The humanoid Au'giar Trigomn, or Tribe of Three Sisters, is very
ancient in origin. So old in fact that Trig myth holds they have
Figure 1. Trig Maghi Speaker
been upon this world since nearly the beginning of time. Many Trig
empires have risen and fallen during that great period, leaving
mysterious ancient ruins and fallen throughout the lands.
While resembling a thin, wiry human in overall form, the Trig
possess facial features that resemble a cross between a salamander
and a bat. Their colorful body hide is tough and finely scaled,
with patches of scented fur providing distinctive age and
leadership markings. Large ears are shaped somewhat like a bats',
and provide the Trig with good hearing - albeit only to the
fore.
Due to their carnivorous nature, the face of a Trig has a
prominent, fanged snout. On the female of the species, colorful
beards run down both sides of the face from the cheeks. These
beards hide scent glands that distinctly identify every Trig.
Their eyes are the same color as their flesh, with cat-like pupils
and a cool, unblinking stare. A prominent ringed protruberance
runs down from their chin to the belly, forming a long, neck-like
tube that can distent to swallow large portions of fresh meat.
Society
Most of the settled and civilized members of the Trig race are
female. These reside in cities, or in breeding settlements known
as Styches. The males prefer to live solitary lives in the wilds,
wandering between remote Styches of Trigs where they can mate. The
Trig females reproduce by laying one or two translucent, leathery
eggs in a shallow pool, which are carefully protected in moist,
warm caves.
Five categories of Trig are born from these eggs: the Mules,
Militants, Maghi, Males, and the rare Mutants. For every twenty
eggs hatched, there are born roughly the following: ten Mules,
five Males, three Militants, and a single Maghi. Less than one in
a thousand Mules is born a mutant.
The Mules are short and tough beings, with mediocre
intelligence and somewhat clumsy reflexes. They perform all the
hard, back-breaking labor that is required by the Trig society.
Mules willingly endure great hardships in order to complete their
assigned tasks, making them a favored target for non-Trig slave
raiders. On occasion a bright mule will appear, and these are
allowed to focus their energies on more creative works.
The Militant Trig are taller, with broad, muscular bodies and
lightning-fast reflexes. Their hide is especially tough, and they
have a better ability to heal from wounds than their kin. Although
Militants make good infantry troops, they are very poor riders.
With their tough hide, Militant Trig have little need for
additional armor. Instead they carry heavy packs of supplies and
equipment to allow for rapid maneuvers over long distances. Units
of Trig Militants are tough, steady, and relentless in action, and
they can run down even a non-Trig cavalry unit after a lengthy
chase.
The Maghi tower over their other kin, and are blessed with
good intelligence, a remarkable verbal memory, and excellent
organizational skills. They are responsible for maintaining the
oral records and traditions of the Trig, aided only by pictograms
on clay tablets that are used to prompt the recall of memories.
While intelligent and skilled, the Maghi have only a minor, inate
ability to create Magic. Instead they rely on the rare Mutant Trig
to serve as Catalysts and generate the needed Magical energies.
Hence, all Maghi wizards are accompanied by a Mutant "familiar"
when casting spells and rituals. Most Maghi favor long, flowing
robes for their attire, with sandals and a variety of precious
metal adornments.
The Males are the shortest of the Trig, with stooped, muscular
bodies and keen senses. They spend much of their lives wandering
the wilderness during the night time. When one of the female trig
enters heat, they enter a Styche in order to mate with the
healthiest surviving males. Males are almost as intelligent as a
human, although their aggresive and independent nature makes them
unsuited for a settled lifestyle.
The rare Mutants are almost indistinguishable from normal
Mules, but have the inate power to channel Magical energy for the
Maghi. Since the time of the earliest appearance of Wizards among
the non-Trig people, these Mutants have been carefully bred by the
Maghi in order to strenthen the Catalytic abilities of their line.
As a result, the Mutants have become somewhat inbred and have
begun to develop some peculiar physical characteristics.
The basic organizational unit of the Trig females is called a
Cretch. These are formed when a group of hatchlings is born and
raised in a warm, damp cavern, forming a tight family bond between
the female hatchlings that will last for a lifetime. The Cretch
eggs are laid by a closely allied grouping of adult females known
as a Kith. Bt tradition, the Kith must consist of at least one
Mule, Militant, and Maghi, so that each young hatchling will have
an adult example on which to model their behavior. The Trig
females instinctively fear the presence of adult males within a
Cretch, as the males will slay any infant offspring that is not
their own. So the Kith are constantly on guard to protect their
hatchlings against such intrusions.
With the exception of the males, the members of a Cretch will
usually cohabitate in close proximity to each other for most of
their lives. Each member of a Cretch becomes responsible for the
livelihood of all the others. Should a Mutant be born to a Cretch,
most likely that female will serve as a familiar to a Maghi within
the same Cretch. When a member of a Cretch dies, all of the other
members will mourn the loss.
The faces of the Trig have little ability to form emotional
expressions, so they display their mood by altering the color of
their prominent ears. Indeed, the Trig Maghi often wear large
cowls to more clearly present their ears against a lighter
background. The Maghi also prominently display their neck ridges,
leaving their garb open down to the belly in order to demonstrate
their appetite.
Most Trig females have an inate dislike of sea travel. Hence they
never build ports and prefer to leave the task of shipping goods
overseas to other races. They also instinctively distrust animals
that have been domesticated by other races, so they will not, for
example, ride a horse. Instead, the Trig have domesticated several
breeds of animals to serve their special requirements.
Government
Politically, the Trig are organized and ruled by the Maghi.
However, each type of Trig is expected to select masters from
among their kind who will serve as their voice in the government.
These masters are usually the eldest of their kind, and are often
members of the same Cretch. As the eldest Trig, they will have
lost their ability to lay eggs, so they can fully dedicate their
lives to their political duties.
The Maghi, and indeed all female Trig, do not seem to comprehend
the right of rule by heredity. Instead, the prerequisite for
serving in the government is to become a member of a Kith. Often a
close political alliance is usually formed by the members who
served together in the same Kith. Females who have belonged to a
number of Kith will be highly respected and have a greater voice
in the ruling of the Trig people.
Military
The verbal knowledge of the Maghi, and the untiring labor of their
dedicated Mules, allow the Trig to build tremendous fortress
cities that are huge hives of activity. The thick walls of these
old cities tower over the lesser structures of other beings on
this world and serve as the foundation of Trig military strategy.
Within these enclosed cities are formed many artificial caverns
that serve to protect their Cretch from male Trig and other
invaders.
When at war with another group or race, the Trig Militants prefer
to engage in combat by maneuver. Their light, mobile battle units
can strike deep into enemy territory, often catching their foe off
guard. When called upon to do battle, however, the Militants form
a phalanx in the style of a roman maniple. That is, each battle
group forms a block of troops, with each block offset from its
neighbor to allow room for maneuver. When the maniples close with
the enemy, they form up into a single line.
The Militant battle groups form a most unusual phalanx. While the
first two or three rows are equipped with the standard overlapping
shield and pike, the next two rows carry a weapon known as a
pole-bow. This is a small crossbow that has been mounted at the end of
a pole, allowing the weapon to be projected forward and fired into
the midst of the enemy. The two rows armed with the pole-bow take
turns arming their weapon and firing, trading their positions with
each release. The bolts released by these small crossbows, while
not very accurate at range, are devastating in close quarters.
Religion
The ancient religious traditions of the Trig center around the
Allwon (pronouced All-one) a belief that the many gods are really
one god and the Allwon chooses to speak with different voices. The
ageless temples of Allwon are built to exacting specifications,
according to Trig tradition. In the center is the Pillar of the
Allwon, a great stone totem with the many faces of their goddess
peering in all directions. The totem is at the bottom of a
circular, stepped court that is surrounded by a double ring of
heavy stone pillars. On the side facing the center of the temple,
each of the outer pillars bears the face of a different revered
Cretch mother spirit, an agent of the Allwon who serves her
purposes upon the mortal plane. The temple is covered by a dome
that is supported by the outer pillars. At the center of the dome
is an opening so that the Pillar of Allwon may view the sky.
Economy
Due to the tremendous age of Trig civilization, the Maghi carry
the verbal knowledge of untold generations of their people.
Through these verbal traditions, they are now masters of the arts
of Masonry, Weaving, Alchemy, and Carpentry.
The Trig economy is based on a currency system that uses
kiln-fired, thimble-sized clay spheres. Each sphere bears the stamp of
its denomination and a prayer to the Allwon. For larger debts, the
Trig instead use musk sticks: hollow lengths of a special grassy-
wood known as Mollack. The type of debt is carefully painted on
the outside of the tube by a Trig scribe, then the hollow interior
is sprayed with the unique musk of the Trig who is accepting the
debt. Due to the sensitive olfactory sense of the Trig, the
individual who marked the interior can be readily identified. Even
loans to the non-Trig races can be made in this manner, although
the amounts of such debts is usually limited.
Crime
There are two types of unique unlawful behavior that are
perpetrated by the Trig criminal underground. The first is the
keeping of male breeders, known as Barrons, against their will
inside of the cities. These fertile males are usually taken fresh
from the Cretch and held in secret chambers for their entire adult
lives. Such males are often broken and incapable of life in the
wilds. Their offspring are usually inferior, as these males never
undergo the hazardous selection trials that occurs in the wilds
between the Styches. However, some Trig females who have a strong
fear of travel outside the city walls often prefer to breed with a
Barron.
The other criminal activity, and one that is considered a heinous
act by all Trig, is the replacement of an egg in a Cretch by that
of another female. Such acts usually occur when a female is banned
from joining a Kith due to inappropriate behavior. As the Maghi
control the formation of each Kith, they can forbid entry to any
females who have practiced improper codes of behavior, such as
capitol crimes or breeding with a Barron. The replaced egg is
usually destroyed by the perpetrator of this crime, an act that is
akin to murder in Trig society.
Races
There are several distinct races of Trig, each evolved to thrive
in a different climate and terrain. The Au'chikar are desert
people, with a brown and tan hide that blends into the natural
terrain. They favor the Targree, a giant, worm-like mount that is
slow but can travel great distances in the heat without tiring.
Among the temperate plains of the north are the Cha'grid, a
pale-fleshed people who favor warm garb to cover their pale yellow
flesh. These ride the six-legged Ern, a large, herbavorous reptile
that is surprisingly fast. Finally, the dark-blue fleshed
Ermok-nok dwell among the forested hills and mountains. These ride
the Lumar Beasts, a giant, flightless bird with a huge, predatory
beak.
The Trig are not only tolerant of non-Trig races, but actually
encourage such people to settle among their lands and trade in
their cities. The Maghi of the Trig have noted that such races
often breed a higher proportion of beings who can serve as
Catalysts. These special members of the race are accorded great
honor among the Trig, and are well rewarded for their services to
the Maghi. Due to their cultural heritage, however, the Trig are
more suspicious about male members of such races, and even Mutant
males are rarely accepted into the trusted circles of the Trig.
Maghi - Racial Abilities Package
Ability Cost
Increased CHAR maxima INT 22 2
EGO 24 4
Does not bleed - No blood 15
+2 rPD / +2 rED Resistant Defense 5
+5 Flash Defense - Protective Membrane 5
Ultrasonic Hearing, +1 Enhanced Senses, +1 Hearing Sense 8
Disadvantages
Package Bonus -3
Requires living catalyst to practice magic (Infreq., Fully) -10
Decreased CHAR maxima STR 16 -4
CON 18 -4
Distinctive Features (Conceal with major effort) -10
Package Cost 0
