Wong Oranye
by Cab DavidsonThe thoughtful and reflective wong oranye are the true philosophers and inventors of the primate world. Resembling orangutan, they thrive in the dense jungles of the Cestian coast, occasionally travelling further afield on quests of discovery. Indeed they are more at home in the trees than on the ground, but their curiosity often brings them down from the trees to see what can be found in the world below. And once they do so, it is the same curiosity that can take them far from home, with both individuals and groups ranging a great distance from their homelands.
Typically they live in small family groups, with a male and several females sharing a territory in which they forage for fruits, leaves and flowers, only rarely eating meat. Young stay in these extended groups for the first 12-13 years of their lives, and then either choose to remain near to home or to travel. Small groups travel towards settlements of other races to seek adventure. Typically, they live around 50 years.
They excel in technical endeavours, often choosing to go to sea (as sailors or, more often, pirates), and occasionally taking up employment with engineers, often gnomes, being especially gifted in working with natural materials. If anything can be made from wood and rope, then a wong oranye can make it.
Purely out of choice, they do not manufacture stone or metal tools of their own, but they do make a bewildering range of tools from wood and forest fibres. It is not unknown for a wong oranye to have dozens of tools dedicated to opening nuts and fruit, processing fibres, personal grooming, grinding materials for further use, twisting ropes, and creating traps – indeed creating new tools for different jobs is one of life’s great joys for wong oranye.
Advancement and physical attributes: Characters require 10% 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: The wong oranye are competent inventors and creators. All have the engineering skill, in addition to any other general skills, from first level, and they gaining the fantasy physics skill at 5th level, and meddling at 9th level of experience in addition to any other general skills known. Few realise that wong oranye are as accomplished creators as gnomes, their creations tending towards tools and machinery entirely made from natural materials found in the jungle. Fewer still, having underestimated them thus, leave their lands alive.
An unarmoured or leather armour wearing wong oranye can climb any tree with no ability check required, and can climb walls as a thief of equal level. A nobubele thief gains a +10% bonus to all climb walls checks.
Their long limbs make them dangerous enemies if they choose to wrestle. All wong oranye have the wrestling general skill, in addition to any others known.
Character Class: In principle wong oranye may be of any class, available to humans, but no merchants, mystics or rakes are known. Many become fighters or thieves, few being keen on the esoteric studies necessary to become wizards. Clerics may belong to any faith, indeed no specific patron immortals have been identified, with each individual seeming to find their own way of following one of a bewildering array of immortals for entirely personal reasons. The only exception to this the recent cult of Benekander, whose practical aspect has appealed to many among them (and who is sufficiently flattered by this to return a similar level of respect).
Hit Dice: Normal hit dice for the class are used, but wong oranye start at level 1 with 2hd rathe than 1. For example a first level wong oranye thief begins with 2d4hp rather than 1d4.
Movement and Encumbrance: They are rather rapid when moving among trees, with a base movement rate of 150’ (50’) if treewalking or brachiating. They are equally rapid aloft among the masts and spars of a ship. Their hips being rather wide set mean they’re a little slower than most other characters on the ground, slowing their base movement rate to 90’ (30’).
Languages: Their own language, known as Ookish, sounds very like gentle grunts to other creatures. They also speak the most common local human language.
Weapons and Armour: The long limbs of the wong oranye mean that armour must be made or adapted especially for them, but they may wear any armour permitted to their class. Likewise, their build very much favours the use of slashing, bladed weapons, and they very much favour swords, cutlasses, and other slashing weapons, with which they gain a +1 to hit.
