Drelman

## Overview

A race of human native to the outer continents, drelmans are a people forged through struggle. Due to the extreme environs where they make their home, they exemplify adaptability, self-reliance, and independence. They are creative and stubborn out of necessity, and some among them would even argue that a drelman settlement that lives comfortably is not a drelman settlement at all. Though they tend towards xenophobia as a practiced method of defending their communities, there is no greater loyalty than that found within a drelman family or between a drelman and a proven friend. Drelman life, and thus their perspective, is practical and forward-thinking, taking inspiration from the past in order to create a better world for their children, and there is no source of ideas that they will overlook.

## Mechanics

* **Ability Score Modifiers**: +2 Str, +2 Wis, -2 Cha. Strong, hardy, and abiding, drelman are able to survive in any environment.
* **Size**: Medium
* **Speed**: Drelmans have a base speed of 30ft
* **Languages**: One language granted by their Background. Those with high Intelligence can choose any additional languages they want.

* **Specialized**: Choose one of the following feat trees. You gain the specified feats at level 1, level 5, and level 10, respectively. You do not need to meet the prerequisites for these feats.
	+ Defiant Luck, Inexplicable Luck, Bestow Luck
	+ Fearless Curiosity, Intimidating Confidence, Dauntless Destiny
	+ Fast Learner, Improvisation, Improved Improvisation
	+ Skill Focus, Skill Focus, Skill Focus
* **Skilled**: Drelmans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level.

## Society

Most drelman congregate in subsistence societies, and as such are heavily practical in their reverence for the gods and forces of nature that govern their survival. Respect is given to elders, whose wisdom allows younger generations to avoid their mistakes and more easily access new opportunities, and to masters of a given craft or skill, who pass on their mastery. Societies with high numbers of drelmans tend to value the community as a whole over all else, for everyone looks out for each other when one mistake in the wilderness can wipe whole settlements from the map. As such, many rites during both adolescence and adulthood seek out the best way an individual can use their unique talents to benefit the whole, and ensure their independence from any other group, family, or settlement. When taken to extremes through isolation or war, this care for community can turn into a nationalistic or xenophobic streak, but otherwise creates a wide safety network that allows drelmans, in times of plenty, to attempt new endeavors and explorations that grant them the flexibility and adaptability that they're known for.

## Religion

Living in extreme environments gives every drelman a healthy respect for Basang Ba and Agathon. Nomadic groups worship Petya Naumov, but those who remain in one place find the Apparition of Ketar Mozog and Apparition of Zhihao Jin to grant continual bounties in hunts and predictable seasons. Religious leaders among drelmans often choose patrons from among Fa'qamuu Twice-Heavenbound, whose celestial bodies track the seasons, Masik, who understands how fragile life is, and Vicenta Salcedo, who helps preserve their cultures. Drelmans rarely follow Dowager Empress Kyouko or Jolein Composed of Desire, whose domains of royalty and scholarly knowledge are difficult to maintain in the face of daily survival.

## Relations

Drelmans value achievements gained through hard work, and so the divinely-granted boons of aasimar and tieflings don't sit too well with them, and the races are often considered to be riding on the coattails of divine outsiders.

Ganzi, despite sharing the same heritage, display a level of independence and free-thinking that endears them to the creative drelmans.

Aphorites garner respect through their focus and dedication, and the discipline displayed by changelings in order to keep themselves sane also makes some drelman glad to have them within a settlement.

Dhampir, due to both their isolating tendencies and the horrors they're associated with, are not considered friends or allies.

Drelmans find elves to exist on timespans beyond easy comprehension, and while drow at least present new perspectives and volcanic lore, surface elves seem to be relics of past ages that no amount of help or struggle will bring to the present day.

The average drelman cannot tell the difference between a dwarf and a duergar, but those who do value both - drelmans find dwarves to be kindred spirits in their rugged endurance and love for their communities, while duergar are harshly practical and often are willing to teach skills that would take centuries to perfect otherwise.

Drelmans find fetchlings to be suspicious, appearing and disappearing without warning and treating their hard-won settlements as tourist destinations.

They think of gnomes as too flighty and capricious to be anything more than annoying, and while they place kitsune in the same category, at least some kitsune have learned enough of drelman ways to make seducing them a simple trick.

Ghorans and drelmans rarely get along, as the latter see the former as sources of food or lumber, and little else.

Grippli and lizardfolk tend to be nearby trading partners of drelman settlements, although drelman histories tell of many, many examples of grippli and lizardfolk societies being absorbed into their own due to conquest.

Halflings are seen as soft creatures too used to modern comforts to survive in the wilderness, and often underestimated, while kobolds, able to display their draconic heritage clearly with their scales, are often overestimated and pushed into situations where not even a skilled drelman would be able to survive.

Drelmans see hobgoblins as invaders and conquerers, good for little else, and think similarly of orcs - although, due to the orcs' unflagging determination, once both parties have shown their goodwill, they create unbreakable bonds.

Drelmans admire the energy and drive of ifrits, but quickly turn hostile if the ifrit begins to assume more authority than they've earned.

They get along well with the usually-quiet undines and their simple natures, and the curiosity of a sylph rarely seems out of place among drelmans.

Oreads and drelmans can get along, but true trust between the two is rare unless they were raised in the same community or society.

Nagaji are often pitied by drelmans, as the race finds it difficult to escape the mindset of servitude, but the nagaji themselves are irked at the airs that drelmans put on in making that judgement. Drelmans, though their work is highly valued and sought after by parmans, find the other humanoid race to lack any redeeming qualities - they subsist off the labor of others like parasites, focus on ephemeral things instead of that which matters, and have lost their identity in the large and faceless cities that they so value.

While drelmans can relate to ratfolk, they often don't get along, and the alchemical studies that so often intrigue ratfolk seem to be a waste of resources to the drelmans.

Other beastfolk tend to be less offensive to drelman sensibilities - tengu are valued as keepers of lore and scouts, and the vanara's easygoing nature and climbing skill make them well-suited for various environments.

Skinwalkers are often associated with either sacred animals or lycanthropic beasts, and thus are either loved or hated, with little nuance.

Vishkanya dislike drelmans for their close-knit social networks that are difficult to maneuver within, and drelmans dislike vishkanya for their too-smooth, too-polite mannerisms which hide ill intent as often as not.

Goblins find drelmans usually overstressed and worn out due to their survival struggles - the perfect targets for a warm bonfire and a shared meal.