Pathfinder Homebrew Race: Mio'awi V 1.02

MIO'AWI

The Mio'awi are a race of small, burrowing humanoids endemic to underground areas in temperate forests and other areas rich in loamy soil. Mio'awi nests are built of leaves and grass, and these materials also tend to line the walls of their burrows. Though a good number live alone, Mio'awi are most likely to be found in burrow-towns of various sizes, marked on the surface by a number of large "molehills" made to resemble sod houses.

Like the moles they resemble, traditional Mio'awi diets consist mainly of earthworms and other small invertebrates. However, contact with other humanoid civilizations has introduced foreign elements and techniques into their cuisine, some of which are more popular than others. Creamy or spicy sauces, for instance, have caught on well among them, as have pasta dishes (which somewhat resemble earthworms in texture), seafood, and honey (the sweetest foodstuff an average Mio'awi will ever encounter).

Physical Description: Mio'awi stand at an average of 3'8" in height, weigh 90-100 pounds on average, and tend to wear tough clothing that can withstand burrowing and other underground work. They are most often covered in brown or black fur, and while they make little effort to hide their mole-like features, they understand that their large burrowing claws can seem threatening to other races. As most varieties of glove and gauntlet would not fit for obvious reasons, this is something of a dilemma.

Society: Mio'awi tend to live in burrow-towns, with tunnels serving as streets in larger settlements or as simple connections between individual nests and communal areas in smaller ones. Mio'awi communities, however, are almost never found beneath large surface cities, and they tend to avoid stone caverns. Communities tend to expand outward before expanding upwards or downwards, but in the event of overcrowding, Mio'awi will prefer to expand to areas near or on the surface rather than dig further down. Their keen senses leave most members of a community intimately familiar with one another, but can also at times lead to overload when large numbers congregate. For this reason, it is entirely possible to find large groups conversing above ground, where the lessened contact with the earth alleviates some of the input. They also tend to give outsiders just wide enough a berth so as to avoid them feeling shunned, as it is well-known that other races value privacy a great deal, and their gifts can tell them much about a stranger before they have spoken a word.

It is difficult to lie to a mio'awi, as they can often sense the slight involuntary movements an individual makes while doing so. However, this same ability makes mio'awi very poor deceivers themselves, as they are ill-practiced at the art. In addition, those who can hide the "tells" from them can fool them very easily indeed.

Mio'awi craftsmen are fond of working with clay, creating sculpture, pottery, and trinkets of various sorts, and an average settlement will often have more furnaces for pottery than for weapons. It is easy to see why - the material can be found easily near or even in their homes, and is easy to work with. They often trade these terracotta items for more practical devices they have a more difficult time making, such as iron or steel tools for cooking, cutting, or other everyday uses. Items of high technology are uncommon among them, though they will not turn down a sufficiently amusing invention - the sheer novelty of having a small bronze globe that spins about and emits steam is enough to entice many. Those who do put their hands to the work of warfare tend to produce attachments that enhance the natural claws their kind possess, as well as light but sturdy ceramic armor that does little to impede their ability to burrow. As most conflicts they face are either short-lived territorial disputes or sudden raids by other races, they prefer to make these claw-weapons, as well as other simple weapons any of their kind could pick up and use at a moment's notice. In the close quarters of their tunnels, a blockade of short spears could prove deadly to any invader, and it is with these that their town guards - a ubiquitous sight in any large mio'awi settlement - defend their people.

Relations: Mio'awi are of neutral disposition towards humans, elves, half-elves, and half-orcs, treating them on a case-by-case basis. On the other hand, they tend to be fond of halflings, whose appreciation of good soil and a cozy home they find agreeable. Though the tirelessness of gnomes astonishes them, Mio'awi find it difficult to keep up. They have no particular opinion of dwarves - which they rarely ever encounter, as their usual habitats are so very different. The same applies to most all aquatic races.

More standoffish are their relations to goblins and kobolds, whom they find too violent and too petty respectively to make good neighbors, but otherwise have no real hatred of. Thus, the rare goodly tribes or individuals of these races will find surprisingly fast friends in the Mio'awi.

More negative relations include the common races of the Darklands (drow, duergar, morlocks, and the like, which happen to be the reasons Mio'awi avoid digging too deep), and (oddly enough) kitsune. The latter relation presumably reflects the fact that moles are a favored prey item for foxes. In all cases, the Mio'awi fear, rather than despise, the race in question.

Alignment and Religion: Mio'awi value the earth and soil greatly, and tend to worship deities with dominion over these elements. Most are neutral on at least one alignment axis.

Adventurers: Like many races, Mio'awi can become susceptible to wanderlust. Some, however, have a more tragic tale to tell, as they may be the last survivors of goblin, kobold, or rarely, drow or duergar raids. Thus rendered homeless, these poor souls take up adventuring for a time to find someplace suitable to live.

Male Names: Hiapo, Ikaika, Makaha, Nahoa, Kanunu, Kei, Polunu, Kekoa

Female Names: Niele, Kaila, Malie, Meli, Alana, Luana, Okalani, Laka

STANDARD RACIAL TRAITS
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Ability Scores: +2 CON, +2 DEX, -2 INT. Mio'awi are both hardy and nimble, but have little concern for scholarly pursuits.
Type: Humanoid (Mio'awi)
Size: Small (+1 AC, +1 to hit, -1 CMD, -1 CMB, +4 Stealth)
Speed: 20 ft., burrow 30 ft. Mio'awi leave usable tunnels behind when they burrow.
Languages: Mio'awi begin play speaking Common and Terran. Mio'awi with high Intelligence scores may choose from the following: Aklo, Undercommon, Gnome, Halfling, Dwarven, Goblin, and Celestial.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits
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Tunneler: Mio'awi have a +2 racial bonus on Perception, Sense Motive, and Knowledge (dungeoneering) checks.
Honest: Mio'awi have a -2 racial penalty on Bluff checks of all types.

Offense Racial Traits
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Claws: Mio'awi have 2 claw attacks which deal 1d4 damage each, as a result of their hands being adapted for digging.

Defense Racial Traits
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Wormeater: A Mio'awi caught in the same space as a Vermin swarm deals 1d6 damage to it every round it shares that space, as it devours many of the swarm's individual components.

Senses Racial Traits
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Darkvision: Mio'awi can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.
Tremorsense: Mio'awi can detect vibrations in the earth around them up to 20 feet away.