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TheThan
2006-06-01, 02:12 AM
The Drajar

The Drajar is an offshoot of the human race. They are the descendants of human slaves Drow and Duergar captured and took to the Underdark. Over the centuries of their enslavement and isolation from the surface world they have evolved into a similar yet different species altogether. The Drow began a breeding program to create a large enough labor force to keep from having to raid the surface every time they needed more slaves. The Drow were successful in their attempt, but what they did not count on was the human’s knack for adaptability and the Drajar was born.
Centuries of enslavement passed before the Drajar began revolting against their masters. It took many years and many attempts but eventually the Drajar were able to free themselves.
After they recovered the Drow went on a massive campaign to wipe the Drajar out. But they were unsuccessful in that endeavor, despite the general sentiment that the Drajar are now gone. But there are rumors in the lower ranks of Drow society that the Drajar still exist.

Personality
The Drajar tend to be shy and very secretive about their society. But they can and will open up to people they can trust. Drajar make friends for life, and people who become friends with Drajar often count them amongst their greatest friends and allies.

Physical description
The Drajar are a humanoid race very similar to humans in appearance. A typical Drajar has milky white skin, and no eyes. Where the eyes on a normal humanoid would be there is a slab of black skin stretching across the face. Their hair can be of any color, though many choose to shave their heads. All their other features resemble that of humans.
The Drajar have a unique adaptation that helps them to survive in the underdark. They have lost the use of their eyes, but have developed a new organ located where you would usually find eyes. This organ allows them to sense their surrounding. It is thought that this organ allows them to create a perfect mental image of their surrounding in their brain. Which grants them near perfect mental map of their surroundings.

Alignment
Drajar can be found of any alignment.

Relations
Drajar hate Drow for they enlsaved them and wiped out a large portion of their population. They have had limited contact with the Svirfneblin. All other races they treat with distrust, but they can open up to others, especially those who perform a service for their village.

Drajar lands
Drajar live in the underdark, they live in secluded and hidden caverns. They have been known to send parties into dangerous places of the underdark in an effort to establish new colonies.
Each Drajar colony is independent from the others, they rarely come into contact with each other and never share the location with others. Those that do know the whereabouts of a Drajar colony more than likely stumbled onto it while searching for something else.

Religion
Nothing is currently known about Drajar religion.
Names

Adventurers
Most Drajar adentuer to help trusted friends. While some venture out into the darkness of the underdark in order to help find potential places to establish a new colony.


Drajar Racial modifies

no ability adjustments
medium sized, as medium sized creatures they suffer no bonuses or minuses due to size
blind sight 60 foot radius.
+4 skill points at 1st level.
+1 skill point at each additional level.
+1 attack bonus against drow and duergar
Favored class: any
Level adjustment: +0



Note: I pounded these guys out in like an hour or something so there are probably going to be some glaring errors.
Edit Edited to reflect some changes.

Piedmon_Sama
2006-06-01, 02:24 AM
The blindsight seems pretty powerful at first, but the more I think on it, I can see it being offset by the difficulties one of these guys would face---reading print would be impossible, they'd have to pay extra to get spellbooks and scrolls in brail. Their maximum range with any crossbow or bow is effectively 60 feet.

I'd say they get +0 ECL, good job.

Orion-the-G
2006-06-01, 02:28 AM
Not to mention that any attacker farther than 60 feet away has total concealment, meaning no dex bonus to AC and +2 to attack.

TheThan
2006-06-01, 02:41 AM
Thanks! Even though they didn’t turn out quite as evil as I originally envisioned, but it's nice to have non-evil races living in the Underdark.

I was thinking of upping their blindsight to 120 feet. That way they can use ranged weapons better and be more of a match for a Drow in (non-magical) darkness.

Necomancer
2006-06-01, 02:43 AM
Blind sight is a big advantage. This certainly isn't a LA+0. It's at least a LA+1 and personly I'd attach a +2.

The_Werebear
2006-06-01, 03:34 AM
I would alter it slightly. Give them blindsight to 30 feet and tremorsense to 120. That way, they know the people are out there and roughly where they are(and can take ranged weapon shots with a 50% miss chance), but they can't pick them out in detail until they close.

High-Chancellor
2006-06-01, 06:01 AM
I was going to say "give them lightblindness also" but then I reread and saw that they didn't really have anything to pick up light WITH. While I don't see how just being enslaved underground could create such a radical change, whatever works.

You should probably represent that in the racial modifyers somewhere. It's kinda important as for the balancing.

I also think werebears idea of tremorsense out to 120 would probably be a great addition, albeing shortening the blindsight... my jury's still out on that part personally. If they can't see at all without it...


What might be interesting would be to keep the eyes, but modify them so that they're almost identical to this black skin stuff you have now... then make it really sensitive to light also.

Gyrfalcon
2006-06-01, 06:36 AM
I'd give them a level adjustment of +1... +2 if they gain tremorsense out to a wider range.

Blindsight means that:
-Creatures cannot sneak up on them (no invisibility or concealment)
-no effect from darkness or blinding effects
-not subject to gaze attacks of any form
-negates displacement and blur effects.

It's more powerful then darkvision, which most of the underdark races possess, and they also possess all normal human traits.

Sergeantbrother
2006-06-01, 08:25 AM
I don't think they need a level adjustment, considering that they are completely blind beyond 60 feet. Underground and in side of building, they have a big advantage, but outside in the open they have a very short sensory range.

Though I would take away their bonuses to hide as well as their survival bonuses and replace it with a bonus to Listen.

paigeoliver
2006-06-01, 09:32 AM
I'd change the name. The name doesn't even begin to jump out at you with any sort of way it might actually be pronounced.

I am meaning no offense on you when I say this but that name is a classic case of "Bad elfy sounding fantasy name syndrome".

Argorn, Ajorm, or something like that would be better.. Is similar, shorter, sounds more like the other underdark racial names and follows the rules of english at least somewhat. I just checked the dictionary and there are no english words beginning with Ajr.

TheThan
2006-06-01, 01:29 PM
I appreciate all the advise and whatnot. As far a the name goes, I just randomly hit keys on the keyboard here until I came up with something that sort of looks like it would be a real word… but if it bother’s people too much I’ll change it to something easier to say. I’m thinking of something that starts with a “D”.
How about “Drajar”?
Concerning the blind sight, lets see… where to begin.
Drow have darkvision out to 120 feet, meaning they can see enemies at twice the range as anything else with darkvision (that I’ve seen). This gives them a huge advantage in the underdark. So I was taking that into consideration. I love the idea of them being totally blind, makes them a bit unique. But a race of blind people would not survive so I had to give them something to compensate. I realized that blind sight is a rather strong ability but consider the problems it would cause. Wizardry would be very difficult when you take into account how the Player’s handbook describes the wizard’s spellbook. Forming any kind of written language would have to be in Braille or something similar. In larger open areas they would be at a big disadvantage against Drow specifically (once again taking into account their 120 foot darkvision). I figured with other races, they would be more or less dead even seeing as they have no immunities or resistances or spell like abilities they can utilize in combat.



I have some other ideas that might help out this race so I thought I would run them by people. As far as level adjustment goes I really don’t mind it being at +1 or +2, seeing as everything else in the underdark is like that, I figured it would be fair.


Revised traits

No ability adjustments
Medium sized,
Blind sight 60 foot radius.
+4 skill points at 1st level
+1 skill point at each additional level
+1 attack bonus against Drow and Duergar
Favored class: any
Level adjustment: +1

or
revised traits

no ability adjustments
medium sized,
blind sight out to 60 feet
blind sense out to 120 feet
+4 skill points at 1st level
+1 skill point at each additional level
+1 attack bonus against Drow and Duergar
favored class: any
level adjustment: +1

TheThan
2006-06-02, 01:05 PM
Sorry for the double post, but I’ve decided to go with the name Drajar to replace the rather horrible name I had. Also I’ve decided on the following stats for them. So this is going to be the final version.
I’ll go and edit the top so people don’t have to go digging through this thread for the right stats.


Drajar Racial modifies

no ability adjustments
medium sized, as medium sized creatures they suffer no bonuses or minuses due to size
blind sight 60 foot radius.
+4 skill points at 1st level.
+1 skill point at each additional level.
+1 attack bonus against drow and duergar
Favored class: any
Level adjustment: +0

Level20Commoner
2007-12-28, 03:33 AM
Sounds like a human version of the Grimlock. How long were these poor creatures enslaved by the Drow to generate such a radical change in physiology? I think blindsense + scent is less powerful than blindsight and would give you the +0 LA you are looking for. You should also make a note in your description that Drajar have immunity to spells and special effects that rely on sight. Otherwise an interesting concept, I always wanted to play a Grimlock samurai, if this race were in a splat book somewhere I probably would have used it instead (not that monstrous humanoid levels are all that bad as far as racial HD go). One last thing, I would suggest you drop the +1 to hit vs Duergar, as you seem to indicate that the Drajar have more of a connection with the Drow than the Duergar. These guys would fit really well within communities of Grimlocks, Chitines, and perhaps even deep gnomes.

Talic
2007-12-28, 03:47 AM
Personally? Lower Blindsense to 30 feet, add Scent, remove Blindsight, and you're in business. That's a LA 0 race.

Keep in mind, a Blindsight > (a hide check of 10,000,000).
Blindsight is a powerful, POWERFUL ability that bypasses several challenges.
Blindsense still lets you know where they are, within 5', but grants them concealment. Fair nuff.


Scent lets you use survival to pick up that something's there (likely to be acquired in the underdark, I'd guess, when you lose much of your ability to discern threat by sight), and they can zero in when close.

SurlySeraph
2007-12-28, 12:50 PM
Threadomancy much?

TheThan
2007-12-28, 05:20 PM
Threadomancy much?

Its like epic thread Resurrection spell or something.