Trox

Core Racial Traits

Trait	Effect
Darkvision	Trox have darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Bulwark	When a trox fights defensively or takes the total defense action, he can grant half the bonus to AC granted by that action to an adjacent ally.
Burrower	Trox have a burrow speed of 20 feet.
Chitin	Trox chitin can help deflect effects, granting trox a +1 racial bonus to Reflex saves.
Frenzy	Once per day when a significant enemy causes an ally to take Hit Point damage, a trox can fly into a frenzy, gaining a +2 racial bonus to melee attack rolls and a –2 penalty to AC…
Grappler	Trox gain a +2 racial bonus to grapple combat maneuvers.
Spiritual Fervor	Trox gain a +2 racial bonus to Intimidate and Mysticism skill checks.
Swift	Trox have a land speed of 40 feet.
Vestigial Arms	A trox’s four vestigial arms can be used to hold, draw, or put away items of negligible bulk, but not to make attacks, wield weapons, or use items.

Darkvision

Trox have darkvision with a range of 60 feet.

Bulwark

When a trox fights defensively or takes the total defense action, he can grant half the bonus to AC granted by that action to an adjacent ally.

Burrower

Trox have a burrow speed of 20 feet.

Chitin

Trox chitin can help deflect effects, granting trox a +1 racial bonus to Reflex saves.

Frenzy

Once per day when a significant enemy causes an ally to take Hit Point damage, a trox can fly into a frenzy, gaining a +2 racial bonus to melee attack rolls and a –2 penalty to AC for 1 minute.

Grappler

Trox gain a +2 racial bonus to grapple combat maneuvers.

Spiritual Fervor

Trox gain a +2 racial bonus to Intimidate and Mysticism skill checks.

Swift

Trox have a land speed of 40 feet.

Vestigial Arms

A trox’s four vestigial arms can be used to hold, draw, or put away items of negligible bulk, but not to make attacks, wield weapons, or use items.

Vital Stats

Stat	Value
Average Height	10-12 ft.
Average Weight	1,700–2,000 lbs.
Age of Maturity	6 years
Maximum Age	40+3d20 years

!
Trox are communal arthropods from Nchak, one of Liavara's moons. However, in their dedication to the Forever Queen Hylax, they ensure the group's success never overshadows individuals' desires, passions, and pursuits. Trox are fiercely loyal to whatever they commit themselves to, including other creatures and idealistic causes.

As a species, trox have undergone numerous supernatural transformations during their long history in the Pact Worlds. Their modern bipedal form arose in response to a divine messenger's decree, believed to be a mortal incarnation of Hylax. Though hypothesized to have once resembled giant, eight-legged beetles, trox now stand on their two hind legs, towering as much as 12 feet in height. As their uppermost pair of limbs developed into powerful arms, their middle four limbs shrank and now have a fraction of the strength. A pair of sword-like mandibles frame their smaller jaws. The former mandibles close slowly and clumsily, serving more like an extra set of hands than a set of natural weapons.

Trox lay eggs in small clusters, and young hatch as nymphs who resemble small versions of their parents. Trox can only grow as much as their exoskeletons allow, so youths molt numerous times a year until they reach adulthood at age six. During this rapid growth, trox are predominantly carnivorous, requiring tremendous amounts of protein. The specialized nutrients required for healthy exoskeleton production also drive many nymphs to consume their old exoskeletons and burrow, hunting for key minerals. The nutritional needs shift upon reaching adulthood, at which point most favor a largely vegetarian diet.

Once fully grown, a trox tends to shed only a few times a decade as part of healthy shell maintenance. A new exoskeleton takes about a week to harden, during which time a trox is quite sluggish and vulnerable. However, the soft chitin provides a delightful opportunity: customization. Although their natural coloration ranges from a light rosy brown to dark crimson, the fresh exoskeleton readily absorbs injected dyes and can be subtly shaped to create a variety of patterns and surface textures. As a result, adolescents regularly experiment with their appearance using magical dyes, shallow molds, and incised tattoos, knowing that if they don't like their new aesthetic, they can just shed and redo it a few months later.

Whatever the surface treatment, a trox's exoskeleton provides crucial support and protection. The thick plates along the head, forearms, and thighs fit together loosely when they curl up, and even when crouching, they shield a large portion of the body. Together with a set of abdominal horns, a trox's relatively soft underbelly and vestigial limbs become difficult to reach. Only a few sections of the body aren't covered. The upper arms and fingers all have thin, slightly pliable exoskeletons that provide a trox additional flexibility while still allowing space for muscle attachment. Likewise, each trox has a muscular tail that's structurally similar to an elephant's trunk, providing boneless balance and support. Although capable of lifting and clumsily maneuvering the tail when moving, it most often lies flat and drags along the ground.

Protective as it might be, the exoskeleton presents challenges. Overlapping plates and thick chitin limit a trox's agility, and their massive size makes it difficult to circulate air throughout their bodies. To compensate, a trox has a set of humanlike lungs sufficient for resting respiration and four supplemental book lungs: two near their shell, partway up their torso, plus one in each thigh. Fed by spiracles, these book lungs help reoxygenate blood, especially when moving quickly and driving additional air through these systems. As a side effect, trox reflexively shiver whenever these spiracles become submerged—a gag reflex as the pores close off to avoid flooding.

Carefully balancing the duality of individuality and community is crucial in trox society, guided by widespread reverence of Hylax. Trox find instinctive comfort in groups and promote the community's well-being even at risk of their own opportunities. Even if their behavior falls short of eusociality, trox peacefully and graciously provide their time and energy to neighbors. However, duergar enslaved many trox in the ancient past, exploiting their community mindset to compel compliance and labor. The memories of servitude are distant, yet they nonetheless steel trox against slavery and encourage them to embrace their own personal liberties.

This individuality parallels Hylax's teachings, recognizing a community's strength comes from the individual passions of each member. Trox encourage nymphs to pursue first their own passions, at which point elders help instruct them on how those passions might benefit the community. For example, a young trox excited about art would be encouraged to hone their skills, develop a personal style, and then work with leaders to create art the community could witness and appreciate together.

Trox societies typically consist of extensive, overlapping clans that collaboratively raise their young. Membership is informal and fluid, though status relies on kinship, periodic residency, service to the community, or some other ongoing or exceptional impact on the clan. As a result, a trox's family isn't necessarily based on kinship ties or even shared species, causing many traveling trox to develop found families they guard with unshakable determination.

Gifts are a significant aspect of maintaining social ties. General reciprocity—giving goods and services, knowing that similar, unspecified kindnesses will be returned at some point— forms a large fraction of traditional trox economics, though credits and commerce have become increasingly prominent over the centuries. Nonetheless, gift giving is a trox art form.

Perhaps the greatest gift a trox might offer is trust, and among the most important examples of trust is the Leaving: the moment when elders cede responsibility to their next generation, recognizing their descendants have realized the expertise and wisdom to take up the mantle of leadership. As a result, trox typically retire well before death, ensuring a careful transfer of power. They then explore new hobbies, teach, repair public works, and occasionally dedicate themselves to some grand project intended to preserve their legacy. Although the Leaving primarily refers to this transfer of responsibility within a community, it's increasingly also referred to as a community ritually blessing a trox who wishes to travel the stars.

Not all trox have so positive an outlook. With both legends of past exploitation and a growing number of galactic threats like the Swarm, trox increasingly believe their community extends well beyond Nchak; they're called to protect other worlds. Each generation sees more trox joining the Stewards, adopting vulnerable colonies in the Vast as protectorates, patrolling the stars, or joining adventurers to uncover the next threat to galactic peace. Thanks in part to remittances regularly sent back to Nchak, their home world continues to thrive.