Introducing the Feinos
Of the available race choices, the feinos are the only true aliens, having entered our universe at the same time as the dragons. Feino populations suddenly found themselves shunted from their native realm into ours. Hundreds of thousands feinos perished as they appeared in environments incapable of supporting life, such as in the void of space or in Bellatrix’s argon-rich atmosphere.
On those worlds where the feinos could survive, they quickly found themselves embroiled in terrifying war. Viewed as invaders by native populations and viewed as insignificant by rampaging dragons, the feinos who didn’t quickly organize for war were hit hard. Today, few worlds have sizeable feino populations (the notable exception being Duke Níðhöggr’s throneworld, Ylli).
Appearance and Biology: A feino appears human only with the most casual of glances. This race tends to be tall, averaging an inch or two more than homo sapiens, with long, thin arms and legs. The torso is broad across the shoulders and chest, but isn’t thick and tapers to narrow hips, giving most feinos a somewhat emaciated appearance. The feino cranium grows long from chin to brow with pronounced cheek bones and a narrow, downward turning mouth, which sports about two-thirds as many teeth as found in a healthy human mouth. Feinos do not have canine teeth. Their ears are pointed. Hair color ranges from pure white to light blue to gold. A feino’s eyes appear to swirl with liquid color because the fluids which lubricate the eyes are pigmented. Hormones related to emotional states alter the fluid’s colors.
Feinos cannot easily metabolize proteins found in animal tissue. As a result, most feinos are vegetarians, and those that aren’t still consume only small portions of meat. The equivalent of the liver in a feinos is hyperefficient at metabolizing alcohol. Consequently, a feinos can consume enormous quantities of libations without adverse effects.
Psychology: The feinos are almost insatiably curious. They constantly pry into the affairs of others. While a feinos may seek privacy for certain activities, he is also likely to assume that these activities will end up being observed eventually. Feinos love to explore new places, to experience new sensations, and to observe new creatures. Feinos societies tend to operate in a profoundly transparent manner. Many feinos view the keeping of secrets as an automatic indication of malicious intent.
As a consequence of a feino’s intense curiosity, he is also likely a rapacious consumer. This is especially true of food, drink, and artistic experiences. Most feinos will do almost anything to increase access to these resources, and more than a few can be deeply indifferent to the needs of others to the same resources. Extreme consumption is viewed as a source of honor and glory for the feinos. The greatest and most respected feinos tend to be those who have the greatest stockpiles of resources to consume and/or share with their followers.
The pigmented fluids in a feino’s eyes interfere with his ability to accurately perceive colors. Feinos are not color-blind, but instead perpetually view the world through a tinted medium. This species’s native tongue has an ornate vocabulary related to color as the definitions for such words must account not only for hue but also for emotional state. For example, feinos have one word for “red” when perceived in a happy state of mind and another word for the same color perceived when angry.
Flavor: The feinos can be difficult to understand. Their extreme psychological traits, extradimensional origin, and alien view of the universe often conspire to make a feino unwelcome anywhere except among his own kind. Consequently, most feinos tend to be insular, even xenophobic. Feinos encountered away from their native society are often exiles, usually criminals whose behaviors were unwelcome by other feinos. Such feinos tend to live short, violent lives in the Empire.
A minority of feinos, however, embrace the realities of living in a new universe. They learn to moderate their more extreme psychological traits in order to live among humans. Derisively referred to as Passers by both human and feino purists, these feinos can be intensely loyal to those who accept them as friends.
Racial Traits: A feino character must have at least a 14 in Dexterity, and cannot have higher than a 13 Constitution.
Feinos have a knack for finding hidden doors. They gain a +1 bonus to Perception skill checks to notice such portals. Feinos cannot be psychics, but they can be wizards. In fact, they excel at the arts of wizardry. By spending one extra mana point when casting a spell, a feino wizard imposes a -1 penalty to the save against that spell. This extra mana point does not count against the mana point limit imposed when using Kouranism to modify spells.
A feino cannot become intoxicated by consuming alcohol. He also enjoys a +1 bonus on saving throws against organic toxins.
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