Yippers

Yippers

Fey Name: Goro'qo

The Yippers of The West Marches are oft-feared creatures typically associated with the Thalgor. Despite this characterization, Yippers are actually Fey, and they've been locked in war with the Thalgor ever since their arrival to the West Marches, which the Yippers inhabited prior. Yippers are among the Fey races which did not participate in The Great Migration, though some have fled the West Marches since the arrival of the Thalgor. They view the West Marches as an extension of the Rainy Country in their origin myths, specifically seeing it as the basin into which the rains empty when they leave their source.

General Information

Physical Description

Yippers are Fey with prominent coyote- or hyena-like features. They sport fur of varied colors across their whole bodies, and may or may not have distinct hair upon their heads and faces, which can be distinguished by its greater coarseness. Many Yippers have crooked and ragged ears and facial scars, owing to a common practice of inflicting mutilations upon their opponents when training to fight in their youth. These mutilations are typically minor, but they build up. Yippers have long claws upon their hands and feet and sharp teeth, all of which serve them as practical weapons. They have elongated tails which end in a puffy tip.

Yippers earn their name from their high-pitched wails. When hunting in groups, these wails are said to have frightened entire regiments of Althraxian forces during the Age of Blood. This system of wails is actually a fairly sophisticated language of warnings, signals, and commands which the broader world refers to as Yipyap. One's tone, tenor, and range in Yipyap have an important role analogous to gender in traditional Yipper tribes, and the category they fall into is known as their howlset.

Community Structure

Within their West March tribes, Yippers are typically raised communally and parents are rarely directly involved in childrens' lives. This is a matter of practicality, as all Yippers are expected to scavenge and fight for their tribe without any bias or loyalty for smaller subgroups. Children are raised to fight, kill, and forage throughout their youth, and they are often paired off or grouped together during their training, resulting in tight friendship circles among them. These groups are referred amongst Yippers as legions.

Outside of the West Marches, these practices are still typical, though they typically involve much smaller familial groups; essentially, the tribe equals the family. Yippers who settle in cities are often confined to urban slums with other Fey, as they have a bad reputation and are often associated with Thalgor. There have been instances where Yippers have militarized such slums and made their tribal norms the standard for all residents, which has led to crackdowns and interventions by the local authorities. It's safe to say, Yippers don't tend to mesh well with most civil societies, though they often aren't even given the opportunity to try. Most Yippers thus continue to live in tribal family groups even when they leave the West Marches, residing in the untapped wilds of Eashavar.

Yippers tend to have two names: a close familial name, known as a goro, and an identifier. A Yipper's goro tends to be a single syllable, extending up to two syllables at most (except in rare cases). They are short, cutesy, and may involve Yipyap noises. When a Yipper is referred to by their goro, it is either a sign of familiarity and affection or a signal that they are in trouble and about to receive a talking-to. Most of the time, Yippers go by their identifiers, which tend to have an adjective plus noun form that describes their role in the tribe. Outside of tribes, identifiers tend to designate something that the Yipper is well-known for.

Gender and Relationships

Yippers do not tend to form romantic relationships; their only loyalty is to their tribe. Intimacy is not a foreign concept to them, though, and they typically engage in sex freely with members of their legion. This typically occurs in the manner of orgies, and sometimes extends to the whole of the tribe (or beyond, when multiple tribes congregate rarely is it an event between just two Yippers. At these orgies, Yippers may have sex-based preferences, though these tend to be heavily influenced by the make-up of one's legion with one preferring the anatomy of their closest companions over anything else.

When outside of tribal life, these attitudes tend to persist amongst Yippers. Lacking the structure of a legion or tribe, Yippers have a tendency to become quite promiscuous; they are always seeking the satisfaction of a legionary orgy without ever being sated. Many Yippers thus become followers of Cinakath, and his congregations are often the closest thing available to meet their needs.

In the West Marches, the closest thing to gender that Yippers have is their howlset. A Yipper's howlset corresponds to the tone, tenor, and range of their capabilities to speak in Yipyap. While different tribes have different howlset categorizations, there is a tendency for them to be divided into four or five groups. These groups have a more or less standardized greater purpose across all tribes, with minor variances in the boundaries between them. They're typically referred to as rackers, keeners, backers, and haunters, with the fifth group composed of either laughers or hushers dependent on the tribe. Some tribes have neither, and a rare few have both.

Rackers are composed of the tribe's frontline warriors. They are first in the fight, and their voices are the first to be raised. They tend to have deepest, brassiest, and most echoing howls which are particularly intimidating. Rackers will typically layer these calls to further enhance the effects of their echo, and a chorus of a few rackers can make themselves sound like hundreds. They have a directly symbiotic relationship with Backers, who will form the backline of combat.

Backers tend to have more guttural tones which are capable of mimicing a distorted version of most other howlsets, and it's their role to expand the breadth of noise coming from Rackers. Backers will typically spread out and envelope the target that Rackers are closing in on, and though their voices tend to be much quieter in isolation, even a single Backer placed in a foe's flanks can create the illusion that Rackers are all around them. Backers also play secondary roles for the other howlsets, providing backing for tribal rituals, support for scouts, and a variety of other tasks.

Keeners, in contrast, are amongst the most high-pitched of the Yipper tribe. Their voices are sharp and clearly audible, but do not echo or resonate as easily. Keeners serve as the scouts, lookouts, and signalers of Yipper tribes, and their voices alert others to signs of danger or prey. Even a small group of Keeners can carry a message across many miles, as they'll form a "chain" which passes the message from one end to the other.

Haunters have the widest range of all howlsets, but their tenor is what matters most. The voice of a haunter is said to send chills down the spines of mortals. Haunters are the storytellers and mystics of the tribes. They are often the only ones capable of wielding magic, though day-to-day they serve far more practical roles as storytellers, cooks, and cleaners. When directing a ritual, the voice of a Haunter is said to be capable of making Yippers experience any emotion deeper than they have ever felt it before.

Laughers and hushers tend to be runts who fail in their duties to the tribe. While most tribes simply let such runts die, some assign them one of these two general roles. The laugher role typically designates a runt who is nonetheless magically-talented, and they are given the honor of luring foes into the hands of the Racker ambushes. This tends to be a very dangerous job, even for ones with the capabilities of withcraft, and few laughers live for long. They are so named because of their chilling and disturbing noises, which tend to be similar to deranged laughter, a result of too much time screaming from the extensive torture inflicted on them as they failed through their training.

Hushers, on the other hand, have an even less honorable role. In clans with hushers, their vocal cords are typically cut out to prevent them from contributing to any howl. Instead of being killed outright, they are then assigned to the deadliest of trapping duties, where they are exposed to harsh alchemicals. Hushers typically live short, agonizing lives after failing from their training. There are few tribes with both laughers and hushers, as tribes will typically either only see magical traits as worthy of preserving, or they will see them as worthless and cast those possessing them into the ranks of a husher with the other runts.

Beyond the West Marches, the notion of howlset remains but loses much of its meaning. Instead, Yipper families will typically translate their howlsets into the gender roles of the societies they find themselves in, with howlsets gradually becoming watered down generation-by-generation until they become indistinguishable from normal conceptions of gender. Since this translation is quite subjective, different Yipper families have different meshings of howlset and gender, and it can be difficult for them to discuss the topic in a coherent way.

Race (5e)

Placeholder.

Ancestry (Pathfinder 2e)

Yipper feats emphasize their knack for setting traps, their weaponized physiology, and their pack-hunting attitude.

Yippers

Hit Points

10

Size

Medium

Speed

25

Ability Boosts

Dexterity, Charisma, Free

Ability Flaw

Intelligence

Traits

Humanoid, Fey, Yipper

Languages

Human Common, Yipyap, additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it's positive)

Special Abilities

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Bite: Your sharp teeth and powerful jaws are fearsome weapons. You have a jaws unarmed attack that deals 1d6 piercing damage. Your jaws are in the brawling group.

Heritages

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Hold-Scarred Yipper: You are part of a Yipper clan that participates in ritual scarification or tattooing. The marks on your skin show your exceptional hardiness and vitality. You gain 12 Hit Points from your ancestry instead of 8. You also gain the Diehard feat.
Scavenger Yipper: Your ancestors originated from a land where food was scarce and threats were many. You are trained in Survival. You gain the Forager skill feat as a bonus feat. Your thoroughness when gathering food provides you a +1 circumstance bonus to Survival checks to Subsist.
Tracker Yipper: Your clan has long excelled as trackers and have honed their sense of smell. You gain imprecise scent with a range of 30 feet. This means you can use your sense of smell to determine a creature’s location. The GM will usually double the range if you’re downwind from the creature or halve the range if you’re upwind. In addition, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks to Seek a creature or object within the range of your scent.
Witch Yipper: You're a shaggy, dark-furred gnoll capable of making some truly uncanny sounds. You can cast the ghost sound cantrip as an occult innate spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell level equal to half your level rounded up. In addition, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to checks to Impersonate and Create a Diversion when using only your voice.

Ancestry Feats

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Name	Traits	Level	Prerequisites	Benefits	Details
Crunch	Yipper	1	-	Your jaws can crush bone and bite through armor.	Show spoiler Your jaws can crush bone and bite through armor. Your jaws unarmed attack deals 1d8 piercing damage instead of 1d6 and gains the grapple trait.
Eldetic Ear	Yipper	1	-	You have an amazing memory for sound.	Show spoiler You gain the Assurance (Performance) feat. With a successful DC 8 flat check, you can accurately recall a sound or a snippet of conversation you heard within the last week. You are memorizing by rote rather than content, and can't use this to cram facts, so this doesn't grant you any extra ability to Recall Knowledge.
Goro'qo Lore	Yipper	1	-	You paid attention to your senior hunters to learn their tricks.	Show spoiler You paid attention to your senior hunters to learn their tricks. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Stealth and Survival. If you would automatically become trained in one of those skills (from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice. You also become trained in Yipper Lore.
Hyena Familiar	Yipper	1	-	Hyenas serve Yippers as pets, trackers, and represent fallen comrades.	Show spoiler Hyenas serve Yippers as pets, trackers, and represent fallen comrades. You gain a Tiny hyena as a familiar.
Pack Hunter	Yipper	1	-	You were taught how to hunt as part of a pack.	Show spoiler You were taught how to hunt as part of a pack. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to checks to Aid, and your allies gain a +2 circumstance bonus to checks to Aid you.
Snare Setter	Yipper	1	trained in Crafting	You are adept at the time-honored Yipper art of trap making.	Show spoiler You are adept at the time-honored Yipper art of trap making. You gain the trained proficiency in Crafting. If you were already trained in Crafting, you instead become trained in a skill of your choice. You gain access to all uncommon snares with the kobold (in PF rules) trait. You gain the Snare Crafting feat, though when choosing your formulas for that feat, you can also choose from uncommon kobold snares, as well as common snares.
Vengeful Hatred	Yipper	1	-	Your heart aches for vengeance against those who have wronged your people.	Show spoiler Your heart aches for vengeance against those who have wronged your people. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to damage with weapons and unarmed attacks against creatures with the Thalgor trait. If your attack would deal more than one weapon die of damage (as is common at higher levels than 1st), the bonus is equal to the number of weapon dice or unarmed attack dice. In addition, if a creature critically succeeds at an attack against you and deals damage to you, you gain your bonus to damage against that creature for 1 minute regardless of whether it has the chosen trait.
Yipper Weapon Familiarity	Yipper	1	-	You were taught to be a hunter and a raider.	Show spoiler You were taught to be a hunter and a raider. You are trained with flails, khopeshes, mambeles, spears, and war flails.
Distant Cackle	Yipper	5	Witch Yipper heritage	It takes a very brave person to enter the laughter-haunted forest where you dwell.	Show spoiler It takes a very brave person to enter the laughter-haunted forest where you dwell. You can cast ventriloquism once per day as a 1st-level occult innate spell.
Pack Stalker	Yipper	5	Pack Hunter; expert in Stealth	Ambushes are an honored Yipper tradition.	Show spoiler Ambushes are an honored Yipper tradition. You gain the Terrain Stalker feat and can extend its effects to a single ally so long as they remain within 10 ft. of you. If you have master proficiency in Stealth, you can extend the effect to two allies. If you have legendary proficiency in Stealth, you can extend it to four allies.
Right-Hand Blood	Yipper	5	-	It's said that the flesh of the right side of a Yipper can heal diseases, but that of the left side is poisonous.	Show spoiler It's said that the flesh of the right side of a Yipper can heal diseases, but that of the left side is poisonous. You can take 1 damage to feed someone blood from your right side and Administer First Aid or take 2d8 damage to Treat Disease or Treat Wounds; in either case, you don't need healer's tools, and gain a +1 item bonus.
Snare Genius	Yipper	5	Snare Crafting; expert in Crafting	Your expertise makes your snares more powerful, and you can place them quickly and efficiently.	Show spoiler Your expertise makes your snares more powerful, and you can place them quickly and efficiently. Each day during your daily preparations, you can prepare three snares from your formula book for quick deployment; if the snare normally takes 1 minute to Craft, you can Craft it with 3 Interact actions. Snares prepared in this way don't cost you any resources to Craft. The number of snares you can prepare this way increases to four if you are a master in Crafting, and to five if you are legendary. When you Craft and deploy a snare that deals damage, any creature that critically fails its saving throw against the snare's initial effect and takes damage becomes flat-footed until the end of its next turn.
Yipper Weapon Practicality	Yipper	5	Yipper Weapon Familiarity	You have come to know Yipper weapons as you know yourself.	Show spoiler Whenever you critically hit using flails, khopeshes, mambeles, spears, and war flails, you apply the weapon's critical specialization effect.
Grandmother's Wisdom	Yipper	9	-	You carry the bones of your ancestors with you, and you can ask them for counsel.	Show spoiler You carry the bones of your ancestors with you, and you can ask them for counsel. You can cast augury twice per day as a 2nd-level occult innate spell.
Laughing Yipper	Yipper	9	master in Intimidation	A Yipper's sinister giggle is a sound of warning and threat.	Show spoiler A Yipper's sinister giggle is a sound of warning and threat. You gain the Battle Cry skill feat. You don't take a penalty when you attempt to Demoralize a creature that doesn't understand your language.
Pack Tactics	Yipper	9	-	You are adept at working with your allies to surround a foe.	Show spoiler You are adept at working with your allies to surround a foe. If an enemy is within reach of you and at least two of your allies, that enemy is flat-footed against you.
Snare Commando	Yipper	9	Snare Crafting; expert in Deception or Intimidation	Your snares are so befuddling that your victims rarely notice you slipping out of sight.	Show spoiler Your snares are so befuddling that your victims rarely notice you slipping out of sight. When a creature fails or critically fails a save against your snare, if you have expert proficiency in Deception, you can Create a Diversion against the triggering creature. If you have expert proficiency in Intimidation, you can instead Demoralize the triggering creature. If you have both, choose one of the two effects.
Vicious Snares	Yipper	13	Snare Crafting; expert in Crafting	You've learned how to create traps that cause greater injuries.	Show spoiler You've learned how to create traps that cause greater injuries. You deal an additional 1d6 precision damage with damaging snares you craft. This increases to 2d6 additional precision damage if you're legendary in Crafting.
We March On	Yipper	13	-	You make sure that your allies push themselves while traveling.	Show spoiler You make sure that your allies push themselves while traveling. You gain the Caravan Leader and Pick Up the Pace general feats, even if you don't meet the prerequisites.
Yipper Weapon Expertise	Yipper	13	Yipper Weapon Practicality	You fight with effortless expertise with Yipper weapons.	Show spoiler Whenever you gain a class feature that grants you expert or greater proficiency in a given weapon or weapons, you also gain that proficiency in flails, khopeshes, mambeles, spears, and war flails.
Death Yip	Yipper, Auditory	17	-	You call out to your allies and push them to give their all in combat.	Show spoiler You call out to your allies and push them to give their all in combat. All allies within 30 feet that can hear you gain a number of temporary Hit Points equal to your level. In addition, these allies become quickened for 1 minute but can only use the extra action to Step, Stride, or Strike.

You Might...

• Feel most alive when part of a coordinated group effort — a hunt, an ambush, a ritual, or even a rowdy argument.
• Rely on your instincts over rules or etiquette, acting first and explaining yourself later.
• Treat hardship, injury, and scars as shared rites of belonging rather than misfortune.

Others Probably...

• Fear your scars, figure, or howls long before they understand their meaning.
• View you as troublesome and uncooperative until they see your pack-like discipline in the midst of emergencies.
• Mistake your directness for hostility, or your enthusiasm for aggression.

by AI-Generated (NovelAI + Dzine)