Race:Picori

Picori is a playable race on Hyrule Castle. As one of the nine uncommon races, a player must either be a Veteran, or acquire a Race License specifically for this race to create a Picori character.

Canonically, Picori have appeared solely in The Minish Cap.

Character Creation Brief

These tiny creatures are believed across Hyrule to be mere fairy tales, but that couldn't be further than the truth. In fact, Picori in Hyrule may be just as numerous as Hylians, if not more so. The answer to this bizarreness has three components. First and foremost, the tallest Picori to have ever lived... was not even two-and-a-half inches tall. Indeed, most Minish have less height than a Hylian's finger has length. Secondly, due to a strange magical barrier innate to the race, they cannot even be detected beyond a short distance--which is typically less than the distance between a Hylian's eyes, and the ground where Minish normally walk. Finally, Picori are extremely secretive about their race, and usually avoid detection by other races for their own protection. Despite these traits, Picori often living amongst Hylians and other races, hiding in their homes for protection from the elements. Cities, forests, mountains, and more are all inhabited by these tiny creatures.

Up-close, a Picori has smooth flesh like a Hylian, and ears even pointier than theirs. Its arms are somewhat long, with both its hands and feet having four-fingered digits capable of grasping and manipulating objects as well as a Hylian's hands. Its nose protrudes forward slightly, like a mouse's. Strangely, a Picori has a tail resembling a feather, which will regrow in the event it is severed. Like Hylians, they always wear clothing, and usually have hair on their scalp.

A Picori begins with a PWC of 1/2/2, having a 2 in both Wisdom and Courage. By choosing the Picori-exclusive racial perk called Huge Potential, the Picori can gain a +1 to Power. Excluding the optional Power increase, this starting PWC can be defied by using the Exception general racial perk during character creation.

A Picori has an innate racial perk called Foreign Language, which grants it mastery over the Picori language as well as the more common Hyrulean tongue. In addition to this, a Picori character can have up to three additional racial perks of choice. In addition to the general perks available to every race, a Picori can also choose from:

• Gnat Hat: while to a Picori this has no function, it can be donned by another being to cause the wearer to shrink down to the Picori's size
• Huge Potential: a powerful trait which halves the cost of Major Gain, regardless of how many Major Treasures the Picori acquires
• Kinstone Collector: a useful trait which enables the user to acquire additional Kinstone Pieces
• Jabber Nut: a useful nut which enables its eater to speak seemingly any known language
• Language of Fauna: a useful spell enabling the Picori to communicate with animals
• Lost and Found: a technique which enables the Picori to find mundane objects in extremely unusual places
• Minish Veil: a trait held by most Picori, it's what prevents taller races from being able to even notice these tiny beings

Notably, most treasures a Picori earns are scaled down to a size appropriate for its race. For instance, a Bomb Bag earned by a Picori is presumed to be small enough for that Picori to character, but only create tiny Picori-sized explosions. Similarly, a spell which normally summons a Keese might only summon a gnat-sized Keese when used by a Picori.

Recommended Origins

If you've never made a Picori character before, these example origins may provide inspiration for your character.

Civilized Picori

Your family and relatives have always lived in the shadows of other races. Likely, you slip through the crevices of a Hylian's home in Castle Town, huddle deep in the holes of Eastern Caves, or even live in the attics of Monster Village. Thanks largely to your unwitting neighbors, you can live a peaceful and quiet life outside the reach of feral animals and vicious monsters who would be able to detect you.

A Civilized Picori begins with a PWC of 1/2/2. Its racial perks include Foreign Language, Gnat Hat, Language of Fauna, and Minish Veil.

Mountain Minish

Unlike most of your kind, you don't rely on others for protection. You're a hardened worker of the wilderness, likely building your homes near natural protective features such as under rocks, under caves, or behind tiny waterfalls. In the rare instance a beast tries to salvage your people for food, you and the rest of the guards are particularly well-trained at taking down colossal beasts many times your size specifically for this purpose. In the rare instance the fight is already lost before it begins, your people already have an escape plan. Indeed, survival is often on the mind of you and your friends here. While you have less time for idle pleasures than most, it's a particularly satisfying life.

A Mountain Minish begins with a PWC of 1/2/2. Its racial perks include Foreign Language, Huge Potential, Lost and Found, and Minish Veil.

Physiology

While not vital information, the following includes further detail on the race's appearance and biology.

The most remarkable characteristic of Picori is their tiny size. Even smaller than tiny fairies, a typical adult Picori stands at a height of only 3cm (or about an inch), and never weighs more than a mere 50 grams (less than 1/8 of a pound). They're the smallest known intelligent creatures, even smaller than Tiny Fairies. Despite their size, they also have a lifespan comparable to Hylians, reaching adulthood after 15-20 years, and the oldest die of natural causes after about 100 years. Also like Hylians, they have two genders and reproduce in a comparable way. Differences between gender in Picori tend to be less noticeable, making males seem somewhat effeminate by Hylian standards, and females somewhat boyish.

Although Picori have humanoid shapes, their proportions are somewhat different compared to the more common humanoid forms seen in Hylians, Zora, or Rito. A Picori has smooth flesh like a Hylian, and ears even pointier than theirs. Its arms are somewhat long, with both its hands and feet having four-fingered digits capable of grasping and manipulating objects as well as a Hylian's hands. Its nose protrudes forward slightly, like that of mouse. Strangely, a Picori has a tail resembling a white, red-tipped feather, which will slowly regrow in the event it is severed. Like Hylians, they always wear clothing, and usually have hair on their scalp. Their eyes tend to be uniformly black, lacking irises, in a manner almost identical to Anouki.

Culture & History

While not vital information, the following includes further detail on the race's origins, development, and society.

The origins of Picori are mysterious even among themselves. Hylian legends speak of strangely finding rupees and other treasures under rocks--a phenomenon Picori are believed to cause--for as long as Hylians have kept records. In the rare instance a Hylian or other 'big person' speaks of this tiny race, they are usually referred to as Minish, though these tiny people refer to themselves in their own language as Picori.

Throughout the history of Picori, they have kept themselves secret from other races, though the reasons for each doing so seems to vary. Some do so out of fear of being exploited by larger creatures, while others find life easier living in Hylian homes without their knowledge, and others still just get a kick out of their race's secrecy. Largely because of the race's unusual illusion inborn into them, almost every Picori lives its entire life without being discovered outside of momentary, accidental sightings.

Although Picori don't have an overarching culture like some races, there has always been one steadfast principle that permeates every Picori society, paraphrased as, "You can reveal yourself to them, but don't reveal us." 'Them' of course refers to any of the numerous larger, sentient races. Although most Picori hide, the rare one may wish to expose himself or herself. There's no taboo on a single Picori revealing itself, but revealing the existence of a tribe is considered a horrible crime against the entire race. Thus, most Picori who expose themselves each claim to be one-of-a-kind.

Despite their secrecy, Picori as a whole are extremely altruistic and kind of nature. They routinely will help out larger people in secret towards peaceful endeavors, whether its hiding tiny treasures under their furniture, or helping them craft useful items when they aren't looking. Picori even often claim that helping other people gives them energy, and makes them feel particularly fulfilled. Despite the fact Picori have existed as long as seemingly any other race, there are no records of them every waging wars or battles against each other, nor seeking widespread harm against the larger races. Even innocent pranks are quite rare among them.