BLIND ANTLER MEN

Number Appearing: Singly, in small groups, teeming in their thousands
Size: Taller than the average human
Armor: Ornate exoskeletal Underworld survival suits, crafted of manipulated biological tissues
Resilience: As per tough, experienced human warrior plus slow regeneration
Intelligence: Smarter than humans, cosmic awareness
Communication: Unique language characterized by monotone shouting, able to master most spoken languages after extended, highly irritating period of very loud monotone echolalia
Disposition: Aloof, emotionless, eminently logical, frequently distracted by input from numerous unknown senses
Violence: By weapon (enchanted self-heating swords for exterminating trolls, exploding bolas, bio-drones), spells
Enemies: Chaos godlings of the Underworld and their humanoid cultists, untrustworthy interlopers, trolls (an embarrassing degenerate sub-species)
Aims: Accumulation of available knowledge of the cosmos ascertained via array of sensillae (ever-changing rack of "antlers") from comfort of home, hoarding thereof without much in the way of practical application
Peculiarities:
- Slip into inert state of deep observation, sometimes in mid-sentence, when alerted to wide variety of stimulae by sensory array
- Animal/fungus hybrid alien to the Underworld, delivered as hibernating spores on great meteorite that crashed through the surface into their home cavern, now a bewildering metropolis featuring vast group meditation spaces full of motionless antler men standing around perceiving things
- Able to cast limited selection of spells by direct mental manipulation of ambient Chaos in the Underworld with none of the hassle of verbal, gestural, or material components
- Cosmic awareness enhanced by senses known and unknown, consider themselves equal to Chaos godlings in wisdom and stature but require no unseemly worship as do the emotionally starved and stunted godlings
- Bio-technological devices further enhance their capacity to probe the unknown
- Field armies only occasionally but have never lost a battle
- View surface people as menaces due to ability to "taste" greed, hate, irrational fear and other universal human characteristics, all of which make them want to vomit
Treasure: Invaluable Underworld knowledge, fortunes in natural resources, precious metals, gems and crystals (all used for scientific/aesthetic purposes only), weird manufactured goods of dubious use to lesser beings