Amborel
The amborel are a race of humanoids discovered by a dwarven mining party deep below the surface. They are hardy people living in extreme conditions of cold and darkness. Socially, amborels are tribal and generally confine themselves to communities of up to ten called pods. If the number of members in a pod threatens to exceed the social limits, a pod will splinter in two with one such splinter roaming off to form a new pod. This practice of pod mitosis serves two purposes. The first is to propagate the species further throughout the underland, a process which has certainly spread their domain across a vast distance. Secondly, this practice is a form of defense, such that they cannot easily be exterminated as a race by other denizens of the underland. There is no telling how great the numbers of the amborel count, and even the amborel themselves only have suspicions.
The appearance of an amborel differs significantly from nearly all other known sentient humanoids. An amborel's skin is rough and pitted, resembling the rocky environment of their home. It is tough and is found in many shades of brown and grey, even black. An amborel vary in about the same shape and size as dwarves, and can often be just as surly in demeanor. While not typically affined with magic, they do possess a few natural abilities unique to their race. An amborel can, at will, strengthen their skin through the tightening of its muscles, granting a higher than normal defense against physical attack. Second, and possibly the most mysterious, is their ability to change aspects of its appearance, including its gender.
It is perhaps through this last phenomenon that the race as a whole assigns no specific value to any gender and have great difficulty in understanding gender roles. An amborel understands the difference between genders in terms of function, but, other races' notions of gender are often lost on a confused amborel.
An amborel is best suited to the life of a warrior-type class. They are also very spiritual and would very easily be found in religious centers preaching the words of the deities.
Amborels are a resilient race and are therefore blessed with high constitution and strength.
