Rolaan Creation Guide

Rolaan are a carnivorous reptilian race with a penchant for golemcraft and geomancy, and a time-honored rule never to steal food. They can be found in both rolaan undercities and mixed in other communal living spaces across Aleph, currently.

• Rolaan come in three flavours: Arboreal, Desert, and Polar. See Appearance for description.
• A Rolaan must have a bangle, collar, bracer, or something of the like somewhere on their body. Their Band is a key element to maintaining their long-term health.
• They have monochrome vision but a great sense of smell! So, their colour coordination is going to be terrible for their outfits, and they generally try to make themselves have as little scent as possible.
• Rolaan are primarily a reactionary species that focuses more on immediate concerns rather than long term thinking.
• Rolaan are heavy magic users.

Rolaan, by nature of their biology, cannot pronounce P, B, M, or V sounds. They have a sound very much like an “F” but otherwise they have no qualms with pronunciation. Rolaan names follow a “NAME ChildOfName” format. The “ChildOf” prefix in this case being “Fi-” and the second name belonging to the parent that either A: had more prestige or B: Lay an uncontested claim to the child. Eggs that go unclaimed or abandoned end up getting a “Sa-” for the prefix and the name of the town they were born to as the last name. Rolaan names, due to their language consisting of trilling sounds, tend to be short and to the point.

Use this to show common upbringings in the species/culture. Try to list at least three paths - but remember, these are supposed to be common, but not the ONLY options.

Rolaan are a species that have been through a major diaspora, and thus have a wide variety of species specific paths to take.

• Undercity Native - The most Rolaan-dense areas of any populated area tends to be in undercities modeled after the shelters of old. These places are the classic Rolaan experience. A bustling warren of clans and families, completely dominated by the Rolaan barter-exchange system.
  • Clanborn - Being born as a part of a wide family means having a relatively solemn but tight-knit group to partner with. Quiet love and support aids the growth of a young Rolaan.
  • Grey Mage - Grey Mage Rolaan learn to work the very material that forms their homes. Their training paths range from geomancy to stoneworking to golemcraft.
  • Shepherd - Rolaan generally assign shepherds for their cities to keep up with population needs for meat. Shepherds learn how to work with creatures, but are generally more isolated than their peers.
• Lost One - A term by clanborn for the Rolaan that live intermixed with other species. Lost Ones tend to not have the “appreciation-based theft” that clanborn do, due to growing up and around other cultures.
  • Consort Cafe - Lost Ones that end up flocking together tend to make a restaurant space to prey on non-Rolaan interests in their species. These Rolaan capitalize on their reputation for being excited and eager creatures.

Rolaan, of course, are a reptilian species. They have scales, claws, and cold blood. They all have horns and scale flares on their cheeks. Rolaan born in warmer climates have their horns grow downwards, and rolaan born in colder ones have their horns grow upwards.

Rolaan come in three main varieties. All Rolaan scales are smooth and polished to the touch, but the specific colouration differs between them. For the most part, there are key tones on the body with patches of bright colouration around the face. Rolaan stomachs and inner legs are brighter coloured than the rest of their body, and males have the brighter of the two sexes. For the most part, they sit around 4 feet tall with 1 foot of variance (tending towards smaller) and weigh between 110 and 160 lbs.

• Arboreal Rolaan are the most common type, and are grassy or earthen toned, suited towards living in a green environment. Greens, grays, browns, and the like are the most common palettes.

• Desert Rolaan are rock and sand toned, moving from sandy browns to igneous black. They have a much longer and thinner tail than their counterparts, and much more able to use the tail to their advantage. They also have broader and flatter claws.

• Polar Rolaan are very rare to encounter, and are predominantly white with some very faint and dull blues. It is not unheard of to have ones with pastel-type shades of other colours. They're a foot taller on average, thicker-bodied, and their scales are more coarse. But, they tend to have the best magical reserves.

Rolaan fashion is supremely dictated by their bands first and foremost. Below is the relevant excerpt from the culture page.

The most important element of any Rolaan is their band. The individual chooses where it wraps around, from neck to arm to wrist to leg, and so on, but every Rolaan needs one. So naturally, a lot of care and detail goes into crafting the bands and decorating them thereafter. The purer the metals, the more effective and higher-class the band is. Oftentimes, solid platinum bands are the surest symbols of wealth and power among the Rolaan, but other metals of high purity are regarded just as highly.

Given their poor vision, a lot of attention on rolaan fabrics is less on colour (As in, no coordination on colour) and more on texture and patterning. The band's placement on a Rolaan body is chosen during a specific ceremony, allowing their custom band for adulthood to be set anywhere on their body - but once it's on, it tends to be on the rest of their life. Breeches and shorts are common items of apparel, since they offer pockets and covering without restricting mobility. They tend to wear looser things up top with lots of pockets to carry the things they find - pocket ponchos, capes, and shawls very popular items among the rolaan, although they don't always wear clothes up top.

Wealthier Rolaan would tailor their clothes so that all attention and focus of their outfits is on their bands. Additionally, they love embedding small gemstones into their scales, or removing a scale and placing a flat gem in the place of that.

Rolaan are not inherently talented at most things besides magic. Most of the time, they need to learn whatever skills they need as they go along, or go through rigorous training processes, not unlike humans.

Geomancer Rolaan tend towards construction professions, allowing them to perform tunnel excavations and upkeep for their communities. Otherwise, it's entirely likely that a less magically inclined architect Rolaan would be highly prized in the downward blooming communities.

Crafts are a centerpiece of Rolaan society, having their entire barter system based around small crafts.

Rolaan, due to their biology, make poor chefs for creatures with refined palettes like humans. However, given their powerful noses, they make excellent aromatic things, such as teas.

Engineering, technicians, and repair are all things Rolaan societies don't have as much of a use for. That isn't to say that there aren't Rolaan engineers or repairfolk, but if they are they're either more magic based or a Lost One that became familiar with technology.

Rolaan are predisposed towards being social creatures towards strangers, so Rolaan ambassadors have an easier time navigating the fray of social minefields/

By far the most prevalent Rolaan talent. Most Rolaan have reasonably large magical reserves and actually survive on them by fueling the magic bands that helps keep their bodies working properly. This, of course, comes to the detriment that few psionic Rolaan exist and those that do usually don't know of their talents. Geomancy and golemcraft are the common disciplines but many others exist as needed or desired in a community.

Rolaan magical senses, like the above, are usually finely tuned from constant use in fueling their bands. But, they tend to be a bit more localized in these talents, so it requires a bit of training and focus to expand their sensory radius.

Given the mass Rolaan skill towards magic and general history, any general community will have a decent repertoire of magical writings and tomes on tap.

Below are the standard racial abilities. Modify as necessary

  * ** Racial Abilities **
    * ** The Band ** - Located on their person, the Band is the most important part of a Rolaan. Socially, biologically, magically. Oftentimes the focus for casting.
    * ** Poor Immune System, Heat Regulation ** - Circumvented by the Band, but if the Band is ever disabled or uncharged, sickness and hypothermia tend to set in if the conditions are wrong. 
    * ** Senses ** - Poor taste, monochrome sight, strong sense of smell.

Rolaan suffered a catastrophic planetary diaspora a millenium ago, but otherwise no wide reaching historical events (due to the spread out population). Rolaan can be found in most open systems that take them.

• It is best that all prospective players read the Rolaan and the Rolaan Culture pages as those have more information not listed here.