Tiguwok

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

## Description & History

The Tiguwok are a race of carnivorous saltwater toads long thought to be myth. Direct descendants of the prehistoric Rith, their ancestors were driven out to sea by the Ubaan when the Age of Fire concluded. They struggled in secrecy for millennia, slowly adapting to life in the sea even as they tried to colonize small landmasses off the coast. Eventually they saw success in the polar land of Hyperborea, a barren continent that, while harsher than the mainland, was much more stable and spacious than the islands of their past. Thousands of years later it came to light that the Tiguwok shared Hyperborea with another race, early stone-age humans, though it is unclear who arrived first. Encounters between the two were so exceedingly rare at first that some of the Northern tribes didn't even believe they were real, knowing them only from folklore and myth.

Standing in the flesh the Tiguwok are very plainly corporeal and amphibian. They have a wide, robust body with large organs, blubber, and thick warty skin meant to ward off the cold. Their hindlimbs are extremely powerful, used both to support their weight upright and to propel them underwater. Their hands and feet are both webbed and they possess extended nostrils and high-set eyes which allow them to stay at surface of the water undetected. The hair-like tendrils on their heads are modified gills that passively leech oxygen from water and can regrow if lost.

## Culture

Like the Rith before them, the Tiguwok are predatory animists. They have a similar belief system to their ancestors, though they express it through very different customs and value different spirits. Ice and Snow have become new savior figures in celebration of Hyperborea and the vast opportunities it has presented for them, and new spirits representing abstract concepts like Hope, Hardship, Family, and Time have been added to their pantheon. They continue the old tradition of carving totems from stone, though theirs are used as wards rather than conduits or effigies and stand watch over sacred places. They lack the corrosive spit of their prehistoric forbearers and so use a very different method to shape their stone: Cryomancy.

Cryomancy is a form of magic which manipulates the position and temperature of water. It can be used to lift puddles, halt rain, or even draw moisture from the bodies of living things and then convert it into solid ice. The art was learned gradually across multiple generations, a result of many long hours meditating and communing with the spirits. All Tiguwok are born capable of performing Cryomancy, but must learn how as individuals to do so. Mastery of this art is considered a high achievement and represents perfect attunement with one's surroundings. Cryomancy itself is seen by the Tiguwok as Hyperborea's second greatest gift to them, after life.

Another unique development in their culture is the onset of tool use. Despite lacking thumbs the Tiguwok are actually quite dexterous and have become adept at repurposing natural resources like driftwood, bones, sea sponges, and coral. They have learned to braid rope from sea plants and animal ligaments, and with Cryomancy can essentially enact small-scale glacial erosion to shape and cut rock. This allows them to build large structures like totems and archways, but also levers, pulleys, and stone tools.

Clothing, on the other hand, is almost never hand-crafted but rather co-opted from humans. Being as resourceful as they are the Tiguwok are quick to gather up anything discarded by their neighboring tribes, including both objects and the ones wielding them. Tiguwok are notorious for abducting and eating lone fishermen and hunters, lost travelers, and unattended children. Their possessions and remains never go to waste, with bones becoming jewelry, weapons and tools going immediately back into use, and clothing ripped into strips and repurposed: leather and seal furs are especially coveted as they can be used to protect vulnerable joints and limbs from frostbite.

## Special Ability & Mechanic

* **Cryomancy** - An arcane art that draws water from the body and instantly freezes it.
	+ Press circle to fling icicles. Medium range, slightly below average damage. They can be rapid fired by tapping circle repeatedly. Each shot uses up a tiny about of Cryo Meter.
	+ Hold and release circle to spray icy mist. Doesn't travel very far or do much damage, but it does inflict a frost status that slows enemies down. The longer circle is held, the greater the chill. A fully charged spray (or several short ones) can temporarily freeze enemies in their tracks. Uses very little Cryo Meter.
	+ Press circle while jumping to perform an icewave stomp. Sends ice jutting up in a ring formation, throwing enemies nearby. Moderately powerful and great for crowd control but uses up a lot of Cryo Meter.
* **Cryo Meter** - When playing as a Tiguwok the player has an additional meter on their HUD that represents hydration, AKA Cryomancy ammo. It refills slowly when the player is standing in water but is best replenished with items. So long as the player has meter, even just 1%, they receive a passive buff that improves their melee attacks and blocking efficacy.
	+ The Cryo buff temporarily goes away when meter is at zero. Cryomancy cannot be performed at all.

## Items

* **Canteen** - Drinking one of these recovers 40% of the Cryo-meter. They're hard to come by out in the wilderness but are stored in all enemy encampments. Max stack 10.
* **Water Pack** - Upgrades the standard backpack into a giant, water-filled gourd. Triples the size of the Cryo-meter. It's already full when obtained, so picking one up gives the player at least 2/3 of that meter even if they were empty before.
* **Mire Mud** - Salty, stinky black mud gathered at low tide. Can be rubbed on skin to ward off harmful status effects and regenerate health and Cryo-meter. Slow acting, but lasts for two minutes. Max stack 3.

## Interactibles

* *Doors*
* *Treasure Chests* - May contain items, health pickups, or gold to trade with NPCs.
* *Standing Water* - Hold triangle or use Cryomancy to freeze small bodies of water like puddles and ponds. Makes surfaces slick, good for gaining momentum!

## Stat Ratings (Age of Aether)

* Movement speed: **3rd** best
* Swimming speed: **1st** best
* Jump height: **1st** best
* Unarmed attack: **2nd** best
* Damage resistance: **4th** best

## Turret

* **Windway** - A large stone arch with a rotating totem-sphere on top, decorated with the skull of a whale. Swivels and blows cold wind, pushing back large enemies and slowing their movement and attack speed; the longer foes stay in its windstream the slower they become and the longer they stay slowed down. Very sturdy.

## In the Age of Aether

The quiet prosperity of the Tiguwok people ended when news of King Jerrich's plan reached Hyperborea. Realizing that they would no longer be safe even the most remote corners of the world, the Tiguwok resolved to shed their mantle of myth and isolation to protect their future. They began their campaign by making themselves known to all of mankind, openly raiding the tribes of the North, gathering forces in broad daylight, and declaring war on the Kingdom of Avalon. Word traveled fast, and when the Tiguwok arrived on the continental mainland King Jerrich and his Knights of Avalon were waiting for them.

The exact intent of the war shifted once the fighting began in earnest, however. Originally the plan had simply been to dethrone Jerrich as an act of self defense, to stop his insane machinations and then return to Hyperborea to live as they had before. Seeing Aeromancy in action firsthand convinced the Tiguwok leaders that this would not be enough: the power was simply too great to be left in the hands of any enemy. As the battles waged on they resolved to take it for themselves, to learn Aeromancy from the humans before destroying them, and then to combine it with Cryomancy. The world-altering properties of King Jerrich's new weapon could be used in service of the spirits of Ice and Sea, not only to honor them, but to make them more powerful, to shift the balance between elements and create a new ice age where only the Tiguwok could survive.

## Trivia

* The Tiguwok are based on *Qallupilluit*, monsters from Inuit mythology who abduct small children.
* Their design is a mixture of Surinam toad, hairy frog, and hellbender.