Sorex

Physical Description
    Sorex  resemble humanoid rats, unlike their distant cousins the manax. They  have long rounded ears, small protruding snouts with the distinctive two  front incisors, large round eyes that range in color and a long  prehensile tail. Standing on reversed knees and long rat like feet that  end in dark, dirty claws sorex are a truly cousins of rats. They have  dark brown or black fur, with a rare white coat. Their eyes are a solid  color.
    They wear little clothing except for leather  groin-clothes, leather vests and a leather belt. They love deep blue or  purple and will often pierce their ears with two or three different  rings.
    The leather vest often contains many pockets, they also  wear a belt that contains anywhere from 10 to 100 different pouches.  These pouches are used to keep everything a single sorex owns.
     Sorex, unlike the manax are generally at full speed nearly all the  time. They are impulsive creatures that find their basic drives and  their overall effectiveness in life are one in the same.
    Most sorex are 3 to 4 feet tall and weigh 75 pounds.

Personality
       Sorex, unlike the Manax, are generally at full speed nearly all the  time.  They are impulsive creatures that find their basic drives and  their overall effectiveness in life are one in the same.  Sorex have  little use or trust for others that are non-sorex, as they see non-sorex  as unable to understand the very core of what it means to be Sorex ,  even the Manax have no idea about the deep lives of the Sorex .
      Sorex are passionate highly opportunistic scavengers, combing the  wilderness, cities and ruins of the world for aradagh or scraps which  they can take and sell to the local residents, forming a codependent  circle of trade. However, they have a reputation for thievery,  swindling, and cheating, often selling hastily re-built equipment and  faulty aradagh. Thus, most people are wary of their goods, but they are  often purchased from due to being hard-pressed to find a better  selection in their remote locations or are attempting to avoid prying  eyes. 
    Sorex have a sense of pride about their ability to acquire  those things that others no longer need and be able to turn them into  items that they want, or that would require maintenance, or expensive  parts to replace, which of course most Sorex are ready and willing to  provide service for.
     Those Sorex that seek adventure do so  knowing that the world they are journeying into does not really accept  or acknowledge their species.  Because of this they are cautious, but  are not fearful or dull-witted.  To many Sorex the opportunity to face  enemies, overcome traps, or outsmart foes give them a sense of challenge  and the chance to complete a task that others have tired and failed at  gives them the best chance to earn their keep, both in a group of  adventurers and within their clans. As a result of how the world views  them they have problems trusting the outside world.  Thus, despite their  dislike or even hatred for the Manax species, they place a great value  on the opinions of those few they come to trust.  This trust is often  hard won and with much effort, can be easily lost if abused.

Languages and Names
      Sorex speak Druna.  Druna, in its natural form, is a complex language  filled with clicks, and whistles along with spoken words.  While they  are not as quick as the Manax, they are quick to learn others languages.  Like other species they tend to learn the most commonly spoken language  within the region they live in.

Cultural Kin and Communities
      Sorex are found through out the world in underground lairs and city  sewers. They also populate ruins and the upper slums of ancient cities.   In a mirror like relation the Sorex communities are exactly like those  of the Manax, they are tightly woven, and tend to have extensive  connections with those species and communities they share territory  with, primarily do to the fact that they seem to be making all sorts of  trouble for those that they live near.  Sorex take great pride in their  clans and ancestry, Druna has 13 different word and terms to describe  relationship, lineage and bloodline. Clans keep very accurate records of  these relationships, recording family lines with extreme detail.  Few  Sorex leave the clan lifestyle and when they do they can be found in  less than reputable locales, or even traveling through the Ominverse,  often as a stowaway on one void ship or another.  Unlike the quiet and  peaceful Manax homes, Sorex homes tend to be loud, cluttered areas that  are filled with all sorts of devices, tricks and traps.
     Sorex  clans are made up of several families, and tribes are made up 5 to 10   clans. With tribes made up of 20 to 200 individuals. Each tribe claims a  territory that is marked with specific symbols  and each of these  tribes have a distinctive look about them to distinguish each individual  tribe from other tribe if several tribes are in a single region.  Each  tribe is seen over by a female heilark. Within Sorex culture, heilarks  are thought to possess the ability to foretell the future, as well as  perform spells, place hexes and grant blessings to protect the tribe as  well as ensure the well-being of the tribe and all its members.  It is  customary for the heilark to take on a student during her tenure,  training this apprentice to take her place when when she dies.
     Most encountered Sorex will be males (75%), females are typically  encountered in the massive and extensive lairs protecting their children  and providing shelter and food.
        They love magic and have a  fascination with spying. They have an incredible knack for building  traps and tricks in whatever area they inhabit. Unlike the Manax, the  Sorex are a more “technological-advanced” species, they have little use  for rituals, could care less about good or bad luck and unlike Manax,  love the use of magic and jinhu.

Sorex Features
Species Merit Cost: 1200
Age: Sorex begin at the age 12, and may live up to 50 years
Weight: Base 65 plus 3d10
Size: Sorex are small creatures
Vision: Sorex have Heightened Nightvision
Move: Base Move of 15 feet per Movement Action
Languages: Sorex begin play speaking Druna and any two languages they choose.
Resistances: None
Sorex Bonuses: Sorex gain +15 Alertness checks,+20 Fatigue Points;
Sorex Attribute Modifiers: +10 to any two: Agility, Perception, Wits or Willpower
Sorex Traits: Disease Immunity. There is no natural disease known to effect the Sorex, they are completely immune to all forms of natural disease.
Aggressive Defense.  If the Sorex is about to be attacked it may instead make a single  strike at its would-be attacker before they attack, if they’re in range,  this is a Move Action for that turn.
Claws.  Because of their clawed hands, the Sorex gain +10 bonus to all climbing  attempts. In addition these claws have a base damage of 3 as a Natural  Weapon Attacks.
Prehensile Tail: Your  long tail is highly flexible and you have mastered its control. You can  use it to retrieve small objects, hold onto small objects and be able  carry these small objects as easily as if they were in your hand.
Species Abilities Sorex  begin play with two of the following abilities: Ancient Foe, And That's  Why I'm Small, Defensive Training, Fleet of Foot, In The Shadows,  Natural Source, Unique Aptitude

Species Abilities
Ancient Foe:  Your clan has fought long and hard to survive and have developed a  long, ancient hatred towards a particular group of monsters. Choose any  two of the following monster types: Animal, Beasts, Constructs, Magical  Beasts (Sub Type); Monstrous Humanoids (Specific Species), or  Supernatural. You gain a +10 bonus to its Physical Defense and +10  Attack Bonus against this monster type only. Your critical hit range  also increases by +5 against these monster types.
And That’s Why I’m Small:  The Sorex species’ size is more often a hindrance in battle than a  boon. Yet Sorex have learned to get into spaces and positions that grant  them a bonus to their Physical Defense based upon the size of the  opponent that they can share an occupied space with. Sorex gain a +10  Physical Defense bonus for each size above it's current size, but only  against that specific creature they are sharing the space with.
Defensive Training:  You have trained hard, taken beatings and still have gotten up to  battle on. Because of this harsh training you have also learned how not  to get hit or repel a mental/spiritual assault. You gain an additional  +5 bonus to any 1 Defense Type per rank to a maximum bonus of +50, it  must choose a new Defense type each rank.
Fleet of Foot: Sorex are very quick in getting from one place to another. It gains +5 to its normal movement rate.
Infernal Magic:  At some point in your clan history it was tainted with a bloodline of a  fiend or demon. Because of this, the spells from either Fire, Earth,  Water or Air elements are treated as 1 PR level lower for casting  purposes only, but can never be lower than 0 PR. Once it have chosen  this element it may not change it.
Mortal's Hope:  You are filled with a sense of hope that grants it a +20 to any fear or  horror checks and +10 to their Physical Defense. Additionally, 3 times  per day you gain double their Stamina Modifier as Health Points when you  reach 0 Health, this is in addition to any other bonus Health Points.
Natural Source:  There are those within the Sorex species that have the untapped  potential to become great spellcasters, have a deeper connection to its  deities, or be able to tap into the power of its spirit. Through this  ability when a Sorex casts or uses a power it can cause any target that  it specifies at the time of use to suffer -10 modifier to their defense  per 5 ranks: Magical, Divine or Jinhu; when they attempt to defend  against spells that it target against them.
Unique Aptitude:  You are a unique individual among the Sorex and stand out from the  norm, displaying attributes and abilities not common among to your  people. You may take another species’ ability.