Grimlocks
"The ancient men of the Heroic Age culminated in the creator race known as the Grimlocks. We know little about these men other than what comes to us in stories, myths, and legends, and their feats of engineering and magic unrivaled even today. We have learned more from excavating their bathhouses than we have pursuing our own innovative research. We cannot and must not forget our forbears, but a note of caution is required: We don't know why their civilization fell. It seems likely that they reached too far too fast and destroyed themselves."
~Archmage Belacroix, Practical Anthropology
Basic Information
Anatomy
Grimlocks (as their descendents would suggest) were humanoid endomorphs.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Grimlocks were ruled by 'god-kings' that form the idealized basis for all future monarchy. Below the god-kings was a robust bureaucracy that worked in tandem with lesser feudal lords that had their own bureaucracies.
Facial characteristics
Skeletons of the Grimlocks reveal that they could easily have been mistaken for their human descendents, aside from an impressively robust jaw.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Grimlocks appeared to have been concentrated most in ancient Seaudyr, with sunken cities surrounding the coast and buried or forgotten settlements further inland. A few islands have the telltale megalithic stone walls and corridors leftover from the proto-humans.
Average Intelligence
It is assumed that the Grimlocks intellect was much more stringent than their human descendants.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
It is thought that Grimlocks had impressive hearing and vision, as the color variation of their art is technically better than a human could achieve with the naked eye, and their engineering and language both imply sensitive, discerning hearing.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Grimlocks have long, descriptive names that appeared to be able to go on forever relative to the formality of the situation and the accomplishments accrued. Males and females appear to have little if any variation in names, which sometimes leads to arguments as to whether so-and-so was a god-king or a goddess-queen. Once the long-name has been introduced, a 'common name' no more than four letters long is almost always used for the rest of the document.
Ex: Zeivaohlengka (Burning White Breath of Commanding Rage [Ancient heroic general]) common name: Vaohl (White Commander)
Major Organizations
Empire of Grimhii
Beauty Ideals
Judging by art, Grimlocks considered utilitarianism to be beauty. Physical strength and practical, demonstrable intellect feature heavily in their photo-realistic murals and bas reliefs.
Average Technological Level
Grimlocks were experts at domestication, breeding, megalithic architecture, mechanical and magical engineering, and metalworking.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
The language was remarkably stable throughout the Grimhii civilization both in distance and time. A Grimlock writer of the oldest ruins could have readily understood the writing from the Golden Era of Grimhii.
The language is known as "The Ancient Tongue," "Grimhii," and "Grimlock hand signs." The writing was modeled after gestures of a five-fingered hand, with left and right hands signalling positive and negative concepts. Each letter of the 55 letter alphabet is represented by a hand gesture, a consonant, and an elemental concept. From the elemental concepts, words and phrases are built from the bottom up. For instance, Grimlock is simply the Grimhii word for "person." Literally transliterated as GRiMLK - Wise Individual Mortal whose Purpose is the Soul. Grimhii is transliterated GRiMHii, or Country of Wise Individual Mortals.
Common Dress Code
According to the artwork, Grimlocks dressed in orichalcum and decorated leathers.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
The culture of the Grimlocks is usually referred to as Grimhii, though whether this actually represented a contiguous culture or a series of rising and falling civilizations is unknown.
History
Little is really known for sure about the Grimlocks. Legends say that they are descended from people brought to Kobos by the Demiurge, and there is little reason to dispute this. What is known is that the Grimhii civilization lasted anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 years and went through many escalating conflicts with the other creator races. They entered their peak apparently during an era of relative peace. This "Golden Era of Grimhii" appears to have accompanied an explosion in their innovation, and ended abruptly with the total collapse and disappearance of their race and civilization. During the Golden Era of Grimhii, they are believed to have created humans, halflings, goliaths, and the beast races. Why and how they did so is entirely a mystery.
Historical Figures
A large number of the saints in Demiurgery are credited to have been canonized during the Golden Era of Grimhii.
Common Myths and Legends
The whole first half of the Canticles of the Demiurge is believed to have been originally written sometime during or just before the Golden Era of Grimhii.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Grimlocks were known to have warred savagely with the other creator races.
EXTINCT
Lifespan
It is believed that Grimlocks lived 200-500 years.
Average Height
Skeletal adult specimens average around 6'2 for males, 5'11 for females.
Average Weight
If the thickness of the bones are any indication, Grimlocks were heavier by height than humans, 200-250 lbs for a male and 160-180 for a female.
Average Physique
Grimlocks were known to be physically robust, with thick bones suggesting thick muscle. While it may be idealized visuals, their art depicts them as extremely muscular.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
The surviving art universally depicts dark hair and large black eyes. Their skin seems to have ranged from a dusky brown to a granite gray.
Related Organizations
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