Grung

"Do not poke the skin. The skin stings. If you want to say hello, you do the wave. Like this! [Frantic waving] If you want to say 'I like you,' you give the nice bug. Like this! [Offers a squirming centipede] See? Civilization is easy if you are damp enough."

— Glup, Ambassador of the Drip-Leaf Tribe

Origins: The Great Spill

• The Primordial Soup: Grung legends say that the world started as one giant, perfect puddle. Eventually the land dried up (which they regard as a tragedy), but the Grung remained as the guardians of the wet places.

 
• The Rainbow Spawn: Unlike the old stories where color dictated your job, Grung know that color is just luck. A single clutch of eggs can hatch Grung of every color! They view a multi-colored tribe as a healthy tribe. A tribe of all one color is seen as boring and genetically stagnant.

 
• The Canopy Life: They live high in the rainforest layers, building hanging pools made of giant leaves and wax so they never have to touch the "dry floor."

Cultural Values: The Damp Life

• Toxic Boundaries: Every Grung produces a natural poison on their skin. This dictates their entire social structure. They cannot casually touch non-Grung without hurting them.
• The Wave: Because they can't shake hands or hug outsiders, Grung are extremely expressive with gestures. They wave, dance, and hop to communicate emotion.
• Trinket Culture: They are obsessed with "shinies" and "colors." Not necessarily gold, but colorful beetle shells, bright flowers, or glass beads. A Grung's status is often determined by how much cool stuff they have stuck to their sticky fingers.
• The Nap: Grung have high energy bursts followed by necessary periods of stillness to rehydrate. The "Group Soak" is a sacred community activity where everyone sits in a pool and does absolutely nothing.