Voadam
Legend
I am a fan of Bastion Press's 3.5 Into the Black which includes the snailfolk, a people who have a distrust of those who hide bones inside their flesh:
In the eyes of the casual observer, snailfolk display no sense
of urgency, an admirable racial trait commonly appearing
in humanoid folklore and children’s tales. A snailfolk is a
gray skinned gastropod of humanoid shape with a 4 foot
diameter shell on its back. Four flexible stalks and an oval
orifice functioning as a mouth are the only discernible
features on its face. Two elephantine, tree trunk legs
tapering slightly outward from the bottom of its shell
provide the creature its only means of locomotion, dragging
it along the ground. A thin slime coats their pliant bodies,
inhibiting them from wearing any clothing.
Snailfolk begin life as small, 8 inch long gastropods,
appearing no different from the standard garden snail. They
crawl slowly about on their single rubbery “foot,” leaving
behind a glistening trail of viscous goo in their wake.
Because of this distinctive signature, they are extremely easy
to track until their slime evaporates an hour later. As they
continue to mature, their developing bodies undergo a
subtle metamorphosis. Their rubbery body exhibits more
flexibility, allowing the creature to stand upright on its two
legs. In this posture, snailfolk utilize their two arms to wield
weapons and perform a variety of simple tasks such as
grasping objects. Despite the presence of humanoid limbs,
snailfolk retain the ability to walk along sheer surfaces
reducing their already limited speed in half.
Adult snailfolk stand 6 feet tall and weigh 250 pounds,
thanks largely to the hard shell affixed to their backs.
Lacking vocal organs, snailfolk depend upon their limited
telepathic abilities to communicate.
Habitat/Society
Snailfolk are strict vegetarians, subsisting solely upon
lichen, fungi, and mosses. They view the consumption of
flesh as a barbaric trait suitable only for the lower animals,
an opinion that they demonstratively state at every available
opportunity. Despite their dogmatic view on the
aforementioned subject, other races including carnivorous
humanoids treat snailfolk fairly well. Some confuse their
slow, deliberate nature for stupidity, causing them to
entirely dismiss them as a threat, while others rely upon
their telepathic abilities to serve as translators between
various subterranean beings.
Because of their rather slow nature, the concept of speed
utterly fascinates snailfolk. A potion of haste fetches a king’s
ransom for the elusive elixir, and some reports claim that
snailfolk develop an addition to the magical substance.
Sorcerers and wizards frequently specialize in spells and
magical items that increase speed, making haste the most
popular spell in their arsenal of magic. Some adventurous
merchants from the surface brave the perils of subterranean
travel just to engage in the lucrative business of selling
potions, items and scrolls containing the highly sought after
speed enhancing magic.
As invertebrates, snailfolk find the notion of a skeleton
completely unnerving. They view arthropods and other
creatures with an exoskeleton with somewhat less
suspicion; yet they naturally view invertebrates as the
pinnacles of biological design. Snailfolk believe that
covering the skeleton with layers of flesh indicates that the
creature is obviously hiding something, a belief continually
borne out in their voluminous folklore on the subject. They
take gleeful pride when breaking someone’s bones (even a
friend’s) with their blunt weapons, as it is sure to “teach
the skeleton inside a lesson.” A snailfolk encountering a
pile of bones in a creature’s lair takes the precaution of
breaking each bone in half, just in case they get any nasty
ideas about animating as a skeleton.
Like many gastropods, snailfolk are a hermaphroditic
race; each member possesses both male and female
reproductive organs. Snailfolk cannot impregnate
themselves, but both partners can walk away pregnant from
a single encounter.
In the eyes of the casual observer, snailfolk display no sense
of urgency, an admirable racial trait commonly appearing
in humanoid folklore and children’s tales. A snailfolk is a
gray skinned gastropod of humanoid shape with a 4 foot
diameter shell on its back. Four flexible stalks and an oval
orifice functioning as a mouth are the only discernible
features on its face. Two elephantine, tree trunk legs
tapering slightly outward from the bottom of its shell
provide the creature its only means of locomotion, dragging
it along the ground. A thin slime coats their pliant bodies,
inhibiting them from wearing any clothing.
Snailfolk begin life as small, 8 inch long gastropods,
appearing no different from the standard garden snail. They
crawl slowly about on their single rubbery “foot,” leaving
behind a glistening trail of viscous goo in their wake.
Because of this distinctive signature, they are extremely easy
to track until their slime evaporates an hour later. As they
continue to mature, their developing bodies undergo a
subtle metamorphosis. Their rubbery body exhibits more
flexibility, allowing the creature to stand upright on its two
legs. In this posture, snailfolk utilize their two arms to wield
weapons and perform a variety of simple tasks such as
grasping objects. Despite the presence of humanoid limbs,
snailfolk retain the ability to walk along sheer surfaces
reducing their already limited speed in half.
Adult snailfolk stand 6 feet tall and weigh 250 pounds,
thanks largely to the hard shell affixed to their backs.
Lacking vocal organs, snailfolk depend upon their limited
telepathic abilities to communicate.
Habitat/Society
Snailfolk are strict vegetarians, subsisting solely upon
lichen, fungi, and mosses. They view the consumption of
flesh as a barbaric trait suitable only for the lower animals,
an opinion that they demonstratively state at every available
opportunity. Despite their dogmatic view on the
aforementioned subject, other races including carnivorous
humanoids treat snailfolk fairly well. Some confuse their
slow, deliberate nature for stupidity, causing them to
entirely dismiss them as a threat, while others rely upon
their telepathic abilities to serve as translators between
various subterranean beings.
Because of their rather slow nature, the concept of speed
utterly fascinates snailfolk. A potion of haste fetches a king’s
ransom for the elusive elixir, and some reports claim that
snailfolk develop an addition to the magical substance.
Sorcerers and wizards frequently specialize in spells and
magical items that increase speed, making haste the most
popular spell in their arsenal of magic. Some adventurous
merchants from the surface brave the perils of subterranean
travel just to engage in the lucrative business of selling
potions, items and scrolls containing the highly sought after
speed enhancing magic.
As invertebrates, snailfolk find the notion of a skeleton
completely unnerving. They view arthropods and other
creatures with an exoskeleton with somewhat less
suspicion; yet they naturally view invertebrates as the
pinnacles of biological design. Snailfolk believe that
covering the skeleton with layers of flesh indicates that the
creature is obviously hiding something, a belief continually
borne out in their voluminous folklore on the subject. They
take gleeful pride when breaking someone’s bones (even a
friend’s) with their blunt weapons, as it is sure to “teach
the skeleton inside a lesson.” A snailfolk encountering a
pile of bones in a creature’s lair takes the precaution of
breaking each bone in half, just in case they get any nasty
ideas about animating as a skeleton.
Like many gastropods, snailfolk are a hermaphroditic
race; each member possesses both male and female
reproductive organs. Snailfolk cannot impregnate
themselves, but both partners can walk away pregnant from
a single encounter.
