Quorlu

Core Racial Traits

Trait	Effect
Endothermic	A quorlu has resistance 5 to fire that stacks with one other source of fire resistance.
Lithic	Quorlus gain a +2 racial bonus to saving throws against bleed, disease, and poison effects, and they can’t benefit from drugs, medicinals, or similar nonmagical substances.
Multiarmed (3)	The creature has the number of arms listed.
Ponderous	Quorlus have a land speed of 25 feet.
Stable	A quorlu gains a +4 racial bonus to AC against combat maneuvers to bull rush, reposition, or trip.
Quorlu Senses	Quorlus have darkvision with a range of 60 feet and lowlight vision.
Susceptible to Cold	When a quorlu takes cold damage, it becomes fatigued for 1 round.
Tunneler	A quorlu can dig through soil at a rate of 5 feet per minute.
Unflankable	Flanking the creature does not grant any bonuses, and abilities that function only against a creature that is flanked do not function against it.

Endothermic

A quorlu has resistance 5 to fire that stacks with one other source of fire resistance.

Lithic

Quorlus gain a +2 racial bonus to saving throws against bleed, disease, and poison effects, and they can’t benefit from drugs, medicinals, or similar nonmagical substances. In addition, quorlus don’t breathe or suffer the normal environmental effects of being in a vacuum.

Multiarmed (3)

The creature has the number of arms listed. This allows it to wield and hold up to that many hands’ worth of weapons and equipment. While this increases the number of items it can have at the ready, it doesn’t increase the number of attacks it can make during combat.

Ponderous

Quorlus have a land speed of 25 feet.

Stable

A quorlu gains a +4 racial bonus to AC against combat maneuvers to bull rush, reposition, or trip.

Quorlu Senses

Quorlus have darkvision with a range of 60 feet and lowlight vision.

Susceptible to Cold

When a quorlu takes cold damage, it becomes fatigued for 1 round. This effect doesn’t cause a fatigued quorlu to become exhausted.

Tunneler

A quorlu can dig through soil at a rate of 5 feet per minute. A quorlu can use this ability combined with its internal heat to dig through stone at a rate of 1 foot per minute. When it digs, a quorlu can leave a tunnel behind.

Unflankable

Flanking the creature does not grant any bonuses, and abilities that function only against a creature that is flanked do not function against it.

Vital Stats

Stat	Value
Average Height	4-5 ft.
Average Weight	300-400 lbs.
Age of Maturity	22 years
Maximum Age	150+3d20 years

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Quorlus are a quadrupedal species with three arms. Their limbs are long and flexible, as are their three eyestalks. Quorlus' silicon-based flesh is pliable, rough, and extremely warm. A rocky shell protects their body but not as much as the species' internal heat and elemental nature. Quorlus are newcomers on the galactic scene, but their culture leads them to be gregarious and curious as well as peace-loving and accepting of change. Since using Drift travel to leave their world, quorlus have become well known as explorers, prospectors, engineers, and performers; many other sapient creatures find quorlu singing enjoyable.

Quorlus evolved on a planet of restless geology with a thin and toxic atmosphere. They're compact and roughly ovoid beings, only slightly taller at 4-1/2 feet than they are wide. This body belies their mass, which can approach 400 pounds. The bulk of their bodies is a roundish central mass from which 10 appendages radiate. Quorlus use four of these tentacular limbs for mobility and three for manipulation. Three others near the top of the body end in gemlike orbs, the color of any agate but commonly red-orange to gold, that quorlus use for vision. Limbs other than the eyestalks taper to a blunt tip. Quorlus can shape and divide this point into articulating digits, which act much like human fingers. They can have several digits on any limb, but only the three central limbs are dexterous enough for fine manipulation, while “toes” on their lower limbs help with stability. The malleability of these limbs makes it easier for quorlus to fit into gear intended for other species.
Quorlus, however, are unlike many other beings. Their silicon-based physiology makes them akin to living rocks, explaining their mass. Their skin—which they use to hear, smell, taste, and touch—is made up of crystalline elements, and the harder rear shell is similar to a crust of cooled magma. Quorlus' shell and skin can be a variety of colors and textures, depending on environmental influences, especially the minerals they consume for sustenance. Most resemble igneous rocks. One quorlu might show the featureless grays and blacks of basalt, while another has the speckled characteristic of gabbro, and yet another has the crystalline aspect of granite.
Internally, quorlu physiology is more uniform with predictably placed internal structures. This internal structure requires raw material in the form of minerals quorlus consume as food, but it requires no air. Intense cold slows these hot internal reactions, which burn up toxins and non-magical medicinals alike. Plasma within quorlu bodies supports, nourishes, and protects crystal structures analogous to vital organs in carbon-based life-forms; it also contains molecule chains similar to the DNA of carbon-based creatures. Quorlus have no clear biological sex. They reproduce by sharing plasma, each would-be parent extruding nodules that develop into young quorlus.

Quorlus have adapted to Quorlosh's harsh nature with a society that embraces impermanence. Philosophically, quorlus place little emphasis on material wealth or ancestral lands that other cultures value. Instead, quorlus esteem peace, emotional connection, creativity, pleasure, and resilience. They take a practical view toward misfortune and disaster. Destruction calls for rescue, reassessment, and—if possible and sensible—restoration.
Buildings and other installations are pragmatic, built to endure upheaval and plain in design, while portable and magical decoration is fancier and changes often. Quorlus like to explore possibilities and make work and play uplifting experiences. They value relationships and experiential but temporary forms of expression; their monuments and great works of art tend to be stories and songs passed from generation to generation.
Sharing these aspects of being is important to quorlus, so communal groups called kindreds make up quorlu society. Kindreds form based on mutual values and, to a lesser extent, professional skills. A quorlu is born into a kindred, but they foster numerous others. Juvenile quorlus explore these relationships to find the right kindred, a home for the soul. Kindred affiliation can be as transient as a particular quorlu desires. Quorlus cherish personal growth and acknowledge that such development can create the need for new surroundings and relations. A quorlu might stay with a kindred all their life, or they might join numerous chosen families over the years. Quorlus rejoice at another's choices for change, rather than having hard feelings, since these changes can foster new, positive relationships among individuals and kindreds that couldn't have existed before.
Quorlus' high valuation of connection and seeking common ground makes them great explorers and diplomats. They also seek belonging, always searching for would-be kindred mates among other peoples. Although it's rare for non-quorlus to join quorlu kindreds, it's common for quorlus outside their society to form kindred-like ties. However, quorlus give their private ideals high priority and are unlikely to remain in relationships that force them to compromise their beliefs too often.
When it comes to personal expression, quorlus are open, curious, and communal while simultaneously elevating individual inclinations. Quorlus often decorate their portable possessions as well as their bodies, tailoring their diet of minerals, crystals, and salts to gain an excess of a substance to use for bodily expression. They can also extrude minerals to change their skin and shell color over a long period of time. They love music, holographic or illusory art, and other artistic experiences, especially fleeting ones.

Growing up Quorlu

Quorlus reproduce and rear children communally. Quorlus who wish to give birth mingle their internal plasma with kindred mates and other beloved quorlus to create egg-like nodules that contain the silicon genetic material from several quorlus. Exact parentage is irrelevant in quorlu culture, but quorlus still note heritage for historic and medical reasons. Kindreds have communal nurseries, where caretakers watch over nodules until they hatch, after which kindred members take in the infant for rearing. Quorlu children

Ancestral Spirits

Spirituality among quorlus focuses on ancestral spirits, some of which resemble known deities elsewhere in the galaxy, and reincarnation. Sudden death and loss were common in developing quorlu society. Belief in transmigration of the soul from life to life developed from there, as did a belief that a soul can transcend the mortal plane, becoming one with the principles the deceased quorlu personified. Quorlus revere spirits of friendship, peace, justice, magical and earthly mystery, history, fate, adaptation, evolution, and rebirth. Among quorlus, spirits of these virtues have numerous names. Living quorlus, especially mystics, can be elevated to saintlike positions for embodying such ideals, thought of as reincarnations of virtuous ancestors.
Modern quorlus recognize the gods as further embodiments of quorlu spiritualism. Quorlu mystics and spiritualists sometimes connect deities to their ancestor reverence, finding common ground with religious figures in other cultures. Divinities quorlus recognize most often include Eloritu, Hylax, Oras, Pharasma, and Yaraesa. Despite the violent phenomena on Quorlosh, quorlus don't link the planet with any evil deities. They see their planet as a fickle and elemental force, neither good nor evil. Quorlosh gives and takes without conscience or volition. It's worthy of respect but isn't a spiritual influence.

Good Vibrations

For a people who lack any fixed orifices and don't breathe, quorlus have remarkable “voices.” They eat and excrete through openings they create as needed in their skin. Using similar methods, quorlus create sounds with multiple sound-release vents and vibrations in their internal organs and skin. They speak and sing this way, creating pleasant tonal vibrations. Quorlus who invest time in training to use their voices can become incredible singers, negotiators, or both. A quorlu chorale can be a transporting experience, moving the body, mind, and spirit.

Iterative Society

Quorlus learned long ago to adapt quickly. Their scientific and magical practices have been refined in the same crucible as their society—the harshness of Quorlosh. A pragmatic streak in quorlu culture derives from survival needs, but their desire for joy gives life to artistic expression. Traditions endure among quorlus only if they present a benefit in an environment of rapid change or foment pleasure. Quick to discard anything that doesn't serve such purposes, quorlus readily try new solutions for difficult-to-solve problems. Quorlus are also frank, honest, and willing to admit they're wrong, especially when sticking to a falsehood is dangerous. Their magic and technology emphasize all these ideals. Entry into galactic society hasn't tempered this cultural trait, but has opened a world of possibilities for what's practical and enjoyable. An example of innovation due to leaving Quorlosh is quorlu heat-amp gauntlets, the most common of which are nearly useless against quorlu targets but work fine in combat against many other species.