Let's start with my write-up for the Giff, the quintessential Spelljammer race - gun-loving hippo people. Enjoy!
GIFF
Giff are powerfully muscled, 9’-tall
mercenaries. They have stocky, flat, cylindrical legs, barrel-shaped torsos,
broad chests, humanoid arms and fingers, and heads like those of a
hippopotamus. Giff skin is black, gray or gold, and often covered in brightly
colored tattoos.
Structure
is Everything
The giff live structured, organized lives
centered on their obligations in a race-wide chain of command. They are proud
of their strength and skill as warriors, and view all of lie as pursuit of
glory and rank. Their pride in their won strength makes them nervous around
truly strong creatures (like giants), but they view most humans and demihumans
as too fragile.
Rough
and Tumble
Giff enjoy fighting. They will brawl for
the sheer fun of it, battling all corners in a friendly test of strength,
granting quarter to any who ask for it. Giff view weapons as a sign that the
battle is serious, however, and will
fight to the death against anyone who draws a weapon on them.
Natural
Wanderers
Giff have wandered the spaceways for so
long that they no longer know where their own homeworld is. They tell stories
of a jungle world where weapon caches lie beneath every tree, and smoke powder
flows like the milk and honey of some humans’ vision of paradise.
Platoons
Giff platoons (the major form of societal
organization) serve other spacefaring races. They wander from sphere to sphere,
fighting in battles and conquering their employer’s enemies, but they are at
the mercy of their employers, as the
giff cannot operate spelljammer helms.
Cultural
Details
Alignment:
Giff value order and structure in their lives, and thus strongly lean towards
the lawful end of the alignment spectrum. Chaotic giff are nearly unheard of in
the spacelanes, and rare do they even view neutrality as a viable option.
Religion: Giff
have no racial religion and as a whole view the whole concept of gods and
goddesses slightly absurd. Faith is an alien concept to most giff, or at least
faith in a deity.
Language: The
Giff language is harsh and resembles a series of burps and gas exhalations. Few
people outside of their race bother to learn it as the complex set of
grammatical regulations keep all but the most dedicated of linguists at bay.
Names: Giff
are brought up in platoons that work as families, with both male and female
members raising children in a military fashion. The young giff are usually
named after their parents, and it’s not uncommon for them to carry a lineage identifier
with their name (the Third, the Seventh, etc.). The name of their home platoon
becomes their surname which they carry throughout their lives; if they join
another platoon they take that as an additional surname.
Male Adult Names: Adolf, Alistair, Basil, Edmund, Gordon, Graham, Horatio, Humphrey,
Jude, Lesley, Malcolm, Mycroft, Nigel, Rowland, Rupert, Stratford, Trevor,
Victor, Willoughby
Female Adult Names: Adelaide, Agnes, Beatrice, Charlotte, Daphne, Dolores, Elspeth,
Gabrielle, Henrietta, Isabel, Lucinda, Marilla, Olivia, Polly, Serena,
Susannah, Valerie, Zoe
Platoon Names:
Black Sabers, Demon Stars, Dragon Hoard, Gold Swords, Howling Gates, Red
Horror, Storm Serpents, Wandering Skulls, White Tridents, Wolf Cannons
Traits
As a giff, you have the following racial
traits:
Ability Score Adjustment: Your Strength score increases by 2.
Size: Medium.
Speed: 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: You can see in dim
light as well as you do in bright light.
Giff Weapon Training: You have
proficiency with firearms and swords.
Thick Hide: You receive a +2 bonus to
your Armor Class from your naturally thick skin.
Languages: You can speak, read, and
write Common and Giff.
