MANBREN
(10 points)
ST +4 [45]
DX -1 [-10]
IQ -1 [-10]
HT +3 [30]
Arms, Two Extra [20]
DR +2 [6]
Appearance: Ugly [-25]
Gigantism [-15]
Illiteracy [-5]
Mild Shyness [-5]
Poverty: Poor [-10]
Social Stigma: Barbarians [-10]
Racial Quirk: Superstitious (-1 point)
Please Note that Status applies only to other members of their race. When dealing with Non-Manbren, Status will not be higher than 0.
Their leather armor is PD 1, DR 1.
The manbree language is M/A.
A manbren (plural: manbree) has a disconcerting resemblance
to humaniti. They are tall bipeds with four arms and are covered with a
very light fur, usually brown. Their heads are oval with completely black
eyes and have slits for a nose. Head hair bears a slight semblance to yarn,
making a manbren look like a giant horrific rag-doll. An average manbren
is 120 kg (265 lbs), 2.3 m (7'6") and lives for up to fifty years, though
illness and accident claims most by the age of thirty-five. They are omnivores,
and practice farming and herding. Manbree females give birth to one or
two children after an eight month gestation period and the young reach
adulthood within eight years.
Manbree have an identifiable, if rather simple, tribal
culture. There are two leaders in each tribe, the chieftain (secular affairs)
and shaman (spiritual affairs). Manbree are very superstitious, and tend
to see any strange occurrence as a serious (though not necessarily bad)
omen. Their religion is fairly well developed for such a primitive race,
involving a worship of Mother Earth and Father Sky and a reverence to the
various elemental spirits. All members of a clan are considered children
until they chose a mate, which occurs after their eighth year (when they
reach physical maturity). A manbren is considered an elder when he or she
reaches forty years of age.
Manbree have an unusually rich and flexible language
for a developing race, though they have no written language. Clan history
is passed down through songs and epic tales, learned by all clan members.
A manbren name consists of a personal name of one or two syllables, plus
an identifier, either the name of the father (for a child) or the manbren's
occupation (for an adult). A manbren sometimes changes his personal name
when moving from childhood to adulthood.
Manbree are semi-nomadic, with a clan rotating through
several small, semi-permanent camps through the year. Clan warfare (amounting
to little more than skirmishes) is common over campsites, but rare otherwise,
and generally not very bloody. They are shy around humans and other starfaring
races, but will sometimes trade their services as guides for minor equipment
(usually TL 0 equipment manufactured with modern processes). Tribal social
ranks are follows: the chieftain and shaman (Status +3), elders (Status
+2), warriors (Status +1), laborers (Status +0), children and the disabled
(Status -1) and outcasts (Status -3). All chieftains and shamans, and most
warriors, are male. However, female elders have as much power as their
male counterparts, and since females make up the bulk of the labor force,
their opinions are respected by tribal leaders.
Manbree have no special natural attacks or defenses.
They wear cured animal hides and their favored weapon is a short thrusting
spear with a barbed head (treat as a normal spear, except that length and
weight are halved, it cannot be thrown and when pulled out it does damage
equal to half the original damage).
Campaign Uses: Since they operate at a normal medieval
technology, Manbree would fit perfectly as a PC or NPC race with little,
if any, modification.
SF Notes: Manbree can be the barbaric natives
on a colony world, keeping away from other races but knowing the location
of important ruins. Or they might be the protected inhabitants of an interdicted
world. A manbren could make a fairly interesting PC in a high-tech party,
though vocations other than bodyguard or planet-side scout would be rare
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