Beastman

A beastman looks like a small, lean human wrapped in short olive or deep green fur over a second coat of stiff black hair. As it moves it raises patches of the black hair without thinking, the way a startled cat bristles, painting itself in shifting spots and stripes that match the leaf-shadow. For that reason beastmen almost never wear clothes or jewelry.

They talk with voice, hands, posture and pelt patterns all at once. Outsiders can learn the words and gestures but never the color shifts, so a foreigner manages only basic conversation.

Beastmen avoid strangers but fight hard for their kin. Among foliage that suits their coloring, a beastman hides in shadows 90% of the time, and a target unaware of it takes -6 on surprise. Natural magic resistance makes them harder still to bring down.

They fight with spears, bolas, blowguns, and stone knives or axes. Darts carry a weakened class F poison: failing a save vs. poison means death in 2d4 rounds, but every save against it gets +4.

For captives, they drop a weighted net of woven vines from the branches. Prisoners are usually stripped of all gear and released far from the tribe; any still judged dangerous are painlessly killed.

A tribe numbers 40 to 60, about 10% of them young, but travelers usually meet a hunting band of 1d6+4. Homes are woven from living treetop branches, each shared by 1d4+2 adults in a group marriage plus a child or two. Children are raised by everyone.

Leading is a chore, not an honor. Whoever best fits the day's problem takes charge, the top warrior in wartime, with a contest if several are equally fit. The sexes are equals, though pregnant women are revered and spared heavy work.

Beastmen deny that magic, ghosts or spirits exist: what cannot be seen, heard or touched is not real. Sages argue over whether this belief comes from their magic resistance or causes it.

These omnivores hunt and gather fruit and nuts but never farm, and only the strongest, craftiest predators dare hunt them. Self-sufficient and owning little others value, they have no interest in trade.