Dohwar

The dohwar were a race of short, flightless avians. A merchant race, they considered themselves the great rivals of the Arcane, although the Arcane themselves barely acknowledged their existence.

Description
Dohwar distantly resembled penguins. Their chests were covered in white feathers, while the rest of their bodies was covered in black feathers. They had wings that, although not useful for flight, were capable of grabbing objects. They walked by waddling ungracefully, which was considered by elves an insult to the very idea of elegant movement.

The dohwar dressed equally ungracefully, mixing clashing and extremely bright and showy clothes, also to the dismay of elves and other races. However, when on a planet whose population was not accustomed to their appearance, dohwar would adopt a more inconspicuous outlook, covering themselves in hoods and cloaks in order to appear nothing more than short people.

Combat
It was uncommon for dohwar themselves to get involved in fights. Their only natural weapons were their fangs, which had evolved to eat tough vegetation on several planets across wildspace. They usually hired mercenaries, typically giff, to fight in their stead.

However, if in a situation in which mercenaries could not be trusted or relied upon, some dohwar did specialize in combat. Known as Protectors, each of these fighting dohwar was armed with a weega, a type of sword blade that was worn on their beaks, which turned an otherwise harmless peck into a deadly weapon. Protectors also favored heavy armor.

Some groups of dohwar Protectors were capable of riding space swine and organized air strike groups known as Deathsquealers, typically composed of squads of four Protectors each. These riders wielded lances in addition to their weega and were proficient with numerous air fighting techniques.

Society
Dohwar society was organized in large groups known as cartels, which ranged from over 100 to around 230 individuals, including adults and children. Each cartel was led by a powerful spellcaster known as a President. Other spellcasters down the hierarchy were known as Executive Board members and Managers. The latter usually piloted the dohwar spelljammers. Due to the dohwar's strong aversion to pain, many spellcasters specialized in healing magic.

The favored ships used by the dohwar were known as uspos, huge spelljammers shaped like penguins lying on their stomachs. They were typically employed as merchant ships and were loaded with trade goods. Although uspos did not carry any armament, they were frequently crewed by well armed security squads of Deathsquealers and giff mercenaries.

Notable Dohwar
In the mid‒14 century DR, a dohwar merchant sold wares in the Greater Market in Bral. Another dohwar worked as a serving wench on one of the asteroids of Garden.

Appearances

 * The Maelstrom's Eye
 * The Radiant Dragon