Golynn

I was just out watering my prize-winnin’ gourds when a blasted mole the size of my house took the whole lot of them! Sure they left a generous helping of gold, but I wasn’t gonna till my garden for another week!

— Pottleberry Tom, Garden Gnome Extraordinaire

The rich scent of freshly-turned earth may be a sure indicator that a group of nomadic golynn (GO-lin) is in the area. Vivacious wanderers, golynn are creatures of nature and have little use for the trappings of modern society. Their shovel-like hands, scaly exterior, and insect-devouring constitution ensure their survival wherever the earth is soft and the soil is fertile.

• Reputation: Golynn are seen as enigmatic nomads, their deep connection to the earth and rhythmic traditions making them both fascinating and alien to others. Their burrowing habits, while beneficial to some, often lead to unintended conflicts with surface dwellers.

General Information

Scientific name

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Geographic Distribution

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Languages

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Physiologie

Average Lifespan

150 years

Size

Medium

Average Height

2.30 m

Average Weight

150 kg

Others

Culture

Music

Golynn adore rhythm. They find joy in the clip-clop of a riding goat’s hooves, and the heartbeats of their kith and kin. From these everyday occurrences, golynn make wonderfully complex polyrhythms, music whose restorative vibrations can reinvigorate the melancholy and afraid. Indeed, the lead percussionist for the legendary opteran band, Wings of a Butterfly, was Hopo Aman, a golynn maestro of the dwarven tablah.
Golynn legend tells of a single, pulsing rhythm that drives all life in the world, the golo’apa, or ‘Heartbeat of the World’. Many golynn’s nomadic existence is a singular quest to explore all the nooks and crannies of the world, searching for this rhythm. In their never-ending pilgrimage, golynn leave a plethora of hidden burrows—warm, safe spaces whose locations are passed on by word of mouth.

Burrower

This constant burrowing can sometimes bring golynn into conflict with the uto monké, or ‘those that live under the sky’. Golynn have ruined many a quality murderbowl pitch and have even inadvertently undermined castles while searching for the rhythmic clanking of a prisoner’s chains. Conversely, some farmers, recognising their natural aptitude for digging, engage passing golynn as farmhands whenever possible, promising them all the grubs they can eat in exchange for a day’s work.

Happenstance

Not all golynn are raised by their own kin. Rumours of the magical healing properties of golynn scales still abound, leading unsavoury and desperate individuals to hunt them for these entirely-mundane components. Fortunately, orphaned golynn have been taken in by all manner of parents, from halflings, dwarves, and gnomes to lotol and kobolds, who regard them as huge, scaled, dragon-kin.
With their fondness for exploration, golynn make natural adventurers. A burrowing golynn might accidentally fall into an underground sepulchre, find a long-buried artifact, or stumble upon the machinations of an evil necromancer bent on raising an army of the undead.

Characteristics

Physical features

Aging

Golynn grow rapidly and reach maturity at 10 years of age. On average, they live about 150 years.

Notable members