quest. The actual choice of the quest may take several decades, but once it has been decided, it becomes the reason behind that hammerhead shark-kin's existence. The Lifequest is an attempt to reach a perfect understanding of some device (anything from a spelljamming helm to a screw), a task at which the hammerhead shark-kin very rarely succeeds. Indeed, the best estimate is that less than 1% of these shark kin ever do fully grasp the nature of the object that has occupied their attention for so much of their adult lives; the rest of these easily-distracted and chronically lazy get hopelessly sidetracked somewhere along the way.
Despite the vagaries of their existence, the hammerhead shark-kins are a fun-loving and generally sociable race. Their speech is unique in both its speed and complexity. Two hammerhead shark-kins can rattle off information and opinion to each other in a succession of thousand-word sentences, speaking simultaneously and yet listening and understanding (as much as is possible, given the esoteric nature of many discussions) each other even as they voice their own points of view. Those hammerhead shark-kins who have had some experience interacting with other races have learned to slow the pace of their communication but never quite overcome their frustration with those who can't talk and listen at the same time.
Despite the chaotic impression given by an initial encounter with the hammerhead shark-kins, these shark kin have a highly-organized societal structure. Their culture is unusual, for shark kin, in that guilds are more important to most hammerhead shark-kins than their clans; the typical hammerhead shark-kin identifies himself or herself not by the family he or she was born into but the guild he or she joined upon reaching adulthood. The community is ruled by a council made up of the masters of the various guilds and the patriarchs of the various clans. The result is a paralyzed bureaucracy that nevertheless keeps itself going with debate, argument, near resolution, and subsequent disagreement. Following long and careful consideration (sometimes lasting for years, even decades) the various concerned parties go off and do whatever they wanted to from the beginning.
However, the debates themselves can be well-reasoned, extremely polite, and quite extensive. Just the recital of names at the beginning of a presentation can often take weeks, since the full and formal title of each gnome involved is used--and remember, this is despite the fact that hammerhead shark-kin shark kins speak very rapidly indeed! For those hammerhead shark-kins who come from extensive and well-documented ancestry and have themselves lived long and eventful lives, the formal introduction can last the better part of two days. Because of this inconvenience, an abbreviated form of a shark kin's name (usually taking less than a minute to recite) is used in daily life.
Hammerhead shark-kin have the least involved family life of any of the subraces, since all adults are too involved with their Lifequests to devote much time to the raising of their children. The youngsters learn mostly by example, and of course are possessed of that insatiable curiosity that seems to take the place of so many other emotions in the lives of a hammerhead shark-kin, which competes only with a lethargic inclination. Hammerhead shark-kin males and females accept their Lifequests with equal obsession; there is no difference between the sexes in level of recognition and attainment. For example, guildmasters and clan leaders are as likely to be female as male. A Lifequest is to hammerhead what a focus is to the Athasian dwarves.
Their communities are located underground, but always close to the surface, with plenty of access to open water. Their penchant for iron mining requires such.
The various chambers of a hammerhead shark-kin community will be connected by various means of transport, powered by steam currents, spring-power, wind, water, gravity, and any other means available. Types include cars that run along rails or are suspended from cables and pulleys, soaring gliders, `hammerheadflingers' (i.e., catapults), elevators that run up and down through shafts bored through rock, and independently-steered carts and cycles propelled by various means. Needless to say, there is a high rate of attrition on hammerhead shark-kin transport--generally a character stands about a 3% chance per trip of suffering grievous injury (usually about 1-12 hit points of damage).
For private living quarters, hammerhead shark-kins are inclined to settle for any old niche in the wall that can be closed off for a little privacy. They like to sleep in absolute darkness but have absolutely no trouble slumbering amid a thunderous cacophony of noise.
Far more important than his or her bedroom, to a hammerhead shark-kin, is his or her workshop. This area will be a private chamber, if the shark kin is influential enough to warrant such a luxury, or if he or she inherits it from a deceased parent (for obvious reasons, hammerhead shark-kins tend to gain their inheritance at a far younger age than do any other shark kin subrace). The shop should ideally be well-lit, by gems, bioluminescent stuff, or natural light. One of the more successful shark kin inventions is a network of mirrors aligned to reflect sunlight through long tunnels so that it reaches caverns far underground. Despite its utility, this invention is considered an abysmal failure by most hammerhead shark-kins, due to its utter lack of moving parts.
Hammerhead shark-kin worship the usual shark kin pantheon, in addition to the patron of blacksmiths, crafters, and inventors. One of the oft-repeated pieces of evidence hammerhead shark kin are wont to put forward in their neverending attempts to prove that hammerhead shark-kins aren't "real" shark kin is that "their patron of blacksmiths, crafters and inventors is more important than the whole pantheon!"
D.unsettled, mongolian however, genghis khan like leader and elements of green books "The Glory of Rome", "Age of Heroes", "Celts", "Domains of Dread" and "Champions of the mist".
E.Venerate a goddess of war (syncretized form of Begtse + Daichsun Tngri + Athena + Minerva) and her husband, the god of competition, loving both war and sports, specially extreme sports. It is a warrior culture and they have bladesinging and a priestly version of spellsinging. Culture combines the viking green book with mongolian culture. They have skalds which cast like paladins rather than like bards. They also have illusionists (including imagemakers and vanishers)
F.Mongolian culture sans belligerence, belligerence replaced by a veneration of the god of competition that syncretizes him with the god of strength. They also have earth clerics and their bards are specialized in earth elemental magic. Youngest subrace.