Worlanisi

• Believe your innate luck will get you out of even the most perilous of situations.
• Seek competition based on skill and prowess alone—never chance.
• Fear or distrust others with psychic abilities.

• Envy your free-spirited nature.
• Refuse to play any game of chance against you.
• Come to you for stories of your adventures.

Worlanisis are small, wiry four-armed people. The vast majority of them stand less than three and a half feet tall, and their average weight ranges between 22 and 27 pounds. Though diminutive, these people are deceptively strong, and they often become excellent climbers and accomplished athletes. They have blue skin in varying hues, sometimes with subtle stripe patterns.

Worlanisis evolved on an ocean planet filled with traces of residual psychic energy. In response to this stimulus, they developed a unique set of horn-cones on the sides of their head—features that amplify incoming and outgoing psychic signals. In ancient times, worlanisi horn-cones were much larger and more powerful than they are today and were used by hunters to track psychic reverberations left behind by prey. This ability gave the diminutive people an enormous competitive advantage.

Over time, worlanisis' natural connection to the primordial forces of luck began to take precedence over their psychic abilities in their struggle for survival as they adopted advanced technology that largely replaced their reliance on psychic tracking. As a result, their horn-cones have shrunk and atrophied over generations, leaving their psychic abilities greatly diminished. These unique organs still function as psychic amplifiers, though, leaving worlanisis with a painful weakness to mental attacks. Some among their number have sought to recapture the greater psychic control of their ancestors, with varying levels of success.

In tunnels beneath Worlan's volcanic islands, small pockets of the worlanisi population evolved in drastically divergent ways. Their horn-cones atrophied earlier and are smaller now as a result, but their bodies grew larger and heartier in response to the environmental stresses of their underground world. These worlanisis, known as the luckless (though this term is a misnomer), average close to five feet in height and weigh more than 100 pounds.

Unfortunately, worlanisi traits also made them a target for unethical biotech companies. When worlanisi pilgrims landed on the Prelurian orbital, they were overpowered by scientists from the Reivolan Institute, bodiless biohackers who placed them in forced stasis, sampled their organic tissues, and cloned entire armies from a single individual's DNA.

After generations of experimentation, a group of worlanisis won control of the lab facility they were being held in at the Vault of Vorlath and took over, launching a formidable mercenary organization that gradually took over their former captors' holdings in the Preluria system. Today, the Vorlathi worlanisis operate a lucrative mercenary racket with clients as far away as the Pact Worlds.

Worlan dwellers are peaceable peoples who believe in travel as a means of personal betterment. As they encounter other cultures, worlanisis are quick to adopt their favorite practices and bring them back to Worlan, though they reject customs they view as shortsighted or self-destructive, especially practices that lead to environmental destruction for short-term gains.

Different subcultures of worlanisi society emphasize their telepathic abilities to different degrees. Many smaller groups view telepathic communication as much more intimate and practical than verbal speech, and they rely largely on this silent means of conversation. Telepathy, after all, can allow a boat crew to speak no matter how loud the storm around them is and can help hunters approach prey without revealing their locations. Some groups emphasize the spoken word more heavily, but for the most part, worlanisis reserve its use for formal occasions, for musical and theatrical performances, or for the benefit of visitors to their culture.

Worlan is governed by a series of elected councils with strict term limits and staggered terms. Worlanisi politicians are expected to work for the betterment of their island, or the planet as a whole, without considering their prospects for future elections. This system doesn't completely prevent corruption and incompetence, as some families try to monopolize a council position by offering various relatives as successive candidates. For the most part, these shenanigans are only tolerated as long as the family does good work. If their protection of private interests ever creates a crisis, it isn't unheard of for corrupt political officials to suffer unlucky accidents on the job.

Worlanisis love games and competitions of all sorts, especially ones that offset or minimize the role of luck. A favorite on Worlan is a strategy-heavy game called seven suns. Sport on Worlan is similarly skill-based, and numerous competitions fill the calendar of the planet, culminating in Fortune's Regatta, a race across the entire planet that purposefully takes competitors through the worst weather and terrain Worlan has to offer. This competition draws tens of thousands of spectators and athletes from many other worlds every year. In truth, worlanisis who aren't competing tend to have little interest in the contest, believing that success in such a race greatly relies on chance and thus can't be a true competition. Worlan also hosts a casino called the Short Straw for the benefit of offworlders who wish to try their luck against the luckiest of them all. Tourists come expecting to lose, but those who manage to hold their own against the odds gain truly prized bragging rights.

Worlanisis usually have two names: a descriptive nickname earned in life and reflective of their experiences, skills, or personality, and a last name from their island or place of birth.

Traditional worlanisi society venerates the power of luck above all other things, and most worlanisis credit the power of luck for nearly every major event in their lives. Based on this principle, worlanisis form easygoing, trusting communities where most good outcomes are evidence of the people's luck, and tragedy and struggle are viewed as hard blessings in disguise. Many worlanisis are superstitious and practice good luck rituals.

Even the relatively cutthroat worlanisis of Vorlath, many of whom deny luck's sway over their lives, participate in rituals and craft charms carried into battle that clearly rely on the principle of luck or grace.

Worlanisis have a relatively short history of contact with the Pact Worlds, only dating back about two decades, as first contact occurred around the time when the Vorlathi faction broke free from the Reivolan Institute. Nevertheless, every worlanisi steadfastly believes that their people were the first to create the infinity deck, a commonly reproduced relic used to play dozens of different games across the galaxy.

Most worlanisis aren't religious but do practice spiritual beliefs, study philosophy, or conduct superstitious rituals personalized to suit their lifestyles.

Given her relationship with luck and her promotion of travel, Desna is the single most popular deity among worlanisis, but she's far from the only target of worship. Weydan holds the affection of many fortunauts, for they tend to sign on to research missions and journeys designed to discover new and interesting things just as often as they travel for travel's sake. Those who follow the Vorlathi faction, however, have reduced their reliance on luck and often venerate Damoritosh over all others.
Popular Edicts have faith in people, nurture your luck like you would a muscle, trust that things will work out
Popular Anathema cheat in a contest of chance, cheat in a contest of skill, prepare a contingency for bad luck

Baruzi of Vorlath, Drift-Rider of Bullama, Emuni of Worlan, Hanuli of Absalom, Jump-the-Flow of the River Between, Nurul of Nowhere, Plasters of Pulonis, Vorlathi Quickjump, Sazula In Exile, Zigzag from Verces

6

Small

Strength, Charisma, Free

Wisdom

Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it's positive). Choose from the list of common languages and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent on your home world).

You can see in dim light as though it were bright light, so you ignore the concealed condition due to dim light.

You can communicate mentally with creatures within 30 feet that share a language with you, and they can mentally respond. This doesn't give you any access to their thoughts and communicates no more information than normal speech would.

You have four arms, which allows you to wield and hold up to four hands' worth of weapons and equipment. At any time, one pair of hands is designated as your active hands. You can change this designation from one pair of hands to another by taking the Switch Hands action, which is a single action. You can only perform actions with your active hands. For more information on playing characters with more than two hands, see Hands.

Your horn-cones amplify psychic effects—both incoming and outgoing. You take a –1 circumstance penalty to saving throws against mental effects and have weakness to mental damage equal to one quarter your level (minimum 1).