Bogwum (Bəʊ-gwʌm)

Basic Information

Anatomy

They are humanoid in shape, but bogwum anatomy differs in a few significant ways. The main point of difference is that bogwum legs are notably bowed outward when compared to other humanoids, which combined with their thick thigh muscles, allow them to leap long distances. They also have relatively long tongues, usually at least three times as long as their body, which they can extend when needed.

Biological Traits

Bogwum have the appearance of large, bipedal frogs.  They tend to crouch over in their posture, as if always ready to pounce.  They have two eyes on the side of their head that stick out of the skull, which can rotate around to give a full circle of vision.  Their skin is coated in a thin layer of mucus, which helps them breathe, as they absorb air through their skin.  Sometimes, this mucus can be toxic to other creatures to help ward off predators.

Genetics and Reproduction

Similar to less humanoid frogs, bogwa hatch from eggs that are laid unfertilized by the mother.  While laid deep in mud and water, the father inseminates the eggs while soaking in the egg water.  From there, the eggs grow larger and gestate over a few months until the baby bogwa hatch into tadpoles that need to be taken care of by the adults.

Growth Rate & Stages

The bogwum life cycle begins with tadpoles who slowly, over two to three years, grow limbs, starting with their legs, and absorbing their tail.  These tadpoles spend all of their time in the water as they have not developed lungs yet.  Once they have all of their limbs and can start walking on two legs, they spend several years as a gwumlet, where they can spend a decent amount of time on land and still have a bit of tail left.  Eventually, usually by age ten at the latest, the gwumlet's small tail falls off and the bogwum is considered an adult.

Ecology and Habitats

Bogwum blood matches the temperature of their environment, meaning they thrive in the warm swamps of the north.  While they can survive outside of the humid wetlands, their bodies go into force hibernation when it gets too cold.  Outside of the temperature and humidity, bogwa are best adapted to the swamplands as their legs allow them to jump around the bits of plants and thick tree roots in the swamp to avoid falling into the deep waters and whatever lies within.  Many have also developed a bit of innate magic that allows them to manipulate water with enough mud in it that they use to traverse the swamp water in boats.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Bogwa are primarily carnivorous creatures, subsisting primarily on the large, monstrous insects native to the northern swamps, along with supplementing their diet with normal sized insects.  Bogwa in the swamps are known to organize hunting trips to kill several giant insects to stockpile meat for several months, storing the meat in dried mud.
Well known primarily as carnivores, bogwa have evolved to be able to process plant foods as well, although past the gwumlet stage they very rarely eat them.  In the tadpole stage, in fact, they can only eat plant food since they have not yet developed the organs for processing meat.

Biological Cycle

As a cold-blooded species, a bogwum's vital organs begin to slow down function as the temperature around them decreases.  If temperatures drop low enough, then their organs can shut down entirely.  To prevent this from happening, a bogwum's body will usually go into hibernation to reduce the strain on their organs.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Bogwa are incredibly social creatures, organizing into knots, tightly bonded groups of bogwa.  Bogwum knots will usually have one bogwum designated as the leader, which can be clearly seen in the Bogwum Hive, the largest group of bogwa in the northern swamps, which has a strict, authoritarian bent. Although bogwa are known to prefer the company of other bogwa to "outsiders," those outside of the swamp are known to adopt a group of non-bogwa as their own personal knot.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Bogwum are almost entirely seen within the swamps of Eskarr, within the Bogwum Hive.  However, there are smaller communities within Eskarr of Bogwum that reject the Hive's philosophies.  Even rarer though, one may find a stray Bogwum out on the streets in Golrai.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The positioning of bogwum eyes allow them to have wider field of vision than most other humanoids, being able to see in almost 360 degrees by shifting moving their eyes in their sockets. Their eyes are also specially designed to help them see in the dark, as this is when they are most active, with the side effect that their eyes harshly reflect any light shined on them when in the dark. However, their special eyes also have the drawback of making it difficult for bogwa to notice creatures that are not moving.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

The true name of bogwa in their original language tends to be made of croaks and ribbits and is unintelligible to non-bogwa.  Instead, they will offer names that often make heavy use of g's and w's.  Masculine bogwa names tend to end in consonants while feminine ones end in vowels.

Major Organizations

The largest political organization of bogwa is the Bogwum Hive, deep in the swamps of Eskarr.  It is essentially a large, sovereign city-state surrounding by mud-brick walls.  The Hive is divided into several armies, which are groups descended from the initial knots that formed the Hive, traced through the male line.  The heads of each of these armies work together to determine what the edicts that all Hive bogwa are to follow.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

The bogwa have their own language made up of croaks and ribbits, noises amplified through the inflating of male bogwa vocal sacs.  Along with the Bogwa language,

History

Bogwa have lived in the swamps of the north for as long as anyone can remember, although for a time they had travelled about in various independent knots, each with their own cultural identity.  However, with the orcs coming up from the south and creating the nation of Eskarr, most of the bogwa started to band together against these "outsiders".  This led to the creation of the Hive, an enclosed region where a small group of knot leaders create strict ordinances to preserve the bogwum people against the brewgans, or non-bogwa.  However, many modern bogwa disagree with how the Hive operates and will often attempt to escape, although if this is extremely risky as Hive leadership will usually execute those caught trying to escape.
Independent knots outside of the Hive can range from being as isolationist as the Hive, but disagreeing with their strict rules, to actually working with the Eskarrans to help them adapt better to living in swampland.  The bogwa that work with the Eskarrans have even started trying to teach them the basics of the bogwa's innate magic.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

The bogwa have always had a strained relationship with the umwai since they moved into the northern swamps after being pushed out by the Golraians. The initial movement of the umwai to the swamps led to the creation of the Hive. However, as time has gone on and the orcs have demonstrated that they have adapted to and respect the swamp, rogue knots of bogwa have started to cooperate with them. Some bogwa even trust the umwai enough to attempt to teach the orcs their innate magic to help them with their irrigation.

Lifespan

60 years

Average Height

4'6"-5'4"

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Bogwum can have a wide variety of skin colors, although they are most commonly seen with greens and browns, allowing them to blend in with their swampy homeland.  The more exotic-colored Bogwum usually have an element of toxicity to their biology to ward off rival Bogwum and outsiders.

Related Organizations

• Eskarr