Mongrelfolk

Mongrelfolk, or mongrelmen, were the result of an experiment by an accomplished wizard whose name has been lost to time. The wizard had wanted to find a good replacement for doppelgangers, one that could be controlled easily. His experiment succeeded, and the mongrelman infiltrators were born, able to take the shape of any being they ate, only the wizard didn't think far enough ahead for his experiments. The mongrelmen infiltrators were unable to reproduce with their natural genes, and instead their children were born with pieces of creatures they had shifted to throughout their services, but were unable to change shape themselves.

Description
Mongrelmen did not have one defined shape, but did share some common features. Overlapping traits between mongrelfolk included a 5-7 ft tall, figure between 100-250 pounds. Skin tones varied from pale to dark, and their hair ranged from smooth to rough, and black to brown. Their eyes could seem black in the dark, and yet pale in the light and their ears were slightly wide and long, with broad noses and heavy jaws. All of these traits however were highly variable, and could just as easily be replaced with those of other races. They were known to have pieces from many different species at the same time such as; bugbears, bullywugs, dwarves, elves, gnolls, hobgoblins, humans, ogres, orcs as well as crabmen, goblins, lizardfolk, minotaurs, and even satyrs. However mongrelmen could appear to be mildly unusual members of other races, by hiding their more outlandish features.

Personality
Mongrelmen were typically skittish, perfectly aware of their unwanted status in the wider world. Those who could, would hide the nature of their existence, disguising themselves as other races. Despite their pitiful lot in life mongrelmen were largely accepting of other races, treating all as equals and never discriminating on account of heritage, although a lack of acceptance from the world could end up pushing some to brutal acts of self interest with a pitiless disregard for others. To better bond with their distant kin, they would often take up their cousins' hobbies, such as archery for elves, and stonework for dwarves. The core principle among the mongrelmen is survival, and they would gladly suffer through humiliation and abasement to continue living. Patience was a virtue amongst mongrelmen and even when being abused they would wait to be released via outside forces. Mongrelmen had a strong sense of community as a result of their outcast status and would defend their territories fiercely.

Combat
Due to the vast differences among mongrelmen physiology and a general aversion to combat mongrelmen did not possess a shared combat strategy. They would more commonly employ simple traps to defeat intruders but would still fight if their homes were threatened or their masters demanded it. Of the few shared abilities mongrelmen possessed, stealth and pick-pocketing were some of their strongest. They had lengthy experience with camouflage, making use of leaves, grass, and pigments to hide their presence as well as disguise their extremities. The varied heritage of mongrelmen allowed them to use magical equipment designed for use by members of specific races, as well as resist spells that had particular effects on certain races. Mongrelmen also possessed incredible auditory imitation skills, due to their various assortment of vocal cords. Whilst they could mimic nearly and beastial and humanoid sound, they were generally not educated enough to create codes with them.

Some mongrelmen possessed fangs and claws sharp enough for combat use, although this didn't apply to all of them. Other potential abilities included but were not limited to: sharp hearing, flight, superior sense of smell, darkvision, aquatic respiration, wall-crawling, enhanced leaping, multiple heads, improved strength, infra-vision, larger lung capacity, flexible eye-stalks, extra limbs and various types of tails.

However, mongrelmen deformities could very easily prove detrimental. Those without proper hands (like pincers) couldn't properly wield items. Those with mismatched legs couldn't properly ambulate, and would end up slower than others. Mongrelmen who could see in the dark, might also have been impeded or even blinded in light. Others with piscine or amphibian skin could easily dry out if not submerged in water regularly.

Physiology
Mongrelmen were omnivorous due to their combination of random ancestral traits. Although their teeth typically were better at chewing through meat, they could just as easily digest plant matter. Like the infiltrators they were capable of containing the genetic code of those they consumed, although they were incapable of manipulating it at will. Rather via a process known as 'Feasting' they would store it within themselves and potentially pass the traits onto their offspring (although there were limits to the process).

Reproduction
Mongrelmen could come into existence in three ways. The first method was for humanoids to be transformed via a magical process which could be reversed using supernatural means. Those who underwent the transformation were not 'True' mongrelmen as they were not born this way. Secondly, they could descend from an infiltrator. Those born from this method could not be reverted and contained the genetic code of everything they digested. The third method was to be born from other mongrelmen. This was often an extremely random process and it was hard to predict what combination of traits the offspring would possess, although breeding with a non-mongrel had a one in one-hundred chance to produce a normal member of the other race. They had a high rate of infant death, especially when enslaved, making the birth of a healthy child a cause for celebration.

Language
Mongrelmen spoke a broken Common, interspersed with animal noises, and other random sounds. They would usually make an effort to learn the languages of other races, especially those they were visibly related to, and had no trouble with pronunciation. They also spoke a pigdin language known as Mongrel which was composed of a series of animalistic noises, typically only used when being observed by other races. Some mongrelmen adopted naming conventions from the races they emulated, and used a middle 'clan' name as a prefix to their last names, as a cant for nearby mongrels. Others used two separate names. The first was a 'True name' an animal noise, and the second was a 'Slave' name, a name either preferred or pronounceable to other races. Slave names could be demeaning or derogatory, and were assigned by other entities but this was of no concern to the mongrels. Titles did not truly exist in mongrelman societies, with elders, priests, and chiefs, all going only by their true names, without regard for station.

Culture
Mongrelmen had a deep appreciation for beauty, most likely a consequence of their lack of it. Unlike hags, they did not view their own hideousness as beautiful, and were perfectly aware of their gross appearance, taking even mild physical compliments as remarkably kind. Any vaguely aesthetically pleasing feature was greatly admired by mongrelmen. Clothing was often simple and filthy robes, that assisted in camouflage and could be easily used to cover themselves. They held many artistic traditions, with music being an important one. Their songs were a combination of noises from a variety of different animals, as well as grunts and howls.

Free mongrelmen made use of agricultural techniques and domestication for food sources, and were intelligent enough to build traps to guard their territories. They would build small settlements underground, however the dangerous races that lurked both above and below would often enslave these. mongrelmen were very easily enslaved, as their passivity and ability to endure mockery made them ideal servants for many cruel entities. However, mongrelmen did not usually forge their own settlements rather  interspersing throughout established communities disguised as other races, especially those with a wide variety of residents. Those who couldn't, might still have kept in touch with those who could, operating out of nearby ruins or caves. Mongrelmen with these obvious traits, would make themselves more obvious to other races, so as to better the ability for less deformed members to conceal themselves.

Religion
Mongrelmen religion was secretive and revolving around a deity they called "The Hidden God". This was actually a twisted and warped image of their creator, an unnamed wizard. Despite no evidence for his existence, either from spells or other miracles, the mongrelmen still believed in his exsistence. They awaited his return so that he could restore their race to their 'Days of Glory', allowing them to freely choose between genomes like the infiltrators could. Mongrelmen who did not feast for the purpose of utility did so believing that The Hidden God desired them to, either wanting a set number of humanoid forms before returning their shape-shifting abilities, or so that the mongrelmen would have a variety of forms to choose from when he did so. It was in service to the Hidden God that mongrelmen did not attempt to alter their appearance to become attractive, believing it would cause the Hidden God to forsake them and not return their abilities. Most mongrelmen communities possess at least one priest or priestess, typically a member who could no longer physically contribute. These priests existed even in enslaved communities although their faith would stay hidden from their masters.

Mongrelmen might also act in service to the goblinoid god Meriadar, who provided mongrelmen clerics with true divine power. His teachings of patience, acceptance, and appearance of patchwork features neatly mirrored those of the mongrelmen.

Settlements
A community of mongrelmen could be found occupying the ruins of Tellectus.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Khamsa's Folly
 * Nymph's Reward
 * Nymph's Reward