Homebrew Annui Species Details

Many find the Annui to be somewhat abrasive due to their lack of social graces but most Annui would be at least somewhat upset if they realized that people found them to be uncouth or impolite, since courteousness is a valued trait among the Annui.  This acerbic nature is due to their penchant to speaking the truth, no matter how caustic it may be though the usually deliver these nuggets of coarseness in the most flowery of speech so it takes a moment for one to realize they have been the object of an Annui "truth". Of course convincing an Annui that informing a tavern-keeper that while his victuals are not worthy to be fed to animals may indeed be absolutely truthful, it is not necessarily civil as he does not actually want to know his customer’s opinions of his food if he is serving below par fare. 

Physically, they have very dusky skin that feels a bit leathery, likely due to a long life in an environment where sand is windblown much of the time.  Their hair is generally raven black, midnight black or beetle black and their eyes, which are slightly larger and typically darkened with kohl, regardless of gender are a deep and somewhat disquieting black.  They favor light loose clothing of silk or satin when possible, usually colorful ones at that, and usually wear somewhat garish gold, or silver depending on station, loops that pierce the ears, brows, nose and sometimes the lips, though none so close that they are likely to clink and make noise.  Males are typically clean shaven except for a shaped goatee for older males that have attained higher social status and most prefer their hair to be loose and free.  Females on the other hand usually coif their hair in intricate fashions that likely take hours if not accomplished with assistance and usually add gold, or silver, torcs to the jewelry they prefer and the number of torcs is often a sign of their social status, much like the density and length of the males’ goatees. 

The hair for males and females tend to grow nearly a third of the way down their backs along the spine before finally trailing off and for this reason many Annui prefer backless or nearly backless clothing.  But the most noticeable physical differences are the exceptionally large, jackal-like ears that protrude half again their head height above their heads and which are also much broader than most any other humanoid ears.  They are coated with fur that matches their hair, though it is short and very fine, and due to excellent musculature Annui have perfect control of their ears, swiveling them independently and able to fold and bend them in unexpected but very dexterous ways.  They are very startling to most anyone that have never met an Annui and can sometimes produce unusual reactions from strangers, sometimes even in the midst of combat.  They are so expressive that Annui have developed a secondary body language just for their ears which they and very few others can interpret, but through which they can convey a depth of feeling and reaction to another Annui that is astounding. Their dependence on their hearing to detect the slightest sounds in the changing conditions of the desert makes the Perception skill a racial proficiency.

Also, Annui have a short, thin but flexible tail, similar to a jackal's tail, which is also covered in short fine fur that matches their hair and the line of fur from their tail rises partway up the back, nearly meeting the hair from their nape.  Their tails give the Annui a much greater sense of sure-footedness in the shifting sands of their home, resulting in an advantage to Acrobatics due to balance, and it is difficult to make one lose their balance and fall but it also requires modifications for clothing of any type that has not been made by their own people, particularly armors.  This usually translates into an additional 10% to the cost of any wearable item that must accommodate the tail and an additional 3% if they wish to accommodate their mane as well, but this extra cost is avoided when purchasing equipment from Annui, if they can be found without an extensive trek into the hinterlands, which is usually the case.

Annui Male Names: Abbas, Ali, Abir, Abdullah, Aaftab, Aaadil, Amir, Ahmed, Aziz, Babr, Cairo, Cyrus, Chirag, Camil, Dalil, Daniyal, Daler, Ejaz, Ehsaan, Elyas, Emaan, Farooq, Fahad, Faizal, Faidh, Fateh, Feroz, Galib, Gamil, Ghaffar, Haafiz, Haamid, Haatim, Habib, Haider, Hussain, Ibrahim, Idris, Imam, Imran, Iyaan, Ismail, Iltutmish, Jabbar, Jafar, Jahmil, Jalaal, Junaid, Kabir, Kadir, Kaidan, Kaliph, Lahan, Latif, Laziz, Mohammed, Mehfooz, Mabood, Mahboob, Maheer, Mahmood, Nasir, Naadim, Nabeel, Naem, Omar, Omair, Parwez, Qaabil, Qahir, Qadim, Qalam, Qasim, Rahim, Rafeeq, Rashid, Rahat, Saidh, Samir, Sadiq, Salman, Saif, Sahil, Tabbasum, Tahaan, Taheer, Taimoor, Tajj, Ubaid, Usman, Vahid, Waheed, Wasim, Yamir, Yakub, Yousef, Zain, Zaahid, Zaahir, Zehaan, Zaid

Annui Female Names: Aaliyah, Amara, Amina, Aisha, Amal, Calla, Cyra, Celina, Djamila, Dani, Ezra, Elena, Farrah, Fatima, Gul, Giaa, Gamila, Heer, Hija, Hyat, Ida, Iara, Inayat, Jiya, Juri, Keya, Kiah, Kaira, Laila, Leya, Lila, Mariam, Meher, Mahek, Nadira, Nafisa, Noor, Pakiza, Parvin, Rukhsar, Rabia, Ruhi, Sadiya, Shahnaz, Sofi, Suhana, Tanaz, Tahira, Zara, Zoya, Aabidah, Aasma, Adara, Anisah, Basimah, Badia, Benazir, Bilquis, Dariya, Elham, Falak, Faizah, Ferozah, Haniya, Hidaya, Inaya, Jannat, Jalilah, Jazmin, Khadija, Kalila, Leah, Lija, Malala, Myza, Naaz, Naisha, Nury, Nadia, Noushin, Omaira, Omana, Pariza, Qadira, Qiana, Rihana, Refa, Rooh, Saida, Sahara, Shokoufeh, Soheila, Sufia, Siddiqah, Talibah, Taima, Tehzib, Yamama, Yasmin, Zakiyah

Annui Last Names: Abadi, Abboud, Almasi, Amari, Antar, Antoun, Arian, Asfour, Asghar, Asker, Aswad, Atiyeh, Attia, Awad, Ba, Baba, Bahar, Basara, Baz, Bishara, Bitar, Botros, Boulos, Boutros, Cham, Dagher, Daher, Deeb, Essa, Fakhoury, Ganem, Ganim, Gerges, Ghannam, Guirguis, Hadad, Haddad, Haik, Hajjar, Hakimi, Halabi, Hanania, Handal, Harb, Isa, Issa, Kalb, Kanaan, Kassab, Kassis, Kattan, Khouri, Khoury, Kouri, Koury, Maalouf, Maloof, Malouf, Maroun, Masih, Mifsud, Mikhail, Moghadam, Morcos, Nader, Nahas, Naifeh, Najjar, Naser, Nassar, Nazari, Quraishi, Qureshi, Rahal, Rahal, Sabbag, Sabbagh, Safar, Said, Salib, Saliba, Samaha, Sarraf, Sayegh, Seif, Shadid, Shalhoub, Shammas, Shamon, Shamoon, Shamoun, Sleiman, Tahan, Tannous, Toma, Totah, Touma, Tuma, Wasem, Zogby

Thanks to their life in the desert, they are a hardy race, gaining a bonus to Constitution and one other trait.  They have learned to survive the harshest conditions the desert can throw at them, from unending days of heat and sun, blistering cold dark nights to the infamous siroccos that pound anything flat not built to withstand them, making the Survival skill a racial proficiency.

Annui Traits

Annui are hardy, if somewhat abrasive, have mastered survival in the deep desert and thanks to their over-sized ears have exceptionally keen hearing.

Ability Score Increase: Constitution

 Life in the harshness of the Deep Desert is not for the uninitiated, thus the Annui are taught the means to survive in even the most harsh of desert conditions, where there is no rain and the only water is closely guarded oasis.  Their exceptional hardiness grants them a bonus of two on their constitution.

Ability Score Increase: Choose

Annui are versatile and vary from Annui to Annui.  Each one excelling in different areas through long hours of practice.  Annui can choose to increase one attribute that isn't Constitution.

Keen Hearing

Annui hearing is exceptionally sharp due to their over-sized and dexterous ears giving them an Advantage to hearing checks.  Standing half again their head height, their ears can pick out the slightest sounds of the desert, from the sliding sounds of shifting sands to the the hissing pre-runner of the dangerous winds which can flay the unprepared to the bone.

Sure-Footed

Annui are exceedingly Sure-Footed thanks to their tails and learning at an early age to walk on the shifting sands of their home, giving them an Advantage on balance checks..

Survival

They have learned to survive the harshest conditions the desert can throw at them, from unending days of heat and sun, blistering cold dark nights to the infamous siroccos that pound anything flat not built to withstand them, making the Survival skill a racial proficiency.

Perceptive

Their dependence on their hearing to detect the slightest sounds in the changing conditions of the desert makes the Perception skill a racial proficiency.

Languages

Annui speak their own language, in addition to their ear movements which convey a startling amount of information and social cues.  From exposure to non-Annui traders and merchants they are conversant in Common and one additional language of their choice.

Tailor

Many Annui, including unwed males, are skilled tailors, working in silks, satins and linen to make pleasing clothes that fit their unique physiques. Though pleasing and garish are in the eye of the beholder.