Chea
The Chea (Shay-UH) are a long-lived Cradle Sophont originating from Jhoutai. Their physiology is well-adapted to life as an omnivorous farmer-scavenger in the sunblasted Verin Steppes, where the hot, the cold, and the wind are all of the blistering variety.
Features
Eyes
Chea eyes come in pale pastel gradients of blue to green. As with all Verin the melanophores in their irises reflect a red eyeshine in direct lighting, but theirs are significantly easier to see.
Facultative Infrared Tetrachromacy
Chea are Facultative Tetrachromats, meaning they may alternate between color vision and infrared at will. Their ability to see color is similar to your own, though some describe a fascinating aura to certain shades of cobalt and gold. Their infrared vision adjusts to heat and cold similarly to how color vision adjusts to the bright or the dark, granting them an innate precision when measuring temperature or picking out the shapes of hidden dangers by their temperature differences.
As a Free Action, you may alternate between standard color vision and Infrared.
Melanophoric Corneas
Chea have eyes well adapted to their original homelands in the deserts and plains. Their corneas have melanophores which make their corneas appear reflective in intense light so that they can overcome sunblindness. When night falls, their pupils dilate enough to expose a secondary set of rods and cones with limited infrared chromacy. Ancient chea hunters would use it to hunt in the deserts at night. They'd look at the sand for warm spots and jam their spears down into the sand
As a Passive Ability, You are immune to being blinded by bright lights.
You may even look into the sun, if you use another bright light to fully activate your Melanophores, first.
Physique
With broad shoulders, wide hips, and stocky torsoes, it's not hard to see their descendents, the Kajh, or their kin, the Sauthei, in their silhouette.
Their average height is 5'11"
Tusks
Chea canines and premolars are fused together into ivory tusks which will continue to grow throughout their lives. Without dentistry, these tusks become misaligned and misshapen. Each and every Chea has their own regimen of filing, shaping, or inscribing their tusks, though there are some popular styles:
Hair
Their hair is typically jet, raven, onyx or obsidian in lustre, but it is not too uncommon to find the occasional blue-black. Texture varies between families, and often even within it.
Vitals
The body beneath their slate skin is as unique and as rugged as the exterior, as they have large hearts to keep their thick blood pumping. They also have dense, difficult to break bones.
Their thick skin insulates them from the hot and cold.
Whenever you make an Endurance check, negate your Ante by the value of your Endurance Modifier.
