Guhr

The guhr are an angry race, quick to temper and swift to strike. The vast majority of their number reside in the unclaimed Wildlands between the established countries of Tarsis. Those that don't find it difficult to integrate into society due to the stigma facing them and their own nature, leading them to take low-paying jobs in menial and sometimes dangerous roles. Despite their belligerence, the guhr are recognized as an intelligent race, and are the most prolific across Tarsis, followed by humans. Some attribute their creation to Errendor and Balahaad interfering with the creation of humans by the rest of The Pantheon due to their humanoid form. There has been a noted extreme rarity of Shapers within the guhr, though the ones that do emerge tend to rise to positions of power with the potential to rally a region's gurh populace into a mighty war party. The most notable such guhr is Det, who threatens to pull the entire eastern continent of Nuulhammer into chaos.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Guhr have a very humanoid build, but have never grown larger than a human child, typically standing between three and four feet tall. Their musculature is very defined, with lean, strong, and defined muscles showing under skin shaped like armour plating, with thick callus-like sections on inflexible parts of the body. This skin comes in a range from muted copper to a dull grey. Their heads are bald, with elongated ears and noses. Eyes range between emerald green and dandelion yellow for both the iris and sclera, with the middle of the range being the most common, with pinprick pupils that reflect light in much the same manner as a cat. The mouth is wide and features sharp, shark-like teeth that are often used as backup weapons along with the hard digging claws on the hands and feet. As an asexual species, they have no reproductive organs, a seemingly male body structure, and are often devoid of non-functional clothing, choosing only to wear belts and bandoliers for tools and weapons.

Genetics and Reproduction

Guhr are an asexual race, so reproduce through the release of dermal spores while sleeping. The spores need to bind to a spore from another guhr to have a chance of developing into a cocoon, and from there release a new guhr individual. Over 90% of the sparse spores don't go on to form new guhr, but instead grow into a faintly bioluminescent fungus that also serves as a supplementary food source for the guhr population of an area.

Growth Rate & Stages

Guhr reproduce rapidly, requiring only 30 days from initial cocoon formation to release from the cocoon in a cascade of spent nutrient slurry. From here, they are capable of speech in the guhr tongue, walking, running, and most importantly, hunting and fighting, though it would take another 30 days to fully mature physically. Given that guhr can live up to 20 years, the only reason they haven't overrun Tarsis utterly is due to their extreme recklessness as "younglings", as the guhr call them. Attempts at hunting apex predators and extreme bouts of violence with other guhr tend to cull the otherwise rapidly growing population of youth.

Ecology and Habitats

Guhr live in warrens made in caves or extremely dense woods, always gravitating toward each other when no other home is available. "Tame" guhr have been noted to prefer cellars, basements, dungeons, and other dark, enclosed spaces to live in while within civilized borders.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

It is generally believed that the guhr have the standard range of human perception, with the additions of low-light vision and an increased auditory spectrum.