Parvulins

The call had gone out a fortnight ago. "WANTED: scrap thieves!" Someone was rooting through the smithies and armouries of Nuppershire, taking any bit of metal smaller than a dinner plate. A misplaced keg of gunpowder was by far the most troubling theft, but thankfully a trail of the stuff led the sheriff of Nuppers directly to Old Man Corgnelius's barn. The retinue threw the doors open, staring in awe at the rickety man-sized contraption being swarmed over by dozens of knee-height green imps. Sheriff Janus knew these troublemakers well.

"Parvs," he spat, as if the word was a curse.

-- Nail Chiqman, Flatplanet: Little Green Men!

A stunted offshoot of the Orcish race, parvulins (parv-you-lins, or "parvs") are notable for being a fraction of their forebears' size, while boasting a much more capable intellect.

Possessed by a frenzied drive to create and invent, that taller races call the "tinker's fever," parvulins tend to congregate in great orgies of mechanical and alchemical experimentation, often culminating in a dropped phial of Alchemist's Fire or an accidental spark near the gunpowder that blows their hiding place (and any unfortunate souls nearby) to kingdom come.

Unwanted And Outcast

Despite appearances, parvulins are orcs: they share genetics and can, in theory, interbreed to produce perfectly healthy orc offspring. However, the odds of such an event ever occuring are so slim as to be laughable.

Orcs detest parvulins, seeing them as hideous mutants with the gall to claim common birth. When it becomes clear that an orc child will grow no longer, the newly christined parvulin is either condemned to forever toil in the tribe's most menial tasks or consigned to outright exile.

...Like Rabbits

When a male parvulin meets a female, the race is notorious for breeding out of control. Immediately after the mutation that creates parvulins presented itself, individuals were often isolated and found shelter in the civilizations of other, more altrustic races.

However, as the seeming "curse" of parvulinism cropped up again and again throughout orcish tribes across the realm, breeding pairs inevitably cropped up.

Female parvulins are extremely fecund in comparison to their mother race, and pregnancies last only 6 months on the long end. Twins, triplets and even quadruplets are not uncommon, and the parvulin race bred itself into cultural significance within the space of a decade.

Very rarely, a parvulin female will give birth to a normal orc, who quickly outgrows his tribe. Treatment of parvborn orcs varies unpredictably, from kind accomodation to the same cruel drudgery orcborn parvulins are subject to.

Psychic Tactics

Parvulins' most famous trait is the ability to quickly and telepathically coordinate simple ideas and directions between individuals, resorting to speech only when detail or emphasis is necessary. This instant communication makes parvulins quick to respond en masse to new threats, and allows small military units to punch far above their weight in combat.

Telepathy is by far the most impressive ability possessed by parvulins, but it was not in fact bestowed upon them at the race's conception. The ability to communicate mind-to-mind was a secondary mutation born into an unknown parvulin nearly a century after the race first arose.

The ability "infected" every parvulin in its reach, their overdeveloped brains connecting to one another as though finally opening a locked door. Every parvulin in existence now has this ability. And if they don't, they undoubtedly will soon enough.

Tinker's Fever

The average lone parvulin enjoys practicing hedge magic or mixing homemade explosive powder. In groups, however, this penchant for ad-hoc R&D reaches new and terrifying heights.

Large bands of chemical-mixing "Alch Parvs" or construct-loving "Mech Parvs" can set up shop in a basement or alleyway and begin churning out weapons-grade materiel by the kiloton.

Parv bands are often led by a dominant personality in the group, who is swiftly bestowed a title such as "Grandboss" or "High Tinker". Through parvulin telepathy, he directs his underlings as a larger craftsman might direct his hands and fingers. Parvulin Grandbosses are responsible for some of the most impressive and unsettling inventions of our time.

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Size Envy

Standing a bit shorter than a halfling when fully grown, parvulins are by far the tiniest of the civilized races. Their numbers ballooning out of control and already barely tolerated by the cities in which most of them live, the common parvulin dream is to prove the worth of the shrunken green race, either through low cunning, heroism, or becoming the Grandboss that coordinates the next revolution in military technology.

Perhaps it is this drive to prove their worth that drives so many young parvulins to strike out from their families, joining with like-minded individuals to seek fame and adventure in a very big, very dangerous world.

Blood Bond, Brain Bond

The archetypical unit of parvulin adventurers is the trio or quartet. Training their minds together to focus upon a martial or arcane discipline, a dedicated band of parvulins can perfect their mental communication in combat, to the point where they can act as though directed by a single being.

Parvulin bands that form this way are highly capable adventurers, and hold an unbreakable bond with one another. The loyalty among parvulin battle-sibs is such that they would quite literally rather die than leave one of their own behind.

Parvulin Names

Parvulins only have a single spoken name, which is usually a single syllable packed with harsh consonants. Names are gender-neutral, and family names are unneeded, as identity is better conveyed over telepathy as a wordless idea.

In modern times, parvulins often don't even have a spoken name until first having to adopt one to communicate with other races.

Names: Az, Bog, Curt, Deg, Elg, Fek, Gob, Hecht, Ilk, Jit, Koz, Lenk, Mawg, Nep, Ork, Pawp, Quord, Rix, Slat, Turg, Ult, Vex, Wilk, Xyk, Yawk, Zapp

Parvulin Traits

Your parvulin characters have a number of unique traits that set them far apart from other races. Playing a parvulin can be a great challenge that the DM might not want to manage, but so long as you use your head(s), you'll come out on top.

Ability Score Decrease. Your Strength and Constitution both decrease by 2, and have a maximum of 14. Magical items such as the Belt of Giant Strength or Gauntlets of Ogre Power can bypass this limit, but keep in mind a single item can only be worn by a single parvulin.

Fragile. Decrease the size of your hit die by 2 (A d6 becomes a d4, a d10 becomes a d8, and so on).

Age. Parvulins reach sexual maturity around age 10. While death by natural causes is hardly common, the oldest parvulins can live to be 50 to 60 years old.

Alignment. Parvulins are frequently Lawful, as the psychic link to their communities or a Grandboss impresses on them a need to harmonize and cooperate. However, outside of parvulin communities, they are frequently seen as Chaotic, as frenzied parvs can steal valuable materiel, unbidden, from their neighbors. Parvulins do not tend toward good or evil.

Size. A fully grown parvulin is a little under 3 feet tall, and weighs between 35 and 40 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Triple Threat. Your "character" is three parvulins, each with identical statistics but different names and personalities if you so choose. Every Parvulin in the formation chooses from your class's starting gear, taking different equipment from the others if you so choose. The entire formation rolls initiative once, and all act on the same turn. Each parvulin gets to move and make one action and bonus action, as if they were different characters. Since Parvulins are a Small race, up to four can occupy a single 5-foot square with no issue.

Triad Magic. When you cast a spell, all of your parvulins must spend the casting time (i.e., a spell with a casting time of one action takes the action of all of your parvulins). The effect emits from one parvulin you designate, who is the only one required to maintain concentration. Casting a concentration spell will still end any concentration spells you have active.

And Then There Were Four. Any time you could take an Ability Score Increase or a feat, you may instead elect to add another parvulin to your formation. You may do this only once.

And Then There Were None. Your parvulins are intimately connected on a mental level while in combat. So long as two of your parvulins are conscious, they passively stabilize the others through the telepathic link. However, if all but one of your parvulins falls unconscious, that one also falls unconscious due to the mental strain, at which point the entire formation makes death saves as if it were a single character. If a parvulin dies outright, the mental feedback kills the rest of the formation immediately.

Blasters! You are proficient with the Parv Blaster, a ramshackle sidearm fashioned from scrap that uses ignited gunpowder to fire metal pellets. Parv Blasters are Martial Ranged Weapons that deal 1d4 Piercing damage. They have the Ammunition (30/60), Light, and Loading properties. Each parvulin may start with a Parv Blaster in addition to the equipment granted by your Class and Background.

Languages. You can speak and understand Common and Parvulin Telepathy.