Three Color Critters

Some cities are build of brick and mortar, others are carved from sandy stone; but if you hailed from the noble Goldclaw, then earth and wood would be your home.  Large and hearty, Goldclaws are a race of bear-like sentients known for their splendid beards and their namesake golden forearms.  While some believe the Goldclaws’ gold claws are made from solid gold, the truth is they’re actually organic, their fleshy forelimbs growing a thick alloy of chitin and aurum.  Legend tells of the Goldclaws’ ancestors, the Boneclaws, living within a network of caves high in the mountains, subsisting on a diet of stone and gold ore.  This is the root of their heartiness and the origins of their gold-alloy chitin claws, which are tough enough to splinter a spruce tree. Modern Goldclaws are omnivorous, however, and not even the most braggadocious of bears has ever been seen eating raw rocks, let alone metal ores.  Stories circulate of caches of old Boneclaw treasures in the mountain caves, however, and more than a handful explorers- Goldclaw themselves or otherwise- have set forth on the hunt, though none have returned any richer for their efforts.

Goldclaw society straddles the line between civility and savagery.  Theirs is a land of law and order, of jobs and housing in buildings intricately carved from great and ancient trees and stone.  They have their own written language and speak the Common tongues, and they trade openly with other cultures.  Everything the Goldclaws make, however, they make by hand, dismissing the use of handheld tools as strictly the crutch of weaker races.  Their earthen wood homes are carved by hand, they fell trees by hand, they’ll slice lumber into thin plates by hand and they will carve their runic language into written word with the tips of their sharp claws.  Tailors do not exist among the Goldclaw, although their culinary artists do make use of bowls and containers carved from stone and clay.  Being so closely connected with nature, Goldclaws run excellent fisheries and are masterful florists- traders look to them to acquire rare and valuable seeds or flavorful fresh fish for use in delicious dishes- Goldclaw smoked fish jerky is a travelers’ favorite, coming in a variety of flavors ready-to-eat and seasoned so as to never spoil on a long journey. Many wealthy outsiders have been known to pay handsomely for unique strains of tabbygrass grown by Goldclaw gardeners, as they alone have been able to mix these floral felines with budding flowers to create one-of-a-kind, colorful body marking and blossoming tails favored by young and old alike.