Lo’menni are a type of dwarf, the most commonly known, in fact. Unlike the elves, dwarves are not as splintered, there being only two sub-races of dwarf, plus the half-dwarf, compared to five sub-races of elf, plus the half-elf. In spite of this, there is no great unification among dwarves and the sub-race divisions are predominantly along the line of “focused and largely indifferent to anything beyond my obsession” versus “evil, yeah, you heard it, evil”. The elves, by comparison, at least have some semblance of cultural diversity among their groupings.

A lo’menni’s chief love is toil. A lo’menni is never happier than when there is a cause to work or fight for, something that can be approached with stoic single-mindedness for weeks, months, years, or even decades at a time. Once a lo’menni’s mind is committed to a certain task, it will only be set aside after a great deal of grumbling and coercion. The fulfilment achieved upon completion of a lengthy task is what lo’menni strive for.

The task to which a lo’menni is presently committed is referred to as their focus. A lo’menni’s focus must be a feat requiring at least one week to complete. Shorter term goals cannot be considered a focus. While performing tasks related to the focus, a lo’menni receives a +1 bonus to all saving throws and a +2 bonus to all skill or feat checks related to the focus. A lo’menni’s commitment to the focus is based upon their physiology – those who complete their lives before they complete their foci live out their afterlives as bansidhes in the wastes, haunting their unfinished works for all eternity.

   Personality

How a lo’menni behaves depends greatly on his focus, a single task that dominates every aspect of his life until it’s completed. Each lo’menni has a focus that guides his actions during every waking moment. A focus is usually a specific goal. If you’re roleplaying a lo’menni, you should be able to describe your current focus in a single sentence without a moment’s hesitation. You can change your focus simply by telling the DM, although most lo’menni don’t change their focus until the task is completed or it’s apparent that it never will be completed, as there are penalties associated with this (the lo’menni has a transition period of 1 week where all checks relating to the new and old focus take a penalty of -1 to saves, and -2 to skills and feats). Think carefully before deciding to choose a focus that’ll make your goals diverge from those of the other PCs. Your focus should make for interesting roleplaying, but it shouldn’t form a wedge between you and the other players.

   Physical Description

Lo’menni are short but extremely powerful. Lo’menni average 4 to 4½ feet in height and tend to have a very large muscle mass – a full grown lo’menni weighs in the neighbourhood of 200 pounds. -Lives of hard work in the hot sun leave them with a rich tan and rugged, callused hands and feet. Lo’menni can live up to 400 years. Lo’menni are totally hairless and find the concept of hair faintly (or extremely in some cases) repulsive.

   Relations

A lo’menni takes notice of other beings based upon their focus. If the other being is also actively committed to the lo’menni’s focus, then they will be considered a sensible and dependable companion by the lo’menni. If, however, the other being is vehemently opposed to the lo’menni’s focus, the two will be irrevocably at odds until one or the other is dead. There is very little room for compromise in the mind of a lo’menni. The majority of lo’menni are of a lawful alignment due to their dedication to their focus, though other alignments are certainly not precluded as the dedication is biological rather than ideological. As a race, they tend not to get on with Anath (but then, most races don’t get on with Anath, even most other Anath). Because the focus is so central to a lo’menni’s being there are no other general trends definable when it comes to reacting to other characters in the game.

   Alignment

Lo’menni are usually lawful, and they tend to either neutral or good with respect to good and evil, but there are no hard and fast rules. The focus-driven nature of lo’menni virtually mandates lawful behaviours, but only in relation to the focus itself. Adventuring lo’menni can be of any alignment, but their focus remains their driving force, and they will do anything to achieve that focus, irrespective of alignment (though this does not mean they necessarily avoid the consequences of behaviours contrary to their stated alignment).

   Lo'menni Racial Traits

• +4 Constitution, +2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma: Lo’menni are massively muscled and tough, but tend to have slightly slower reflexes and be gruff and reserved.
• Medium: As medium creatures, lo’menni have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Lo’menni base land speed is 20 feet. However, lo’menni can move this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armour or carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures whose movement is reduced in such situations).
• Darkvision: Lo’menni can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and lo’menni can function just fine with no light at all.
• Stability: Lo’menni are exceptionally stable on their feet. A lo’menni gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull-rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).
• +2 racial bonus on saves versus spells, spell-like effects, and psionic powers: Lo’menni have an innate resistance to magic spells and psionic powers.
• Inborn Power: Lo’menni gain 3 extra power points at 1st level, regardless of whether they choose a psionic class or not. They can use the power points provided to manifest vigour. If you take levels in a class that offers a repertoire of psionic powers, simply add the 3 points to your power point total, and add your inborn power (vigour) to your list of powers known. Lo’menni use their inborn power at a manifester level equal to their ECL. They use Wisdom to set the save DC unless they have levels in a psionic class such as psion or psychic warrior that uses a different ability to set the DC. In that case, they choose either Wisdom or the psionic class’s relevant ability score to set the save DC.
• Focus: Lo’menni are notoriously single-minded, focusing on one task to the exclusion of others. This focus is something that can be simply stated in a single sentence (as detailed above). In addition to +1 on all saves when pursuing a task directly related to their focus, and a +2 to all skill and feat checks when engaged in such activity, a Lo’menni gains a +4 Will save versus charm or compulsion effects which would delay, change, or distract from their focus. If a Lo’menni changes focus before completion of their original focus, they suffer a -1 to all saves and -2 to all skill and feat checks related to either the old or new focus for a period of one week.
• Lo’mennini Blood: Lo’menni are resistant to venoms and toxins, getting a +4 racial bonus on Fortitude saving throws against poison.
• Level Adjustment: +1. Lo’menni are more powerful than their standard counterparts on other worlds, and have and Effective Character Level (ECL) one level higher than the total levels of all classes the character has levels in.