Baldwins
Summary of Race
The Baldwin are a very strong race.With a base strength of six times that of a human in thier prime and a baldwin at age five, they are feared for thier capacity to deal damage. This race is the second strongest on the probe of all humanoid races. (Those that are of base society, that is). Only the Pyriam are stronger and only the Rattle comes close to the same strength as a full adult Baldwin.
The Baldwin are well known for their ability to withstand great amounts of pain and are known for their durable hides. However, they are not known for their intellegence. It is fair to say that they are known for not being very smart at all. Unlike the Dalim, who gain intellegence when they grow older, the Baldwin normally stay around a 10 to twelve year old IQ for most of their life. (-25 IQ). That is not to say that they are not good at defending themselves and making societal chioces, but it is to say that they can usually be easily outsmarted by anyone with a full high school education.
The female Baldwin, however, are known for their beauty. They are not much more intellgent than the males, though they have been known to be far more mature, but they are known on the entire probe as the most beautiful of all races. Only the Pegacorn can challenge their beauty, but the Pegacorn are so rare that only one in a billion mortals have even seen one. Due to their beauty, they are sought after by many races, and as such, the entire Baldwin race has been enslaved by three separate races at three separate times. The latest was the Zadrack which enslaved the entire race for a little over four hundred years (See Zadrack). Only recently has the race earned their freedom by overcoming the Zadrack, and this is due to their current leader, Leo the Great, who has lead his people to a kingdom of their own and has won countless battles against the Zadrack, the humans, the Whelif and even the Rattles, though that last one was more of a minor skermish and a misunderstanding.
Ranks Most Common
Soldier
Barbarian
Rogue
Ranger
Swordsman
Racial Traits
Strength: The strength of the Baldwin is renowned. (+20 carry weight, +10 Attack, +5 Def.)
Swordsmanship : Though they often are using much heavier weapons, the Baldwin are exceptional swordsmen. Something about the weapon just appeals to them and they pick up its movements very quickly. However, they don’t usually go with this as they believe that the weapon is too light for battle and will be ridiculed by other Baldwins if they choose to use this weapon. (+10 At. with all swords, +10 Def. with all swords.)
Stamina : Both male and female Baldwin are extremely staminous. They have been known to travel great distances on foot while carrying similar items to a pack mule, and lasting longer than the mule. (+ 30 stamina)
Female Beauty : The female of the race is so enamoring that other races often try to take them as brides. They are considered the most beautiful of the entire probe. However, the race of the Baldwin follow Menotheas, God of Strength, and those that follow this race are unable to marry outside their own race. Thus the reason for taking the race as slaves. (+20 Charisma for the females only.)
Racial Disadvantages
Bad Temper
Superstitions
Inadaptable
Bull Headed
Due to their nature, Baldwins are very Bad Tempered and will blow off the handle at the drop of a hat. They often start fights without even realizing why they are fighting. Due to this they are rarely able to keep company with other races unless the races are able to defend themselves. They are extremely superstitious, making them easily swayed due to minor events, thinking that many things are omens or signs when they are nothing more than natural occurrences. Add to this the fact that they are Bull Headed and this race has a problem with staying with the times. Many are so far behind that they will not move out of huts for fear of “offending” this god or that god. Then the fact that they are inadaptable which means they have a very hard time adapting to new things. This make the entire race prone to sticking with their superstitions regardless of proof. Also, they don’t have much ability to mutate and this makes them unable to evolve for very long periods of time.
Racial Advantages
Double Strength
Stamina Doubler
Attack Doubler
Rally
Due to their natural strength, the Baldwin are excellent barbarians and very powerful on any battle field. Over the centuries, their bodies have adapted to be the greatest killing machines they can be. With the ability to double their strength, an attack, and their stamina, they are formidable against virtually any foe. However, with the ability to Rally, they are a cut above most that they would ever come across.
Physical Description
Male:
Heights: 7’2″ Weight: 400lbs.
Skin Color: Purple
Eye Color : Blue, Red, Green
Hair Color : Black, Red
Physical Description
Female:
Heights: 6’3″ Weight: 220lbs.
Skin Color: Purple, Blue
Eye Color : Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, Gold, Hazel
Hair Color : Black, Red, Green, Brown
Social Structure
Baldwin live in villages and tribes. They often war amongst themselves and will destroy one another’s village or entire tribe if given the chance. They will, however, come together in times of great wars where their own races are in jeopardy. In their eyes its alright for them to kill one another, but other races are not allowed.
Leo, the “king” of all the tribes, will bring them together when it is needed and has been their leader for over twenty years at this time. Five years ago he led the entire Baldwin race into battle against their oppressors and won a definitive battle in the city state of Klaff with the help of the Reachers. The Zadracks were decimated and had no choice but to sue for peace, which Leo rejected the first time but the Reachers helped him see that peace was the best course of action.
This action has brought the Baldwin together but no one know how long this will be the case as they often are fighting one another. As long as they are bannered under “King” Leo, they are a single people and are vastly feared by other races. Their time in captivity, however, has made them bitter and some would say cruel toward other races, especially those that had them as slaves. To this end most Baldwinn steer clear of big cities and wont go near settlements if they can, however, they will go to Cross Roads and Propell as both of these cities are accommodating to their kind. Not to mention the fact that they were getting help from both when trying to free themselves.
Technology
Baldwins have very little to no technology and aren’t very keen on learning new things. They usually will grab a weapon and bash their way through any problem.
They do, however, use all types of tools that have to do with masonry, cleaning, horticulture, etc. as they learned these when working as slaves. Most are very good with forges and can make any weapon known to mortal hands, but rarely make more than they need for themselves and their tribe.
Religion
Menotheas, God of Strength watches over all of them but only rewards strength and character. Thus if they do not fight for themselves, then the god will not fight for them. This is not a very ritualistic god and he takes all of his rewards after death so there is little sacrifice in this life from his followers. That is, except that a follower of this god can not back down from a fight without loosing favor from their god. Thus Baldwins rarely back down from fights. They rarely win them due to their intelligence, but they are more than willing to fight.
Base Persona
The Baldwin are Callous in their base Persona. Most of the populace will watch each other burn without doing anything as long as it does not affect them directly. That said, they have a strong since of family and if someone outside of the family is the one doing the burning, then they will come to the aide of the one being burned. Due to this outlook, there is little in the way of trying to build a better life for their offspring or trying to build a better community. Their tribes are all they truly care about and anything outside of those tribe is nothing more than obstructions that need to be removed or moved around.
However, once a Baldwin considers someone part of their tribe, they will move to the ends of the probe to save them and help them. It is one of the strange quirks of their race.
Interesting Racial Things
Menotheas, God of Strength doesn’t like mixing races. Due to this if anyone “marries”, or is “with”, a Baldwin female that is not of the Baldwin race at least sixty percent, then Menotheas will send one of his minions down to the probe to rectify the mistake. This is commonly known among all races and most Baldwin females are given a wide birth.
Baldwin males are immature when it comes to daily activities and are often mistaken as mentally incompetent in certain circles, but when it comes to war, they are all amazing fighters. Once on the battle field each seems to gain enough intelligence to fight whatever is in front of them and strategize on a whim. This makes beating one particularly difficult once they believe they are in battle. If they are fighting but don’t believe it to be battle, this is no longer the case (See Situational Intelligence).