Lutrai don't have much in common with the average human or demihuman. They're known for their mischievous natures, their love of games, and their odd habit of making up new words for things they don't understand (which is a lot of new words). Lutrai have very simple needs - freedom, companions, food, and perhaps a boat, for they crave adventure and excitement. Wealth and power have little meaning in their culture, and karma is an absolute truth, beyond good and evil, governing all things in the end.

        Personality: Lutrai are group-minded and would rather make new friends than money or repution. They love games and have a very laid-back approach to just about everything, prefering simple pleasures to the persuit of any long-term study. Lutrai welcome any friendly stranger into their midst, and are exceptionally loyal companions to those who can keep up with their boundless energy. Though their curiosity and naivety often get them into trouble, most lutrai are sharp enough to get themselves out again, given a little luck and a clever story. They're also very easily impressed, usually by magic or shiny things.

        Physical Description: Standing between four and five feet tall, the lutrai are anything but intimidating. Though more or less humanoid, they have a more significant animal aspect, from their long, heavy rudder-like tails, to their sleek pelts, webbed hands, and blunt, grinning muzzles. Their fur is short, dense and waterproof, ranging from brown to beige along the front, and frequently decorated with elaborate painted runes. Lutrai have four fingers and toes instead of five, and lack any sort of claw or nail at the end of their digits. They speak in youthful, energetic tones, conveying their optomism and nearly-perpetual good cheer.

        Lutrai wear simple clothing, the most common sort being a pauncho and loincloth combination woven from softened palmgrass. They rarely wear any sort of gloves or footgear, which reduces their ability to swim quite significantly. Talismans and fetishes are very common, especially the feathers they wear in their long, spikey hair (also called headfur). These feathers are arranged in certain colors to help identify the wearer and their (current) role within the tribe.

        Relations: Though they're more than happy to accept the company of other races, most humans and demihumans still regard lutrai as primitive 'creatures'. They are more readily accepted by other introns such as koba and lapix, with whom the lutrai frequently trade. When they do find their way into greater civilization, it is often as captives, or entertainers, as they're not taken very seriously, for the most part. This suits them quite well, for there's very little they take seriously - even the most fearsome dragon or anti-paladin is joked about in some way or another. Most would rather be friends than enemies, and they have a rather difficult time killing anyone or bearing grudges. Most people think of this as foolish until they experience lutrai culture first hand.

        Alignment: Lutrai are good-natured, but just about as chatoic as they come, easily distracted by new ideas and shiny things. They have no real laws in their culture, finding such things more or less pointless when common sense works so much better. This is surprising, considering just how little common sense most lutrai have at their disposal, but for the most part their intentions are good and fairly simple to ascertain. Concepts such as politics, justice, and imprisonment are all very alien to them, not that they don't make a game of immitating the strangeness every now and then.

        Lutrai Lands: Because they have only limited agricultural technology, the lutrai tend to settle very close to oceansides or large rivers, where they can catch fish and easily escape should the need arise. Often, their 'land' will include wide expanses of beach, for their wild celebrations, lagoons for swimming, and even portion of coral reef, from which they harvest all manner of shellfish and even hunt sharks (a lutrai delicacy). They live far from the settled lands of other, more advanced cultures, often spread out among tiny island chains in the middle of the Wide Blue. They prefer to settle, and have a hard time establishing any sort of foothold beyond their usual island habitat. They are, however, masters of this habitat, and are well versed in all the native perils such as poisonous insects, angry hydras, and the occasional carnivorous plant. Most of their communities are so remote as to have had no prior contact with other civilizations, but if they like to party on the beach, and have plenty of shiny things, strangers are more than welcome to join the tribe.

        Religion: The most sacred element of the lutraic world is the sun. From the sun comes the source of all life, the light and heat which sustains the world. They are worshipers of the sun goddess, Kij, who teaches them to cherish all life and bring light and cheer into places where it has never been. The sun mystics are among the last of Kij's followers, though all lutrai believe in her power quite unshakably. They see it every morning, after all. Lutrai sun mystics wear bright patchwork cloaks, crude replicas of a those once worn by the Solinar. Most of their rituals involve some kind of game, often played at a sacred site such as standing stones or the coral grave of some wonderous leviathan.

        Language: The energetic lutrai use a combination of simple dialect and complex body language to communicate, often making up words on the fly to describe curiosities. This can be confusing, which is why they have the body language aspect to make up for it. Their dextrous hands, in particular, are useful for conveying a much deeper meaning to the relatively simple tongue - from creepy spider-leg gestures, to convey fear, to a sort of swaying dance, to convey happiness. They have a crude heiroglyphic script which is easy for the most dim of wits to understand, usually finger-painted. For all its simplicity, however, it's highly effective.

        Names: Lutraic names come in two parts, much like the rest of their language. An immitative posture accompanies any common name, and just to be on the same side, most of the otterish folk have their names painted or tattooed somewhere on their body. In any case, a name is less important than the individual, and thus there are no family names or titles at all. Oddly enough, they have a habit of using their postures to accompany the names of non-lutrai, finding it much easier when traveling among strange companions.

        Male Names: Hoko, Akaru, Paluk, Aohi, Lairu, Takeet, Boji, and Hepkep

        Female Names: Jukka, Jani, Mea, Koa, Aiha, Pauki, and Kikali

        Adventures: Unlike most sane races, the lutrai crave adventure and exploration. Most have only heard legends of what lies beyond their tropical homelands, and have caught scare glimpses of a fantastic world of wonders from the occasional shipwreck or curious flotsam. Their curiosity drives them more than anything else, and while they love the occasional shiny trinket, most lutrai don't have much use for money, and tend to spend (trade) it right away. Some will even don enchanted masks, transforming themselves into members of another race in order to explore it in secret. Some lutrai become lost among more civilized lands, and often their entire life's focus lies in getting home alive.