Ravenite

Description

As scavengers and hoarders, the Ravenite is known throughout the Elemental world to be the main resource of providing something that someone needs. With their small wings and nimble bodies, they are able to go most anywhere and collect things that they find. They have an excellent memory and can locate items in their own inventory or the location/information about how they got the item. In addition, if the item is too large to bring back to the community, they will enlist the aid of other Ravenites by trading them one of their current goods for the help.

Among themselves, the Ravenites have no need for money. They willingly trade items that they collected and there doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason between the items they trade other than their own personal preferences. They do, however, extract money from non-Ravenites. This allows them to purchase foods and other goods that could not be scavenged.

The village of the Ravenites is a series of large enclosed oval nests (looking like eggs) that are wedged between branches and the trunks of trees. The nests are typically about 20’ or more in the air and provide for only one opening that the Ravenite can fly into.

Interaction

Discussion with a Ravenite is an annoying process. It’s like dealing with a used-product salesman who is constantly trying to get you to trade one of your items for one of theirs. They are always looking to upgrade what they have collected and discussions are along that path.

The important thing to remember is that they are very intelligent. They inherently know the value of something and, more importantly, they understand the value of something to the people that they are interacting with. How they know this is unknown.

Combat

The Ravenites are not known for their fighting abilities. Although they are agile and fast, they prefer to escape or, if not possible, they will try to barter their way out of a situation. One of the standard tricks is to agree to find something for an opponent but replace it with a cheaper replica that looks similar.

If combat happens, they will always try to go for any long-distance weapon they have in their arsenal. This greatly increases their chance for survival and aids in their retreat.