Urqet
The wise and peaceful scorpionfolk who inhabit the worlds' most dangerous corners
Base Racial Traits
Ability Score Modifiers: (+2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence) Size: Urqet are large-sized creatures, and gain all the appropriate benefits and penalties. Type: Urqet are creatures with the Monstrous Humanoid and Augmented subtypes. Speed: Urqet have a base land speed of 40ft and a climb speed of 40ft. Vision: Urqet have tremorsense out to 30ft. Languages: Urqet begin play speaking the Regional Language that reflects their origins(See Languages of Zheng-Kitar), and both Elderspeech and Sylvan. Urqet with high Intelligence can select from the following languages as bonus languages(Aklo, Terran, Ignan, Tarthan, Sandwhisper, Draconic, Old Druidic, and Goblin) Sahshut Stone: Born with a small, teardrop-shaped gemstone of purple or blue coloration on their foreheads, Urqet are gifted with supernatural durability thanks to these gemstones and gain toughness as a bonus feat. They stablize automatically at negative hitpoints and are immune to continuous damage from bleed attacks. Thick Carapace: Blessed with thick but flexible chitinous plating to protect a majority of their bodies, Urqet gain +2 to their natural armor bonus and DR 3/- that stacks with other sources. Urqet count as one size higher for determining whether combat maneuvers can affect them. Deadly Attacks: Gifted with deadly pincer claws attached to their monstrous lower bodies, Urqet gain two claw natural attacks that deal 1d6 damage(And possess the Grab and Constrict Universal Monster Rules) and one sting natural attack that has 5ft extra range(15ft total) and that deals 1d8 + 1.5x DEXMOD damage and crits on a 19-20/X2, and inflicts Urqet Venom(See Below). Either the claws or sting must be a secondary natural attack - the other is a primary(Player Choice).Monstrous Body: With 8 legs, two pincers, a stinger tail, and a human or elven upper torso, Urqet are strange and monstrous beings - thanks to this strange biology, they gain a +12 racial bonus to their CMD vs trip and are counted as one size bigger for the purposes of their CMB. Urqet can go for one month without food or drink before beginning to suffer the effects of starvation or dehydration. Kinetic Vestiges: As the blood of Sapphire Elves run in their veins, Urqet are capable of manipulating the sandy dunes they call home - they gain Move Earth as an at-will SLA, but can only use it on sand. They are not affected by non-magical difficult terrain, and by focusing as a standard action that does not Provoke AoO can turn a 10ft square of sand or loose soil(GM Discretion) within 60ft into difficult terrain, forcing those inside to also make a Reflex Save(DC 10 + 1/2HD + higher of CONMOD or WISMOD) or have their movement speed halved for 1 round by clinging sand and soil. Ancient Guardians: Unlike many monstrous races on Zheng-Kitar, Urqet are not inherently hostile to others - instead preferring to avoid others and guard ruins or other places of ancestral value to them. Thanks to much time spent assessing trespassers and keeping watch, Urqet gain a +2 bonus on sense motive and perception checks, and one is always a class skill for them. Scorpion Empathy: A mutated gift from their ancestors who were once Sapphire Elves or their offspring, Urqet gain wild empathy as per the Druid ability, save that it only works on scorpions. An Urqet gains a racial bonus on this check equal to its Hit Dice. Scorpions are normally mindless, but this empathic communication imparts upon them a modicum of implanted intelligence, allowing them to train scorpions and use them as guardians (though it does not grant them skills or feats). Sight of Rashepsut: By channeling the power of the Sahshut stone in their foreheads, Urqet can literally see into the past of the area around them, witnessing events that took place where they stand and seeing the fractal possibilities of events a few seconds into the future - which grants them a +4 on saves vs traps, +2 on saves vs AOE spells and effects, and allows them to act in the surprise round so long as one exists. Once a day, they may use the stone's power to glimpse into the future as per the Augury Spell - except that the result cannot be anything but a success.
- Urqet Venom: Sting - injury; Save(Fortitude, DC 10 + 1/2HD + CONMOD OR WISMOD(Whichever is higher) Frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; Effect 1d4 Dexterity Damage; Cure 2 Consecutive Saves
Basic Information
Anatomy
The anatomy of the Urqet is strange and monstrous - their lower bodies are those of enormous scorpions, while their upper bodies are typically the upper bodies of either Humans or Elves of any kind, though other rarer upper bodies such as those of Goliath and the like are extremely uncommon but not unheard of. Otherwise, their anatomy can best be described as 'an elegant fusion' - their lower body and upper body anatomies are perfectly melded in a seamless display of biotechnical engineering on the part of the ancient Sapphire Elves, from whom the Urqet descend from - their nervous systems skeleton structures, and other bodily systems are not only perfectly melded but reinforced and bolstered to allow for the two normally disparate and incompatably halves to seamless work together as a functional whole.
As such, as a people they usually are found with eight legs, two pincer-claws, and one tail on their lower body with two arms on their humanoid upper bodies. On their lower bodies, they have a thick, highly armored chitinous exoskeleton that protects and shields them from harm.
Genetics and Reproduction
Urqet mating rituals are incredibly private and are very well-guarded by Urqet tribes, so little is known about them - but from the few times trusted outsiders have been allowed to glimpse information on such things, it can be determined that Urqet mate strangely and in odd rituals where they are believed to face each other, claws locked and tails intertwined, embracing with both their lower scorpion "mouth" and their more humanoid upper "mouth".
The specifics of how this produces a child is mostly unknown, but since they reproduce sexually, once this ritual is finished the female will carry such offspring in them for a period of a few months before they hatch and crawl onto their mothers' backs, where they are carried for a few weeks to a month before they undergo their first 'molting', after which they are able to walk and develop on their own, though often still close at their mothers' side.
Growth Rate & Stages
After gestating inside their mothers for a period of 3-5 months, Urqet children then crawl out of their mothers and onto their backs, where they are 'carried' for a period of time ranging from 2 to 5 weeks, until they experience their first 'molting' and accumulate enough food to develop fully.
Once they experience this first 'molting', they can move about on their own and spend this time avoiding most every other member of their own species, even their parents - as though they are not thought to cannibalize their partners and children in the current day, in ages past Urqet did such to survive in the incredibly tough conditions they lived in. Since they are so vulnerable after their first molting, Urqet children spend the first years of their lives independent, fending for themselves on the edges of their villages until their chitinous exterior comes in fully and they develop into young adulthood, at which point they venture into their villages and are welcomed with open arms.
Urqet are considered fully grown adults around age 13, though are welcomed into villages at age 6 or 7 as young adults. Urqet reach middle age around age 45, become old around age 70, and reach venerable at age 90 after which they die some months or years later.
Ecology and Habitats
Urqet prefer extremely arid environments such as deserts, but can be found in jungles and grasslands as well with more rarity.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Urqet are omnivorous, though they prefer diets of meat and few liquids, as plantlife is hard to find in their desert homes. Because of the extremely efficient bodily processes that fuel them, they are incredibly hard to starve and can go for up to a month without any food and water before they begin to suffer the effects of starvation or dehydration.
Biological Cycle
As they age, Urqet tend to experience extreme growths in their shells that border on overgrowth, with their chitin growing so rapidly that, without being regularly cut and trimmed, they will become hard to move boulders of chitin. Over time, their shells tend to turn transparent and their grow more and more physically weak with time as they age, their humanoid halves going grey and wrinkled.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Urqet faces tend to resemble faces of Humans and Elves most commonly, though having the faces of other races such as Goliath(With their large antlers and brutish jawlines) are extremely rare but not uncommon. Otherwise, they often have jawlines and facial features resembling their lower bodies - smooth, angled, and somewhat insectoid or arachnid in appearance.
Some Urqet even rarely have more arachnid lower jaws, with mandibles and pincers in place of normal humanoid mouths - these Urqet tend to wear face coverings so as not to disturb others with such apperances.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Urqet are found most commonly in desert, arid, or semi-arid environments - but they can be found with varying rarity in jungle or grassland environments as well.
Average Intelligence
Urqet tend to be less 'book-learned' or straight intelligent than other races such as Humans, though they tend to on average be wiser and more sagacious than them in contrast.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Thanks to extremely sensitive nerve clusters in their lower bodies, Urqet can sense the vibrations travelling through the ground and can sense other creatures that create these vibrations within a medium-sized radius around themselves. They do not usually have the ability to see in the dark, though some of their kind can manifest such an ability, and instead rely on this 'tremorsense' to navigate underground ruins and the like.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
In the absence of a culture or ethnicity(See the side of the page for related ethnicities) that would give them naming traditions, Urqet have a distinctly arabic and persian naming scheme.
Male: Shadmehr, Payam, Iraj, Khashayar, Qadir, Umar, Imraan, Usamah
Female: Zari, Elahe, Shiva, Kheyri, Nasra, Aida, Shumaila, Ifra
Family: Khalili, Modiri, Mahdavi, Ahangar, Bangura, Dallal, Ibrahim, Hakim
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
90 Years
Conservation Status
The Urqet are surprisingly plentiful, but they simply do make their homes near the lands of civilization - as they tend to gather around ruins and other forgotten places to serve as the guardians of such places, this naturally leads them to dwell outside the areas where others would commonly see them, thus leading to a misplaced belief they are rarer than they actually are.
Average Height
14.6ft - 17.7ft (4.45m - 5.39m), Can get up to 32ft (9.75m)
Average Weight
650lbs - 980lbs (294.8kg - 444.5kg)
Average Length
15ft (4.57m), Double with tail fully extended
Average Physique
The physique of the Urqet is one of monstrous power - they are stronger and more nimble on average than all but the mightiest examplars of more humanoid races, though not on the level of more powerful races such as Lamia. They are strong, durable, and nimble - making them each individually a match for a half dozen or more trained humanoid warriors.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
The upper bodies of the Urqet tend to be tanned and dark, ranging from a beautiful bronze to a dark charcoal or chocolate color. Their monstrous lower bodies tend to be colored darker, earthen colors such as brown, black, and yellow though rarer colors such as red or blue are not unheard of.
Additionally, they are well-known for giving off a beautiful glow at night beneath the light of the moon - most typically, this 'glow' is a light greenish in coloration, though other colorations have been spotted as well.
Ancient Shapeshifters, Ruin Guardians
The Urqet were not always as they currently are - in the oldest of Urqet folktales, they speak of a time many thousands of years ago when their ancestors are believed to have been none other than the Scornfolk, though in a wholly different form than those of today. These ancient Scornfolk who were believed to be true and incredibly effective shapechangers are believed to have splintered at some murky point in history due to an event the Urqet speak of as "The Solidification" which saw a small subsect of these ancient Scornfolk completely robbed of their shapechanging abilities, locking them in the scorpion-esque forms they had taken on for a reason that has been lost to time. Now trapped in their scorpion-esque forms, these ancient Scornfolk had no choice but to settle down in a new home as befitting their people - and, it is said, after a vision recieved from The Spirit Kings, were tasked with seeking out the oldest ruins and places of import that were at risk of or had already been lost to the annals of history and the trappings of time and safeguarding them. So did these people who came to, over thousands of years, develop into a race of their own soon known as the Urqet, come to be a race almost universally found guarding the ruins, ancient structures, and other sites of historic or archeological importance around the world. They take their duties in this regard incredibly seriously, and do not tolerate outside interference in the locations they guard - though, suprisingly, so long as others abide this restriction, they are one of the most wise and welcoming peoples in the world's most inhospitable reaches. This makes their camps a welcome relief for adventurers and travelers who often find them more than willing to put them up for a few days if it means contributing to the common good and abiding by their rules, taboos, and laws...as they are more than capable of fending off the desert's worst predators such as Othraka, Eldragi, and especially the Lamia, for whom they are somewhat natural predators. Considering how incredibly rare it is to find a monstrous people so wise, sagacious, and willing to be allies and friend with most other creatures, they are thus highly regarded by many as one of, if not the only race that can be found in the worlds' most dangerous corners that will almost always be willing to aid and help those in need - or at the least, ignore them and not interfere.
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