Dryll

*For information on this race as an adversary in campaign mode, see Dryll Enemy Types.*

## Description & Development

Semi-bipedal ground monkeys who run on all fours. They have long faces, which in males flush bright red upon reaching adulthood, and possess thick, slightly domed craniums. Both sexes are long tailed, shaggy, and have formidable canine teeth, though in males these further develop into a pair of tusks on the lower jaw. Fur color is typically gray, though brown and black Dryll also exist, and later in life both sexes develop a prominent silver ruff around the neck and shoulders. Old individuals may turn gray entirely.

The Dryll evolved on Majomorszag, a garden continent known for its lush rainforests and abundant natural resources. Plants, lichens, and fungi were so ever-present and diverse that the Dryll developed their whole culture around them. Not content to simply gather their food, they became the first of the four primordial races to practice agriculture and were dabbling in herbal remedies, cooking, and brewing alcohol not long after. They learned to shape trees to create lasting structures without tools (though they later developed them anyway) and eventually decided to live inside them, hollowing out trunks and warping huge branches to create foundations for elevated platforms and rope elevators. They invented simple aqueducts at around the same time and began siphoning runoff from waterfalls to secure drinking water and power hydroponic gardens. Their treetop villages are now mostly self sufficient.

## Culture

Each Dryll tribe is governed by a chosen elder seer and is, at least on a day to day basis, wholly independent from all the rest. Exceptional circumstances like war, famine, drought, and plague may temporarily change this status quo, however, with the elders of each tribe meeting to discuss counter-measures for the sake of all Dryll; such meetings regularly result in short-lived but very strictly enforced rules that are enforced in all cities across the continent.

The one thing that all Dryll share year round is their religion, which is very peculiar not just because there are apparently no dissenters or variations in their belief, but because their practices seem so improbably similar to those of the Ubaan. They worship their gods in much the same way, carrying out strangely familiar dances and making offerings of food and drink to appease their five god pantheon. Their chosen deities are *Származik* (god of inner strength and survival), *Virágok* (goddess of progress and success), *Jött* (god of abundance and fertility), *Tüske* (goddess of physical strength and protection), and *Gyökér* (the creature, genderless, on whose back the world rests).

How Dryll religion came to resemble Ubaan religion so closely is not clear. Dryll do not keep written records, preferring to pass down their history and folklore orally, but the elders of all tribes agree it was their custom before they met the Ubaan or even the Ghaan; stone Jött and Tüske pendants dating centuries before the war seem to support their claim, though proving it definitively is impossible.

Dryll law is also unusual: the only crime they truly recognize is *cowardice*. Violence is only seen as a negative if it occurs in that particular context, and so assault of all kinds is normalized. It only becomes a taboo when it is carried out in a manner that implies personal weakness, like picking a fight with a child, winning an even fight with a concealed weapon, or stealing something rather than challenging its owner for it. To act in this way is to show a lack of confidence in ones strength, and since the Dryll believe that strength comes from their gods these acts are considered direct insult to the divine. Származik and Tüske in particular are said to take great offense to acts of cowardice and demand equal blood as recompense.

## Communing with the Gods

Because the Dryll have such fervent belief in their gods and solve so many of their problems through botany it may be of little surprise that herbalism plays a significant role in their practices. Dryll are master chemists (at least for their level of technological development) and craft a wide variety of drugs, potions, and alcoholic beverages intended to alter the senses during ceremonies. They believe these not only affect their perception of the world they live in, but of others too, and in certain circumstances can even separate their body and spirit to allow for direct communication with the gods.

Smoking *grazeleaf* is said to open the mind and make atonement for past misdeeds. *Kerbic* (a drink made from fermented fruits) purges the body of fear and doubt and is said to be Jött's favorite. *All-Sight* (a mixture of five ingredients, all of which are deadly on their own) grants drinkers the uncanny ability to see spirits and read messages from the gods. *Raze* is a similar drink that uses the same five ingredients but in different proportions and is alleged to grant unnatural strength and resilience. *Edeps seeds* bolster immunity and perception and are used in conjunction with either Raze or Kerbic.

Lastly, there are five secret powders that are ground up and inhaled only by the elders. These are the substances which take spirits out of the mortal plane and carry them temporarily to the realm of the gods. Each powder takes the user to the doorstep of a specific god or goddess and has an exact and jealously guarded recipe; it is said that preparing any one of them incorrectly results in certain and very painful death, as well as added turmoil in the afterlife. The powders also take a tremendous physical toll on their users and cannot be used one after the other, so depending on how much rest a seer needs between journeys it may take a full week or even longer for one community to hear the will of their pantheon.

## Special Ability & Mechanic

* **Howl** - Hold circle to howl; the longer the howl, the farther it reaches. Stuns nearby enemies for its duration and has a chance to send small animals running or make armed warriors drop their weapon.

## Weapons & Items

* **Blowdart** - A bamboo pipe that can shoot darts at incredible range. Deals almost no damage, but its darts have a weak paralytic effect that can be powered up greatly by collecting toxic mushrooms. Max stack 50.
* **Smokebomb** - Primitive grenades made from hollowed out gourds. Rolled along the ground, they pop their corks after a few seconds and create a cloud of thick smoke that disorients enemies. Collecting toxic plants imbues them with a tranquilizing effect. Great for dealing with large crowds or covering a retreat. Max stack 10.
* **Bomb** - Halved, hollowed out rocks stuffed with volatile material and bound by cords. Rolled along the ground, they explode after a few seconds and deal heavy damage with a wide area of effect. Very difficult to aim and hard to come by. Max stack 5.
* **Club** - An extremely slow and unwieldy weapon. Has no special properties and doesn't need them.
* **All-Sight** - An automatically crafted potion that appears in the player's inventory when they collect every *Toadstool* and *Lily* in a level. Drinking it warps vision and changes colors, but it also highlights the position and health of enemies, as well as a normally unseeable path which leads to a hidden cache of treasure!

## Interactibles

* *Ubaan weapons* - Torches, Axes, and Spears can all be picked up and used (melee attacks only).
* *Vines & Vine Walls* - Swing across ledges or scale rough surfaces.
* *Toadstool* - A bumpy red mushroom with neurotoxic chemicals inside. Each time one is collected the paralytic power of Blowdart shots incrementally increases.
* *Lily of the Valley* - A toxic flower that can render unwary plant eaters comatose. Each time one is collected the tranquilizing power of Smokebombs incrementally increases.

## Stat Ratings (Age of Fire)

* Movement speed: **1st** best
* Swimming speed: **3rd** best
* Jump height: **1st** best
* Unarmed attack: **2nd** best
* Damage resistance: **2nd** best

## Turret

* **Sporecaster** - A leafy, spiraling structure that vaguely resembles an orange tree. It's actually the fruiting body of an enormous fungus, filled to the brim with trillions of tiny parasitic spores. Sentries sit on top of it and jump up and down when they see enemies, triggering an automatic response. Fires off pods that erupt mid-air in all directions, blanketing the surrounding area in tremendous green clouds that drain health. The pods' rate of fire is extremely slow, but the fog from each barrage lasts for a long while. All allies are made immune.

## In the Age of Fire

All at once the elder seers of every village dreamt of fiery destruction. They communed with their gods in the days that followed and confirmed what they had seen, a terrible future not yet passed but soon to be upon them. A future that only the Dryll could avoid. Following strict instructions from their seers, and by extension the almighty, they spread the news to every village in the land and set out on their holiest quest.

The will of the gods was clear: unify the four warring races or forfeit all of Luenra. It would be the ultimate test of their strength, their cunning, and their unending devotion to the five. Without their intervention the war would only grow bloodier, more hateful... and as punishment the gods would unmake their creations, pushing the whole world off Gyökér's back and letting it burn away in a sea of fire.

The possibility of failure could not and would not be humored, not even for a second. This would be the Dryll's greatest challenge- and gods willing, their finest hour.

## Trivia

* Howl percent chance of flee/disarm per enemy type:
	+ Ubaan (basic) - 75%
	+ Ubaan Hunter/Huntress - 15%
	+ Archaeornis, Drinker, Lophiotherium, Ramapithecups, Icarops - 100%
	+ Pseudosinopa, Propappus - 50%
* After drinking an All-Sight potion the player character's eyes begin to glow.
	+ The hidden caches revealed by All-Sight are guaranteed to have ammo (including Ubaan weapons), LG health pickups, and XP+ multipliers. It's rare, but they may also have a Torn Page, Paintbrush, or even a Golden Fleece!