Skulks

Skulks are small. The tallest stand perhaps four feet; the shortest are half that. Beyond their diminutive size, the species displays considerable variety. Some are wiry, sharp-featured, and quick, the sort of creature that might inspire stories about clever brownies or helpful kobolds. Others are hunched, greasy, and foul-smelling, the sort that inspired stories about gremlins, goblins, and the things that live in the walls and steal your children. The difference is largely environmental. Skulks who live in reasonable conditions look reasonable. Skulks who live in the Middens look like the Middens.

They breed fast, mature fast, and adapt to conditions and nutrients that would kill most other sapients. This is their primary survival trait and the source of most of the prejudice directed at them. Other species see Skulks the way humans see rats; too numerous, too resilient, too willing to thrive in filth.

Skulks have built a parallel economy in Nod's margins. The Middens are the most visible concentration, but Skulk communities exist in alleys, abandoned infrastructure, and the gaps between other species' territories. Their scavenging operations are sophisticated enough to constitute a genuine economic force, though few outside the community acknowledge this.

Their Domain of origin is unknown. Skulks themselves have no surviving cultural memory of a homeland. Some claim Nod is their home while others believe that wherever they came from is not worth remembering.

Skulk culture is improvisational by necessity. Their oral tradition is vast and constantly evolving, with stories that change in the telling because the teller thought of something better. Their art is assemblage, objects built from reclaimed materials whose value lies in cleverness of construction rather than material worth. A Skulk artist's reputation rests on making something beautiful or functional from something others threw away. This ethic extends to their social structures: Skulk communities absorb outcasts, strays, and broken things from other species with a pragmatism that looks like generosity but is closer to an instinct for finding use in what others discard.

Transformation: Nod's transformative nature can pull some Skulks toward the verminous end of their spectrum. Clean, clever Skulks become matted, paranoid, and feral. The scavenging instinct that serves them well in moderation becomes all-consuming. Degraded Skulks lose the ability to distinguish between salvage and prey. More fortunate ones instead develop agility, stealth, and startling intellects.

Mythological Names