Take Me Down To Giraffe City

(are you singing GNR now?  Good.)

The region to the north-east of Snollygoster Swamp is not densely populated, but does contain several settlements and features of note, including Flower Town, the Growling Tower, and today's subject: Giraffe City.

GIRAFFE CITY

Giraffe City is a large town which is currently under constant expansion and construction due to a rather unusual population explosion just a few months ago.  Due to the accursed influence of a nefarious ghost called Old Man Rickety, the original town was once home to perhaps a hundred and fifty living residents, along with the intangible ghosts of everyone who had ever lived in the town.  Although most of the ghosts congregated, with Rickety, in the cemetery outside of town, many chose to live amongst their descendants in the town proper.  This situation was less than ideal for many citizens, as the dead have a tendency to be hypercritical much of the time.  The arrival of a self-proclaimed knight-errant changed all that when Old Man Rickety was destroyed, and every resident of the village - living or dead - brought back to life in a giraffe-like form through the use of a magic necklace.  This is not the strangest thing to ever happen in Wampus Country, but it's probably top ten.

What was once a village of a few hundred was now an extended family of six hundred plus - three generations of humans, turned into ghosts, then brought back to life (healthy and youthful) as giraffe-men.  They quickly set about expanding the town and the surrounding farms to accommodate the vastly increased population, and dubbed the reborn settlement Giraffe City.  Only time will tell if this new species - who call themselves the graff - breed true and become a well-known nation in the Wampus Country.

The graff are strange-looking creatures indeed, for although they are as tall as most humans, most of that is neck - the little humanoid bodies of the graff are comparable in size and proportion to halflings.  In fact, early on after the transformation, the graff made a huge order of ready-made halfling-style clothing in River-Town, as being suddenly a giraffe is disconcerting, and a perpetually naked giraffe, even moreso.  Graff have hooflike feet, but thankfully were created with fairly dextrous four-fingered hands, allowing them to continue practicing human trades (albeit often at a different scale).  The graff are finding they must re-learn any combat techniques they once knew, as their altered stature, combined with the ridiculously long neck, makes things a whole new ball game.

Culture in Giraffe City is fresh and vibrant - imagine a city out of nowhere, in which all the adults are effectively in their twenties.  Nomenclature was an issue at the beginning, as everyone was from the same five families, more or less, so very quickly the graff started renaming themselves whatever they pleased; this was aided by the fact that everyone was now a giraffe and nobody could recognize one another.  Fresh starts for everybody!  Some graff enjoy taking superlative or silly names, such as "Mr. Amazing Awesome", "Miss You-Can't-Handle-This", or "Z. Z. Poppinfresh".  Parallel to this, many graff appreciate loudly-patterned clothing and multiple earrings.  Some graff take advantage of the fact that they are newly-created; they will claim to be in their late twenties when at the bar, but under a year old if it makes a theater ticket cheaper.

PLAYING A GRAFF

Graff are essentially reskinned Gnomes from Labyrinth Lord - Advanced Edition Companion.

As a species, Graff are generally Neutral on average.  They're still figuring out how they fit into things.


Requirements: DEX 8, CON 9
Ability Modifiers: None
Ability Min/Max: STR 6/18 (15), DEX 3/18, CON 8/18, INT 7/18, WIS 3/18, CHA 8/18


Racial Abilities:

I'm a Giraffe, Dude - Graff can use their necks as clubs (1d6 damage, does not grant an extra attack), and count as giraffes for all purposes with regard to giraffe-related magic (hey, it could come up, you never know).  They may speak with dumb-animal giraffes at will.  Graff do not have infravision, and neither do regular giraffes; your high-school biology teacher was pulling your leg.

Used To Be A Ghost - The majority of graff were once humans who became ghosts, and even those graff who never actually died have been tied into the general ghostiness through their transformation.  Hence, graff have a very strange relationship with Death, and are pretty good at avoiding it, or manipulating it through necromancy.  A graff may detect undead once per day per level; while doing so, its horns wiggle.


Graff receive the following saving throw bonuses:
• +2 save versus breath attacks
• +4 save versus poison
• +4 save versus petrify or paralyze
• +1 save versus wands
• +2 save versus spells or spell-like devices
The graffs' special relationship with Death makes them resistant to magic and poison, and as such they receive bonuses to defend against these effects. In addition, their small size grants them a bonus to finding cover and avoiding breath attacks.


GRAFF CLASSES AVAILABLE
(and level limit, if you're into that)

Assassin 8
Cleric 7
Fighter 6
Necromancer 7  (I recommend Theorems & Thaumaturgy)
Thief 12

Graff thieves receive the following bonuses and penalties to thief abilities:
GRAFF THIEF SKILL ADJUSTMENTS
Skill Adjustment
Pick Locks +5%
Find and Remove Traps +7%
Move Silently +5%
Climb Walls -15%
Hide in Shadows +5%