Gaspard
The Gaspards (singular: Gaspards) are a [Packfolk]] race compared often to Grasshopper Mice and other predatory mice, which are commonly found all throughout Howl Basin, especially on its coast and waterways - they are not native to anywhere in the Federation but actually originate across the sea. By and large, Gaspard are largely considered Packfolk, with some rare Mountainfolk exemplars. The iconic, stereotypical Gaspard is a talented boater, possessed of a mercantile (even avaricious) bent, and somewhat bellicose. There is an old standard tale of a showdown between a Lupata outlaw and a rival Gaspard who considered himself a swordsman - the telling sometimes changes the outcomes but it's universally accepted that this incident ultimately lead to an example of the Lupata adopting a Gaspard into their pack structure - to some, this is the start of the recognition of Gaspards as pack folk.
History
Gaspards are native of the wider world, so only the youngest generation of Gaspard are born in the Basin. Gaspard consider family ties paramount, and family to flow along bloodlines from parent to child. Gaspard regiments served the Federation early in its formation and formed the backbone of agencies dedicated to enforcing the laws against enslaving or eating the species recognized as Folks.
Culture
Art and Architecture
Gaspard communities are built of shiplap and oftentimes ostentatiously painted, when they are stationary. Many Gaspard are masters of their own ships, and a not-insignificant subset of those live on Gaspard Narrowboat floating houses, giving them extreme mobility.
The Cry
While your heritage makes you the legacy of your ancestors, among the Gaspard, your achievements are uniquely your own. This has evolved a cultural trait known as the Cry, a shrieking howl typically signifying a moment the Gaspard considers to be a personal win. This practice supposedly evolved from specifically a ritual of hunting or battle into a more general sense of victory. Many a shady Howl Bason saloon bloodied when a card-game went bad because a Gaspard chose the wrong crowd to cry to after a big hand.
Language
The Gaspese language is unique to the Gaspard, and so many travelling Gaspard pick up an extra language, such as Lupata or Lagosi. The script used to write this language is extremely florid in all but the most hasty circumstances, and includes consonant and vowel graphemes along with diacritics to indicate inflection, sometimes changing the meaning of a specific word dramatically.
Gaspard who frequently traffic with the Lupata learn to communicate through the Lupata Howl.
Food
"The right way to rob a movin' train is to stop it first."
- Anonymous Lagos Bandit
This article or section alludes to information that is under active development and subject to change.
The Gaspard are traders and sailors, and so it is little surprise their diet is rich in seafood, with shellfish in particular being prized. Potatoes have become a staple starch and exotic ingredients are often used to play off flavours, as well as whatever is in season for forage when ashore, and whatever can be traded for. Gaspards are gourmands at heart, and even their plainer common foods are prepared with tender care and a mindful balance.
Some Gaspard who have found themselves in Castle Badlands have reintroduced a traditional delicacy rarely seen on this side of the oceans and have started consuming scorpions and tarantulas with increasing regularity.
Religion and Spirituality
Gaspard have a folk religion which combines elements of half-forgotten pre-contact spiritualities with the broader religion of The Federation. They are known in particular for practices of divination, curse-laying, and similar carnival witchcraft, though these tales are heavily exaggerated by outsiders, and supposedly the practice is quite rare. Most such "wise Gaspards" are charlatans and only a minority are truly Starry-Eyed Navigators in tune with their connection to Strangeness.
Science and Technology
Gaspard adopt technology relatively quickly. They've been quick about adopting the steam engine in particular, as well as the smaller internal combustion engine, at least aboard their ships (though rarely to the exclusion of other methods of propulsion).
Entertainment
"The right way to rob a movin' train is to stop it first."
- Anonymous Lagos Bandit
This article or section alludes to information that is under active development and subject to change.
Society
Even Gaspard whose families have been seen to be in the Federation for quite some time, or Gaspard currently involved in federal service, are often seen as "foreign" to the greater society of the place, especially in Howl Basin. That said, they fill important economic niches. Their utility with watercraft and taste for adventure makes them handy prospectors and traders, and many find themselves in the service of Hivefolk or even Seafolk enterprises.
Physiology
General Body Plan
Gaspards are an anthropoid species, on average between 1 to 1.6 metres tall, with fully furred bodies and the heads and tails of various species of predatory desert mice, such as Jerboa and Grasshopper Mice. Their thin, whiplike tails give them exceptional mobility and balance, which they leverage well, to offset being one of the smallest Folks in the entire known world.
Gaspard tails are quite long, sometimes as long or longer than the rest of their body, and so are almost always exposed by their clothing; this is seen as a practical matter, given their usefulness in the mobility of the rest of themselves.
Gameplay Mechanics
"The right way to rob a movin' train is to stop it first."
- Anonymous Lagos Bandit
This article or section alludes to information that is under active development and subject to change.
Base Aptitudes
Gaspard characters have +2 Agility, and -2 Hardiness when applying their initial aptitudes during character creation. Gaspards who find themselves spoiling for a fight are planning on taking advantage of their mobility to avoid taking hits, as almost any opponent other than another Gaspard will certainly be larger and stronger than them.
Heritage Trait
"The right way to rob a movin' train is to stop it first."
- Anonymous Lagos Bandit
This article or section alludes to information that is under active development and subject to change.
All Gaspard have the Salt-Blooded Hides (Heritage Trait) property.
Lagos may also select any one of the following secondary heritage traits:
- Sureclaw (Heritage Trait) - Gaspards often are especially fleet and steady of foot and take fewer banes on Agility related skill checks as pertain to moving quickly and maintaining balance.
- Hunter's Eye (Heritage Trait) - Many Gaspards have spectacular eyesight on par with Eyriefolk raptors like the Adler. They have a bonus to Initiative (Skill) whenever they would have awareness of the impending threat.
- Starry-Eyed Navigator (Heritage Trait) - Gaspard with this trait use their Connection score with their gaspard family to learn Strange Phenomena rather than directly learning them through Strangeness as otherwise described in the strangeness rules.