Enduk

Originally from the Savage Coast, these winged minotaurs were driven from their lands on the Orc's Head Peninsula and have only recently returned.

Standing six to seven feet tall, enduks are smaller and lighter than regular minotaurs though still very muscular. Their bodies are covered with short fur ranging from black to light brown. The head of an enduk resembles that of a bull - with horns, a square muzzle, large, heavily-lidded eyes, and a strong mouth filled with large teeth. Long, coarse hair tufts at the throat and shoulders, running in a mane the back. The head of an enduk is most often spotted and splotched with white and black, though features such as the eyes and muzzle are highlighted in brown.

Enduks also possess huge, powerful wings. A typical enduk wingspan measures from eight to ten feet, and when folded, the wings reach from the ground to one foot over the enduk's head. Feather color varies from white to black, including various shades of gray. The underside of an enduk's wings usually bears a design that they show off by spreading their wings when on the ground. These marks tend to be genetic and can convey information about an enduk's family.

The enduk have their own language, Nimmush (Homespeak). This guttural, heavy dialect requires a range that few outside their own race can command. Most enduks also know common and Aeshtyn, the language of the ee'aar. Though most rarely bother to learn any further languages, some enduks maintain their knowledge of the manscorpion's language (Nimmurian), in case it should prove useful in winning back their homeland.

Combat: The average enduk should be considered a 4th-level warrior, but an enduk leader is at least a 7th-level warrior or cleric (7+7 Hit Dice and THAC0 of 13). Enduks possess a natural AC of 6 and can wear armor if it is made for their winged bodies. Armor with an AC rating of 6 or worse does nothing to enhance an enduk's Armor Class. With armor of AC 5 or better, the armor AC should be used instead of the enduk's, but the armor AC is not added as a bonus. Enduk never use shields of any type.

While on foot, enduks can attack with any weapon allowed to their class. They prefer weapons of 12 pounds or less, as these can also be used while in the air. Because their size and strength allows them to wield it one-handed with full effect, the two-handed bastard sword is one of their favorite weapons. A few enduks can even wield two of these swords at once, making them fierce and dangerous warriors to contend with. Enduk gain a +2 damage bonus for all normal melee weapons because of their upper-body strength. Enduks do not use regular bows, but they sometimes use heavy crossbows, firing twice per round. In the same round as a melee attack, enduks may attempt to gore opponents with their horns; a successful attack causes 1d4+1 points of damage. An enduk that makes multiple melee attacks in one round cannot attempt to gore.

Enduks prefer fighting on the ground because they suffer a -2 penalty to all attack rolls while airborne. Weapons must weigh 12 pounds or less to be used in aerial combat, and while crossbows can be fired from the air, the enduk must land to reload. Enduks may not hover, and so they are restricted to passing attacks, sometimes gaining the advantage by gliding down on an unsuspecting enemy. They can land and quickly spring to the attack, gaining a +1 bonus on their surprise rolls.

A flying enduk can cover 180 feet per round at level flight; one half of their movement must always be committed in a forward direction. Ascending is a strenuous task because of the bulk they are trying to raise. The enduk can ascend only 30 feet for every 90 feet of forward movement. Descending, the enduk can glide their full movement both forward and downward, 180 feet each direction. If diving hard, they can double their movement rate to 360 feet forward and 360 feet downward, never diving at a steeper angle than 45 degrees. Armor does not restrict movement rate or maneuverability; however, armor does apply toward the maximum weight that can be carried in flight.

While enduks might be limited in their ascent, their strong wings can bear a great deal of extra weight without further penalty. Enduks can carry 200 pounds plus 10 pounds per point of Strength. If an enduk attempts to carry more than this, its movement rate gets cut by half, but maneuverability remains at C. The maximum weight an enduk may carry and still retain the power of flight is 200 pounds plus 20 pounds per point of Strength. However, they can carry up to 30 pounds per point of Strength and still glide (at a maneuverability of D).

Winged minotaurs must make a Constitution check after every turn of continuous flight. Failure indicates that the enduk must glide downward and land, resting one turn for each two turns previously spent flying. Constitution checks are subject to a penalty of -1 for every 100 pounds of weight carried above the initial 100 pounds. A further -1 penalty applies at heights above 5,000 feet. Enduks can never rise above 10,000 feet. Under favorable wind conditions, they gain a +2 bonus to their Constitution check.

Direct damage to the wings affects an enduk the same way it affects an ee'aar. For example, an enduk warrior with 40 hit points takes 23 points of direct damage to its wings and 8 more in general body damage. It has lost more than 50% of its total hit points in wing damage and more than 75% total, both of these losses keeping it from flying. Even if healing spells bring the enduk back to full hit points, ready to enter battle again, the damage to its wings still prevents flight. After one week, the enduk regains 4 hit points (10% of 40 total hp), bringing the wing damage down to 19 points, allowing the enduk to glide. However, as this total is still greater than 25% of the enduk's hit point total, actual flight is impossible. The enduk still requires two more weeks of healing before the feathers have grown in enough to allow full flight.

If the enduk possesses a Constitution of at least 17, it heals an additional 3 hit points per week for wing damage. In this situation, the enduk would be fully capable of flight exactly two weeks from the injury. A heal spell would both regrow feathers and heal damage, allowing immediate flight.

Habitat/Society: The enduks have always been a simple, trusting people with a system of deeply felt religious beliefs. When the manscorpions were originally driven from their lands, the enduk agreed to share Nimmur with them. When betrayed by these manscorpions, the enduks fled their homeland and relocated on the Arm of the Immortals with the assistance of their friends, the ee'aar. There they sought to both preserve their simple lifestyle and prepare to battle for claim to Nimmur.

The enduks put family ahead of other concerns. Enduks take a mate for life, rarely taking a second even if the first dies. A couple will average one child every few years - four to six young over their lifetime together. Normally one enduk represents the entire extended family for purposes of organized government, whether it is a local organization or a temporary clan-council responsible for matters concerning all enduks. (The last clan-council to be held was over the matter of returning to Nimmur.) This leader is generally an enduk who has lost a mate, or never took one, and has embraced a more martial and possibly religious lifestyle. Sometimes, a mated pair will devote their lives to such pursuits, both becoming leaders for the family.

Enduk are typically stoic creatures unless enraged. They get along well with all other races except the manscorpions, who have possibly earned the eternal animosity of the enduks. Their philosophy demands an ascetic life of peasantry, which ties in with the enduk religion - worship of their patron Immortal, Ixion, and reverence of their greatest leader, Gildesh. Gildesh supposedly returns every 300 years to live among his people, constantly renewing their faith. In his latest reincarnation, Gildesh led his people back to the Savage Coast to reclaim their homeland. Not the fanatic killers the manscorpions can be, the enduks and their ee'aar allies were only able to gain a foothold. They now hold Um-Shedu and the surrounding land. Enduks in this area are more likely to be mistrusting and militant. Some of their people have returned to the land and become farmers, but the population of Um-Shedu is supported mainly by the enduks remaining on the Arm of the Immortals.

Ecology: The enduks would like nothing more than to live in peace with their neighbors, raising crops and hunting for meat as needed. However, that choice has been taken from them, and for the time being, the enduks are pursuing this war with vigor. Unless the manscorpions make amends for their actions, the violence is likely to continue until one race or the other is destroyed.

Besides the killing, this conflict has forced the enduks into a higher level of craftsmanship and commerce. The enduks are natural metalsmiths, making some of the best tools and weapons available. Mostly they work with regular steel, but with their return to the Savage Coast, they have begun crafting red steel weapons. Enduks do not make items specifically for trade with other races yet, so most weapons and tools are created for enduk physique. Still, these items are gaining a following in the surrounding lands as trade items.