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Admiral Squish
2012-04-30, 03:33 PM
Zora

http://images.wikia.com/zelda/images/8/89/Zora_Link_Artwork.png

Personality: Zora are typically very calm and laid-back, preferring to go with the flow and frolic in their watery homes. They can be a bit too laid back at times, and can be difficult to motivate. But when they do get going, they are difficult to stop. They make fearsome enemies and stalwart allies. Zora are extremely devoted once they’ve given their word.
Physical Description: Zora are tall humanoids, standing between 5’9”and 6’6”, with long limbs and lithe muscles. Their head have a long extension growing off the back with a pair of tail-like flukes on the end, and they have large fins on their forearms, extending back past the elbow. Their skin is actually a coat of very small, very fine silver-blue scales. Some have spotted darker areas along the extremities. They have gills along the sides of their chest, which open somewhat when in water and close off when out of it.
Relations: Zora are loyal to their word and take commitment seriously, somewhat counter to their usual nature. As such, many communities of zora are sworn to serve kingdoms or royal lines even many generations after such a pledge was made. They are generally standoffish from other races, staying in their lakes or bays and making other races come to them if they wish to make contact.
Alignment: Zora are usually neutral or good, with a slight tendancy toward lawful.
{table=head]|L|N|G
G |10|25|5
N |10|25|5
E |5|10|5[/table]
Zora Lands: Zora generally dwell in semi-enclosed areas of water, such as bays or lakes. They can live in saltwater or fresh water, though zora raised in one will find the other uncomfortable and somewhat unpleasant to swim in.
Religion: Zora cultures worship deities of water, storms, and the sea, generally. Some may deify powerful water elementals, and one notable culture enshrined a massive whale.
Language: Zora speak their own language, a guttural rolling tongue with a tendancy to merge words into long strings of descriptors. Most zora also speak common.
Names: Zora personal names are syllabic. They are given by the mother once the hatchlings mature to their adult phase. They also have a family name, which is actually the first syllables of both parent’s given names merged.
Adventurers: Zora adventurers come in many types. Males generally favor fighter or ranger, and females most often take levels in cleric, but zora adventurers come in all types.

Zora Racial Traits:
+2 strength, +2 constitution
Monstrous Humanoid [Aquatic]: Zora are monstrous humanoids with the aquatic and amphibious subtypes. Zora are not subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person.
Medium size: As Medium creatures, zora have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base land speed is 30 feet
+4 natural armor bonus
Natural Weapons: 2 slams (1d4)
Zora have a swim speed of 60 feet. They have a +8 racial bonus on swim checks and can always choose to take 10 on swim checks, even if rushed or threatened.
Gills: A zora can breathe underwater and can safely remain out of water for 1 hour per point of constitution. After that period, they begin to suffocate.
Luminescence: While submerged, a zora’s silvery-blue scales glow softly, providing bright illumination out to 10 feet and shadowy illumination out to 20 feet. A zora can suppress or resume this ability as a move action.
+1 LA


Zora Paragon:

Hit Die: d8
Skill Points: 4+int
Class Skills: The zora paragon’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

{table=head]{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special

1st|+1|+2|+0|+0| Amphibious, Blindsense

2nd|+2|+3|+0|+0| Bioelectricity

3rd|+3|+3|+1|+1| Ability Boost (+2 Constitution)
[/table]

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Zora paragons are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and with light armor and shields (except tower shields).

Amphibious (Ex): A zora paragon can remain out of water indefinitely.

Blindsense: While underwater, a zora can sense his surroundings. He gains blindsense out to 60 feet, but this only extends below the surface of the water. Creatures the zora cannot actually see still have total concealment.

Bioelectricity (Su): A zora paragon of second level gains the ability to produce electricity from their skin. As a standard action or as part of a full defense action, a zora can electrify their skin for one round. Anyone who strikes a zora thus electrified with a metallic weapon, natural weapon, or unarmed strike, takes 2d6 points of electricity plus one point per HD the zora paragon possesses. If a zora paragon uses this ability while underwater, they deal the same amount of electricity damage to all creatures within 10 feet. Creatures in the are can make a fortitude save (DC 10+˝ HD+con mod) to take half damage.

Ability Boost (Ex): A zora paragon’s constitution score increases by 2 points.

Admiral Squish
2012-04-30, 03:37 PM
The second installment of my zelda races trio. Tried to come up with a better quote, but there's not a lot of zora material, honestly.

PersonMan
2012-04-30, 04:03 PM
Zora Paragon:

Hit Die: d8
Skill Points: 4+int
Class Skills: The goron paragon’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Ahem.

Apart from that, I like it. The whole thing seems to be pretty well-made. I don't play Zelda, so I don't know how accurately it portrays the race, but as far as balance is concerned it seems great.

Admiral Squish
2012-05-01, 12:23 AM
Ahem.

Apart from that, I like it. The whole thing seems to be pretty well-made. I don't play Zelda, so I don't know how accurately it portrays the race, but as far as balance is concerned it seems great.

Righto, fixed.

Thanks! I hoped I pulled it off. The zora were actually REALLY HARD, there was just so little fluff to work with. The OoT zora were just flat and personality free, and the MM zora were only a little lest flat, and the only zora we dealt with were a specific demographic.

Prime32
2012-05-01, 06:00 AM
I'd question the accuracy of the ability modifiers. Zora don't seem much stronger than humans, though they're pretty nimble. Plus Zora Link dies instantly to fire. Here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=3349.msg42896#msg42896)'s my attempt.

Admiral Squish
2012-05-01, 03:04 PM
I'd question the accuracy of the ability modifiers. Zora don't seem much stronger than humans, though they're pretty nimble. Plus Zora Link dies instantly to fire. Here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=3349.msg42896#msg42896)'s my attempt.

I don't know, really. They seem pretty nimble underwater, but then everything that lives down there does. You can pull off some fancy moves as zora link, but nothing that's much fancier than what normal link does already. I upped strength and con because of the increased resistance of water and it just seemed appropriate. Swimming everywhere would leave you pretty buff.

Fire vulnerability. It was featured in game, but I dunno if I can make it jive with reality.

Also, the fins bug me. Mikayu's fins always looked blunt to me, and he was the only zora to have fins like that. And the fin boomerang thing just totally broke my suspension of disbelief.