Alternate Quaggoths

Physical Description
Quaggoths are the same general size and shape as humans, and might be mistaken
for humans from a distance. Female quaggoths tend to be somewhat larger and
taller than males.
Quaggoths have short fur over most of their body, giving them a slightly fuzzy
appearance. This fur is longer on the limbs and shorter on the belly. Quaggoth have
longer hair on their heads similar to that of a human, but it starts higher up on the
sides of the head (they do not have hair right behind or above their ears), and
extends down the back of the head and the neck to the lower back. Males or
females may have facial hair along the jaw-line, and on the sides of the face for
males. Facial hair is longer and thicker on males, and some tribes may curl or braid
it.
Quaggoths may have straight or wavy fur; their hair may be straight, wavy, or curly.
Individuals with straight fur always have straight hair, while individuals with wavy
fur may have wavy or curly hair. Quaggoths fur is mostly one color, but they may
have some lighter patches. Their hair is always a darker shade of their primary fur
color.
Quaggoths most striking features are their faces. Their lips and the edges of the
eyelids are dark and rough, like the lips of a dog, and their mouths are clearly those
of a carnivore. Their noses are flatter and more upturned than those of humans. The
cartilaginous bridge of the nose is covered in very short hair, while the fleshy front
of the nose, the nostrils and frontal bulge, are hairless with rough skin.
The muzzle of a quaggoth is much more pronounced and angular than that of a
human. Quaggoths lips are more like those of a dog, cat or bear than those of a
human, thin and lacking the ability to flex on their own. Quaggoths have wider
mouth openings relative to their size than other humanoids; Quaggoths lips extend
farther out and back up their face than humans do. Due to this, quaggoths can
open their mouths very wide and bare their teeth to bite into food or enemies.
Quaggoths never bear their teeth to smile; bared teeth are a sign of aggression.
Quaggoths canines are much larger and sharper than those of most other
humanoids, extending into interlocking fangs; their incisors are notably pronged.
They have large gaps in their tooth arrangements, between the canines and the
molars. Their rear molars are still flattened, giving them a tooth arrangement
similar to that of bears.

Quaggoths ears resemble those of a wolf or cat. Quaggoths can maneuver their
ears quite a bit to better pick up noises; sometimes the position of their ears can be
indicative of their mood. Their eyes are largely the same as those of humans,
though they do have larger irises that occupy more of eyes surface. The presence
of a taptum lucidum (see senses, below) means that their eyes appear to glow in
the dark, or when light is shined directly on them.
Quaggoths feet have tough pads on the bottom like those of many mammals, and
their palms and fingers have the remnants of such pads in the form of patches of
furless darker skin surrounded by a visible crease. Close inspection reveals their
fingernails and toenails to be very stubby claws, with more volume than the
fingernails and toenails of a human.
Quaggoth do have two sets of mammary glands, one below the other. Female
quaggoth do not tend to accumulate fat in their breasts the way human females do.
Female quaggoth do tend to have wider hips than males, even more so than in
humans; this is another effect of their tendency to give birth to fraternal twins.

Subraces
Arctic quaggoths tend to be shorter and stouter. They have dark brown to black
hair, and medium brown to dark brown fur and skin; their fur tends to be thicker and
longer than that of other subraces. Their eyes are usually medium to light shades of
brown, with some having bluish-grey or greenish-hazel eyes. They usually live in
temperate, sub-arctic, and arctic environments; they are especially common in
boreal forests.
Leonic quaggoths tend to be taller and leaner, with shorter fur. Their fur color
ranges from occasional white individuals with cream-colored hair to light brown
individuals with medium brown hair, but mostly their fur and hair are various shades
of tan brown. Their eyes are usually dark to medium shades of brown, with some
having more amber-colored eyes. They are found in sub-tropic to tropical
environments and warm deserts, and are especially common in high-grass savannas
and tropical forests.
Deep quaggoths are short and lean. They have white fur and hair, and pale-pink to
pinkish-red skin. The skin on their faces that would be black in other quaggoth subraces is usually the same color as the rest of their skin, or slightly darker. Their eyes
vary from reddish-pink, to pale lavender, to pale blue, often seeming to change
color depending on lighting. They live in the underdark.

Psychology
Quaggoths are typically better at reacting to dynamic and ongoing situations, rather
than planning ahead. They are slightly less intelligent than humans on average, in
terms of logical reasoning, but are highly aware of their surroundings and able to

react quickly to changing situations. Socially they dislike being alone, but also
dislike being part of a crowd or large organization; they are most comfortable in
small, closely knit groups.
Many quaggoth take pride in not relying too much on technology or magic, though
relying on ones wits is usually perfectly acceptable. Most would also be willing to
rely on others.

Biology
Diet
Quaggoths are omnivorous, but compared to humans they lean more towards being
carnivorous. Due to having strong (more acidic) stomachs, Quaggoths are better
able to handle raw or undercooked meat than most humanoid races, and they seem
to require fewer vegetables in their diet to avoid vitamin deficiency (though they do
need some). On the other hand, quaggoths have a harder time digesting grains and
some other starches, and most legumes cause them gastric distress. Combined with
a need for significant amounts of protein in their diet, this makes it almost
impossible for a quaggoth to survive off of a vegan diet.

Reproduction
Female quaggoths have a menstrual cycle much like that of humans, but the fertile
and bleeding/purging portions of the cycle only occur four times a year, generally
once each season. On the other hand, quaggoths have vastly higher rates of
fraternal twin births than most humanoids. Still, their overall reproductive rates tend
to be lower than those of humans under similar circumstances.

Senses
Sight
However, their eyes have a taptum lucidum like that found in cats and dogs, giving
them improved night vision. They are also especially good at picking up movement,
and have excellent depth perception. Deep quaggoths have poorer vision, especially
for color and distance, but are especially good at detecting even small amounts of
light.
Hearing
Quaggoth hearing is somewhat more sensitive (able to pick up quiet noises) than
that of humans, and they can hear sound over a broader range of frequency,
especially at higher pitches. Deep quaggoths have especially acute and sensitive
hearing.
Scent

Quaggoths have a much better sense of smell than that of other races, at least a
dozen times as strong as that of a human. Deep quaggoths sense of smell is
stronger still, more around 15-17 times as strong as that of a human.

Climate Tolerance
Arctice quaggoths are more cold tolerant than most humanoids, due to their fur,
denser body fat, and modified circulatory systems that retain heat in the body core.
Leonic quaggoths have climate tolerance closer to that of humans, with some
preference for warmer climates. Deep quaggoths have the same climatic tolerances
as humans and most other humanoid races.

Culture
Lifestyle
The lifestyle of quaggoths varies between tribes, but some generalizations can be
made. Almost all quaggoths are nomadic, or at least semi-nomadic (moving
between settlements). All rely at least partially on a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and
many are entirely hunter-gatherers, but some also practice herding and animal
husbandry. Semi-nomadic tribes may even have some agriculture, mainly growing
fruits and leafy vegetables.

Technology
Quaggoth lag somewhat behind other races in technology. They use more wood and
stone tools and weapons, and their metal weapons tend to be bronze or cold iron
rather than steel.
Quaggoth clothing is usually made out of leather, furs, and/or wool (usually from
goat or sheep). Some tribes may also know how to make clothes out of beaten tree
bark (this includes bark cloth from mulberry trees, or cedar bark cloth). Due to their
fur, quaggoths tend to wear lighter clothing, and often use rough cloth simply
because it is easier to make and doesnt bother them.

Superstitions, Beliefs, and Taboos

Unlike other races, quaggoths have few taboos against cannibalism. Quaggoths
typically consume the bodies of their dead, and regard burial and cremation as odd
and pointless. They may also sometimes consume the bodies of their enemies. It
should be noted that quaggoth still regard the dead with veneration, offering
prayers before and after consuming them. This is even the case when consuming
meat from non-intelligent animals. Quaggoths do have a taboo against hunting
sentient beings for food alone, or preserving their meat; the consumption of a dead
person is as much a funeral as a meal.

Quaggoths do not go bald with age, and find the removal of their own fur extremely
uncomfortable. Any loss of hair or fur is typically due to disease, particularly
parasites; fur loss may be directly caused by mange, or a quaggoth may be forced
to remove his/her fur due to lice or another parasite infection. As a result,
quaggoths have an aversion to bald individuals, mainly other quaggoths but also
sometimes bald members of other races. If they knew what waxing was, they would
be horrified.
Quaggoth rely on barter, and any gift of goods is expected to be followed by a
return gift; giving and taking are essentially regarded as part of the same act. This
means quaggoths often fail to even consider the possibility of taking something
from a living person without giving something in return. The only exception to this is
when they take something from the dead; this has the unfortunate side-effect that
quaggoth raiders and bandits tend to always kill their targets, instead of taking their
belongings then letting them live.