Editing Insectare (section)

==3e Fluff==
{{NotFunny Sourcebook}}
[[File:Insectare Dragon 339.png|left|300px]]
Humanoids whose ancestry appears equal parts elven and insectoid, the insectare present a small but growing threat to spelljamming life. These enigmatic creatures attempt to manipulate others and acquire magical knowledge, possessing great skill at both tasks, as evidenced by their ever-increasing power.

Personality: Insectare appear insular and icy to most outsiders. Their faces and voices offer little hint into their feelings. While most insectare encountered away from their homeworld are spies and infiltrators, their racial reticence springs from a different source - among their own kind, they express emotion by direct empathy, using their antennae.

Insectare possess a full range of emotions, although some may seem alien to ordinary humanoids. An insectare thinks of his entire race like a human or elf would his family, with the divine Klikral as the direct head of the house. This creates a very strong sense of loyalty, but also an adversarial outlook toward anyone so alien as to be outside the family.

Physical Description: In the face and extremities, Insectare resemble tall, green-skinned elves. Their most distinguishing features rise from behind their elven ears - a pair of antennae. Their lean torso, almost always hidden by robes or armor, sports a carapace of chitin plates. Insectare travel in disguise. Most pose as elves, using dyes and makeup to disguise their lime-green flesh while wearing heavy cloaks to conceal their antennae.

Close inspection of an insectare's eyes reveals their apparently normal green orbs to be multifaceted like an insect's. However, for reasons unknown to even the wisest sages, members of the insectare priest caste possess ordinary eyes.

Relations: Few races trust the insectare, and if they knew half of what these insectoid schemers planned, they would trust them even less. Knowing that their plans for domination mesh poorly with the aims of others, and that they currently lack the numbers to dominate, most insectare travelers disguise themselves and keep to the shadows, letting others think them elves or even humans.

Elves hate and despise the insectare, vehemently denying their apparent connections. This has done nothing to endear insectare to goblinoids and orcs, particularly scro, who consider them just another elven menace to annihilate.

Alignment: The insectare scheme to dominate all life, the racial goal to which they hope their extensive arcane research can lead. They possess a strong inclination toward evil, but an even stronger one to law.

Insectare Lands: Huge mountains and vast forests dominate the secluded insectare homeworld. They feel most comfortable in underground areas similar to the hollow structures carved directly from their native mountains, hivelike citadels extending as deep as dwarven cities. In the open vastness of Wildspace, insectare often gravitate toward regions controlled by dwarves because of this propensity for underground living.

Religion: Insectare worship Klikral, a lawful evil godlike entity physically inhabiting their homeworld. They guard the secrets of their worship even more jealously than the rest of their culture; a hundred insectare would die (or kill countless thousands of other humanoids) to protect their religious secrets. Insectare infiltrators often pretend worship of other devotions, a ruse Klikral apparently approves of.

Language: Insectare speak their own language, a mix of clicks, whirs, and Common words. They also speak Common. Many, finding it easier to pose as elves than as humans, learn to speak Elven.

Names: Insectare tend to adopt myriad pseudonyms during their secretive missions. They need no personal designations among their own kind due to their limited ability to communicate empathically. An insectares "name" usually reflects the naming conventions of the region he is currently infiltrating.

Adventurers: Insectare adventurers usually serve their race. Since they desire magical knowledge new and old, adventurers make a point of seeking out ruins and dungeons full of ancient lore. Insectare find it convenient to accompany other humanoids on these expeditions.

Insectare adventurers attempt to earn the trust of their companions, but no insectare reciprocates trust. Most try to hide their true natures as long as possible, and some prefer to kill anyone - ally or enemy - who discerns their identities. Even a known insectare tends to keep to himself preferring discretion and privacy over friendship.