Kuah-lij

These white-skinned and white-haired creatures look much as if a gnome that has been stretched out to human-sized. Their once great civilization was hit by a series of plagues and a rising ocean. Just as the Kuah-lij were turning their advanced magic-science upon the threat, aboleths rose form the deepest trenches of the sea and attacked. Today a stalemate exists on their home world, and many Kuah-lij travel the planes and planes of the universes in search of something that can help turn the tide, or just a safe place to hide out the end of their race.

Oddities

The Kuah-lij are rare in the Lost Lands and their unusual appearance is certain to go noted. While their features look like that of a gnome, they are human sized. Their coloration is uniformly white or off-white; even their short fur-like hair is paler than old straw. Their clothing is equally likely to attract interest as they dress in styles and fashions unlike any found in the Lost Lands. Being strangers from a world where they were the only intelligent land dwellers, the Kuah-lij find the profusion of races in the Lost Lands equally odd, and terribly fascinating.

Once Peaceful Explorers

Before the sea rose and the aboleth invaded the land, the Kuah-lij were explorers. Crossing the vastness between worlds in their magical ships, they visited dozens of worlds. They came in peace and to trade, as well as to delve into the histories and cultures of the people they visited. All this came to an end when their own homes were threatened, and while many Kuah-lij are still peacefully minded, they all suffer under the strain of a losing war and the possible death of their race.

Ordered Society

Kuah-lij culture is highly regulated from birth to death, and this regulation has only increased due to the danger they have found themselves in. Childcare specialists raise children in a communal crèche. At the age of 15 they are assigned a vocation based on a complex series of assessments and tests. They then study intensively until the age of 25 before they begin their adult lives. Before the attacks from the aboleths, Kuah-lij only spent ten months of the year working in their chosen vocation; the rest of the time they pursued the arts, exploration, magic, and science. Today, there seems to be more and more Kuah-lij who are chosen to be warriors, and the rest can no longer afford to take months off from their critical jobs.

Dying Race

Their numbers already dwindled by disease and further reduced by the war with the aboleths, many Kuah-lij fear that their race’s time has come to an end. For some this means that these are the last years to fight the final battle so that they can die with honor. Others have fanned out across the cosmos in the hope of finding something that will stop the invasion from the sea. A few have simply given up, either dying at home as the flood waters rise, or fleeing for other worlds and forsaking their people.

Racial Traits

• Age: Kuah-lij reach adulthood around 15 years of age, and at the height of their civilization could expect to live three centuries or more.
• Alignment: Due to their ordered society most Kuah-lij are lawful. They were once almost universally good, but the stresses of the past few decades have cause some to go to any length to save their people, and others to cast aside all ethical concerns for simple survival.
• Ability Score Modifiers +2 Intelligence, -4 Charisma: Kuah-lij are intelligent, but their alien way of thinking unnerves most people.
• Type: Kuah-lij are humanoids with the Gnome subtype.
• Size: You are between five and six feet tall, and weigh around 145 pounds. You are medium sized.
• Speed: Your base speed is 30 feet.
• Senses: Low-light Vision: Kuah-lij can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
• Gifted Craftsmen: Due to their skill at crafting items of all kinds, kuah-lij gain Master Craftsman as a bonus feat even if they do not have the normal prerequisites. In addition, kuah-lij only pay 10% less when creating magic items if they have access to a kuah-lij production facility.
• Obsessive: Kuah-lij receive a +2 racial bonus on a Craft or Profession skill of their choice.

Magic Item Use (Ex)

Kuah-lij can use magic items as if they have 1 level of wizard. This innate ability does not increase with level.

• Languages: You can speak, read, and write Kuah-lij and Common. Kuah-lij with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following bonus languages: Aquan, Elven, and Gnome.