Humanoids: Augrune

Appearance
The typical Augrune is fairly close to what would be considered a typical human, usually in the five to six foot range for height and ranging from 140 to 200 pounds in weight with females being accordingly lighter and shorter. Their hair does tend to show a tendancy to be slightly coarser than typical human hair, and will have more obvious highlights and contrasts. The most telling difference and generally the only way that typical humans can tell an Augrune from one of their own is that Augrune have eyeshine. This is because the Augrune eye has a tapetum lucidum, a reflective layer of tissue behind the retina. Typical humans do not have this, and accordingly have poor night vision. Accordingly, Augrune have excellent night vision.

A Brief History
The old Augrune culture is all but gone, along with their associated language, arts, music, and faith. Originally they were a semi-nomadic people given to night-time hunting and spending most of the hot and dry days doing things other than hunting. Of course, this primitive if culturally enlightened society did not long survive contact with the peoples of the plow and the book (the standard monolithic faith).

The missionaries and clerics of the faith worked diligently to convert the heathen Augrune to the proper faith, bringing along with them both the good and ill of agriculture based civilization. Their old faith was eliminated, and semi-nomadic ways were replaced with subsistence and indentured agriculture. There were several unheavals and revolts against this yoking of the once free Augrune people, but when they preoved difficult to control, it was easy for the nomads to be demonized, even a common peasant could tell they were no normal humans by the way their eyes shone in the dark, and that they were at home in the dark and didnt fear the night.

The Augrune were soon the targets of persecution, the victims of demonization and dehumanization. Most of the Augrune retreated into the hinterlands, but many, now lost to the nomadic lifestyle were forced to the fringes of acceptable society.

Using the Augrune and the Augrune Currently
The Augrune exist as outsiders, but in effect are simple humans with the ability to see 60 feet in all but total or magical darkness. In a game setting, they are orphans of society and culture, removed their ancestral roots, but rejected by civilization. Augrune will typically follow the local culture, speaking a low form of the common dialect and be found either as hunters, trappers, or other folk who venture away from civilization and only return long enough to restock and resupply. Younger members are more rebellious and will not be afraid to show their heritage, while older and wise members know to duck their heads at night, and avoid the campfires.

Plot Hooks
The Man with the Golden Eyes - The PCs encounter a strange old man, and they see his eyes flash golden in their torchlight. No evil apparition or demonseed, the Old man is an old hunter and trapper and is willing to trade with the travelers, provided they dont try to pin him to a tree and kill him for obviously being hellspawn.

The Nightstalkers - The local thieve's guild is frightening in it's ability to move about unnoticed and undetected. What most of the populace doesnt know is that a large percentage of the guild is composed of Augrune youths who dont need candles or lanterns to pick locks or move around from rooftop to rooftop.

See No Evil - The PCs encounter a lynching, a beautiful young woman is dropped from a tree, her neck breaking with an audible crack. The PCs are approached to help the locals hunt out the rest of the demonkin and put them to the gallows, meanwhile the Augrune are busy trying to hide from yet another round of prejudice and violence.

Humanoids!
There have been many New Takes done on the various fantasy races, but one remains untouched, the humans. Of course this is for a reason, as we are humanity, and there are very few games that do not have humans, or a race are default humans. The default human race can be picked out by being the dominant race usually in terms of numbers and adaptability. The Humanoids freetext has been used to gather together the variations of what humans could be in a fantasy setting.