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SilverLeaf167
2010-06-30, 01:34 PM
Sethian
Sethians are intelligent humanoids, living in the desert of Ankhimtra. Most of them lead nomadic lives, only settling down for short periods of time.
Personality: Regardless of what most might think of them, sethians are quite sophisticated, kind-hearted and social. However, just like with all races, this might vary greatly depending on the individual in question.
Sethians favor trade for a living, as they cannot properly farm or fish in the desert and even hunting is difficult. It also fits their nomadic ways very well, as they wouldn’t be able to settle at farms, anyway. However, due to their vast interaction with other intelligent communities at the edge of the desert, they often learn many languages.
Sethians usually live in tents on oasises one might find in the middle of the desert. They usually move their whole village into a new location every few months, taking all their belongings with them on massive lizards.
Physical Description: Sethians are somewhat similar to humans by physique, but there are some great differences. A sethian’s whole body is covered in a thin layer of golden fur. The head resembles that of a jackal, with a long muzzle and large, upward-pointing ears. Their rear limbs resemble those of a canine, while still allowing them to walk upright, and both their toes and fingers have sharp claws. Their feet are also special by the way that they divide the walker’s weight perfectly, stopping them from sinking into sand.
Regardless of their odd features, sethians generally act just like humans. They are at least as intelligent and capable of speaking almost any language properly, even if with a raspy voice (they can also produce canine sounds). Their eyes resemble those of a dog, but with more human intelligence.
Sethians have a special metabolic system that allows them to live in the hot desert for days without any food aor water. They tire very slowly and if they so wanted, could probably walk the whole time between their meals. However, when they finally get nourishment and rest after a long period of stress, they eat very large amounts of food and might sleep for a whole day.
Relations: Due to their lack of bad experiences and prejudices about other races, sethians go quite well together with just about anyone. They however very rarely leave the desert, so most never get to actually spend more time with members of other races. When leaving to trade in desert-side cities, sethians think of themselves as guests, act properly and thank the “hosts” for their hospitality. However, if they might happen to encounter someone in the desert, they’ll usually get suspicious, as very few venture into the desert by themselves.
Alignment: Most sethians are good by nature, and their nomadic nature makes the chaotic alignment quite usual. Exceptions exist.
Sethian Lands: The only natural environment for Sethians is the large desert of Ankhimtra. Their physiques are suited to surviving in the extreme conditions of hot at day and cold at night. Very few intentionally leave the desert, except to trade with communities close to the desert.
Sethians usually live in tents on oasises one might find in the middle of the desert. They usually move their whole village into a new location every few months, taking all their belongings with them on massive lizards (see below).
Religion: Most sethians worship Seth at modest altars carved from rock or wood. They respect him so greatly, they even took their name from him.
Languages: All sethians are taught to speak and write Sethian, which consists entirely of symbolic pictures. Most traders also learn Common and any other languages their trading partners might speak. They are capable of learning almost any humanoid language.
Names: A sethian usually has a given name and a title. They are named almost immediately after they are born, and their names usually represent qualities the baby is wished to have. Titles are given when the sethian accomplishes a certain feat or takes a certain career, and usually represents the feat or career or question.
Male Names: Amun, Badru, Funsani, Hanif, Khufu, Nassor, Nkuku, Ramses, Sebak, Tarik, Zahur
Female Names: Anat, Bast, Dendera, Femi, Habibah, Jamila, Moswen, Nailah, Oseye, Safiya, Urbi
Titles: Usually in Common, such as Rockmaster, Clothmaker or Beastslayer.
Adventures: Sethians usually leave their village only to trade. However, if they somehow wind up on an adventure, the reasons are almost always personal.

Sethian Racial Traits
•+2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity. In the middle of a desert, endurance is very important, while agility isn’t.
•Medium: As Medium creatures, sethians have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
•Sethian base land speed is 35 ft. They move at 20 ft. speed while wearing medium or heavy armor.
•Brightvision: Sethians can accurately see a very long distance away (200 ft.) in bright light and aren’t affected by spells utilizing flashes or otherwise bright light (such as flare).
•Canine senses: Sethians have very acute senses, granting them a +2 on all Spot and Listen checks. Their sense of smell also grants a +2 bonus to Survival checks when tracking by smell and a +4 on Sense Motive checks to identify a person trying to disguise themselves as a person known to the sethian.
•Weapon Familiarity: Sethians may treat bladestaffs (see below) as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons.
•Great Endurance: Sethians require only one meal every two days or three meals every five days. They are also treated as having the feat Endurance.
•+1 bonus to Attack Roll when attacking after movement: sethians are trained to fight in the vast desert, where mobile fighting is the best choice.
•+4 bonus to Ride checks made when riding on any kind of reptilian: the sethian’s usual mount is a desert lizard.
•Automatic Languages: Common and Sethian. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Gnoll, Orc, Dwarven (due to its alphabet being used in many of the other languages).
•Favored Class: Cleric (of Seth). A multiclass sethian cleric of Seth class doesn’t count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. Sethians are very devoted to their god.

Seth True Neutral
Seth is the god of the desert and sandstorms, but also the oasises that give life to everything on the desert. He is the protector of Sethians, his devoted followers. He is said to be their creator. He is usually depicted as a black jackal. The domains he is associated with are Animal, Earth, Healing and Sun. His favored weapon is the bladestaff.

Bladestaff
The bladestaff is a special kind of quarterstaff with an axe-like blade in the other tip and a spear in the other. It is commonly used by clerics of Seth. It can be used either as a one-handed weapon, allowing the user to choose with tip to use, or as a double weapon, allowing the user to hit with both tips on the same turn (with penalties to attack rolls).
Damage: 1d8
Critical: x2
Category: Exotic One-Handed Weapon
Type: Slashing or piercing
Weight: 5 lb
Standard cost: 40 gp

SilverLeaf167
2010-06-30, 02:27 PM
Desert Leaper
Large Animal
Hit Dice: 4d8+18
Initiative: +2
Speed: 60 ft. (12 squares)
Armor Class: 16 (-1 Size, +2 Dexterity, +5 Natural Armor), Touch 11, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+11
Attack: Talons +6 melee (2d6+4)
Full Attack: Talons +6 melee (2d6+4) and bite +1 melee (2d4+2)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./ 5 ft.
Special Attacks: Pounce
Special Qualities: Scent, brightvision, great endurance
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +2
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 15, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +8, Jump +25, Listen +10, Spot +10, Survival +10
Feats: Run, Track
Environment: Warm deserts
Organization: Solitary, pair, or pack (3-8)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 5-8 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: -

You hear a sharp hiss and turn your head around. Two large reptilians have leaped from behind the sand dune and are already in the air, headed towards you and your camel. They have long, muscular legs, short foreclaws and very long tails, pointing straight backwards. A dog-like maw, full of long jagged teeth, is already open. The whole monstrosity is covered in sand-colored, small scales.

Most likely a close relative of the deinonychus, the desert leaper is a dangerous foe. It stands a little taller than an average man. It has a stout and muscular torso, from which a pair hind legs and a very long tail of similar build protrude. It has short forelimbs with three sharp claws each. It's canine-resemblant, earless head is in the end of a thick neck. It's long maw is filled with long, jagged fangs.
Sethians sometimes manage to either capture and tame or rear desert leapers to use as mounts for hunting, quick travel or battle.

Combat
Desert leapers usually hide behind sand dunes or any other cover available, waiting until the unsuspecting victim has already passed by and leap at their backs, pushing them to the ground and ripping them to pieces with their fangs.
Pounce (Ex): If a desert leaper charges, it can make a full attack.
Brightvision: Desert leapers can accurately see a very long distance away (200 ft.) in bright light and aren’t affected by spells utilizing flashes or otherwise bright light (such as flare).
Great Endurance: Desert leapers require only one meal every two days or three meals every five days. They are also treated as having the feat Endurance.


Desert Walker
Huge Animal
Hit Dice: 4d12+15
Initiative: +0
Speed: 15 ft. (3 squares)
Armor Class: 17 (-2 Size, +9 Natural Armor), Touch 8, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+8
Attack: Bite +3 melee (2d6+6) or Tail +3 melee (3d6)
Full Attack: Bite +3 melee (2d6+6) or Tail +3 melee (3d6)
Space/Reach: 20x10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Brightvision, great endurance, sluggish
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +2
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 11, Con 25, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 10
Skills: Listen +15, Spot +10, Survival +10
Feats: -
Environment: Warm deserts
Organization: Solitary, pair, or herd (5-10)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 11-20 HD (Huge)
Level Adjustment: -

This massive, sand-colored lizard is the size of a modern bus. It has an oval head with a large mouth, filled with square-shaped teeth. It's back is completely flat for some reason. It has a long, muscular tail, which lies comfortably on the ground while it gnaws on the grass of the oasis.

Desert walkers are grazing herbivores, usually living near or in oasises. Due to their massive size and thick hide, they are quite slow, but can take a lot of punishment. Sethians commonly use desert walkers to carry their belongings and tents around in the desert. They often build large, shaded wooden platforms on the backs of these lizards, as they have completely flat backs for some reason.

Combat
Desert walkers never fight, except to defend themselves and their young. However, if you get caught in the desert walker's massive jaws, they can easily crush you. As they are very slow to turn around, they also use their large tales as bludgeoning weapons.
Brightvision: Desert walkers can accurately see a very long distance away (200 ft.) in bright light and aren’t affected by spells utilizing flashes or otherwise bright light (such as flare).
Great Endurance: Desert walkers require only one meal every two days or three meals every five days. They are also treated as having the feat Endurance.
Sluggish: Desert walkers are very slow, so that turning 90 degrees takes them a move action and turning 180 degrees takes a full-round action.

Djinn_in_Tonic
2010-06-30, 02:35 PM
Sethian Racial Traits
•+2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity. In the middle of a desert, endurance is very important, while agility isn’t.
•Medium: As Medium creatures, sethians have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
•Sethian base land speed is 35 ft. They move at 20 ft. speed while wearing medium or heavy armor.

So far, so good.


•Brightvision: Sethians can accurately see a very long distance away (200 ft.) in bright light and aren’t affected by spells utilizing flashes or otherwise bright light (such as flare).

This is a pretty decent immunity, although quite specific. I also can't think of any rules limiting vision distance in bright light...


•Canine senses: Sethians have very acute senses, granting them a +3 on all Spot and Listen checks. Their sense of smell also grants a +2 bonus to Survival checks when tracking by smell and a +5 on Sense Motive checks to identify a person trying to disguise themselves as a person known to the sethian.

Racial bonuses are almost always (i.e. I can't think of an exception) in multiples of 2. Take the Spot and Listen bonuses down to +2, and give a +4 bonus to Sense Motive checks.


•Weapon Familiarity: Sethians may treat bladestaffs (see below) as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons. If they wield them with both hands, they are treated as having the feat Two-Weapon Fighting.
•Great Endurance: Sethians require only one meal every two days or three meals every five days. They are also treated as having the feat Endurance.

2 free feats, one of which is pretty strong? That's shaky ground there. The food thing is cool though.


•+2 Racial Bonus on saves against poison: Living in a desert full of venomous animals has it’s prerequisities.

This could probably be removed without to much fuss. Doesn't seem necessary.


•+2 dodge bonus to Armor Class while fighting in a large open area (such as a desert, an empty market, or a field): sethians are trained to fight in the vast desert, where space is infinite.

This is very strong, and doesn't make much sense. Since the character never actually moves when it's not his or her turn, you can dodge just as well in a 10x10ft room as you can in an open area. Additionally, it's probably overpowered, as +2 to AC is a VERY good perk for an already fairly strong LA +0 race.


•+5 bonus to Ride checks made when riding on any kind of reptilian: the sethian’s usual mount is a desert lizard.

That multiple of 2 thing should come back here as well...


All in all, you're a little on the strong side for +0 LA. Tone a couple of things down (I'd recommend losing free TWF, changing the AC bonus to +1 Dodge to AC if you more 10 or more feet in a round, and losing the poison resistance, in addition to making the skill bonuses multiples of 2). You should be good then.

SilverLeaf167
2010-06-30, 02:43 PM
I think I did everything...?

What's an LA, btw? :P

Djinn_in_Tonic
2010-06-30, 03:17 PM
I think I did everything...?

What's an LA, btw? :P

LA stands for Level Adjustment. A race with LA +1, for example, is more powerful than an Elf or a Human or a Dwarf, and adds +1 to its actual level to determine the level at which it can enter the game.

In a game where three players are level 3 Dwarves, for example, a character whose race has LA +1 would be level 2.

Also, specify at least 10 feet of movement for the AC bonus. Don't allow it on just a 5ft step.