Tohr-Kreen
[I wish I know whose image this is. It has a signature, but Google image search does not turn up the original. I think it was a contribution to a 1d4Chan page that has since been deleted, but I’m not sure. If anyone can track down the artist, please let me know so I can credit them!
The tohr-kreen were originally Dark Sun’s answer to the original 6 HD thri-kreen from D&D 1e, but this was retconned to mean that all kreen ended up with 6 HD, and the “tohr” prefix literally just referred to them being settled (thri- means nomadic). The Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium Volume II spends many pages on kreens that are mechanically identical, just differing in terms of coloration and culture. I spent one paragraph on that here (of course, I don’t have a page count to fill).]
Tohr-Kreen CR 5 N Monstrous Humanoid This thin, mantis-like creature stands twice as tall as a human. Its limbs are long, and a short bulbous abdomen grows beyond the pair it uses as legs. It clutches a polearm with curving blades, as well as several oversized throwing stars.
If thri-kreen are mantis warriors, the tohr-kreen are mantis nobles. They are larger and more settled than their thri-kreen cousins, although they still may be found on walkabout. Tohr-kreen are still carnivorous, but practice animal husbandry, and find the idea of eating other sapient species to be abominable. Tohr-kreen advance by character class, preferring classes that reward discipline and study. Psychic, occultist and monk are common classes for them to take. Their divine casters are most likely to be clerics or druids, favoring gods of knowledge, nature and travel.
Tohr-kreen fight with gythkas (treat as orc double axes) and chatkchas (treat as starknives), the way their smaller cousins do. Tohr-kreen have long limbs but small hands, and so wield weapons sized for smaller creatures with a dangerously wide reach. All tohr-kreen have psychic abilities, which they use to improve their mobility and camouflage skills to supernatural levels.
Tohr-kreen divide themselves up in a caste system—the caste to which a tohr-kreen is born is usually the one in which it remains, but some change caste due to innate talent or are demoted due to failures. Each caste distinguishes itself by assuming a different primary color when not attempting to blend in with its background. The zik-trin’ta are the diplomats, scouts and traveling sages—they assume a sandy yellow color. The j’ez are a caste of warrior-philosophers, typically in charge of tohr-kreen settlements, and they assume black coloration. The j’hol are builders and artisans, and they are often red in hue. The t’keech are responsible for food production, and are considered the lowest caste—their coloration always includes green hues. The tondi are the rarest caste, being made of druids and nature priests that seek to balance the needs of the tohr-kreen settlement with the world around them. All tondi incorporate pink into their baseline coloration.
