SKEYL

Physiology

As their name suggests, the long bodies and tails of these rare reptilian manimals are covered in scales, smooth and overlapping or beaded and studded. Skeyl body mass ranges from thin and wiry to thick and bloated. Their coloring typically matches their environment, ranging from earth tones like the rocks and sand to greys and greens like the ruins and the bog-swamps. Some large breeds exhibit darker scales marked with lines or splotches of color. Skeyls may also bear distinctive ridges, spines, and frills on their heads, tails, backs and shoulders. Some may have a noticeable snout while others barely even have a nose. Ah, but their smiles...their smiles are full of ivory knives.

A Skeyl's attempts at spoken language may sound dry and cracked. This is contrasted by regular hisses and lisps from its tongue which it will constantly flick at the air to assess its surroundings . Most other races find this unnerving or distracting since it exposes them to a Skeyl's foul breath. Skeyls and Bogkin share a nasty habit of licking their weapons prior to combat with a mostly harmless saliva. The act is one of intimidation as well as a mark of possession...possession of the weapon and any prey struck by it.

Social Culture

Skeyls are very solitary and very predatory, perhaps even more so than Mwrr Stalkers. They are generally patient and calculating. Stealthy and silent. When agitated, most turn evasive, nervous, and vocal. Keen-eyed scavengers might catch sight of elusive Skeyls from a distance as they lounge on sun-baked stones. At the same time, they may never see the darker ones waiting in the shade of stones until it's too late...

Large Skeyls are often wandering scavengers and traders, deceptively slow but quick to twist a deal to their advantage. The smaller breeds are surprisingly bold hunters. Trade caravans tell of Skeyl clans in contest with mutant tribes over highly valued water-pockets in the Deep Sands. There may be some truth to these stories because Skeyls love water. They are heavily drawn toward it and very territorial over any sources they find. This often brings them into conflict with thirsty scavengers, especially ghouls.

Skeyl Breeds

((Dev Note: All Skeyls are Lizard/Humanoid hybrids in appearance. Please no snakes, naga, dinosaurs, dragons, medusa or yuan-ti.))
Skeyls generally do not distinguish themselves by families or breeds. This may be due to their notorious solitude or the distinctive variations in their appearance. If there are clans, they are rare. Several spans ago, a small band of aggressive Skeyls harassed the locals for reasons unknown. Killed or driven off, they disappeared into the sands as quickly and quietly as they came...