Sorplin

Illus. by Brandon "Rogue" Williams

Description
These creatures have grayish silvery skin that always seems to glisten as if it is wet. Their slender bodies are not bony, but rather sleek and smooth, seeming almost unnatural. They have long arms and legs that they are very quick and agile with. A sorplin’s hands have really long slender fingers that have no fingernails. Their eyes seem to bulge a bit from their bald and slender head, and their ears are large and slightly floppy, closely resembling those of a dog.

Origin
Sorplins seem to come from anywhere and everywhere, not having one place to call their own. It is more common to find them amongst large cities or places where magic is studied, but they have traversed every corner of this dark world.

History
Sorplins believe they were created by Centairia, the Goddess of Balance, and were meant to be an intelligent race of beings that would teach the world about order and the balance of life. Unfortunately, all of the people of Caxtrin were not intelligent enough to understand the mad ramblings of the sorplins, and nothing ever really got accomplished.

Most other races on Caxtrin do not trust the sorplins, or just think of them as creepy. They think that the sorplins are insane freaks because they speak of things beyond comprehension. Those that have made friends with the sorplin can only describe the experience as weird at best. They will seem to be a loyal friend in one aspect, but a feeling of betrayal is always expected. Not that they do betray their friends, they are just shady creatures that keep their thoughts to themselves and find no reason to share their ultimate goal with anyone. They know that the lesser beings will not understand anything intelligent the sorplin has to say anyway, so why bother?

Some of the sorplins have sided with the Darkyns in their reign of Caxtrin. Most of them have done so not because they are evil or believe in Deltayn’s plan, but because it fits with their own plan of supremacy. Sorplins will not usually side with another unless they feel they are getting something out of it.

Beliefs
Sorplins usually attach their faith towards Centairia (the Goddess of Balance). They do not, in fact, believe in Gods the same way as other races do, but rather as supreme energy sources that exist around us. Sorplins find that trying to explain this theory in detail to the other lesser races is lost by their lack of mental capacity. Since Centairia more closely resembles anything that they believe in as a “higher power,” they simply explain Her as their Goddess so as not to confuse the common folk. They believe that all living beings are a “God” in some type because of their ability to create, destroy, and affect their environment so drastically. This could be the reason why they think so highly of themselves, but then again maybe the rest of the world really is ignorant and stupid when you see it through their eyes.

Habits
Almost all sorplins have a goal in life to become greater beings, and “God-like.” No matter what they gain in life or what they accomplish, sorplins are always seeking more. They are almost never satisfied.

Sorplins are shady creatures that keep to themselves most of the time, not wanting to deal with people that do not share their intellect. They will sometimes throw subtle insults at the weak of mind that fly over their head while the sorplin has a chuckle to himself. They have their own language that can only be spoken by other sorplins, as other creatures do not have the voice box to speak in the clicks, squeaks, and high-pitched sounds that make up their language.

They enjoy being with those of their own race, but can usually only tolerate one another for so long because of the constant competition and battle of wits. They are devoted and loyal to one mate for life, but will seek out occasional temporary partners. This is not seen as disloyalty to sorplins. They repress their feelings of jealousy over this matter because their culture teaches it as a weak emotion for lesser beings.

Abilities
Each sorplin has the ability to polymorph into the form of any other humanoid race, but do not use this ability unless they absolutely feel a need to. They feel that all other races are lesser beings, and they do not like to subject themselves to their appearances. When they do Polymorph, it will not look like an exact replica of a certain individual, but rather what the character would look like if he or she were that race and with half the normal BTY score, rounded down. A form may not be held for more than an hour, and may only be done once every 6 hours. It is impossible to tell the difference between a sorplin’s image and those truly of that race except through magical means, though ugly individuals may always be taunted as being a sorplin in disguise. When a sorplin does take on the form of another race, he or she will temporarily gain their abilities (see individual races for details), but not their attribute modifications. This may not give abilities that deal with Character Skills though.