Background lore
The Arkith are a hellish species released into the world of Cinderfell during an ancient war as a shock soldier. Their sole purpose was to wreak havoc and destruction behind enemy lines in small numbers. When first released onto the land the Arktih were senseless killers and nothing more, operating on pure instinct and a drive to kill and consume. Once the war ended, the Arkith were left stranded. Over hundreds of years the Arkith began to learn and change to match this new world, becoming more tame and civil.
Appearance
The appearance of the Arkith can only be described as ‘Hellish’ having digitigrade style legs jointed in three places, sharp teeth, thin tails tipped with a sharp point capable of piercing light armor, long sharp claws, and deep red skin. They have horns made of a strong bone-like material which vary in location and style, as well as elven style ears. This material of their horns is the same material which makes up their claws. Their eyes are usually pitch black, or vibrant with a yellowish sclera.
Culture
Originally the culture of the Arkith was based entirely around war, though in time it turned more to studies of magic, and trying to live passively. As their numbers thinned out more, their lifestyles turned more into pure survival. Many took up work as assassins, some thieves, others left civilized life entirely in an attempt to preserve their species by living in hiding off of the land itself, hunting and avoiding contact to get by. At this time, the Arkith are on the edge of total extinction, and are seldom seen. Most Arkith will only make contact to trade, and will then disappear again.
Biology
The Arkith are entirely carnivorous, being unable to digest large amounts of plant based matter. Their internal body temperature is generally around 131F (55C) which is enough to cause 2nd degree burns when in short contact, and even 3rd degree burns with prolonged exposure. Their external temperature is generally about 115F (46.1C) which is hot to the touch but will not leave burns even when in contact for long periods of time. They vary greatly in height, however always have a very high metabolism, meaning they commonly have a slim/lean build. Their internals are much the same to humans, however they have a high resistance to most poisons and diseases due to their high internal temperature. They will begin to freeze to death if the temperature falls below 60F (15.5C) when not wearing protective clothing. Their horns, and claws are commonly used as trophies for hunters, and are commonly adjourned by paladins as a form of psychological warfare. Their blood is sought out by many vampires as it generally energizes them like caffeine does for humans, and while it does not taste good it has shown to be incredibly addictive to the vampires that try it. The Arkith are known to live about twice as long as humans, their age seeming to slow greatly when they reach maturity which is roughly 25 years of age with the average age if they avoid combat and focus on living a healthy life being around 160 years of age.
Weaknesses and Strengths
Strengths
-Strong sharp claws tip their fingers, they are non retractable.
-Their legs are incredibly strong, making them extremely agile.
-Their tails are sharp, and can be used as a slashing or piercing weapon.
-Their horns can be used for ramming, and even piercing depending on how they are oriented.
-Strong skin, making it much harder to pierce or slash.
-They are capable of surviving falls from great heights if they land feet first.
-They are resistant to normal sickness and disease as their internal temperature tends to kill any foreign life forms quickly. This also grants them an immunity to the majority of afflictions.
Weaknesses
-They are weak to cold temperatures.
-They tend to be a weaker race, generally depending on agility.
-They are weak to blunt impacts.
-They are unable to eat plants, generally getting sick quickly from them.
-Weakness to pure iron. Cuts and stabs from pure iron weaponry are much more likely to pierce their skin, if ingested it will make them incredibly sick and weak as well as weakening their skin.
-Incredibly weak to divination.
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