Aerendel, The Game

Races of Aerendel

The Ghardra:

The Ghardra are widely believed to be the results of experiments by the Brotherhood to develop the perfect race of subservient slaves with no trace of a conscience.

They look like experiments gone wrong: rat faced, bat faced, snake faced, pig faced- misshapen abominations that would be almost pitiful if it wasn't for their sneaky, slimy, hateful, underhanded, malicious, cannibalistic, murderous ways.

Most Ghardra live short and miserable lives, and are killed and eaten by other Ghardra.

(They have no sense of family, mothers are rarely stopped from killing and eating their newborn.)

Their Elders (called 'Whip-Masters', since most of them have cursed whips and flaunt them any chance they get) see to it that the vast majority of the race is kept down, starving and groveling for any kind of handout or favor they can get. The Whip-Masters do everything they can to humiliate their underlings twenty four hours a day.

The Ghardra have only a few very slim chances to get anywhere in life. One is to win the approval of the Whip-Masters (and Whip-Masters are quick to kill anyone they think might be ambitious).

Another is to survive the training needed to become one of Gaa-Krell's Chosen... Dark Clerics. { Gaa-Krell is the self-proclaimed 'god' of Hatred, Fear and Death. Most other religions will not accept Ghardra as followers. And any Ghardra who turns in another Ghardra who might be interested in any other religion is immediately allowed to dine on the Ghardra he or she turns in, as long as they can convince an appropriate Temple official of the veracity of their claims, otherwise they accused gets to dine on the accuser. }

A third way is to cut a deal with a demon. { 'Real' demons think of Gaa-Krell as laughing stock, but they allow him his illusions unless they want to amuse themselves at his expense. And after something like that Gaa-Krell usually goes on a rampage, shows off his 'powers', kills a few Whip-Masters, promotes a few would-be Whip-Masters, shakes a few walls and shrieks incessantly for weeks at a time. } These demons exact their price in pleasure at the Ghardra's expense, but they pay handsomely. They raise the Ghardra individual who submits to them to a stage beyond the Whip-Masters, increase their intelligence, their strength, their health, dexterity and magical power several times over, and then watch in amusement as these new, Super-Ghardra (called 'High-Ghardra') turn their cave 'communities' upside down and inside out. Another way for a Ghardra to get anywhere is to escape their caves (all known exits are closely watched) and find and trap an Ymmp. Ymmps are quite sentient. Ymmps are usually quite intelligent. Normal Ghardra are always quite stupid. High Ghardra have a chance of capturing an Ymmp. Normal Ghardra might be able to capture one who's ready to die of old age, a fool, or an infant- And Ymmps keep their eyes on their aged, their half-wits and their infants, (out of love as much as out of their need to find things to laugh about.)

The Ghardra who captures an Ymmp must drug the Ymmp, cut off the Ymmp's tail, keep the Ymmp alive as long as it takes to brew a noxious concoction that makes 'eye of newt' sound appetizing, mix in the secretions of the glands located in specific locations along the tail (the wrong glands' secretions are lethal to the Ghardra) and brew this stuff just right. If they get it right they increase their mental, physical and magical abilities many times over. If they get it wrong the potion backfires and they end up worse off than before. If the Ymmp manages to die before the potion is ready {and most Ymmps can will themselves to pass through physical death} the Ymmp's departing spirit can poison the potion and kill the Ghardra in agony that is supposed to make hell seem like anti-climax.) If done right, this potion often develops Psionic powers in the Ghardra. Any Ghardra who has managed to capture an Ymmp, keep it alive, take its tail, brew the potion correctly and drink the potion becomes a higher level of Ghardra, higher than a 'High-Ghardra'. They become what is know as an 'Arch-Mage' or 'Arch-Ghardra'. Arch-Ghardra are bad news all around, to everybody. Second and third level Arch-Ghardra (those who have taken two or three doses of correctly brewed potion) are nearly indestructible. They usually achieve Psionic invisibility and speed and ease of movement that very few can even perceive, let alone defend themselves against. A fifth level Arch-Ghardra gains the ability to change his shape at will, to appear like any member of any other race. At seventh or eighth level the Arch Ghardra become able to shift into the shapes of demons or Dragons. At twelfth level they may develop fire breath or other breath weapons. There have only been three or four twelfth level Ghardra Arch-Mages in recorded history. It is widely rumored that any creature that comes near that level is killed by demons who immediately take over the bodies. It is also rumored that a Ghardra above tenth level is the equal of any demon stupid enough to attack it.

Ghardra are most often green or grey skinned. They usually grow to be three to five feet tall, though the High-Ghardra and Arch-Ghardra often grow themselves magically to heights of six to seven feet tall. And they sometimes turn their skin either black or white (depending on which color they believe is the most feared and hated by their enemies).
They have rubbery skin that almost seems to be about to drip off their bodies. They love to hiss and announce their presence with evil smells and fowl screams of pain and anguish. They hate it when their victims die quietly.

Appearance: Natural Ghardra are born short and kept undernourished by
their 'Elders'. Those who can break out of their caves, form
uneasy alliances with renegades and struggle to hunt Ymmps are
usually 3 to 5 feet tall.
Colouring: Most Ghardra have sickly Green or Grey skin. They may also have
Charcoal, White or Orange skin.
Skin Texture: Besides being Sickly, their skin texture is often Slimy, Rubbery,
Crusty or Pitted.
Hair: Their Hair is usually shaved under their Whip-Masters supervision,
those who escape grow their hair wild in colors that usually turn
out to be: Grey, Green, Black, Charcoal, Orange, White or Silver.
Their Eyes are usually: Black, Copper, Orange, Red, Silver or White.

Those who become High-Ghardra or Arch-Ghardra can grow to between five and seven feet tall. At higher levels of Magical 'accomplishment' they are often able to make themselves diabolically attractive. At the highest levels they are able to change their shapes and appear as almost any creature they wish to.

Advantages : ?

Disadvantages : Universally feared, hated and hunted. Born sickly, weak, stupid, sneaky, hateful and generally useless. They aren't particularly suited for anything but slavery.

Occupations : Every Ghardra ever born dreams of the ultimate power: Becoming an Arch-Mage. Gaa-Krell (who was a highly honored Mage, fully accepted and widely praised by the Magicker's Guild) knows quite a bit and will have his High Priests and High Mages train any Ghardra with any potential in the use (or abuse) of Magic. Mages are the cornerstones of Gaa-Krell's temples. Failed Mages areunder most cornerstones in most of his Temples. Clerics also win Gaa-Krell's favor. Priests and Priestesses are accepted (but they're watched closely). Fighters and Soldiers are useful. Terrorists are acceptable. Thieves are applauded. Seekers better keep their vocations a secret. Witches are acceptable. Herbalists and Weaponsmiths are rare... but often needed. Every Ghardra ever born is considered a puppet assassin by Gaa-Krell.