Durzite (3.5e Race)

Durzites
Durzites are crafty little underground dwellers who often appear to be on a schedule or plan, whether it be their own, or by order of their city. Carrying out plans is a favorite pastime of durzites, a hobby that often makes them very distrusted by outlanders. Durzite schemes can take centuries to enact. Outliving many mortal races, they persist for ages. With desire, magic and engineering skills, durzites are often better left alone.

Personality
Durzites are private and patient by nature, but also heavily driven by desire and greed. They use their intelligence to get what they want, and when that fails, they resort to magic and tools to finish the job. Art and leisure are very important to durzites, but they also find doing light labor and craft work personally satisfying.

Physical Description
Durzites stand 3 to 4 feet tall and weigh 30 to 40 pounds. Their skin is pale and their faces are tight and angular. They have rather long, pointed ears that jut back along their heads rather than pointing up like typical long-eared sylvan folk. While difficult to discern in bright light because of their habit of squinting, their irises are typically deep purples, fuchsias, aquas, oranges and yellows. Interestingly, instead of hair, their heads are topped with coarse spines, similar to that of a hedgehog. These spines slowly grow longer as they age. The head spines of an elder durzite reach a length of around a foot.

Valuing privacy, they often wear loose robes, cloaks and capes to conceal possessions, like armor or weapons. Of course, in the briskly chilled underground, these clothes also serve to keep them warm. Having to traipse across hard stone, often slippery with dew or loose pebbles, their craftsman took it to heart to provide their people the best possible footwear made. Durzite boots are renowned as being comfortable, long lasting and sure-footed and fetch prime prices in markets and bazaars.

Traditionally, durzite clothing is drab or dark colored with a few flourishes for personal taste and style. Grays, rusts, dark purples and dim metallic tones have been fashionable in recent years. They seldom wear hoods or hats, but can. Their spines don't prevent them from wearing such things, though it does make them uncomfortable. Headbands and bandannas are occasionally seen, as well as scarves and shawls.

Relations
Because of their isolationist tendencies, durzite cities don't often cooperate with other neighboring civilizations. This rarely leads to strife and war, as little interaction allows political peace to be kept. The presence of a durzite city in a region often acts as a stabilizer, keeping the status quo in check.

Occasionally gnomes establish trade routes with durzites, but most races regard them as too sly to be trusted. Dwarves, with similar living environs, have never gotten along with durzites. Durzites keep to themselves and can hardly be expected to bother with the troubles of the outside world. Many creatures of the underdark despise the cities of the durzites and their secret weapons and schemes, whose stronghold cities occasionally encroach on their territorial boundaries.

Individual durzites, when traveling, are often viewed with caution and a watchful eye of judgement. Their poor social manners among other races make them awkward and embarrassing in public.

Alignment
Durzites run structured, organized lives, and thus tend toward lawful alignments. Though, with adventures and outcasts, they tend toward neutrality without the rigors of daily study and schedules. As durzites are varied in their opinions and outlooks, they may be of any alignment.

Lands
Durzites live deep within mountains. Their cities commission great golems to carve away at the rock and haul away huge boulders. Artisans and stone masons follow after and smooth and decorate their halls. Though it is not the halls that impress as much as their caverns, huge open underground spaces filled with stonework buildings, magically-shaped and lit from all around by thousands of tiny continual flames. Occasionally, these continual flames are gathered into great spheres and hung from the cavern ceiling. The multitude of smaller lights tends to hide shadows and give a look of diffused light in their cities. Spiraling walkways line the walls of the cavern, leading off to other smaller chambers. In the center of the city, lies a fortified stronghold, home to the senate of Council Elders, High Mages and High Priests who rule over their city-states. This stronghold often reaches to the ceiling of the great cavern, and acts as a support pillar. The Council of Elders is composed of those durzites who win public election, as well as those who live to 500 years, which automatically earns them a seat on the City Council.

Titled elders, mages, priests and evivo ("crystal-wards") form the city's Governing Commons. They elect one of their own to sit as the High Elder, who rules until his passing, or his retirement. Though, during peace time, the job is easy, as durzite cities, for all their size, are sparsely populated. For this reason, durzites are wary of letting too many outsiders in at one time. Durzites keep track of visitors, rarely allowing more than 1 visitor per 2 durzite citizens. Some highly sovereign cities relax this policy.

Visitors come to trade, as with gnomes, or to shop for goods in their bazaars, which are always filled with finely made crafts. Durzite made boots are well renowned as among the finest footwear available.

In every city, there is a Gate Room that has permanent portals that connect to other durzite cities and often to other planes of existence. These Gate Rooms are heavily guarded and typically require tolls for passage.

Religion
Durzites often worship Rejiksson, who upholds law and society. Though, when waging campaigns against their enemies, they build shrines to Myillz, the God of Law and War.

Language
Durzites speak Common and Durzite. Most also learn to speak Gnome if they are going to be trading for equipment and tools or reading Gnomish texts. Durzite uses its own alphabet of runes.

Names
Occasionally, other races will refer to durzites as "durzees", or to a single durzite as "durzee". This isn't meant to be a racial slur, it is merely slang.

Durzite names are commonly long and obtuse. In modern ages, their names have gotten progressively shorter. Though, in ages past, it was not uncommon for names to reach past seven syllables. Since they are so long lived and few in number, a durzite will rarely use his surname, saving it for formal occasions only. Surnames are not necessarily taken from the father, and a durzite man may take the surname of his wife if she is of a nobler stature upon marriage.


 * Male Names: Adelmorn, Alkin, Diyamaki, Ganikarto,  Ganteka, Gurdok, Kakarneb, Ornugon, Varden
 * Female Name: Amekmia, Emediomana, Fadameta, Mekanouta, Mesvanterra, Quinata, Votumeta, Zota
 * Surnames: Anentoken, Arekton, Bakuearol, Cantemarden, Jotenberki, Kanderlan, Penkaron, Setsaravar, Sotaragas
 * City Names: Baruyaglanagut, Bruhnekolli, Chelmn, Elt, Kelbuchus, Neubenwankii

Racial Traits

 * ,, , : Durzites are smart and wise but also physically weaker than other races (even given their size).
 * (Subtype::Durzite)
 * : As small creatures, durzites gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but they must use smaller weapons than humans use, and their lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of Medium-size characters.
 * Durzite base land speed is 20 feet.
 * Low-Light Vision : Durzites can see twice as far as humans under conditions of poor illumination. They are able to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
 * Innate Skills: A durzite gains a +2 racial bonus on Hide checks made to conceal equipment on his person, as a durzite avoids being generally conspicuous about his possessions. He also gains a +2 racial bonus on any combination of 2 different Knowledge, Craft or Profession skills of his choice as durzites are keen on various topics, industrious and enjoy working. These skills must be class skills.
 * Racial Boundary : A durzite suffers a −2 racial penalty on Charisma-based skills when dealing with other intelligent races (Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Perform, Use Magic Device, Use Psionic Device).
 * Age Resistance : As a durzite ages, he suffers only a −2 penalty on his Dexterity when reaching middle age, but suffers the penalties at old age and at venerable age as normal. Aging bonuses accrue as per normal.
 * Exotic Weapon Training: A durzite is practiced in esoteric combat techniques and gains Exotic Weapon Proficiency as a bonus feat applied to a weapon of his choice.
 * Automatic Languages: Common and Durzite.
 * Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Gnome, Terran and Undercommon. See the Speak Language skill.
 * Favored Class:
 * Level Adjustment: +Level Adjustment::0
 * Effective Character Level: Effective Character Level::1

Crossbreeding
Durzites have been known to interbreed with gnomes, who share their interest for machines and magic. These half durzite/gnomes are commonly referred to as sharp gnomes. These crossbreeds resemble gnomes with spiky hair and more angular features. Sharp gnomes fit well into either gnomes or durzite society as they are similar to each other socially.

Notes from Wandering Scholar Marza
“I once purchased a pretty amulet from a durzite bazaar. Several years later, as I sat penning notes under a tree, I sneezed and the amulet exploded. Blue ink sprayed all over and swirling lights and smoke left me stumbling in a daze. I staggered about and tripped on a badger hole. The badger, enraged by my intrusion, attacked my foot. It was a very bad day.”