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| NAME: | Jotunmer |
| BIOLOGY: | The Jotunmer are a race of bear-like sentients on the uncharted frozen world of P13-2392. They are a towering race; the average height of a Jotunmeris 2.2 meters, but many Jotunmer are, of course, taller than that average. Much like a polar bear, the Jotunmer have tube-like hair to retain warmth during cold conditions. Jotunmer are naturally strong and fast. Their strength can be compared to above that of a Wookiee. Their muscle mass also allows for the race to be much tougher than other races. Despite their brute strength, they seem to be gentle giants. Due to their lack of outside contact, the Jotunmer are not terribly intelligent, though one could become accustomed to the ways of life in the civilized galaxy and the concepts of science. Like Wookiees, the Jotunmer have claws, though their reservations about using them differ from Wookiees. A Jotunmer's sense of hearing is very acute. In its natural habitat, it needs to hear above howling winds in order to find prey or threats. Sorting through the background noises is nothing new to a Jotunmer. Its smelling is also very strong. It is used to track down meat from long distances, provided the strong winds on P13-2392 carry the scent in the Jotunmer's direction. Their eyesight is used to bright light due to the sun reflecting off the snow on Ciryc'yaim. However, due to the Jotunmer's reliance on other senses, their sense of sight is not as strong as other race's sight. While it can be trained to be a more dominant sense, it would take years for a Jotunmer to be able to see as well as some humans. Their sense of feeling is also damaged. This is both a pro and a con for the Jotunmer. Their sense of pain is lacking, allowing them to shrug off large amounts of damage. Frostbite affects their extremities less and a Jotunmer can give birth quicker. However, they are unable to feel pleasurable things as much as other races can. The Jotunmer language is a harsh language similar to Shyriiwook. However, unlike Wookiees the Jotunmer are able to speak Galactic Basic. A Jotunmer speaking Galactic Basic will have a very deep voice. |
| SUBSPECIES | There were three subspecies of Jotunmer: Karlah, Arhala, and Mikas. The Karlah inhabited the frozen forests of P13-2392. They lived in wooden villages and had more resources than most other Jotunmer. Their fur was brown. When the ice age intensified planet-wide, the Karlah slowly evacuated their forests where they interbred with the Arhala. Others evacuated to the equatorial forests that could still sustain life. They are making a comback as the ice age is ending. The second, Arhala, live on the frozen plains of P13-2392. They are covered in white hair, much like a polar bear. They are tough and strong. Due to the ice age, the Arhala are the most numerous and therefore seen as the average Jotunmer. The third subspecies, the Mikas, live near the volcano Garsh. They have black fur. Following the recent eruption of Garsh, the Mikas numbers have dropped significantly. It is possible that they will die out within a century. |
| BREEDING | Jotunmer mate much like other sentient races, though their sexual drive is not as strong as other races. Courtship is a strict matter of trust, honor, and loyalty. Even Jotunmer outside of their homeworld will follow this code. One-night stands simply do not happen and rape is a banishable offense in many tribes. Gestation lasts for seven months before the Jotunmer female gives birth. The cubs are generally born as twins or triplets. Unfortunately, due to the advserse conditions on Ciryc'yaim, the mortality rate of infants on the planet can be high, especially in winter. While Jotunmer cannot reproduce with other races, it is not forbidden for a Jotunmer to have intimate relations with a human. |
| STRENGTHS | +Strong +Tough +Heightened senses of smell and hearing +Terrifying in battle +Able to learn the customs of the galaxy +Long lives +Loyal |
| WEAKNESSES | -Dangerous homeworld -Only a few individuals off their homeworld -Poor eyesight -Quick to anger -Terrifying everywhere else |
| DIET | While Jotunmer are omnivores, the chances of a Jotunmer finding any nuts or berries on their homeworld (at least in the permafrost regions) are slim to none. When they are found in the arctic regions, they are reserved for the heighest of clans. Eating nuts without an elder's permission is considered dishonorable and stealing berries can actually be seen as sacreligious in some circles and will get the individual killed. Berries found in the wild by a commoner, however, are considered gifts from the gods and are to be enjoyed at the discretion of the individual. While some are given to the chieftain or shaman for religious purposes, there are instances of berries being kept for a very long time, eventually turning to alcohol. The most common berry, Babaka, makes liquor that tastes of chestnut. Babaka Liquor is an unknown delicacy being brewed en masse in only one place in the galaxy: the MBS Adams, a massive brewery ship. |
| BEHAVIOR AND TEMPERAMENT | Jotunmer are hardy and natural survivalists. They will do what it takes to survive and protect other Jotunmer. They do what they can to treat injuries with the limited amount of supplies they can make on their homeworld. A Jotunmer will attack what it sees as a threat, which will end poorly for the threat. Without someone to teach a Jotunmer how to deal with threats in the galaxy, a Jotunmer will not know when to stop hitting something. This is very useful in wars, however. Jotunmer follow a strict honor code that governs their lives. Theft, adultery, and murder within a tribe is punishable by death or banishment, the second option often leading to a slower first option on P13-2392. A Jotunmer, despite being violent at times, is a noble being. |
| COMMUNICATION | The Jotunmer Language is similar to Shyriiwook. An outsider will not be able to speak it properly. However, it is possible for a Jotunmer to learn other languages, such as Galactic Basic Standard. Their voices when speaking such languages are very deep. |
| HOMEWORLD | Jotunmer originated and hail from the frozen and relatively unknown planet P13-2392. |
| CULTURE | Jotunmer live in tribes around P13-2392. There is no evidence of an existing neolithic settlement among the living Jotunmer, though a vast and legendary paleolithic city built by the Karlah may have been the first and only permanent settlement on the planet. The Jotunmer religion is widespread among Jotunmer. Animism is present in this religion, though the focus is mainly on gods of animals, events, landmarks, or other aspects of nature. Tribes are named after the gods they serve. The Navkh, for example, dedicate themselves to the god of weather which bears the tribe's namesake. Each individual is known by a first name. Last names are reserved for formal meetings between tribes, where the surname would be that of the tribe name. The leaders of villages, chieftains, are said to have been granted power by the gods. The gods truly act, however, through shamans. Unaware of the Force, Jotunmer believe that Force-sensitive individuals are blessed by the gods to serve them. Not all shamans are Force-sensitive. A shaman that is Force-sensitive, in fact, is very rare in any village. The Jotunmer religion follows tenants to keep an individual honorable. Following them is a lifelong commitment, though it comes naturally to Jotunmer born to honorable parents. In Jotunmer society, the tribe is the most important aspect of any individual. While banishment almost always leads to death, it is a much more shameful punishment than execution. A banished individual's tribe and family have rejected him or her, making any good actions toward their tribes now irrelevant. A Jotunmer doomed to die by execution at least has not had its family reject him or her. Devotion to tribes and gods are seen in many aspects of Jotunmer life. Ice sculpting, an alternative to pottery, is one way to show devotion to a god. Wicker and wooden works are also acceptable appeasements to gods. In times of hardship, making works devoted to gods is not enough. Mass sacrifices are offered to the gods, including one Jotunmer life. Prized possessions are either burned in a bonfire or, if nearby, a volcano. If the tribe has a shaman, it is up to him to be the sacrifice. If not, the chieftain's mate is to be the living sacrifice. All sacrifices are burned. Leftover materials from the fire are to be buried and not interacted with again. |
| TECHNOLOGY | The Jotunmer are very primitive. Buildings are generally made of leather or wood, though some settlements build settlements out of iron. The only known pieces of metal are artifacts kept by chieftains or shamans. The largest artifact is a suit of armor passed down from shaman to shaman in the Haaga tribe. Obsidian, however, is frequently used when available. |
| HISTORY | The Jotunmer evolved two million years ago from creatures on P13-2392 analogous to bears. At the time, it was a warmer planet, though it was still much colder than other planets. Vast forests stretched across the planet where frozen plains were not dominating the region. The Karlah explored around the planet, giving way to the other two subspecies. Eventually, they discovered farming and other useful methods. Following the Jotunmer Neolithic Revolution, the ancient city of Wargr was founded. Roughly 13,000 years ago, the ice age on P13-2392 began to intensify. The ice sheets at the poles moved closer to each other. Anything in the middle was covered in permafrost. Trees died and crops withered. Animals starved, leading to the starvation of the Karlah and the abandonment of Wargr. Within 4,000 years, the Karlah civilizations died out, retreating to the equator, leaving the Arhala as the main Jotunmer subspecies on the planet. The last 9,000 years have not been kind to the Arhala. The ice sheets continue to move closer to each other, leading to blizzards and famines. The eruption of Garsh hasn't helped either; the events of that cataclysm have almost ensured the extinction of the Mikas. History has remained unrecorded by the paleolithic race of bears, though their methods of making life easier see the occasional breakthrough. Will the Jotunmer reach and surpass the progress of their extinct cousins or will they too be swept away by the howling and unforgiving winds of Ciryc'yaim? |
| NOTABLE PCs | Ainu Navkh |
| INTENT | I technically made this race long ago when I made the character Ainu Navkh. However, the species threads didn't exist back then. Now that the time skip is fast-approaching, I'm revamping some of my characters, getting rid of others, and bringing more back. I'm reworking Ainu's sheet now and I figured I'd do this while I'm at it. The image at the top of the page is the image I used for Ainu Navkh. |
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[TD] SENTIENCE [/TD]
[TD]Sentient race capable of constructing limited technology on its homeworld. Integration into galactic society possible[/TD]
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