Crinid

Crinids are a species of insectoid people. As sapient non-Kith creatures, they are what are known as Others.

Description

Crinids superficially resemble millipedes, pillbugs, and other such insects familiar to kith. Fully extended, they are about five feet in height, standing on a pair of strong, muscular legs.
Their backs and heads are covered by overlapping layers of tough but pliable shell, which serves as a powerful defense mechanism. They are able to completely curl up on themselves, forming into a shell-covered ball, impenetrable against the bite of most creatures which lurk in the crinids' native territories.

Ecology

Crinids live in the old forests and humid caverns of the world, and are physically adapted to life in complete darkness. They tend to live in small family units, and it is very rare to find crinid communities with a population larger than a few hundred heads.
They are expert climbers, and are known to be able to hang a sheer cave wall for days on end. They use this ability to forage and hunt food in environments which other folk would find almost inhospitable.

Behavior

Crinids are intelligent and compassionate creatures, and they are understood to have an intelligence very comparable to that of humans and other kith.
Aside from conventional speech, they have their own kind of percussive communication, which they use particularly in the dark underground world. By gently tapping or scratching against the surface of a stone wall in a specific pattern, they are able to send messages across great distances. Using their touch-sensitive antennae, they are able to decipher messages like this, too faint to be heard or accurately located by most creatures.

Relationship with kith

These insectoids are meek creatures, and they shy away from those not of their kind. Despite this, they have been known to take pity on lost and wounded travelers, taking them in and nurturing them back to health before setting them back on the right path.