Kraati

The Kraati are a desert-dwelling, anthropomorphic race descended from kangaroo rats.

Political Domain
Bearing no claim to cities or even communal government, at most the Kraati have extended-family units hailing from shallow cave-dens deep in the west of the southern desert. Their curious nature has led a large number to the cities, where their quick wits and agile bodies have afforded them an inroad to positions in the courts and servitor-class alike.

Appearance
Kraati legs are covered with fur ranging anywhere from purest white to dun brown, with a solid or mottled pattern, the fur colour shared by the hair on their head. The fur thins to bare skin on the torso and arms, varying from pale pink to mocha with a pattern usually similar to the individual's fur. Kraati's eyes can be anything from grey-blue to completely black, but the lighter colours are very rare among the greater population, showing greater prevalence among magi. Their bones are light and birdlike, and almost all have a slender, gracile frame.

Personality
While somewhat rowdy and tight-knit in groups in their clan's cave-den, they are standoffish and solitary when in the outer world. A Kraati will treat others of their kind as unrelated strangers (even if close kin)–which is a fairly meaningless statement, given their general practise of physical intimacy towards everyone and everything. It would be more reasonable to state that they don't hold immediate familial bonds as sacred, and have no qualms about either caring for others' infants or lovemaking with direct blood-relations. They tend to communicate more by body language than conversation, their speech coming across as somewhat clipped and brusque to others when not understood in the full context of the Kraati's motions.

Clothing
Sheer, multi-layered loose robes that protect from wind and sand, but have generous openings allowing easy access and suggestive views of the body. Very little is worn indoors. Henna body decoration and fine jewellery are commonly worn, while piercings are somewhat uncommon.

A Unique Weapon for the Desert-Rats
The Kraati have developed a unique weapon and associated martial art well-suited to their lithe and highly-agile bodies:  the ringblade and the dance-of-the-swirling-sand. The ringblade is a large, sharpened metal ring fashioned of a very lightweight but strong metal found only in the deep desert. To wield it, a sand-dancer must be proficient in acrobatics, contortion, and the fluid motions of those who have dedicated much of their lives to the skill; the dance-of-the-swirling-sand in practise resembles a combination of Native American Hoop Dancing and Mideastern Sword Dancing, and is both beautiful and deadly to behold as the dancer dispatches their target.

Occupations
Dancers, assassins, courtesans, scouts, messengers, spies, adventurers, street performers, wetnurses & nannies, occasionally mages.

The Kraati Package Deal
Total package Cost: 1, 15 disadvantage points
 * Acting
 * Acrobatics
 * Climbing
 * Concealment
 * Contortionist
 * Idiomatic spoken Aramait
 * Persuasion
 * Professions Skill:  One of choice
 * Stealth
 * Area Knowledge:  Al-Kabir desert
 * Disadvantage:  Distinctive Features (15 cost Kraati [short stature, tufted tail, large ears]; not concealable, noticed and recognized)
 * Disadvantage:  Psychological Limitation (5 cost fear of large reptiles; uncommon, moderate [most Kraati are at least somewhat uncomfortable around larger reptiles])
 * Disadvantage:  Phychological Limitation (5 cost unfamiliarity with open water; +1 difficulty to swimming rolls, uncommon, slight)