In-Depth Information;

Appearance Saurians vary widely in appearance, ranging from goblin-sized to larger than many dragons, though the very largest tend to be quadrupeds. Most tend to have scaly hides in mostly earth tones, though bright, vibrant deviations from this are quite common. Mutations are common, such as extra horns, eyes, fangs, fur, feathers, plates, etc - but none somuch that it detracts from what variant a saurian is. Eye color can be of any hue across all variants, though more powerful saurians exhibit bioluminescence in their eyes, and the most powerful show it in various markings as well.

Club-Tails: Club-tails are saurians who possess natural weapons on the end of their tails, whether it be solid, heavy clubs or long, sharp spikes, or some mix of the two. Most club-tails also possess the thickest armor among saurians, most commonly in the form of thick, scaly, armored plates along their backs that resembles a somewhat more flexible turtle shell, or prominent, colorful, vertical plates adorning their spines from neck to tail, or some mix of both.

Longnecks: Longnecks, so named for the unmistakable sound they make when on the move, are massive quadrupeds with long necks and tails, easily the most massive of saurians. Thick, scaly hides cover their immense bodies, often a mix of shades of green and brown, though other variations have been spotted. Their tails tend to be either thick and muscular, making for effective bludgeons, or taper to long, thin, and whip-like, capable of delivering lashing blows than can cut through scale and hide with ease.

Sea-Fins: Sea-fins are saurians who dwell in the water, and are found to be more common on Xaeri than on Lizzarkyth. Most tend to be on the larger side, with long, slender necks and bodies, while some tend to a heavier build, with shorter, more powerful necks and jaws. They tend to have scales of various shades of blue and green, and none have feathers. Many of them possess some form of bio-luminescence, especially those who dwell deep beneath the waves where it gets dark; this is unconnected to any magical power they might possess.

Shieldskulls: Shieldskulls take their name from the large frills that adorn their skulls, and often possess much more brightly ornate patterns of hide and scales than the rest of their bodies. These frills are large and bony, and often boast long horns, though this isn't universal. The frills are sometimes adorned with long spikes or horns, as well. Many of them have beaked mouths. Generally quadrupedal, the ranks of shieldskulls extend to include the often-bipedal saurians who have thick domes of solid bone adorning the tops of their heads, since some of these have small frills as well. Very few of this variant sport feathers, but it has been noted as an uncommon occurance.

Sky-Wings: Sky-wings are those saurians who possess wings, and can take to the skies. Many have elaborately colored crests on their heads, and tend to boast the most colorful hides among saurians. They tend to range from among the smallest of saurians, to having wingspans that rival some dragons, though their bodies are much more lightly built. The larger ones use their wings as forelimbs when on the ground, while the smaller ones tend to fold their wings and walk like birds. Despite their similarity to some birds, however, no sky-wing displays feathers in any great number, and never have feathered wings.

Swiftclaws: Swiftclaws are smaller, bipedal theropod saurians with slender bodies and long legs. Their hindquarters tend to be heavily muscled, allowing them to run over long distances at high speed. Often brighter colored than other saurians, swiftclaws are the most nimble and dexterous, with many being able to use their nimble forelimbs to use various tools. While most have tapered muzzles filled with sharp teeth, others may have flat bills, egg-crushing beaks, and toothless jaws. They may be covered in hide, scales, feathers,or any mixture of the three. This family also includes the more birdlike raptors, microraptors and archaeopteryx, though the latter is the only one known to have true flight like the sky-wings.

Tyrants: Tyrants are primarily carnivores, mostly bipedal, with jaws lined with a large number of sharp teeth and include a great many of the larger theropods. While the bigger ones tend to have smaller forelimbs and rely mostly on their powerful jaws and neck muscles to bring down their prey, the smaller ones tend to have proportionately longer, sharper claws, and longer, more dexterous forelimbs. Often sporting scaly or feathery hides of green and muted red and orange, tyrants commonly have more ornate patterns of stripes or other such designs that help them blend in while hunting.

Wanderers: Wanderers are those saurians who don't quite manage to fit into any of the other groups of saurians, so have generally taken to banding together in their own group. Most tend to be quadrupeds, but there are some bipeds, and a smaller number who can change between the two as needed, though often for short times.

Culture Saurians tend to be overall a very peaceful race, though great care has to be taken around the tyrants, and the more aggressive-minded shieldskulls. Most are content to keep to themselves, or form close bonds with xeriin clans. Some on Lizzarkyth will form close bonds with lyzards, though such bonds are generally not as strong as those they may form with the xeriin. Those saurians who take to dwelling in larger xeriin settlements tend to adapt to follow the local culture to the best of their abilities.

Club-Tails: Club-tails tend to be more passively territorial than shieldskulls, more apt to engage in threat displays when strangers wander too close than aggressive confrontations, and quicker to accept the presence of non-threatening strangers. They tend to be mindful of smaller, weaker creatures who might wander past them, and tolerate or even welcome settlements of xeriin or occasionally lyzards who negotiate the right to dwell within their territory. It isn't uncommon for xeriin and club-tails to share the duties and benefits of farming with one another.

Longnecks: Longnecks generally hold themselves aloof from the workings of others, and are almost always mindful of the potential damage their great mass could do. They tend to continuously migrate in herds formed along tribal lines so that they don't strip their surroundings free of all plant-life, constantly following the same paths year after year, with the unspoken agreement that no others will dare attempt to block their routes. While slow to anger, when provoked, the longnecks tend to unleash themselves like a juggernaut, stampeding and leaving nothing but utter destruction in their wakes. They are often called upon to act as arbiters over any serious disputes that may arise among saurians or their allies.

Sea-Fins: Sea-fins tend to be about as calm as longnecks most of the time, traveling the seas in loos tribes, though smaller clans within said tribes tend to be more closely-knit. They commonly gift treasures found beneath the waves to their land-dwelling friends. It's common to spot them swimming around xeriin boats near the shore, driving schools of fish towards xeriin fishing nets. Carnivorous sea-fins tend to be more solitary, aside from traveling in small clans, though they too can be persuaded to enter into mutually beneficial arrangements with the xeriin.

Shieldskulls: Shieldskulls are among the most aggressive of saurians, to the point where they surpass many tyrants. Shieldskull tribes tend to be very territorial, ready to defend their domains against all comers. However, patient, respectful strangers can usually gain acceptance without too much danger, and once a shieldskull accepts another as a friend, they will tend to fight to defend their new friends as if they were family. Most shieldskull territories are large enough to allow them to move about as needed to allow feeding grounds to replenish themselves. They tend to be proud of their physical prowess, and commonly engage in tests of strength against one another.

Sky-Wings: Sky-wings are often migratory, spreading out across Xaeri or Lizzarkyth in small clans, usually roosting in places that provide abundant prey, such as the seaside, or dense forests where they can prey upon birds and rodents, and other small creatures. However, they tend to return to ancestral nesting grounds to mate and bear young. While often gregarious creatures, they tend to be fiercely territorial when nesting, to the point where they will swarm intruders in vast numbers and attempt to rip them apart, though the mere threat display of so many taking wing at once serves to send most interlopers fleeing for their lives. Only the most trusted sky-wing friends will be permitted to approach during this time.

Swiftclaws: Swiftclaws tend to organize themselves in small, familial clans within larger, constantly-shifting tribes, coming and going as the clan leader decides. Hunting parties for carnivorous raptors travel and take down prey in small groups, often referred to as packs, working together as a cohesive unit. Swiftclaws are the most common saurians found living within xeriin homes, making use of their nimbleness to engage in tasks their larger cousins cannot. It isn't unheard of for some swiftclaws to become artisans in their own right. Among both saurians and xeriin, swiftclaws commonly serve as messengers, carrying both verbal or written messages to and fro.

Tyrants: Tyrants tend to be the most isolationist due to their hunting habits and dietary requirements. However, while they tend to be ferocious, most hold themselves to a strict, harsh, but fair code of conduct. Some xeriin who have proved themselves worthy have even managed to form bonds with some bands of tyrants. Most live in small, familial clans that have several generations of families in them, though they may depart and join another willing clan as they please.

Wanderers: Wanderers share only one major trait in common. They are all nomadic, aside from those few who have settled in with more sedentary xeriin. Some prefer to move about in small, tight-knit clans, while others are more keen on organizing themselves into larger tribes. They tend to be the most avid, keen traders of all saurians, deftly negotiating safe passage through territories in exchange for various services or treasures they may have picked up along the way. It's not uncommon to see xeriin and wanderer saurians forming caravans of travelers.

Abilities Saurian abilities are as widely varied as they themselves are. Most possess some sort of elemental magic, typically one element though it's not uncommon for some to possess another, weaker element in addition to their primary one. Non-elemental magics are far less common, but not completely unheard of. Saurians possessing such magics tend to need special tutoring to truly master them. Physical abilities vary widely among saurians, though many have tough, leathery, scaly hides providing them with some defense. They have equal intelligence to humans, and many can speak the common tongue, though this is more common with the smaller saurians. However, all saurians can utilize mind-speech. Smaller saurians tend to mature faster, but not live so long, as their larger cousins, while the larger ones may endure for a few centuries.

Club-Tails: Club-tails tend to be more defensively-minded when forced into a fight, relying on their strong natural armor and great endurance to wear down their enemy's attacks, while relying on their natural weapons to end the fight in their favor. A common tactic for a group of club-tails is to circle up with their heads in the center of the circle, presenting armored backs and tail-weapons towards their foes. Their magics tend to be elements that can be used to augment their defenses, such as earth, ice, or light.

Longnecks: Longnecks are immensely strong and extremely durable due to their enormous sizes. Tough scales and extraordinarily thick hides make them hard to injure. Their tails can be used as enormous bludgeons, or in some cases, as whips capable of lashing through scales or armor, or of completely bisecting smaller foes, such as humanoids. Or they may resort to using their immense mass to simply overwhelm their opponents, often utterly crushing them in the process. most tend towards more subtle earth or weather magics, with earth being most common.

Sea-Fins: Sea-fins are strong swimmers, capable of holding their breath for a long time, or, in some rare cases, or breathing underwater. They commonly drag land-based foes underwater to drown them, or in the case of the carnivores, start to eat them. Most sea-fin magic is water-based, though some make use of lightning to stun prey and defend themselves, or dark magics for concealment. Those who possess bio-luminescence can glow brightly enough to illuminate their surroundings in the dark depths.

Shieldskulls: Shieldskulls tend to be aggressive fighters, making use of their bony frills and whatever natural weapons they may have to supplement their physical strength. Though they lack sharp teeth, their typically-beaked mouths can inflict nasty wounds. Their large, bony frills make for effective defenses for their necks. Shieldskulls tend to possess the most offensively-focused magics of all saurians, with the greatest number of lightning, fire, and ice wielders among saurians. They also tend to have a high number of saurians who can conjure powerful wards anchored to their frills.

Sky-Wings: Sky-wings tend to be very agile flyers, though the largest are strong enough to hoist most humanoids or similarly sized creatures off the ground. They have extremely keen eyesight, and can cling to most vertical surfaces, provided it isn't too smooth. Their magics tend towards air, weather manipulation, lightning, and light. Their most commonly used group tactic is to overwhelm their foes with speed and sheer numbers, or aerial harassment designed to make their foes give up and retreat out of frustration.

Swiftclaws: Swiftclaws are, true to their name, the fastest of saurians, with some being able to keep pace with even the veldryn. While most would rather flee a fight, using their speed and agility to outpace any would-be pursuers, when forced to engage in a fight, they tend to make use of their powerful legs when up close, though they prefer to strike at range with magic, typically wind, lightning, or light. It's also not uncommon for swiftclaws to goad an enemy into following them right into a larger, more physically dangerous saurian group. Those with feathers - commonly raptors, microraptors, and archaeopteryx - are sometimes capable of short bursts of flight, or prolonged gliding. Archaeopteryx is the only known breed to retain the ability of full flight.

Tyrants: Tyrants all possess sharp teeth and claws, and tend to be quite fast. Larger ones tend to rely on their powerful jaws and brute strength to see them to victory, while smaller ones often have greater agility, and longer, sharper claws. Smaller ones also tend to work better in groups, more easily slipping onto coordinated tactics than their larger cousins. Their magics tend to work best in support of their physical attributes, whether it be earth or dark magics to better camouflage them, or something along those lines.

Wanderers: Wanderers have a diverse array of abilities, and the highest proportion of non-elemental magics of all saurians. They also tend to rely most heavily on the diverse skills and abilities their groups possess when forced into a fight, with the largest and strongest of them taking the front in a fight, while the smaller ones try to strike from behind or above. Wanderers are also often inclined to arrange for agreements of mutual protection with local saurian tribes and clans, so they rarely have to fight alone.

subspecies

No subspecies have been discovered for this species yet!