Ketass: need help making it balance, it's my departed DM custom race

[tarlison]

Ketass
Ketass are child like race who live deep within the underdark, even then they are rarely seen by the denizens of the underdark even rarer by the surface dwellers, stories of old say they are carve from the shadow of Sehanine of which they worship, their city is said to be protected by the shadows deep within the underdark which is said to be a force out of pure shadows and is said to hold an eerie beauty when behold, centuries of battle with creatures of the underdark have forge the Ketass a ninja like sense of honor while there warriors seem to embrace a samurai like culture, but unlike the samurais to the Ketass true to their goddess your are not born to a caste its up to you to choose ur caste and once choosen serve it with dedication honor and passion

Play a Ketass if you want to be.....
* Silent and Mysterious
* Small but Strong
* Honorable and Passionate
* Favored Class of Paladin,Warlord,Fighters,Rogue and Sorcerer

Physical Qualities
Ketass stands around 4ft tall and 80 pounds, their body are proportionate to a athletic build human being,they tend to be almost death pale to ash grey to a slightly yellow tone, most ketass have jet black hair but platinum blond,green, blue and Red are not uncommon, their eyes range from dark black , brown, blue, green and Red and mismatch colors are quite common, ketass never have any facial hair of any kind, males seem to prefer to wear their hair in top knot fashion while females prefer to wear pony tails
Ketass seem to prefer to wear black clothing, their gears are often of oriental design similar to ancient japanese culture , with most art depicting dragons, phoenix ,turtles and ornamental fish

Playing a Ketass
Ketass are serious and honorable, they tend to be passionate on what they do, they also rarely speaks except when needed, centuries of war have made them what what militaristic in nature which is uncommon to worshipers of Sehanine, Although they often have skirmish with drow they tend not to hate drows , since they suffer worse in the hands of the eladrins before there were drows.

Ability Score: +2 strenght , +2 Dexterity or +2 Charisma*
Size: small
Speed:6
Vision: Darkvision
Language : common, elven
Skill bonus: +2 dungeoneering +2 Stealth
BladeMaster: can use medium size Light blades and Heavy Blade as if he is a medium size creature
Shadow Shift(minor action, encounter)racial
You Gain phasing and insubstantial end of next turn or until an attack that damage you is resolve or until you phase through an object which ever come first



Racial feats
Way of the Blade: req: heroic, ketass race: gain profiency bastard sword and short sword gain +2 feat bonus to damage at heroic this increase to +3 at level 11 and +4 at level 21 when using short sword or bastard sword

Daishio implement :req: heroic,ketass race,way of the blade feat, arcane class: you may use bastard sword and short sword as implement

Shadow Blade Finese:req:heroic, rogue class, ketass race and Way of the blade feat: treat bastard sword as light blades and also short swords as daggers

Shadow warrior: req: paragon:ketass race: he may use Shadow shift as an immidiet interrupt with trigger , when hit by an attack

Divine Wind:req:paragon,katass race: your shadow shift now will last only until the end of your next turn , instead of being deactivated once ur damage or phase though am object .

Ghost in the Wind: req:epic: ketass race:divine wind feat: when ever he use Shadow Shift he is also invisible until the end of your next turn*


Note: I dedicate this race to my old friend homer ng he was the one who made this race thanks ans may u enjoy the next world*

If possible I would like to see monster version of this race look like halfling more like kenders from krynn because they have a top knot but all semilarity ends there , they are more on the samurai and ninja types(more likely paladins and rogues) and more likely thier spell casters might be sorcerer rather than wizards

If would be nice if u guys can make a history since our old DM never given us one :-)

Still remember this adventure when I was first playing out dearly departed DM surprise us , when we where in a dungeon crawl suddenly a patrol of ketass fling toward our party passing through like ghost through the cavern wall swinging their human size katana as easily as one of our size would use it, we tried to fight them off but ur blades seem to pass through Them as if that part suddenly become insubstantial sad to say we where taken prisoner by this child like warriors ,luckily they weren't evil we were able to talk our way out this time


Ketass Lore
A character knows the following information about Ketass with
a successful History Check.

DC:24 : Ketass are a secretive race who live deep within the underdark, despite that ketass are not an evil race and live self sufficiently by farming mushrooms and live stocks of underdark creatures for food despite that ketass are militaristic and are expected to wield the blade in times calls upon them from the highest Shogunate to lowest servant they are all train in the art of warfare, their favorite weapon is the bastard sword(katana) and the short sword(wakisashi) which all are expected to train even the lowly servant

DC:29: Ketass live in a semi shogunate type of government, but unlike the traditional shogunate, for a ketass position are choosen and not born to, so even a son or daughter of a lowly servant can join the warrior caste if they want to,all caste of the ketass are co equal and shogun is elected by the head of each caste, thay even a member of a servant caste and warrior caste can equally be the shogun.


Social Caste

Samurai: Although all Caste is consider equal in power the samurai is the most repected, they are the first line and last line of defense of the community,they are willing to die defending the clan, they also follow a strict code of honor ,samurai have a tendency to feel they are above everybody else although in an fully armed city state abuse is rare and often unheard off (you done abuse a populance almost equally as armed as you are and who are quite well trained), this is the social class of society that most youth wanna strive to join but exam and test are regid and only a few ever get accepted, they are mostly the commanders and officers in the milita force . Stone titams, Samurais and Warmages normally belong to this caste



Farmers/Peasant: Unlike most miners, *farmers and hearders other race they are one of the richest of the community, second only to the Samurais and mechants and to respect they are second only to the samurai, farmers till and own huge chank of lands for mushroom farms and live stocks, or mined deep caverns for gems and metals, *although they still pay tax to the samurai it is never excessive considering they are compose of quite the majority of the population, a rebellion from them could be quite disaterous and during an assualt they form the bulk of the militia army. Warriors and stone giant are normally members of this caste

Aritisan: They are compose of artist tanners servants smith entertainers executioners and butchers. the are only one step higher than the mechant class and are among the poorest of society although a few very skilled ones could amass great amount of wealth and respect that could rival the samurais,but majority of these people live in mediacore lives, but those who get hired in the palace often have more luxurious lives than those who are making a living out side, in the militia army they serve as the main artellery and fire power, Sorerers and runecarver stone giant are normally the members of this caste

Merchant: They are the least respected of the caste and are segregated from the other populance, although they are considered the richest iof all members of the cast and are the only ones allowed to go out way beyond their *land even to the surface world to trade for goods. people consider them taking advantage of the farmers produce and the aristian work so people dont mingle with them, unless of official business and transaction, although they live in the refugee area( which most are drow who defected to a good or neutral god normally Sehanine) they live in the highest luxuries any place can offer, most of thier workers are drow who often share the same type of luxuries, among the other case Merchant are the most friendly are act almost like halfling and are equally as likable, normaly they wear armor fashion in surface dweller fashion, they are rarely called to militia service unless on dire situation because of the social barriers: Ronins and some refugee drow belong to this caste

[tarlison]

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/307843_489522497739541_1955579396_n.jpg

Ketass Warrior. Level 15 Lurker
Small natural Humaniod Xp:1200
Initiative +16. Senses:Perception+13:Darkvision
HP:108 ; Bloodied:54
AC:29 Fort:27 Reflex:28 Will:26
Speed:6
*katana(standard, at will) weapon
Melee:+20 vs AC: 1d10+6 damage(x2)
*Wakizashi(standard, at will) weapon
Melee:+20 vs AC: 1d6+5 damage (x2)
*Shortbow(standard, at will) weapon
Range 15/30:+20 vs AC: 1d8+6 damage + Ketass Poison
Assassin's Charge(standard, encounter) weapon
Special:May use this as basic attack when charging
Melee:+20 vs AC:4d10+6 damage and target is weaken(save ends)
Shadow Shift(minor action, recharge 4,5,6)racial
Ketass Warrior Gain insubstantial or phasing until end of your next turn
Shadow Strike:
When Ketass Warrior have Concealment he gain +2d6 damage to melee and range attacks
Shadow Advantage(minor action,at will)
When Ketass Warrior gains combat advantage they gain concealment
Ketass Poison
Attack+18 vs Fortitude: Target takes -2 Penalty to attack rolls and(save ends)
First fail:target is also weaken and daze (save ends all)
Second fail:target is also stunned(save ends)
Third fail: target falls unconscious until the end of encounter
Skills: Athlethic+17 Stealth+20 Dungeoneering+10 Acrobatic+18
Alignment: unaligned. Language:Common,Elven
Str:20(+12). Dex:23(+13). Wis:12(+8)
Con:12(+8). Int:14(+9). Cha:14(+9)
Equipment: Scale Armor, + Bastard Sword(Katana), shortbow, quiver with +30 poison arrows ,+short sword(Wakizashi),climbing tools, grappling hook, 50ft silk rope

+this weapons are coated with Ketass Poison

The Ketass Poison is derive by reverse engineering the drow poison, although more potent it take a bit longer to take to full effect. It cost 6250 GP

Ketass Warrior Tactics
Ketass warrior does prefer the element of surprise at their side preferring an ambush using their poison short bow attacks to slow down the target as they close in using their katana attack while trying to find ways to gain combat advantage to the target normally by flanking they use Shadow shift when ever they can although during hit and run attack they would save it for escape.

[tarlison]

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/295159_489522557739535_138824404_n.jpg

Ketass Sorcerer. Level 17 Artillery
Small natural Humaniod. XP:1,600
Initiative:+9. Sense:+14 Percpetion:Darkvison
HP:122 ;Blooded:61
AC:29. Fort:30. Reflex:28. Will:29
Speed:6
*Katana(standard, at will)weapon
Melee:+24 vs AC:1d10+7 damage
*Wakizashi(standard, at will)weapon
Melee:+24 vs AC:1d6+7 damage
Blazing Starfall(standard,at will)radiant,zone,fire,arcane,implement
Burst 1 within 10 square:+20 vs Reflex:1d4+12 radiant damage
Effect:The burst create a zone bounded by the burning ground that last until the end of its next turn ,when ever an enemy within leaves it that enemy takes 5 fire damage.
Moon Cage(standard,encounter)arcane,cold,implement
Range 10:+22 vs Reflex:1d10+17 cold damage and the target is restrain until the end of its next turn.
Stalking Frost(standard,at will)cold,implement,arcane
Close burst 3:+20 vs Fortitude:2d8+12 damage, if the target doesn't end it's turn at least 4 square away from where it started its turn: it takes 10 cold damage.
Fog Form(immediate interrupt,encounter)utility,arcane
Trigger: Ketass Sorcerer is hit by an attack
Effect: it become insubstantial until the end of its next turn
Shadow Shift(minor action, encounter)racial
Ketass Sorcerer Gain insubstantial or phasing until end of your next turn
Cloak of Sehanine
Ketass Sorcerer gain partial cover to creature more than 5 square away and superior cover to creature more than 10 square away.
Skills:Arcana+15, Bluff+18, Dungeoneering+11,Stealth+11
Alignment:Unaligned. Language:Common,Elven
Str:21(+13). Dex:12(+9). Wis:12(+9)
Con:14(+10). Int:14(+10). Cha:21(+13)
Equipment:Hide Armor,Bastard Sword(katana), Shortsword(Wakizashi)

Ketass Sorcerer Tactics
Ketass Sorcerer prefer to fight in long range,firing moon cage to potential armored melee warriors, while using blazing Starfall to soften out the target, and use stalking frost to push back the enemy that comes in too close , while using fog form to minimize its damage, depending on the tactics it normally save its shadow shift for escape specially on a hit and run attack.

[tarlison]

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/603364_489522534406204_1787428686_n.jpg

Ketass Samurai. Level 17 Elite Soldier(Leader)
Small Natural Humaniod. XP:3,200
Sehanine Guidance aura sight: all Ketass allies in aura gain +1 bonus to all defense and +2 bonus to damage
Initiative:+12. Sense:+16 perception;Darkvison
HP:320 ; Blooded:160
AC:35. Fort:32 Reflex:30 Will:31
Saving Throw+2
Action Points:1
Speed:5
*Katana(Standard,at will)Weapon
Melee:+24 vs AC:1d10+7 damage
*Wakizashi(Standard,at will)Weapon
Melee:+24 vs AC:1d6+7 damage
Shortbow(standard, at will) weapon
Range 15/30:+24 vs AC:1d8+2 damage target is immobilize until the end of its next turn after effect: target is slowed (save ends)+Ketass Poison
Twin Slash(standard, at will) weapon
Make one katana attack and one Wakizashi attack and target is mark until the end of its next turn
Ki Strike(no action , recharge 5,6)weapon
Trigger: before Ketass samurai roll the damage roll of a melee attack
Effect: damage is automatically full
Death Strike(standard, Recharge when blooded)weapon
Effect: on a critical hit target hit points is reduce to 0
Melee:+24 vs AC:4d10+7 damage target is weaken and daze(save ends both)
Parrying Strike(immidiet interrupt,at will)weapon
Trigger: Ketass samurai is hit by a melee attack
Effect:melee:+22 vs reflex:1d6+7 damage and Ketass samurai gain +2 to all defense until the end of Ketass samurai next turn
Shadow Shift(minor action, encounter)racial
Ketass Samurai Gain insubstantial or phasing until end of your next turn
Glorious Whirlwind(standard,recharge 4,5,6)weapon
Close burst 1: attAck all enemy within burst with ur katana for every target hit each allies affected by Selanine's Guidance gain bonus to all defense equal to the number of target hit.
Ketass Poison
Attack+18 vs Fortitude: Target takes -2 Penalty to attack rolls and(save ends)
First fail:target is also weaken and daze (save ends all)
Second fail:target is also stunned(save ends)
Third fail: target falls unconscious until the end of encounter
Skills: Diplomacy+17, History+14, Stealth+10, Dungeoneering+18
Alignment: unaligned. Language:common,Elven
Str:21(+13). Dex:14(+10). Wis:16(+11)
Con:16(+11). Int: 12(+9). Cha:18(+12)
Equipment: Plate Armor, Bastard Sword(katana), Short Sword(Wakizashi), Shortbow, Quiver with 30 Ketass Poison Arrows

Ketass Samurai Battle Tactics
This type of Ketass before to fight head to head in melee, it only use it's short bow to bring down flying creature so they could bring down for a melee attack Normally they lead the squad by charging head on using action points to use Death strike when ever possible then using Ki-strike to make a good solid damage, then assaulting it with twin slash then using glorious whirl wind when surrounded to give the max bonus to its allies , also parrying strike for defense, they Normally save shadow shift on dire situation .

[tarlison]

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/534243_489522567739534_810205571_n.jpg

Ketass Warmage Level 19 Controller(leader)
Small Natural Humaniod. XP:2400
Selinine's Shadow(aura 5) All Ketass allies within area gain concealment, those already having concealment and +1 power bonus to attack .
Initiative:+14 Sense:Perception+17;Darkvision
HP:172; Blooded:86
AC:33 Fort:29 Reflex:31 Will:32
Speed:6
*Katana(standard,at will)weapon,radiant
Melee:+23 vs reflex: 1d10+8 radiant and fire damage target is daze And slow until end of Ketass Warmage next turn
*Wakizashi(standard,at will)weapon
Melee:+23 vs reflex:1d6+8 radiant and fire damage
Blazing bolt(standard,at will)radiant,implement
Range 10:+23 vs reflex:2d6+8 radiant damage target is blind and slowed until the end of its next turn
Shadow Shift(minor action, encounter)racial
Ketass Warmage Gain insubstantial or phasing until end of your next turn
Moon Shine(standard,recharge 5,6)radiant
Wall 5 within 20 square:+21 vs Reflex:4d10+8 radiant damage and target is blinded and daze(save ends both)
Radiant Shield(immidiet interrupt,recharge 4,5,6)radiant
Trigger: hit by an attack
Effect: gain +4 to all defence until the end of ur next turn and triggering creature is daze (save ends)
Skills:Diplomacy +20, Stealth+20,Dungeoneering+19
Alignment: unaligned. Language:common,Elven
Str:14(+11). Dex:20(+14). Wis:16(+12)
Con:12(+10). Int: 14(+11). Cha:23(+15)
Gear:Hide Armor, Bastard Sword(katana), Short sword(Wakizashi)

Ketass Warmage Tactics
Ketass Warmage will always use range attack like blazing bolt if he can get the right opportunity she will fire moonshine ,she will always try to use radiant shield everytime she can, If close in he will try to use the katana to slow down his enemy so he can make his escape

[tarlison]

Encounter Groups
Ketass normally don't mix with other races, their patrols are normally consist only of their race and stone giants whom a lot live in their city

Level 17 Encounter (8000 XP)
2 Ketass Sorcerer (level 17 Artillery)
2 Ketass Warrior (level 15 Lurker)
1 Stone Giant (level 14 soldier)
1 Stone Giant Runecarver(Level 16 Controller(Leader))

Level 17 Encounter (8000 XP)
2 Ketass Sorcerer (Level 17 Artillery)
4 Ketass Warrior (Level 15 Lurker)

Level 19 Encounter(12000 XP)
1 Ketass Samurai (Level 17 Elite Soldier(leader))
1 Ketass Sorcerer (Level 17 Artillery)
1 Ketass Warrior (Level 15 Lurker)
1 Stone Titan (Level 18 Elite Soldier)
2 Stone Giant (Level 14 soldier)

Level 19 Encounter(12400 XP)
1 Ketass Samurai (Level 17 Elite Soldier(leader))
1 Ketass Warmage(Level 19 Controller)
2 Ketass Sorcerer (Level 17 Artillery)
3 Ketass Warrior (Level 15 Lurker)

[tarlison]

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/539921_489522517739539_1756204537_n.jpg

Ketass Ronin. Level 18 Elite Soldier
Small Natural Humaniod. XP:4000
Initiative:+12. Sense:Perception+16;Darkvision
Hit Points:334 ; Blooded:167
AC:36. Fort:33. Reflex:31. Will:33
Resistance: 10 fire
Saving Throw+2
Action Point:1
Speed:5
*Katana(standard,at will)weapon
Melee:+25 vs AC:1d10+8 damage
*Wakizashi(Standars,at will)weapon
Melee:+25 vs AC:1d6+8 damages
Burning Spary(standard,at will)Arcane,Implement,Fire
Close blast 3:+21 vs Reflex:1d8+16 fire damage ignore 10 fire resistance
Effect:the next creature that attack Ketass Ronin with a melee attack before the end of Ketass ronin next turn takes 6 fire damage
Divine Challenge(minor,at will)divine,radiant
1 target within close blast 5: target is mark by divine challenge target takes penalty 2 to attack that doesn't include the marker, the first time the attached attack that doesn't include the marker in that turn the target takes 8 radiant damage. Ketass can only have one divine challenge at a time a new divine challenge supersued the old one.the marker must be adjacent to attack the mark creature before the end of his turn or loss the mark and can't mark until the end of Ketass ronin next turn.
Spark Form(standard, encounter) Arcane,lightning,implement
Effect:Ketass Ronin shift 7 squares and can move through enemies square,when Ketass Ronin leave any of the creature space make the following attack against that creature , whenever ketass ronin use this power Ketass ronin can make the attack against a creature once.
Melee; +21 vs Reflex: 1d6+16 lighting damage
Castigating Strike( standard,encounter)weapon,divine
Melee; +25 vs AC: 3d8+8 damage and each enemy within 3 square of Ketass Ronin is subject to his divine sanction until the end of katass ronin next turn
Divine Sanction
target is mark by divine challenge target takes penalty 2 to attack that doesn't include the marker, the first time the attached attack that doesn't include the marker in that turn the target takes 10 radiant damage.
SpitFire Furnace(standard,daily)Arcane,Fire,implement
Close blast 3:+21 vs Fortitude:4d10+16 Fire Damage
Effect:Until End of Encounter, Any Enemy that starts its turn within 2 square of Ketass Ronin takes 7 fire damage
Sudden Scales(immidiete interrupt, encounter)arcane
Trigger:Ketass ronin is hit by an attack
Effect:Ketass Ronin gain +9 bonus to all defense against the triggering attack
Divine Aegis(minor,Daily)divine,stance
Effect: until stance ends, Ketass Ronin and any allies within 2 squares of the Ketass ronin gain a +2 bonus to all defense
Shadow Shift(minor action, encounter)racial
Note: may be use as an immediate interrupt trigger:when hit by an attack
Ketass Ronin Gain insubstantial or phasing until end of your next turn
Skills:Arcana+15 Diplomacy+ 20 Insight+16 Stealth+10 Dungeoneering+18
Alignment: unaligned. Language: common,Elven,deep speech
Str:22(+15). Dex:13(+10). Wis:14(+11)
Con:15(+11). Int:12(+10). Cha:22(+15)
Equipment:
Plate Armor, Bastard Sword(katana), Short Sword(Wakizashi),

Ketass Ronin Tactics
To battle Ketass Ronin normally use divine aegis and spitfire furnace the first chance it gets spending an action point if necessary, as the battle progress the ronin will use katana and Burning spray sparringly, how would mark the most offensive opponent he can see, and try to take it down as soon as possible , I'm which case they use castigating strike to mark as many opponent as possible, and would also not hesitate to use sudden scale when hit, the Ketass ronin will often save shadow shift for emergency escape.

[tarlison]

Ketass Ronin Encounter Group
Unlike most Ketass ,the ronins are traveling merchants not drifter as one would expect and they tend to travel way out thier city limits most of the time they will even reach the surface world, although most Ketass specially those belonging to the samurai class tend to to avoid mingling with ronins unless on official transaction , they know it's not healthy to challenge them to a duel, ronin are quite well experience in the art of sword play and magic, and there are more than one samurai who learn it the hard way.Ronin are also a lot more friendly than most of thier kind, almost like thier halflings in a way, they are equally at home in royal courts to in rowdy tavern even in underground caverns of the underdark to the city slums to the city markets. Normally since Ketass rarely travel they normally travel to sehanine worshipping drow elf who they consider as thier business partners.Ketass ronin always prefer to talk things out than fight it out! Fighting is bad for business

Level 14 encounter (5200 XP)
1 Ketass Ronin (level 18 elite soldier)
2 Drow Warriors(level 11 lurker)

Level 15 encounter(6200 XP)
1 Ketass Ronin
1 Drow Warrior
1 Drow Blademaster

Level 16 encounter(7400 XP)
1-Ketass Ronin
1-Drow Blademaster
3-Drow Warrior

Level 17 encounter(8000 XP)
1-Ketass Ronin
1-Drow Blademaster
4-Drow Warrior

Level 18 encounter(10,200 XP)
1 Ketass Ronin
2 Drow Blademaster
5 Drow Warrior

Note: All Drow here have an alignment of unaligned rather than evil

[Mando Knight]

Uh... Hm. I'll put the super-critic version in spoilers, so you can see (if you really want) my raw opinion without further distillation to try to make it constructive and unoffensive.

The name is weird. Makes me think of one's rear-end.

I'd give this to an editor to even out the grammar and formatting, since it does actually make a severe impact on the readability and acceptance of an article.

+Strength on a small creature (that is the size of a Halfling) is... odd, but the stat boost combinations are fairly legit.

The "uses Medium Versatile Blades" thing I find... uncomfortable. The weapon is physically, literally too large for them to handle in that way. Other than the brokenness of the ability mechanically, it's part of the reason why WotC phased out the Oversized trait fairly early in the edition's run.

The feats are mostly fine, with the same caveat as above.

First, in general, the whole thing is hard to read. Formatting, spelling, and grammar improvements would be more than welcome.


Ketass are child like race who live deep within the underdark, even then they are rarely seen by their archenemy the drows even rarer by the surface dwellers, stories of old say they are carve from the shadow of Sehanine of which they worship, their city is said to be protected by the shadows of Sehanine deep within the underdark which is said to be a force out of pure shadows and is said to hold an eerie beauty when behold, centuries of battle with drows are forge the Ketass a ninja like sense of honor while there warriors seem to embrace a samurai like culture, but unlike the samurais to the Ketass true to their goddess your are not born to a caste its up to you to choose ur caste and once choosen serve it with dedication honor and passion
"Ninja" and "honor" do not actually belong together... sure, they may be portrayed as such in media, but they're spies, saboteurs, and assassins. None of those things are really "honorable." That, and "child-like" does not describe a strongly militaristic society with

If they're nice guys, why are they in the Underdark? How did they survive long enough amidst the things which mortals were not meant to know that creep around there? Shadows are the realm of the Shadowfell. Put them there instead, I say. The Underdark is for things like the Unseelie and those which leak in from the Far Realms.

A moon goddess? In the Underdark? I almost feel like finding a temple to Moradin in the Feywild to be more likely. That they are written to be honorable makes it even stranger for them to worship a goddess of trickery and illusion.

Drow are overused as primary racial foes. They already have the Elf races as their antagonist, and their deity is staunchly opposed to Corellon.


Ketass stands around 4ft tall and 80 pounds,
Ability Score: +2 strenght
...What. I get that you want them to be good for the martial classes, but what. They're Underdark Halflings so far... and you give them a bonus to Strength. In 4e, the races with bonuses to Strength (* indicates the Strength is "fixed," i.e. they must get the bonus to Strength) are...
Bugbears*, Dwarves, Dragonborn, Half- and full-blooded* Orcs, Genasi, Humans, Shifters, Vryloka, Warforged, Minotaurs*, Thri-Kreen, Muls, and Goliaths*. Most of these, and all of the ones with it as a fixed stat, are fairly large and physically imposing... not munchkin samurai.

Size: small

BladeMaster: can use medium size Light blades and Heavy Blade as if he is a medium size creatureJust make them Medium, then! A dwarf's only a few inches taller, and a small-ish human is only a dozen or two pounds heavier... just bump their size a little, make them Medium, and be done with it! Otherwise... there's enough for Small creatures to use that they don't need to have the ability to ignore their only drawback (which is that they need to two-hand Versatile weapons and can't use Two-Hand weapons), since they already get to use Short Swords and Rapiers (updated to be Military weapons rather than Exotic) without any changes.

Racial bonuses and Darkvision are fine, since other races do get them... though those with Darkvision usually have fairly limited racial abilities, AFAIK. Drow lose out on getting free weapon proficiencies compared to Eladrin, for example (their racial abilities other than their powers are otherwise fairly similar).


Shadow Shift(minor action, encounter)racial
* * *Gain insubstantial or phasing until end of your next turn
The "or" statement is good, as is the limited time of use. Insubstantial and Phasing could be abused otherwise...

Way of the Blade: req: heroic, ketass race: gain profiency bastard sword and short sword gain +2 feat bonus to damage at heroic this increase to +3 at level 11 and +4 at level 21 when using short sword or bastard sword
Change the feat bonus to "to weapon attacks with a" and the feat is mechanically fine (to keep it in line with the current design philosophy). Flavor-wise, it is... odd, to say the least. A "Bastard Sword" ("correct" sword terminology has this as the longsword, and the smaller "longsword" is, in fact, an "arming" sword) has an average blade length of around four feet, i.e. as big as your average Ketass. (A katana proper is within arming sword size, and a longer daitō (any blade longer than two shaku, which is between a foot and 14 inches), such as the ōdachi, is what fits in the longer longsword range.)

Bushido's Implemenf:req: heroic,ketass race,way of the blade feat, arcane class: you may use bastard sword and short sword as implementThe only classes that would take the prerequisites are the Artificer and Bard. One is a bad choice for Ketass, the other so-so.

Shadow Blade Finese:req:heroic, rogue class, ketass race and Way of the blade feat: treat bastard sword as light bladesDone better by Versatile Duelist from Dragon #381. Adding Light Blade to the Bastard Sword allows for ridiculous feat combinations... better to add it to the list of weapons usable for Rogue powers, like Versatile Duelist does.

Ghost in the Blade: req:epic: ketass race: when ever he use Shadow Shift he is also invisible until the end of your next turn*Stick to "you" as that's the standard terminology for feats. If this wasn't an Epic feat, I'd have issue with it, but since it is epic, it's fine.

Knowledge checks for any Natural creature are Nature, no matter where they live. Arcana is for creatures with much more arcane origins, such as elementals, fey, or creatures from the Shadowfell. (Dungeoneering is used for Aberrations probably because with few exceptions the only ones that adventurers find are those that live in cavernous systems such as the Underdark)

The monsters are a little high leveled (they can't be all better than the Drow, or this "war" wouldn't be an issue!) and need to have their stats tweaked to bring them in line with current monster design (at-will damage is terribly low; you're using the MM1 stats, which are terrible for designing Elites and Soldiers especially; and monsters never get dailies). Stun and Daze are very powerful and should be used sparingly. That is, no at-will should have the ability to daze or stun. Giving a Soldier (especially an Elite or Solo) a means to semi-permanently increase its defenses is borderline cheating (they're already harder to hit than other monsters and have modestly high HP, give the adventurers a break!).

Fire focuses are not really in line with Sehanine's teachings, and Radiant is in general an odd type for any creature living in the Underdark.

All-in-all... it feels like a Mary Sue race. Few things break my suspension of disbelief easily... but this just is one of those things.

[tarlison]

Uh... Hm. I'll put the super-critic version in spoilers, so you can see (if you really want) my raw opinion without further distillation to try to make it constructive and unoffensive.

The name is weird. Makes me think of one's rear-end.

I'd give this to an editor to even out the grammar and formatting, since it does actually make a severe impact on the readability and acceptance of an article.

+Strength on a small creature (that is the size of a Halfling) is... odd, but the stat boost combinations are fairly legit.

The "uses Medium Versatile Blades" thing I find... uncomfortable. The weapon is physically, literally too large for them to handle in that way. Other than the brokenness of the ability mechanically, it's part of the reason why WotC phased out the Oversized trait fairly early in the edition's run.

The feats are mostly fine, with the same caveat as above.

First, in general, the whole thing is hard to read. Formatting, spelling, and grammar improvements would be more than welcome.


"Ninja" and "honor" do not actually belong together... sure, they may be portrayed as such in media, but they're spies, saboteurs, and assassins. None of those things are really "honorable." That, and "child-like" does not describe a strongly militaristic society with

If they're nice guys, why are they in the Underdark? How did they survive long enough amidst the things which mortals were not meant to know that creep around there? Shadows are the realm of the Shadowfell. Put them there instead, I say. The Underdark is for things like the Unseelie and those which leak in from the Far Realms.

A moon goddess? In the Underdark? I almost feel like finding a temple to Moradin in the Feywild to be more likely. That they are written to be honorable makes it even stranger for them to worship a goddess of trickery and illusion.

Drow are overused as primary racial foes. They already have the Elf races as their antagonist, and their deity is staunchly opposed to Corellon.


...What. I get that you want them to be good for the martial classes, but what. They're Underdark Halflings so far... and you give them a bonus to Strength. In 4e, the races with bonuses to Strength (* indicates the Strength is "fixed," i.e. they must get the bonus to Strength) are...
Bugbears*, Dwarves, Dragonborn, Half- and full-blooded* Orcs, Genasi, Humans, Shifters, Vryloka, Warforged, Minotaurs*, Thri-Kreen, Muls, and Goliaths*. Most of these, and all of the ones with it as a fixed stat, are fairly large and physically imposing... not munchkin samurai.
Just make them Medium, then! A dwarf's only a few inches taller, and a small-ish human is only a dozen or two pounds heavier... just bump their size a little, make them Medium, and be done with it! Otherwise... there's enough for Small creatures to use that they don't need to have the ability to ignore their only drawback (which is that they need to two-hand Versatile weapons and can't use Two-Hand weapons), since they already get to use Short Swords and Rapiers (updated to be Military weapons rather than Exotic) without any changes.

Racial bonuses and Darkvision are fine, since other races do get them... though those with Darkvision usually have fairly limited racial abilities, AFAIK. Drow lose out on getting free weapon proficiencies compared to Eladrin, for example (their racial abilities other than their powers are otherwise fairly similar).


The "or" statement is good, as is the limited time of use. Insubstantial and Phasing could be abused otherwise...

Change the feat bonus to "to weapon attacks with a" and the feat is mechanically fine (to keep it in line with the current design philosophy). Flavor-wise, it is... odd, to say the least. A "Bastard Sword" ("correct" sword terminology has this as the longsword, and the smaller "longsword" is, in fact, an "arming" sword) has an average blade length of around four feet, i.e. as big as your average Ketass. (A katana proper is within arming sword size, and a longer daitō (any blade longer than two shaku, which is between a foot and 14 inches), such as the ōdachi, is what fits in the longer longsword range.)
The only classes that would take the prerequisites are the Artificer and Bard. One is a bad choice for Ketass, the other so-so.
Done better by Versatile Duelist from Dragon #381. Adding Light Blade to the Bastard Sword allows for ridiculous feat combinations... better to add it to the list of weapons usable for Rogue powers, like Versatile Duelist does.
Stick to "you" as that's the standard terminology for feats. If this wasn't an Epic feat, I'd have issue with it, but since it is epic, it's fine.

Knowledge checks for any Natural creature are Nature, no matter where they live. Arcana is for creatures with much more arcane origins, such as elementals, fey, or creatures from the Shadowfell. (Dungeoneering is used for Aberrations probably because with few exceptions the only ones that adventurers find are those that live in cavernous systems such as the Underdark)

The monsters are a little high leveled (they can't be all better than the Drow, or this "war" wouldn't be an issue!) and need to have their stats tweaked to bring them in line with current monster design (at-will damage is terribly low; you're using the MM1 stats, which are terrible for designing Elites and Soldiers especially; and monsters never get dailies). Stun and Daze are very powerful and should be used sparingly. That is, no at-will should have the ability to daze or stun. Giving a Soldier (especially an Elite or Solo) a means to semi-permanently increase its defenses is borderline cheating (they're already harder to hit than other monsters and have modestly high HP, give the adventurers a break!).

Fire focuses are not really in line with Sehanine's teachings, and Radiant is in general an odd type for any creature living in the Underdark.

All-in-all... it feels like a Mary Sue race. Few things break my suspension of disbelief easily... but this just is one of those things.

I think in western culture it might sound strange but in oriental culture there are lots of small creature that is at least 10 times stronger than normal humans,and over size I don't think it will matter in the balance since there is no way they could still use over size weapons, about bastard sword and short sword it's not really useful in gaming purpose but it's always common for a warrior specially in eastern culture to have a slashing and stabbing weapon, like the samurai they often carry two weapons , about weapon size I think it's fairly common in Japanese anime and games where people often carry oversize weapon (in dnd the katana is always a bastard sword) I don't think there is much different I'm people carrying a scimitar and a guys using a long sword game wise, and as for more powerful the only way a race can survive the underdark is to be stronger than the Drow or else you will be wipe out. Radiant I think a lot of it. Ur I think powers that are related to the moon are often radiant and beside even it the surface word a lot of people does use necrotic, and since they live in the shadows I think sehanine would be the logical goddess. There culture is more like japanese they don't go out much although thier culture on isolationist like the shogunate , people don't normally go out but unlike samurai culture they are still allowed but problem is u might not be quite welcome when u come back buty still communicate with them as far as business transaction is concern. the ronin is powerful that I know :-) been thinking of nerfing it:-) , well carrying a katana and wakizashi is more on tradition than practicallity, there culture is a. Mix of old samurai and spartan culture with a sparkle of democracy

[Fallbot]

Wall o' text

Dude. Please proofread before posting, because it's very hard to follow what you've written here.

I'm not an expert on Japanese culture, so can't debate whether tiny, super strong things are really a theme throughout its mythology, but I do think you have a weird disconnect going on between your attempts to focus on actual historical Japanese flavour, and all the anime giant buster swords and honourable ninja that have been thrown into the mix. Social mobility and the ability to choose your own cast are very much at odds with what I know of Japanese history, where casts were rigorously enforced. This attempt to take all the 'cool' stuff from Japan and sand off all the unpleasantness that accompanied it is probably at least partially what's setting off Mando's Sue detector (and mine, to be honest).

As for 'the only way a race can survive the underdark is to be stronger than the Drow', if they're stronger, how is it possible for them to have a meaningful conflict? Why don't they just wipe the drow out? If it's because of honour or the Ketass inherent peacefulness despite being highly militarized, then be careful, that's getting into Sue territory again. Why are they in conflict anyway? You say they don't hate drow, and in fact rarely come into contact with them, but this conflict seems to define them and has inspired their warlike culture. Is this just the usual Underdark turf wars, or is there some greater say ideological conflict? How do they get on with Duergar and Illithid?

The Sehanine worship again strikes me as odd. She is a god of the moon and autumn, which will both be meaningless to creatures from the Underdark and, though she is linked with shadow and illusion, that seems very much at odds, on all but the most superficial level, with the Ketass' focus on honour and discipline. If the Ketass are originally from the surface, it's not strange that they'd continue to worship her, and perhaps the harsh conditions they now live in forced their cultural values to develop to the point they seem almost opposed to the orthodox view of Sehanine? Is that the case, or did they come to worship her in another manner?

To maybe assuage some of my fears of Sueness, could you tell me some negative things about the Ketass? What is something truly unpleasant about their culture, or a nasty personality trait a Ketass is likely to have?

[Fecar]

Small, underdark dwelling creatures who hate the Drow, sounds like the Svirfneblin to me. Why not take that race and rename them, they already are balanced and have feats created for them compliments of WotC. They can be found in Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook.

I agree with the Fallbot and Mando, this feels very Sue like. Giving a small creature the ability to use some weapons as if they were a medium creature is really strong. So is giving them speed 6 when other small creatures are speed 5. Insubstantial or Phasing on a racial power seems unbalanced to me, partial concealment would be more inline with what other races get. Every aspect of them feels strong with no drawbacks.


Dude. Please proofread before posting, because it's very hard to follow what you've written here.
I could not agree more. Trying to read through the monster and race writeups, I had a very hard time trying to following/understanding as its all over the place.


Again, I would suggest to you to take the Svirfneblin and do a rename. They can get a +2 to strength, are small, have darkvision and their racial power gives them partial concealment.

[tarlison]

Small, underdark dwelling creatures who hate the Drow, sounds like the Svirfneblin to me. Why not take that race and rename them, they already are balanced and have feats created for them compliments of WotC. They can be found in Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook.

I agree with the Fallbot and Mando, this feels very Sue like. Giving a small creature the ability to use some weapons as if they were a medium creature is really strong. So is giving them speed 6 when other small creatures are speed 5. Insubstantial or Phasing on a racial power seems unbalanced to me, partial concealment would be more inline with what other races get. Every aspect of them feels strong with no drawbacks.


I could not agree more. Trying to read through the monster and race writeups, I had a very hard time trying to following/understanding as its all over the place.


Again, I would suggest to you to take the Svirfneblin and do a rename. They can get a +2 to strength, are small, have darkvision and their racial power gives them partial concealment.

Actually this race was conceive during the adnd first Ed I think I get ur point maybe I will just make activation a standard action hoping it will balance it up :-) phasing was the old ability as well as insubstantial which he must select if he is insubstantial he is not phasing and if he is phasing he is not insubstantial, becaus back in the adnd time this guy need a partial action before he can use this power or he could be insubstantial until an attack is resolve :-) small doesn't have any obvious advantage is 4e though but have some disadvantage , the first time I meet these creature was in 1991 I was a kender rogue then when our party was attack by a group of Ketass ( our DM who made this for our upcoming china setting rpg out DM can't wait to show us) thier trade mark was they could pass through walls and cam be insubstantial ,use a katana as a medium creature, to ignore an attack back then only one attack , well that's why I just made it until end of next turn , but I think I could add or until an attack is resolve for insubstantial, he was proud of this race but never made a proper history except they have honor although uses gorilla tactics and will not break a bond of honor ,that's how we were able to get out one of the fighter challenge one of the Ketass I'm single combat for our freedom he was able to defeat the little warrior so they set us free.

[Fallbot]

Dude. Please proofread before posting, because it's very hard to follow what you've written here.

To maybe assuage some of my fears of Sueness, could you tell me some negative things about the Ketass? What is something truly unpleasant about their culture, or a nasty personality trait a Ketass is likely to have?

Sooo is that a no on both counts?

It's very sweet that your DM's race made such an impact on you that you want to recreate it, and you say (at least I think you do. Proofread!) you want to come up with a history for them. Here are some questions that it might help to answer.

What exactly are Ketass? Are they Deep Halflings or something else? How did they come to live in the Underdark? Did Sehanine really create them or is that just a myth? Why would a Goddess of seasons and sky create a subterranean race? Why did their rigid-but-not-really cast system develop? Why are they at war with the drow (who apparently rarely come into contact with them)? Do they have some kind of connection to the Shadowfell? Who actually does the menial labour if the Farmer cast is composed of rich landowners? Do they keep slaves? If the only reason the Samurai cast doesn't abuse the populace is because they're too well armed, has a Samurai Shogun ever attempted to abolish the compulsory military training in an attempt to seize more permanent power?

[tarlison]

Sooo is that a no on both counts?

It's very sweet that your DM's race made such an impact on you that you want to recreate it, and you say (at least I think you do. Proofread!) you want to come up with a history for them. Here are some questions that it might help to answer.

What exactly are Ketass? Are they Deep Halflings or something else? How did they come to live in the Underdark? Did Sehanine really create them or is that just a myth? Why would a Goddess of seasons and sky create a subterranean race? Why did their rigid-but-not-really cast system develop? Why are they at war with the drow (who apparently rarely come into contact with them)? Do they have some kind of connection to the Shadowfell? Who actually does the menial labour if the Farmer cast is composed of rich landowners? Do they keep slaves? If the only reason the Samurai cast doesn't abuse the populace is because they're too well armed, has a Samurai Shogun ever attempted to abolish the compulsory military training in an attempt to seize more permanent power?

Actually he didn't place a god but I am still not sure I was first thinking of bahamut that's why I'm asking for ur suggestion , but in the shogun peasant where never allowed to bring weapons and was killed in the slightest sign of disrespect, all the rice where given to the samurai and just out of charity of the daimyo if he would decide to give some of the produce to the farmers, I was thinking more on a small farm which they would own the land them selve more on a family run farm type of thing still figuring out and about the samurai I mix it with a bit of the ancient imperial Chinese where government official are not chooses by blood or election rather than is chosen through exams and test but as I said there is still alot of figuring and weakening to do before this can be final, if u have an idea how the government history or the raceshould be just write it down it would be nice to build this one together, still figuring out how to finalize this race

[Alienist]

Looks interesting.

Phasing/insubstantial for 1 round or until you move through something or attack doesn't seem that big a deal to me. If you want to tone it down some I suggest making it a daily instead of encounter. Then in Paragon tier make a feat that increases it to encounter instead of daily.

For location, I recommend this (from Manual of the Planes) :


The Feydark
The fey parallel to the Underdark is similar to its mortal twin in many respects. Its tunnels worm through the gutrock of the world for thousands of sunless miles. Vast caverns echo with the dull roar
of underground rivers. Countless creatures hunt these catacombs, and entire civilizations rise and fall among the stone pillars.
The Feydark is different in that the magically fecund wild nature of the plane is evident even here, miles beneath the surface of the earth. Translucent, glowing purple crystals light the Feydark in an unearthly glow. Where the Underdark is bare stone, the Feydark is lined with bizarre fungi. Forests of mushrooms, as tall as a human, cling to the jagged cliffs descending deep into the earth. Waterfalls run blood red with algae that’s evolved to live off the magical emanations. Poisonous blue moss lines the tunnel walls, and shock stones lodged in the onyx walls absorb travelers’ torchlight and convert it into sparking electrical energy.
Many of the Feywild monsters of the surface wander among these mutant forests, along with creatures even more bizarre. Giant insects swarm through the ooze of fungus and silt, often exhibiting great intelligence. Gnomes send regular expeditions into the Feydark, searching for magical stones used in their research. Drow on missions from the mortal realm use these tunnels to travel without alert-
ing the eladrin. Strange humanoids that can only
be described as “mushroom folk” gibber and puff spores as they scurry in the shadows. However, the undisputed masters of the Feydark are, of course, the fomorians.


As for the repeated question about relative strength compared to Drow, it is fairly easy. A less populous race must be stronger than their oppressors, otherwise they will quickly lose and/or be enslaved. Of course, it would be hard to keep Ketass enslaved. :D (Maybe work that into the background somehow?)

For the name, if you shortened it to Ketas it might help? Or in English perhaps one Keta, two Ketas? Pluralising things that already end in s is hard.

As for the weapon size problem, honestly I don't see that as an issue either. Just prevent them from upsizing it any further so they don't start waving around 20 foot blades with impunity.

As for strength, if Dwarves can be strong, why not Ketass?

[tarlison]

This is my latest addition to the ketas history , hope its ok

Kairana Ghaele of the Veil
Kairana was once a Ghaele of Winter during the time when Loth was still Araushnee , she was one of the most beautiful eladrin in the realm, at the time she was already quite vein, always boosting her beauty, then she start worrying about getting old she began researching for ways to retain her youth and beauty, soon those desire turn to obsession , with those obsession she began doing unorthodox and some times questionable ways to preserve herself from aging , she ordered all her scholar far and near to search for ways in which she would be eternally young, until she she heard about the underdark, out her own whim she declares that there is a spring that will grant her greatest desire deep in unexplored caverns deep below, so she ordered a newly arrive childlike race who seem to have excellence dark vision to search for it deep within the underdark through the feydark in return she would gave them a place in her domain, the first expedition by this new race called the Ketass began to explore , out of a hundred only fifty returned bringing the news that the expidition was a failure, Kairana accuse them of lying , she ordered the body of the survivor dismembered alive and send the cut out pieces and send it back to thier community as a warning then banish the rest of the Ketass deep in the underdark including thier families and not to return until they know the whereabouts of the fountain. Years pass the Ketass didn't surface thinking they found the spring, she went down with her army there deep she found the Ketass community living in a small settlement, there she meet with the village chief and ask if they found the spring when the village chief said no this angered the noble eladrin and orders her troop to kill all the Ketass , almost half of the population was killed in that instance mostly non combatant, the Ketass prayed to the goddess who hides all those in need, with shroud of shadows the goddess hears their prayers , activate the long dormant powers, since it's hard to escape from teleporting eladrin, their body suddenly able to transform to a ghost like state enabling them to pass through walls of the cavern to escape even with this only a quarter manage to survive, pushing Ketass deeper below to the underdark, a hundred years pass she was already felt a bit age which anger her greatly , until she heard again some where about of the Ketass, she again with her army went down to assault the Ketass and wiping them to the last one, as they gone down the Ketass was ready, during the battle her troop was defeated by the contingent of well trained warriors. She was killed by a bastard sword stab in the center of her beautiful face, but death won't be the end of her as a punishment Sehanine curse her to walk the world as a lich, her once beautiful face not broken at the center and forever filled with rotting flesh, to hide such hideous look she place a veil to cover this once was her ultimate asset, she swore vengeance to the Ketass , some remnants of her once proud army risen as undead warriors as she prepared to extract payment for the twerp who made her loss everything.

[tarlison]

Looks interesting.

Phasing/insubstantial for 1 round or until you move through something or attack doesn't seem that big a deal to me. If you want to tone it down some I suggest making it a daily instead of encounter. Then in Paragon tier make a feat that increases it to encounter instead of daily.

For location, I recommend this (from Manual of the Planes) :


The Feydark
The fey parallel to the Underdark is similar to its mortal twin in many respects. Its tunnels worm through the gutrock of the world for thousands of sunless miles. Vast caverns echo with the dull roar
of underground rivers. Countless creatures hunt these catacombs, and entire civilizations rise and fall among the stone pillars.
The Feydark is different in that the magically fecund wild nature of the plane is evident even here, miles beneath the surface of the earth. Translucent, glowing purple crystals light the Feydark in an unearthly glow. Where the Underdark is bare stone, the Feydark is lined with bizarre fungi. Forests of mushrooms, as tall as a human, cling to the jagged cliffs descending deep into the earth. Waterfalls run blood red with algae that’s evolved to live off the magical emanations. Poisonous blue moss lines the tunnel walls, and shock stones lodged in the onyx walls absorb travelers’ torchlight and convert it into sparking electrical energy.
Many of the Feywild monsters of the surface wander among these mutant forests, along with creatures even more bizarre. Giant insects swarm through the ooze of fungus and silt, often exhibiting great intelligence. Gnomes send regular expeditions into the Feydark, searching for magical stones used in their research. Drow on missions from the mortal realm use these tunnels to travel without alert-
ing the eladrin. Strange humanoids that can only
be described as “mushroom folk” gibber and puff spores as they scurry in the shadows. However, the undisputed masters of the Feydark are, of course, the fomorians.


As for the repeated question about relative strength compared to Drow, it is fairly easy. A less populous race must be stronger than their oppressors, otherwise they will quickly lose and/or be enslaved. Of course, it would be hard to keep Ketass enslaved. :D (Maybe work that into the background somehow?)

For the name, if you shortened it to Ketas it might help? Or in English perhaps one Keta, two Ketas? Pluralising things that already end in s is hard.

As for the weapon size problem, honestly I don't see that as an issue either. Just prevent them from upsizing it any further so they don't start waving around 20 foot blades with impunity.

As for strength, if Dwarves can be strong, why not Ketass?

Thanks alieniest I guess I will just remain shadow shift an encounter :-) thanks for helping out :-)

[tarlison]

Just finish play testing it and we just found out its not as powerful as everyone think :-) well the one using it as a brutal rogue. :-)