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Kinslayer777
2010-05-16, 04:28 PM
The Aodhàn
http://th08.deviantart.net/fs37/300W/f/2008/243/3/8/38cdf68aa56eb85e96009e169401dc78.jpg

The Aodhàn are an earthy, free-spirited race of nomads, preferring a life of simplicity to that of the complicated dealings of established urban society. They prefer song, dance, and art among the natural world compared to that of money-handling and greed of man-made urbania. Extremely musical in nature, the Aodhàn are legendary for their enchanting, earthy serenades and ballads, preferring stringed instruments above all. Living in the Everwood forests of Elderland, the Aodhàn seldom stay in one place for too long, traveling in communities of up to 300. These communities are, to the Aodhàn, called "Kin" or families as is the more common term. Though not all of the same bloodline, Kin is a focal essence to Aodhàn spirituality. Though nomadic in nature, Aodhàn are strongly "home-bodies", their "home" being the security net of their family.

The Aodhàn are deeply spiritual, following the teachings handed down from the Maker Himself, meditating on the statutes amongst other inner delving. Through this zeal and understanding, they have achieved internal and external peace along with harmony in terms of individual and interpersonal dealings. This sense of homeostasis brings a quiet confidence to the Aodhàn people. Normally extroverted and unreserved, the Aodhàn welcome foreign, novel company as much as they welcome their own people, believing in treating each individual as an equal.

If the Aodhàn do possess a flaw, it is that their idealistic nature sometimes breeds naivety and unrealistic thinking, consequently, frustration, in their interactions with others and events of reality. Like-wise, their pattern-oriented mindset can at times cloud their judgement.

The Aodhàn are a tall, leanly-muscular people. Standing at between 6.5-7.5ft tall, they have an initially imposing image, which is quickly replaced with admiration at the natural, genuine smile that is so often found on their lips. With hair (head, beard, or body) and skin ranging between various natural colors, the most similar features are their pointed ears and strange eyes. By strange it is meant that Aodhàn seem to contain eyes unlike any known in this world. Like to orbs of pure astronomical beauty, the Aodhàn’s eyes change upon the age of adulthood. During puberty, Aodhàn adolescents’ pupils dilate and expand, eventually encompassing the entirety of the eye. And as they expand, planets and stars, sometimes close, some times far, appear in their eyes. Looking into the eyes of an Aodhàn is like looking at the universe through a crystal ball. Because of this, some revere the Aodhàn for their exotic beauty. Others are untrusting of them because of their soul-piercing gaze distancing themselves as much as possible from them. Because of this sometimes negative connotation, and because the eyes are a sign of glory to the Aodhàn, when in the presence of foreigners, they wear sashes over their eyes so as not to show their glory or offend others. It is only in spite of the utmost friendship that an Aodhàn would reveal her eyes to a foreigner. The way an Aodhàn sees changes with their aesthetic as well. The Aodhàn begins to see the world's essence surrounding them, seeing through multiple wavelengths at once. This allows them insight into the true nature of things.

Picture of a fully-matured Aodhàn eye:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v455/radiant_gel/Eyes/eye-dustin-bw-small.jpg
The Aodhàn are governed by a loose intertribal democracy. Though not strictly elected through voting, a Hàshnà, or patriarch/matriarch. These “parents” of the family communities meet every year at the joining of the twin moons to discuss and counsel on matters governing the Aodhàn people, having a strong belief that each family is but a small part of the overall family of the race. The Hàshnà work with the Warders, Aodhán sentry men that shadows each community in it’s travels, protecting and guarding their people with their lives, to ensure that they are kept safe from all that would hurt them, man or beast.

Alignment: Any, though mostly of good alignment.

Aodhàn Racial Traits:
• +2 Dex +2 Wis -2 Str : The Aodhàn people are graceful, and lithe in their ways, seeing the true heart of things with their strange eyes, yet not always strong in physical terms.
• Medium: Aodhàn do not receive any special bonuses or penalties due to their size
• An Aodhàn’s base land speed is 35ft thanks to their natural height and long stride.
• The All-Seeing Eye: As an Aodhàn matures, their eyes deepen and expand into full galaxies and universes in their vision. At their first hit die, an Aodhàn gains the ability to see in the dark thanks to darkvision 60 ft. At their 5th hit die, an Aodhàn gains Arcane Sight (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/arcanesight.htm), with a caster level equal to their hit die, active continuously. At 10th level, the Aodhàn gains Greater Arcane Eye (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/arcanesightgreater.htm), same mechanics as 5th level. At their 20th hit die, an Aodhàn gains the power to see all things as they are, as per the spell True Seeing (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/trueseeing.htm), with a caster level equal to their hit die, active continuously. None of these abilities may be suppressed or disabled, and are extraordinary in nature.
• The Entertainer: Aodhàn possess a +2 racial bonus on Perform checks
• Soul-Piercing Gaze: Aodhàn possess a +2 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks
• Nimble: Aodhàn are very dexterous, possessing a +2 racial bonus on Move Silently and Balance checks
• Trance: Rather than sleep, Aodhàn enter a meditative state known as the Void. You need to spend 4 hours in this state to gain the same benefits other races gain from taking a 8-hour extended rest. While in a trance, you are fully aware of your surroundings and notice approaching enemies and other events as normal.
• Favored class: Ranger. The forest is the home of the Aodhàn and they naturally roam amongst their brothers and sisters, the trees, plants, and animals.

Bonus Racial Feats:

Nature's sibling

Prerequisite: ?
Benefit: Permanent Wild Empathy (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/druid.htm) ability. But both domestic and wild animals are initially indifferent.

Balanced for Pathfinder, +1 LA for 3.5

Anybody got any ideas?

ninjaneer003
2010-05-17, 12:45 AM
ahhhh much better details to the 35 ft. speed. ya ya the details feels so good..... um ya i like it. especially the eyes they look pretty cool

Temotei
2010-05-17, 12:52 AM
I think you mean eight-hour rest periods, not six-hour periods.

Milskidasith
2010-05-17, 12:59 AM
True seeing is one of those abilities you really can't give a race without being either too much LA to be useful or so much benefit (all illusion spells are useless) that the race is OP just for that factor. Otherwise, the race is pretty much standard issue as far as races go, so it really doesn't need LA or anything. 35 foot movement speed is weird, though.

Xallace
2010-05-17, 09:50 AM
True Seeing as the character levels up? Start with the ability to see through magical darkness, add secret doors, continue from there? Probably make it take until at least 15th level to confer all of the benefits.

Even then, there should probably be some drawback for it. Either it's limited in use, or as long as it's active the elves take some kind of penalty.

Jack of Spades
2010-05-17, 03:25 PM
If the race sees energy, they would not be able to see through transmutations, certain illusions (they would see the illusion, but be able to note that it is magic), or blur. I'd say give them detect magic a few times per day, along with darkvision. It fits flavor and isn't too powerful, in my opinion.

Also, in my opinion idealism to a fault would represent a hit to wisdom, not intelligence.

Kinslayer777
2010-05-17, 04:51 PM
If the race sees energy, they would not be able to see through transmutations, certain illusions (they would see the illusion, but be able to note that it is magic), or blur. I'd say give them detect magic a few times per day, along with darkvision. It fits flavor and isn't too powerful, in my opinion.

Also, in my opinion idealism to a fault would represent a hit to wisdom, not intelligence.

It's more like they see the world energy and so the manipulation of the natural pattern would be obvious.

Going by 3.5 description of Wisdom: willpower, common sense, perception, and intuition and Intelligence: how well you learn, reason. It's a bit confusing as to what should take the hit. It's not that they don't perceive reality, but rather that they don't accept it's logic (reasoning), though they can understand the train of it. That's why I think it's more of a hit to Intelligence than Wisdom. Rebuttal is encouraged though. I may be wrong.

Kinslayer777
2010-05-17, 04:52 PM
True Seeing as the character levels up? Start with the ability to see through magical darkness, add secret doors, continue from there? Probably make it take until at least 15th level to confer all of the benefits.

Even then, there should probably be some drawback for it. Either it's limited in use, or as long as it's active the elves take some kind of penalty.

I like this idea! Thank you. Will devise a way to present it shortly.

sscheib
2010-05-17, 04:55 PM
I would say the fluff behind their seeing isn't so much "energy" as it is "essence". They could see through an illusion since it has no "essence". At least, that's how I sort of imagined them.

Kinslayer777
2010-05-17, 07:00 PM
I would say the fluff behind their seeing isn't so much "energy" as it is "essence". They could see through an illusion since it has no "essence". At least, that's how I sort of imagined them.

Yeah, just a difference of semantics, but essence works better I agree.

Jack of Spades
2010-05-17, 07:15 PM
\Going by 3.5 description of Wisdom: willpower, common sense, perception, and intuition and Intelligence: how well you learn, reason.

An unconventional worldview is more likely to cause a lack of "common sense" than an impairment in any ability to learn or find logic. In fact, a feeling of alien-ness might create a thirst for knowledge. My understanding is that Intelligence is a knowledge of the what, while wisdom is knowledge of the how and why. By that definition, wisdom would be the lesser score.

Temotei
2010-05-17, 07:37 PM
An unconventional worldview is more likely to cause a lack of "common sense" than an impairment in any ability to learn or find logic. In fact, a feeling of alien-ness might create a thirst for knowledge. My understanding is that Intelligence is a knowledge of the what, while wisdom is knowledge of the how and why. By that definition, wisdom would be the lesser score.

I agree. Hello, wizard race, if that's the case. :smallamused:

EDIT: Unless they're going to have a level adjustment.

Kinslayer777
2010-05-17, 07:46 PM
An unconventional worldview is more likely to cause a lack of "common sense" than an impairment in any ability to learn or find logic. In fact, a feeling of alien-ness might create a thirst for knowledge. My understanding is that Intelligence is a knowledge of the what, while wisdom is knowledge of the how and why. By that definition, wisdom would be the lesser score.

Okay, I might be failing at explaining this but I will attempt. Sometimes the synapses don't fire fast enough t get the image in my head onto paper. So, it's not that they have a disjunct with reality. They see it clearly (strange eyes=perception(Wisdom)). And what they see outside of their natural environment rarely pleases them. So, despite SEEING clearly, they choose to manually shape their reality through adherence to certain ideals, which in turn effects their behaviors and actions, which in turn controls their environment. That's a part of why they are so comfortable in their communities. Even though no on is perfect, everyone still adheres to these ideals and at least TRIES to follow them, which is a good bit more than those who don't follow grand ideals at all. Cynics.
Does that make sense? Because I really DON'T want them to be a wizard class. God knows thats been done to death. I would even be willing to tamper with their back story to change that.

Temotei
2010-05-17, 07:50 PM
So...they're not as educated because they choose not to be, so your logic is that they're not as smart because of that?

I guess it makes a little sense. Sort of. If they're going to be LA +1, you could get away with no penalty though, as long as that true seeing ability doesn't get too powerful.

arguskos
2010-05-17, 11:30 PM
Take a gander at the Raptoran, a race from Races of the Wild that is LA 0 and gains flight, thanks to a delayed leveling method of gaining it.

Let's try this on for size on the All-Seeing Eye:

As an aodhàn matures, their eyes deepen and expand into full galaxies and universes in their vision. At their first hit die, an aodhàn gains the ability to see in the dark thanks to darkvision 60 ft. At their fifth hit die, an aodhàn gains detect magic and detect poison, as the spells, with a caster level equal to their hit die, active continuously. At their tenth hit die, an aodhàn gains the power to see all things as they are, as per the spell true seeing, with a caster level equal to their hit die, active continuously. None of these abilities may be suppressed or disabled, and are extraordinary in nature.

Ok, this is possibly OP, but then again, it gives you a base line to work from. Ta-da. Enjoy sirrah.

ninjaneer003
2010-05-21, 02:54 PM
Take a gander at the Raptoran, a race from Races of the Wild that is LA 0 and gains flight, thanks to a delayed leveling method of gaining it.

.

i like this idea for them. It takes a more powerful Aodhan to use the true power of their eyes. this makes it so that not all the aodhan can see illusions and invisability right off the bat

Kallisti
2010-06-19, 05:50 PM
For the All-Seeing Eye, you could give them Arcane Sight or Greater Arcane Sight instead of True Seeing, if you want them to see energy. Or you could do a progression based on HD. At low HD they get Read Magic, Detect Magic, low-light/darkvision, that kind of thing, and then See Invisibility and Ultravision, and then it progresses up to things like Arcane Sight and True Seeing.

Kinslayer777
2010-06-21, 02:00 PM
So...they're not as educated because they choose not to be, so your logic is that they're not as smart because of that?

I guess it makes a little sense. Sort of. If they're going to be LA +1, you could get away with no penalty though, as long as that true seeing ability doesn't get too powerful.

Alright I changed the -2 to Str instead of Int. Am pondering whether it should be -2 in Con though, thoughts?


Take a gander at the Raptoran, a race from Races of the Wild that is LA 0 and gains flight, thanks to a delayed leveling method of gaining it.

Let's try this on for size on the All-Seeing Eye:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Me, right now
As an aodhàn matures, their eyes deepen and expand into full galaxies and universes in their vision. At their first hit die, an aodhàn gains the ability to see in the dark thanks to darkvision 60 ft. At their fifth hit die, an aodhàn gains detect magic and detect poison, as the spells, with a caster level equal to their hit die, active continuously. At their tenth hit die, an aodhàn gains the power to see all things as they are, as per the spell true seeing, with a caster level equal to their hit die, active continuously. None of these abilities may be suppressed or disabled, and are extraordinary in nature.
Ok, this is possibly OP, but then again, it gives you a base line to work from. Ta-da. Enjoy sirrah.

This is brilliant! Thank you!


For the All-Seeing Eye, you could give them Arcane Sight or Greater Arcane Sight instead of True Seeing, if you want them to see energy. Or you could do a progression based on HD. At low HD they get Read Magic, Detect Magic, low-light/darkvision, that kind of thing, and then See Invisibility and Ultravision, and then it progresses up to things like Arcane Sight and True Seeing.

YES! What do you think of my changes?