Flind
The Hunt
Moyishu crept through the scraggily underbrush, slowly approaching the top of the knoll. He could smell the stag, and knew it could not smell him. He lifted his spear, aiming down his arm like his father had shown him many times before. His heart thundered in his chest, providing a rhythmic background, keeping his pace even. With only his ears over the top of the knoll, he heard the stag chewing. Cautiously, he raised his head and counted the points, twelve. This would be a fine feast for his family. Soon he would hunt the snowy tiger and prove his worth to them.
To his left, he heard the snap of branches. The Stag froze momentarily, perked his ears, and bolted. The noise from the brush continued to approach, making no effort to conceal its presence. The wind shifted and he caught the foul scent of Ork. The savage had wandered into the Empire, and scared away Moyishu’s dinner. The young Flind swore under his breath, and turned slowly, aiming by sound and scent alone. The Ork, although not nearly as tasty as the stag, would prove a more difficult kill. He tensed his legs, and pushed forward as he hurled the spear at the hidden Ork.
The spear shattered bones and the bush exploded in red. Moyishu quickly grabbed his battle axe and swung it in a slow arc, approaching the flailing Ork. Everything stopped, and then the Ork, with the broken spear shaft still protruding from his stomach, exploded from the bushes. He stood a foot taller than Moyishu and outweighed him by two hundred pounds. The Ork snarled and spat at him. The two squared, the Flind’s axe moving with slow practice, and the Ork’s sword hacking wildly at both Flind and nearby brush. With a sudden lunge, the Ork stabbed Moyishu in the leg, but as he stumbled, the young Flind brought his axe down, cutting clean through the Ork’s neck.
Bathed in blood, Moyishu grinned. He calmly tore off a bit of cloth from the Ork’s rag tag outfit, tied off his own wound, and lifted over his shoulders. His family would be pleased. He kicked the Ork’s head down the hillside, and headed for home.
Personality
Flind have a strange sense of honor. For a Flind, deception is always vile when discovered, and usually unsavory when successful. They believe in a system of law and justice where honor is often define by might. A Flind who beats another, may take his belongings. Challenges between Flind are common, but another Flind may willingly take the place of the challenged, serving as his champion. Such champions rarely lose, so powerful Flind generally keep several on retainer. They find themselves somewhat above the moral and legal structure of society. To solve this problem, Flind have Justicars. Mighty warriors with skills in stealth, Justicars often sneak into a lawbreakers house and challenge them privately. They serve as judges and punishers, keeping true to their motto, “I am the law.” Punishment, when it is not death, is usually dismemberment or branding.
Flind are a stern people, often seen by outsiders as having little or no sense of humor. Everything seems so serious to them. They do however, find time to enjoy themselves. They hunt religiously, and the test of a young Flind is always a hunt, usually of a bear or similarly large and nasty creature. Entertaining of a guest generally involves a hunt. Some Flind, who live near the Ork lands, hunt them for sport. Most Flind hunt with melee or hand hurled weapons. The most important part of the hunt, next to the skill of the hunter, is the feast that follows. Flind do not cook their meat. They find cooked flesh disgusting. Eating dinner with a group of Flind generally nauseates most people. Flind supplement their diet with potatoes, and when game is scarce, will consent to a few vegetables, although they have difficulty digesting them.
Physical Description
Flind stand over six feet tall, often times reaching past seven. Although strong, they do not have the massive build of an Ork or Khadra. Instead their muscles wind tightly around their more human-like frame. Their hair, which covers their entire body, is short, coarse and bristly. Generally, Flind are brownish, grayish, or a ruddy red. Due to some strange ecological tendency, however, fifty Flind at any given time will have snowy white and midnight black fur, marking them as Justicars. When one such Flind dies, another is always born with similar markings.
They have human looking bodies, except for the fur, but their heads resemble that of a wolf’s. Large teeth, the canines, protrude over the edge of their black lips. Their eyes, set in the front, like a human’s, are large and golden or brown in color. Their ears, set atop their heads, resemble a dog’s very closely, with a triangular shape and the extra tuft of long hair. Their noses, although not as long as that of a wolf, protrude from their face and come to a definite snout.
During the warmer months, Flind will wear loose fitting linen and cotton trousers and shirts. The climate of their home is, however, generally cold. As such, they prefer furs, often complete with the head of the animal stretched over their own as a hat. They wealthier the Flind, the higher the quality of fur. Small animals, such as mink and ermine are sown together, often matched with a bear pelt for the hood. More common outfits are those of wolves, bear, and moose.
Relations
Physically intimidating, relations with other races are often hampered by fear. Find dislike Orks and Goblin, considering them beasts fit for sport, but not food. They respect the Khadra, and over the past two millennia, have fostered a good relationship with these far-flung neighbors – often celebrating their friendship with an Ork-hunt. Flind are weary of Elynthi, but unlike other races, maintain formal relations with the Children of Nosferian.
Alignment
Flind who are not lawful, do not last long in their lands. Strength is of paramount importance to a Flind’s sense of order, and in Flind society, the strong take what they wish from the weak.
Flind Lands
The Flietch-ta Empire is one of ever-changing lords – not due to chaos, but rather due to the rather short lifespan of a Flind. Laws are strict in the Empire, and Justicars deal out harsh punishments to those who break them – regardless of whether they are a Flind. It is not unusual to see Khadra or Elynthi wandering the streets of Pash-ti , though other races are a rare sight.
Religion
Flind do not believe in gods or religion like other races. Instead, they believe in a sort of spirituality of the soul. Each soul must strive to keep itself pure. A pure soul requires a pure body. They seek perfect in mind, body and spirit, although some to a greater extent than others. They believe in ancestral respect and wisdom, but not worship. It is not uncommon for a Flind to meditate on the grave of his grandfathers for hours in an effort to cleanse his soul and solve a problem.
Language
The Flind language shares some entomological roots with Khadric, but not enough to be audibly noticeable. It is a harsh language, yet strangely musical laden with words to describe the nature, the hunt, and wellness of a spirit.
Names
Flind names are like their language – sharp in sound yet easily rolling from the tongue. Most Flind carry a surname, as well as their own names. Some sample male names are Turkotch A’Kuma, Kausin Chrita, and Bakra Gorich. Female names have no discernable characteristics, and include Malatara Curthot, Pandri Ash-tali, and Nadia Grr’tch.
Adventuring
Flind love the hunt and those that adventure often seek larger game. Some Flind find themselves houseless, and rather than suffer the dishonor of servitude, choose to make their way in Tarien as mercenaries.
Honor is life. Strength is honor. Honor is strength. Protect the honor of those without the strength to protect it themselves.
The Frosted Mountains
Related Organizations
Flind Racial Traits
- Size: Medium. Flind have no bonuses or penalties for size.
- Speed: Flind base speed is 35 feet.
- Animal Instincts: Flind have strong muscles, the soul of a hunter, and keen senses. They may select any two of the following skills: Athletics, Nature, Perception, Stealth, or Survival.
- Iron Will: Flind have trained their minds to make them into fortresses of iron. They have advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the Charmed or Stunned condition on themselves.
- Long Limbed: Flind bodies are long and lean, giving them arms and legs that almost seemed stretched when compared to other races. When a Flind makes a melee attack on their turn, their reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.
- Natural Psionics: Most Flind has some capacity in Psionics. They may select one of the following cantrips: Guidance, Mage Hand, Message. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is the spellcasting ability for this spells when the Flind casts it with this trait (choose when the species is selected.) Casting this spell does not require any components when cast with this trait.
- Scent: Flind have extremely keen noses. They can detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. They can identify familiar odors just as humans can identify familiar sights with their eyes. They can track by scent, and have advantage on Wisdom Perception checks that rely on smell.
- Automatic Languages:Flind. Knowledge of a language means a Flind can communicate in it, but does not mean they know how to read and write it.
- Bonus Languages: Flind often learn the languages of their neighbors. Choose two of the following: Draconic, Eldorian, Elynthi, Galencian, Giant, Goblin, Khadric, and Orkish, Soulmeliti, Sylvan. Knowledge of a language means a Flind can communicate in it, but does not mean they know how to read and write it.