Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro di Quaregna e di Cerreto the Moleman (Avo, for short)
A member of a species long thought to have died out millennia ago, his people merely slipped underground and chose to avoid surface dwellers and their strange conflicts. The Molemen are a very literal people with poor eyesight but very clever engineering, especially concerning tunneling and ground tectonics. Not as much use in most battles given their vision, but in close quarters such as a bar or tunnel fight their skills are unmatched.
Unfortunately, as Avo will be the first to tell you, proper engineering takes time, because what’s more important, getting it done or getting it done right? They are less likely to use their strong forelimbs to dig a tunnel quickly, as many historians have theorized, but instead prefer tools like the laser shovel, fire pickaxe (“Why do you need fire underground?” “Tree roots can suck it.”) and shovel-shovel. Not to mention their laser level, load calculator tables, wooden timber beams, and sliderules, of which they are masters.
Function above form is the molemen thought process and properly engineered function above function above form is the more precise way to describe it. They have avoided other races for generations, and have a deep seated suspicion of dwarves, whose carefully considered sculptural tunnels deemed “astonishing,” “breathtaking,” or “an amazing display of mastery with regard to the beauty of bejeweled caverns” the molemen deem “a scattershot nice try of winding routes by a pack of treasure hunters with no discipline or precision.”
It should be noted that this sort of thing is exactly what they tell their hutchlings when they begin their first tunnels and is considered a form of encouragement. Just not by other races, hence their avoidance of others who tend to take such dismissals of their highest art form as an insult. But they have had very little contact with humans (live ones at least, teen moles have learned mastery of their fire pickaxes in the fields of human-buried wooden boxes). Elves? How often do the fish speak of the birds? Moosemen are presumed incompetent given their antler spans in mole tunnels, and lizards are often avoided given their teeth and cleverness to wend their way into long-abandoned tunnels.
Miser Fixit (4)
- Iron hammer, rock chisel and a clever eye for figuring our how to hold a tunnel “for a while, at least”
Tinker, Tinker, Tinker, Tinker (3)
- Idle hands are the Devil’s Things playthings. Why does everyone say that around me?
Was It Two Lefts? (3)
- If I built it, I won’t get lost. Too bad I didn’t build everyplace we’re going. And if I don’t know the way, my self confidence will let you think I do.
Potion Dealer (Dealer’s Choice) (2)
- A pouch of ground herbs, saucy sauces, and a few powders for various occasions, first one’s free, man.
