Troglodyte

Troglodytes are amphibious humanoids, known for their physical toughness and atrocious scent. Most of them live in miserable underground villages called Welts carved out long ago, which are ironically quite common in deserts and the Empty Ring. Each Welt houses 50-100 Troglodytes and usually the only sources of water for miles around. Overpopulation is a constant existential threat. Despite the near religious practice of infanticide, the population climbs and some Troglodytes are exiled. The exiles are chosen from the ranks of the Welt’s hunters, who are responsible for protecting the Welt’s territories, finding their food, and best suited for surviving outside the Welt anyway. Trog society is not pleasant nor merciful, but it does tend to be stunningly egalitarian and fatalistically fair.

Trogs themselves look like long-snouted amphibians, with porous, slimy skin. Most stand a foot or two taller than an average human male. Many are the under the impression that they possess hardened scales, which is false. The Troglodytes practice a symbiotic relationship with certain species of mold or pond scum, which they cultivate on their bodies on an in their skin. Incidentally, this is where their legendary scent comes from. The exact species of pond scum the Troglodyte cultivates can differ, and each provides different utilities. The most common type which is responsible for the lovely scent most humans associate with Trogs, is meant to keep the amphibious Trogs alive in the desert. Trogs are born in broods of dozens, though most are eaten by their parents. They live as near totally aquatic tadpoles for their first five years then emerge from the water, and are dead before fifty.

As a Trog adventurer, you were a Hunter who was exiled either by communal vote, lots, or your own choice. Troglodytes can form friendships and love others but you will probably have trouble understanding the human child-parent relationship. Troglodytes tend to be brutally pragmatic and quietly stoic. People do not like you because you stink, look weird and are believed to eat human babies.

Photographic Memory- You possess photographic spatial memory. You can never get lost as long as you follow the exact same path taken before, though finding the path to start out with may be difficult.
Detrivore- You can eat almost anything, including rotten meat, bits of twig, and actual feces. You are immune to most poisons and diseases. Barring extreme circumstances you can always find rations for yourself.

Excellent Olfactory Sense- Despite your appalling redolence, you possess an excellent scent of smell, and can recognize people by it. You also gain the Tracking and Awareness Talents.
Living Skin- Your skin is a rubbery porous material that has some innate ability to deflect blows. Your base AC is 12. Normally, you would need to bathe every hour to prevent drying out (taking d8 damage every hour), but the cultivation of pond scum on your skin prevents this, in addition to providing several other benefits.

Troglodyte Hunter

HD: d8  Mins: PHYS-13 Saves and Levels as Fighter

You are a survivalist and a warrior. The desert and wilderness are where you feel most at home. Settlements of more than a hundred people are alien to you, and many may bar your entry entirely. You are also a hunter, and are very good at killing things. You probably do not wear armor, as you pond scum needs air to survive and responds poorly to constant pressure.

Favored Enemy- Choose a type of creature (e.g. goblins, orcs, humans, unicorns). You gain +2 to attack that enemy. Greater- Choose another enemy and gain +2 to damage against favored enemies. Superior- Choose another enemy type and reduce all incoming damage from favored enemies by one.

Trophies- You can collect trophies from fresh corpses. These each grant you a +1 to AC, and also a stacking +1 bonus to save against special attacks and abilities from the creature whose corpse you have vandalized. You may wear a maximum of four at a time.

Overland Travel- You can mask the movement of yourself and half your Wisdom score creatures, preventing mundane tracking from finding you.

Dangerous Game- Once per day, one of your physical attacks can deal an extra +X damage, where X is the HD of the largest creature you or your party has killed. This ability is not expended if the attack misses.

The Harder They Fall- If you successfully attack a creature bigger than you, you do their SZ difference additional damage to them (+1 if they’re large, +2 if huge, etc)

Tough- Reduce all incoming damage by one.

Living Skin- As a troglodyte, you are in a symbiotic relationship with a colony of what can best be described as a slime mold or pond scum. This pond scum can be assumed to prevent your skin from drying out every hour you spend out of water. However, it also has requirements of it’s own. The slime mold needs a fairly constant supply of air and responds poorly to prolonged bouts of his pressure. This precludes the wearing of armor and most clothing. The mold also has two states, active and inactive. Each state usually has its own benefits. Assume that to maintain an active state the mold needs water every hour, with other conditions listed where appropriate. All of these smell unpleasant up close unless mentioned.

Clinging Scale Mold- The most common type of mold, because of its utility in keeping trogs alive in their native desert environments.

Active- Appalling stench. For 1 round after becoming active all creatures with a sense of smell must save or wretch uncontrollably.

Dormant- Hardened giving the appearance of scale and granting +1 AC. Also gives immunity to the effects of heat exposure and the trog only needs water every three days.

Welt Garden Moss- Great big clumps of moss growing out the troglodyte. Can outgrow the trog. Used for agriculture in the welts. Smells of petrichor and dogshit.

Active- Requires you to not be starving and the judicious application of ‘fertilizer’, all this does is cause the moss to grow each day.

Dormant- +1 AC innately, +1 AC -1 MV per day of growth. Can also be harvested while dry to provide four disgusting rations per day of growth.

Sand Worm Gut Slurry- Barnacle like patterns, a putrescent mix of red and green. Used by Welt Beserkers in times of great danger. Smells like the vomit of a very big carnivorous monster, because it is.

Active- Instead of water, requires blood to activate. In combat has a 1 in 4 chance of activating whenever an enemy dies near you, chance increases by one each roll. Sends you into a zen mode that gives +2 to hit and damage for the duration of combat. Pass out for an hour at the end.

Dormant- You smell delicious to scavengers and most desert life forms. Any animal from those categories will definitely target you and seek you out, other animals probably will as well.

Lotus Spores- Disingenuous green moss, but tipped with red and pink tubes. Fragrant like flowers, but with the musk of over applied men’s cologne.

Active- Anyone standing near you or engaging in combat must save of experience calling illusions. -2 to hit and AC as the hallucinogens mildly warp your perceptions.

Dormant- allows the release of a cloud hallucinogens in a 15ft circle. You are not immune. Afterwards, both the active and dormant effects are unusable until a day passes and the spores are hydrated.

Oasis Angel- Like the philosopher’s stone but for troglodytes and it exists. Light yellow stalks. Very rare and prohibitively expensive. Smells like a cup of vanilla extract tastes.

Active- Requires near constant bright light. A torch won’t cut it unless you’re holding it. If you die while this is active after 1d4 weeks you will revive. Make a save against insanity that gets harder the more times you do this, or become a vegetable.

Dormant- +2 to all saves

Prism Slime- irregular rainbow patterned and mesmerizing. Favorite of wizards with trog employees. Disgustingly saccharine odor

Active- Colors begin to shift and pulsate. As the spell hypnotic orb.

Dormant- At will shed garish rainbow light as a bonfire up to four hours a day.

Lodestone Lichen- grayish fuzzy mold. Found in cold regions, and susceptible to fire. Regardless of state take double fire damage. Peat and urine.

Active- +2 AC, metal weapons that hit you stick into you and can only be removed after a round of pulling. Opposed strength check to move.

Dormant- +6 AC, -2 MV

The GLOG doesn’t use race as class, but for the sake of completion/ peer pressure I feel like I should write one.

+1 Stealth for every two Troglodyte templates you possess.

A- Tracking, Detrivore, Living Skin

B- Favored (Hated Enemy), Overland Travel

C- Trophies, The Harder They Fall

D- Dangerous Game (Dragon Hunter), Tough

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