Race: Clavat

Clavats

Clavats are not my own creation; they were originally created by Squre Enix. However, the mechanical and Trinity-specific cultural information regarding them is original.

Clavats

"Do not be fooled by my size. With time, I can do anything I set my mind to."

Ages ago, late in the Third Epoch, on the island-continent of Distarin, the clavats were the first race to rise to prominence, vastly overshadowing the minority of xianese and moogles present. In their early years, they developed agriculture, a rarity amongst the races of the worlds of Trinity, as well as developing smithing techniques that allowed them to overcome the inherent weaknesses of the trace metals of Distarin to develop weaponry renowned the world over, chiefly the katana.

In their beginnings, the clavats were a fiercely territorial, tribal people, each tribe waging war on another, these combats continuously escalating. In the final clavat tribal war, known as the War of the Empty Moon, the seven most powerful clavat tribes waged a full-scale war upon each other, decimating the landscape and the clavat peoples.

In the midst of this conflict, a clavat by the name of Konoe Ishikaru appeared, who had forged his own weapon and armor out of a mysterious metal called darksteel. Wielding his weapon, he single-handedly laid an entire army of over a thousand clavats - whose blades he shed as a duck sheds water - low. After this battle, he gathered the leaders of the seven remaining tribes together, and with them formed the Genji Pact, putting a permanent end to the struggles of clavat against clavat, and uniting the tribes in peace and harmony.

Konoe Ishikaru disappeared into the mists of time, but his message did not. The clavats then proceeded to unify the races of Distarin into a single nation, called Colianth, bringing the xianese and moogles peacefully under their rule, and ruled justly and fairly. The clavats also integrated the selkies under their banner, and brought peace to the seas surrounding Distarin.

Since their dark age, the clavats have been renowned as a thoughtful, cheerful people, always willing to lend a hand. Their dedication to the tasks they set themselves to is legendary, their race's renowned work ethic almost always ensuring that a clavat who seeks work will find it.

Personality: Clavats tend to be friendly, outgoing, and relatively easy-going. At the same time, however, clavats are almost universally capable of intense focus and dedication, with a nearly inborn work ethic. Clavats tend to be heavily family- or group-oriented, and are oftentimes willing to sacrifice for the greater good.

Vital Statistics
		Starting Age			Aging Effects
	Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex	Middle Age	Old	Venerable	Max Age
Age	14 years	+1d4	+1d6	+2d6	30 years	45 years	60 years	+2d10
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	Base Height		Height Modifier		Base Weight		Weight Modifier
Male	3' 2"		+2d4"		70 lbs.		x(1d2) lbs.
Female	3' 0"		+2d4"		50 lbs.		x(1d2) lbs.

Physical Description: Clavats greatly resemble humans, though they are slightly smaller in stature, usually standing between three and a half feet to just over four, and weighing in the region of eighty pounds on average. While their hair coloration is fairly normal, compared to humans, their eye colors vary wildly, with amber, amethyst, and grey appearing just as often as blue, green, or brown. Clavat males do not develop facial hair.

Clavats reach physical and mental maturity at roughly the age of fourteen years. Even at maturity, clavats have a vague physical resemblance to human children, with roughly similar proportions, thus most humans unfamiliar with clavats will mistake them for humans. Elder clavats retain a childlike demeanor.

Ethos: Clavats raised in their racial culture develop strong White and Green virtues, and are - as a race - strongly opposed to Black. Clavats have a somewhat neutral outlook on Blue and Red philosophies; while not unheard of, they are also not the norm. Even clavats raised by non-clavats will find an inborn tendency to prefer anti-Black virtues, finding value in morality, community, and order. Adventuring clavats are the most frequent to break these tendencies, often possessing Black-friendly Blue or Red virtues which slowly drive them to seek like-minded individuals in the world. Regardless of origin or status in the world, rare is the clavat that espouses Black virtues.

Clavat Lands: In Trinity, clavats are found most frequently in their home nation of Distarin, which they share with moogles, the xianese, and selkies, amongst other races. Outside of Distarin, they are found most frequently south of the equator, in Sarteri or southern Chaliraz. Clavats are not strongly territorial, though they will defend their homeland with a vigor that is most likely unmatched anywhere in the Philomenic System.

Religion: The clavats are not a strongly faithful people, though they are devout. Clavat culture, as a whole, practices a form of nihilism they refer to as taoism. While their religious practices are strongly reminiscent of the Void, they have no particular affinity for the Void over other Forces in the Trinity of Philosophy. Clavats prefer self-refinement and the search for self-perfection to be more important religious pursuits than praying to the Saints.

Language: Clavats have no racial tongue of their own; though they did, at one time, it has long since merged with the other native tongues of Distarin into a singular tongue known as Tipan. Clavats understand the importance of being able to speak with other denizens of the various worlds, however, and as such often teach their children a variety of languages; aside from adventurers, clavats are among the most multilingual peoples in Trinity.

Names: Clavat names are one of their very few inconsistencies. Their given names tend to be simple, at most three syllables, and are often abbreviated to one or two if longer, and often have little or no cultural significance; their family names, however, are oftentimes long and involved, and contain within them a great deal of history. The Genji - an organization that plays a significant role in clavat culture - is tied directly to family lines, and thus family name is incredibly important. This importance of family name over given name is also a reflection of their cultural belief that the group is more important than the individual.

Male Names: David, James, John, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Troy.

Female Names: Amanda, Amber, Cathy, Danielle, Lore, Rose, Tori.

Family Names: Kobayashi, Hayashi, Mochizuki, Musashi, Nakamura, Takahashi, Sakaguchi, Ryoku, Watanabe, Yamashita.

Adventurers: Clavats do not often take to the calling of the adventurer. However, their nigh-inborn sense of justice and what is right will drive a clavat to raise a blade against evil; rare is the clavat that can simply sit and watch while Black virtues are held high. Clavats who have made the decision to leave their native culture often possess a different outlook on life, some of whom are more geared towards the adventuring life, while others are not.

Clavat Culture

The following is a rough overview of some of the highlights of clavat culture.

• Agricultural: Unlike the majority of other cultures in Trinity, clavat culture utilizes agriculture, and Distarin's vast plains and temperate-to-cold climate is suitable for a wide variety of crops. Due to the scarcity of such foods, a major part of clavat culture is agricultural, including respect for those who work the land, and their culture has a number of festivals and holidays that revolve around agriculture that are found nowhere else in the world. Most other nations tend to keep at least neutral with Colianth, to ensure that they can trade goods to the clavats in exchange for grain and various other crops.
• Color Matters: The major seven clavat tribes from the time of the War of the Empty Moon each used a different color of the rainbow as their official color. As such, the colors of objects and dress is significant, and clavats - while patient with foreigners or those not familiar with their culture - often get irritated with those who consistently break color traditions. In addition to representing each major tribe, each color can represent social class, chosen profession, emotion, and religious beliefs, depending upon what apparel is given the coloration.
• Iaijitsu: Honor, especially family honor, is a major aspect of clavat culture, and while they are difficult to insult, this means that - when insulted - they resort to drastic, ancient measures. The iaijitsu duel is a tradition that spans back hundreds of years, even earlier than the War of the Empty Moon, and a call for a duel must be honored or else an individual is exiled from Colianth (even if the duel takes place outside of the nation; if word reaches the bureaucracy in Colianth that an individual did not appear at an iaijitsu duel they were supposed to attend, they are henceforth banned for life). Duels of this nature are always with a slashing melee weapon, preferably a katana, but non-clavats are allowed their choice of weapon, and are either to the blood or to the death, which is decided by the initiator of the duel at the time the duel is called for.

Clavats Are Responsible For...

...the bread you ate today. Chances are good that, if you had the fortune of eating bread, rice, or similar grain-based foodstuffs, it originally came from a clavat's field.

...the Basic language. Clavat linguists contributed heavily to the creation of the Basic language, and their dedication to breaching language barriers played a large role in its creation.

...advanced forging techniques. Early in their history, clavats were forced to work with a minimal supply of low-grade iron, and thus developed a number of rather advanced metallurgical techniques to overcome this challenge. Those same techniques, when applied to more powerful, durable metal, yields results that can rival magical or technological enhancements.

Clavat Racial Traits (d20)

• -2 Dex, +2 Wis. Clavats are not the most graceful of creatures, though their culture inspires many individuals to attempt to overcome this shortcoming. Meanwhile, nearly all clavats are capable of making sense out of situations, capable at many tasks that simply require paying attention to minute detail.
• Small. +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits ¾ those of Medium characters.
• A clavat’s base land speed is 20 feet.
• Weapon Familiarity: Clavats treat all weapons of oriental origin as one category simpler.
• +1 dodge bonus to AC. Clavats recognize the need for self-defense in a world that is oftentimes dangerous, and so teach their children techniques that have been handed down since the days of Ishikaru.
• +2 racial bonus on Concentration checks.
• Helping Hand: When aiding another, a clavat only counts as half a person for purposes of determining the maximum number of people assisting with a task; in addition, when aiding another, a clavat gives a +4 bonus, rather than +2. Clavats excel at helping others.
• Zen Clarity (Ex): Clavats is immune to penalties to Perception- and Wisdom-based skills caused by special abilities or effects, such as distract. The clavat ability to focus their attention on the task at hand is world-renowned.
• Powerful Build (Ex): The physical stature of clavats lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger. Whenever a clavat is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the clavat is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him. A clavat is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A clavat can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.
• Choose a specific Craft, Profession, or Perform skill. The chosen skill is always a class skill for you. Clavat families focus on teaching their children a profession, to ensure that they have at least some useful skills to make their way in the world.
• Dedication: If a clavat ever suffers XP penalties due to being unevenly multiclassed, he suffers an additional 10% XP reduction. Clavats possess a work ethic that allows them to excel at anything they choose to put their mind to, but studying multiple fields at vastly different levels of expertise is something their minds are not used to, and thus find difficult to handle.
• Automatic Languages: One Common language, one Trade language, Tipan. Bonus Languages: Any.
• Favored Class: Choose any one class as your favored class.