Cancchia

Well before even the first space travelers set foot on Gerualdi, the cancchia people ingrained in their children to never accept one's station in life and to always strive for what will facilitate their goals. Generations of servitude to other Gerualdian races could not shake their unbreakable spirit and their persistent sense of community. A cancchia will often be a social keystone somewhere, even in small groups, and their resonating voices ensure that their opinions and desires will always be heard, from the smallest of local platforms to even the field of galactic politics.
==Etymology and Other Names==
Although the name cancchia is distinctively Nicta-slio in its phonemes, the word is actually Zorredrian in origin. The original term for the race was canhicos, potentially a corruption of a Magrul word meaning "people of Cù," cùair. The widespread nature of Nicta-slio has resulted in the name cancchia becoming the most commonly used term, as by the time many colonists reached Gerualdi for the first time, Nicta-slio was already a commonly used trade language with many of its words supplanting those of other languages.
==Biology==
Cancchias mostly have elongated muzzles that end in pronounced dark or pink noses. The length of a cancchia's muzzle can vary from individual to individual; some have narrow muzzles that taper towards their nose, whereas others have broader, shorter muzzles. Around their noses, they have short whiskers that are often difficult to see unless they have light fur and dark whiskers or vice versa. Their lips often sag in a neutral expression, which can give them a dour or thoughtful appearance, especially for those with short muzzles. The ears of a cancchia can also vary -- many have upright ears, others have ears that are folded over, and some have ears that are somewhere in between between the two. All of them will have their ears set firmly atop their heads with the base of the ear often at the same height as their brows or close to it.
It is rare for a cancchia to be solidly colored with no markings or patterns. Many of them will often have differently colored backs or undersides, or they may have spots or brindle stripes along their limbs and around their faces. Even cancchias without fur will have patterns of different color across their skin. Cancchias are seldom perfectly symmetrical in coloring, even if the difference is slight; they may have differently colored nails on their left hand versus their right, or they may have a distinctive splotch of color around one eye but not the other. Cancchias never naturally exhibit especially neon colors and largely are brown, black, white, or a dull rusted orange, with some being pale yellow or a dull blue-grey.
The upright stance of a cancchia accentuates their normally long tails. It is rare, but not unheard of, for a cancchia to be born entirely without a tail. For cancchias who have long fur, their tail may display especially long strands of fur, and mostly furless cancchias will often have some fur on their tail. It is rare for cancchias to have hair, but those that do are by and large those without fur. Cancchias without fur may seem smaller and even scrawnier than their furred relatives, as cancchias do not naturally build up a significant amount of muscle even when they exercise regularly.
==Sociology==
From a young age, cancchias are motivated to earn their keep and self-provide. Children who want something will be expected to work for it, only obtaining their goal once they've merited it. Though cancchias will provide for their children's necessities and, when they're older, offer them entry points into businesses or family trades, there is a sense of equality in that everyone receives what they are due. All individuals are owed the basic means to survive no matter their age, whether it is provided by family, a greater community effort, or the government, but anything beyond that must be earned. An individual cancchia should, in the eyes of their peers, be self-motivated to obtain what they want and not expect others to give it to them. Because of this, the notion of nepotism is simultaneously foreign and repugnant to a typical cancchia; it is one thing to have a low-level position somewhere due to a network connection, but being promoted past the point of merit destabilizes the entire framework and renders everyone else unmotivated to work, as they see their diligence and discipline mean nothing in the face of something they cannot control.
Cancchias often focus on what they need to do in order to achieve their goals, and they consequently tend to pursue professions that are not their passion but that are high-paying or in high demand. The pulse of an industry or field can be monitored by the presence or absence of cancchias following economic trends. They tend to see little problem with changing careers if they are able to make it a net positive; because dramatic changes can come out as a net loss, however, they are often conservative about sudden changes that are too far from their initial career and instead may make incremental steps away from that career over time. It is also common for cancchias to rigorously attempt to climb the ranks to get to the exact ratio of money earned to work invested that they desire, though many of them will stop at that point and not seek any further promotions unless their goals change.
Cancchia communities are often self-governing with social pressure and seeing little need to keep secrets, and they are also encouraged to speak their minds. They might come across as sharing too much information about themselves, but to a cancchia, this is simply a way of making sure everybody involved knows all potentially pertinent information and can socially navigate interactions accordingly. Individuals are generally expected to be open and forthcoming and to not hide their feelings about something or someone. A private person may be seen as having something unsavory to hide, in which case everyone deserves to know what they are trying to keep secret. If a cancchia is told to keep a secret, they generally must be given a timeframe where that secret will become open knowledge. Otherwise, that typical cancchia may resent being part of something that undermines other people's trust and make the information publicly known regardless.
==Racial Traits (D&D 3.5e/Pathfinder)==
Once per day as a move action, a cancchia can initiate a Pack Attack amongst themselves and their allies by instilling them with a temporary but potent collective fervor. All allies within 60ft and who are able to both see and hear the cancchia may participate in the Pack Attack. During the Pack Attack, the cancchia and their affected allies may occupy the same space to a maximum of two creatures in the same space if either are Medium or larger, or up to three creatures if all of them are Small. If they occupy the same space, they are considered to be flanking adjacent enemies as if on opposite sides of the enemy, and they each supply cover to one another, granting +4 AC to the involved creatures. Pack Attack lasts for 1d4+1 rounds, after which creatures still in the same space as one another are automatically separated to the nearest adjacent space without provoking an attack of opportunity.
From their Natural Leadership, a cancchia may choose to have either +2 Diplomacy or +2 Intimidate. They also have +2 Knowledge (Local) for having an Ear for Gossip.
Category:Ealdremen Races