Chong Ren

The Chong Ren are a race of insectoid beings created by Chithis, the King that Crawls, in order to solicit a response from his bretheren. Together with their sibling race the Wa Kunchong, the Chong Ren live on the great continent of Dalu.

Racial Statistics
Creator: Chithis

Home Continent: Dalu

Language: Chong

Group Structure: 1-5 (Merchant Band), 5-10 (Scouting Band), 10-20 (Warrior Band), 40-50 (Worker Band), 100-150 (Hive)

Average Height: 5'7" - 6'4"

Average Weight: 120 - 200 lbs.

Average Lifespan: 45-50 Years

Alignment: Usually Lawful Neutral

Senses: Darkvision 60 Feet

Racial Modifiers: +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma. Chong Ren are highly dexterous, but their outlook on life leads to communication issues between them and other races.

Multiple Arms (Ex): The Chong Ren have two sets of arms, a large set used for fighting and a smaller set used for manipulating objects. As such they are able to benefit from any feats that require multiple arms (Ex. Multiweapon Fighting). Also, they can make 2 claw attacks while unarmed (1d4 Damage).

+2 Racial Bonus to Jump and Climb Checks. The Chong Ren have an innate knack for climbing and jumping.

Creation
The Chong Ren were created by Chithis, along with their bretheren the Wa Kunchong and their continent of Dalu in order to show his brothers that he existed. After they were created they were sent to Dalu and are now beginning to start a society there.

The Old Hives Period
For the first few centuries of existence, the Chong Ren were divided into nine distinct hives, each ruled over by a Magistrate. During this period of time, the castes were solidified and a sense of autonomy between the hives existed. It was a time when each hive was a rival to the other for resources that hte land could produce. Food, land and various other petty items were squabbled over by these hives, and information regarding these resources was valuable. The Scout Castes at this time were quite powerful, able to run covert operations to steal the knowledge of these locations and return them to their Administration bosses. The end of the Old Hive Period was marked with the terrible conflict known as the Sui Wars.

The Sui Wars
Because of the actions of Dreid, Daemons invaded Dalu, along with the rest of the world. The Daemons, called the Sui by the Chong Ren, destroyed the two northernmost hives before being beaten back to the northern steppes by a combined army of all the remaining hives. The aftermath of this war resulted in a sense of unity between the remaining hives. This unity will allow for the rise of the Grand Hive Empire a few centuries later.

The Creation of Swarm Magic
After the Sui Wars, the Chong Ren saw an age of prosperity that they had not seen since their creation. In response to this, Chithis blessed the Chong Ren with the ability to invoke his divine power as Swarmcallers. Unlike other magic that had been created, Swarm Magic directly taps into the power of the divine. With this power, Swarmcallers are able to blast foes with spectral swarms of hungry locusts or stinging hornets, as well as take on many other insect-like characteristics cause various effects related to insects.

The Age of Exploration
Finally, Chithis decided that the Chong Ren were ready to make contact with the rest of the world. He created the Haiyang Kunchong, a species of massive aquatic insects. With these insects, Chithis commanded the Chong Ren to explore the world, and gather knowledge from the other races. However, he also warned that they weren't like the Chong Ren, and were Anarchists in comparison. What comes of this exploration is to be decided...

Birth
Chong Ren are born as eggs. These eggs will incubate for about 6 months before hatching. During the third month of gestation, the child inside of the egg will become either a male or a female. At this point, the child produces a pheromone, indiciating its gender to the egg-watchers, who then pair up each egg with a life-mate. After another three months, the eggs hatch and out come Chong Ren Nymphs, smaller versions of adult Chong Ren. At this point they are taught the basic principles of Chong Ren life, as well as becoming familiar with their life-mate. After their third molting, they go from being children to working members of society.

Working Age
When they have a third molting, they become part of the working society. At this point each Chong Ren is tested and after this examination process, they are given their caste, a job which they do for the rest of their life. The castes are as follows:

Workers - The most basic jobs available to Chong Ren. This includes gathering food, first response to disasters, and a myriad of menial, yet extremely important tasks. The most important are the Egg-Watchers, who nurture the eggs and newly hatched until they are ready for work.

Miners - While to outsiders these Chong Ren can be clumped in with workers, they are drastically different. Their job is to not only dig new sections of a hive out, but they are also architects, as well as best friends with the Wa Kunchong.

Warriors - While workers often act as first response to any attacks on a hive, warriors are the fighting elite of Chong Ren society. They know how to use their natural weapons, as well as simple weapons that their society has developed.

Administration - These are the organizers that make everything run smoothly. Also, when they learn about magic and how to use it, most people of the administrative caste will be magic-users.

Magistrate - The leaders of a hive. Only two are born at a time, and only when the old magistrates die.



Scouts - A special caste of individuals, caused by Harlequin's creation of rogues and rogues guilds. These individials don't want to fit into the other castes, and thus formed their own. Disturbingly individiualist by most Chong Ren standards, they mark sites that would be good for new hives to be formed, as well as spying on rival hives and other precieved threats.

Old Age and Death
After about 30 years of service to their hive, with the exception of magistrates who serve until death, a Chong Ren is allowed to serve as an elder. Elders act as fonts of wisdom and understanding that all other Chong Ren look to for guidance. At about 50 years, to a maximum of about 60, most Chong Ren pass away. When A Chong Ren dies, they are placed in their caste's burial chamber in a sarcophogas and then left there.