This is the first part of a series about a new race from Feywyrd: The Grunkaks. This race is “new” becuase they were not part of our original line up of races in the Loaerth & Feywyrd, an adventure we are developing for use with the Savage Worlds Roleplaying Game. Things change – and one of the beautiful things about our crowd sourcing style is that, new ideas sometimes overtake the old ones. Enjoy, and please – let us know what you think in the comments.
Background
These mischievous reptilian humanoids are giant-sized fey native to Feywyrd. They are highly intelligent and have an affinity for elemental and trickster magic. After the Helfay brought the elves back to Feywyrd, the two races clashed intermittently over territory and resources. Fortunately for both races, grunkak orators, quite skilled at persuasion and charm, were able to negotiate truces when the hexes of the elves proved too powerful for the giant race. Eventually, as some groups of elves acclimated to the harsher conditions of the deep interior of Feywyrd, they grew close to the grunkaks and became valuable allies. These elves learned the magical art of rockshaping from the grunkaks and used this knowledge to build several elaborate, protected villages in high-elevation rocky deserts.
Recently, some grunkaks have been seen on the Island and in Loaerth. These characters are typically social outcasts or curious adventurers drawn by the promise of this new land of science and craftsmanship.
Physical Description
Grunkaks are covered in tough scales, which give them natural protection against physical attacks. The tops of their heads are encrusted with elaborate sets of horns and knobs. Some grunkaks notch or otherwise modify their horns for aesthetic purposes, and creative practitioners of this body art are respected and sought out by others who would like to wear their designs. Although reptilian in appearance, their heads bear a similarity to hyenas and jackals. Their jaws are wide and perpetually smiling, showing rows of sharp, dangerous teeth. Their pupils are diamond-shaped; some say that making eye contact with a grunkak puts a person at risk for being enchanted and held in thrall.
Grunkaks do not hatch from eggs like most reptiles; instead they are born live from the womb, like mammals. Young grunkaks develop clumsy wings during their first three years, and by the age of four they can fly short distances. However, these wings never catch up with the immense and steady growth of the body, and by the time a young grunkak is ten year of age, the wings become virtually useless; within a few years they painlessly shrivel and drop off, leaving “wing scars” on their backs.
Infant grunkaks up to four years of age, before the wings have developed fully, are generally cared for by their mother. Once the wings develop, young male grunkaks cling to their fathers while the females stay with their mothers. Immature grunkaks, up to the age of ten, are often seen impishly perched on a shoulder of their parents when not engaged in mischief with their peers.
A mature grunkak stands somewhere between 14 and 20 feet tall and weighs from 450 to 1000 pounds. Males tend to be a couple of feet taller than females, and heavier.
Grunkak concept illustration by Charles Dickey
Culture
Grunkak society tends towards egalitarianism. While types of work are traditionally aligned with one gender or another, grunkaks appreciate the unique qualities of individuals, so that it is not unusual for a large or tough female to rise to prominence as a warrior, nor is it considered taboo for a male to focus on domestic or cultural work, if that is where his skills and talents lie.
Stories, drama, jokes (practical and verbal), and physical humor are widely appreciated by grunkaks. Grunkak rocksculptors, creative artisans skilled in rockshaping architecture and statuary, are esteemed in grunkak society.
Taks and Utaks
The essential unit of grunkak society is the tak (house), which is an extended family related by blood and marriage. Taks interwoven through marriage and bonded by shared social custom form an utak (nation). Taks typically consist of around 15-30 grunkaks, and utaks may be composed of as few as two to as many as a few hundred taks. Utaks grow larger and more powerful as centuries pass and more taks are drawn into the nation through marriage. Smaller utaks are frequently assimilated by larger ones through prestigious marriages.
Grunkaks and Hodolu Faeries
Grunkaks have a primal fear of hodolu faeries, whom they believe to be malignant spirits. The recent phenomenon of hodolu animals is has greatly disturbed the grunkak elders who fear that the hodolu faeries might one day possess the grunkaks themselves.
Spiritual Life
The grunkaks of Feywyrd revere wyrms above all other creatures. Every summer groups of grunkaks from various utaks make pilgrimages across hot, desert sands to leave ritual gifts and be in the presence of the most ancient wyrms. Each grunkak utak has its own sacred pilgrimage spot, ranging from ice-encrusted basalt plateaus and columns high in desert mountains to hidden, lush valleys nurtured by underground springs and lakes. Much importance is placed on the annual pilgrimages. Sojourners are selected carefully by elders, and it is a great honor among the grunkaks to be chosen to go and bring back the prized tales of dragon-spotting. On rare occasions, grunkak pilgrims have brought back shed dragon skins and claws, which are shaped into sacred totems, weapons, and armor and distributed to high-ranking members of the nation.
If an utak’s sacred grotto becomes barren of dragons, it is interpreted as a major omen. Usually, the utak begins searching for a new sacred spot before the winters come in hopes of appeasing the wyrms who left them. In the long history of grunkaks in Feywyrd, many wars have been fought between utaks over sacred spots; when one utak’s sacred spot becomes barren and loses its attached power, the entire nation is likely to become aggressive and belligerent. Desperate to re-establish their connection with the great wyrms, the disempowered utak may raid the sacred ground of a neighbor or rival utak. Long-standing animosities have been established between nations who have warred in this way.
It says in the above “Giant sized fey”, so they are fey…which means they have Glamour, bu the theory we were discussing in the History of the Elves thread/