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Starscream
2012-12-23, 11:36 PM
http://lh6.ggpht.com/-fECy7azU4-4/TKneK_2RjvI/AAAAAAAACyQ/TzSL13IlqWI/175.jpg
Close enough to what they look like.

I'm part of a World Building exercise right now that we hope will eventually lead to a Pathfinder Campaign. Part of this is designing races to populate the new setting. So far we have threads going for a race of rat-people called Murids (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14380714#post14380714), and a race of playable Dragons (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264385), and now I'm adding another offering to the pile, the Arachnochs. These were designed with the Pathfinder Race Builder from the Advanced Race Guide, and cost 15 RP. Please let me know what you think.

Intro:Miles beneath the surface of the world, within caverns vast enough to contain mountains and oceans, things scurry and stir in the darkness. Among them is the Arachnochs, sinister spiders born halfway between life and death, and embroiled in a three-way war that has raged for millennia and may continue to do so until the end of days. What was once a mighty web-strewn empire eventually devolved into endless conflict, which inevitably spilled out onto the surface world. The three castes of Arachnochs have since adapted to their new lives outside of the subterranean darkness, and seek to make their way in the world. But each holds within them the desire to one day return to the depths with enough power to shift the conflict in their favor.

Physical Description:Arachnochs all resemble giant spiders, about five feet in length and four feet in height, with the size varying somewhat among breeds. They come in three different varieties, Brown, Red, and Black.

Black Arachnochs are the smallest breed, and possess shiny carapaces and red eyes. Their legs are long and thin, and they closely resemble black widow spiders, save for the red mark on their abdomens, which instead of an hourglass looks somewhat like a humanoid skull. This is appropriate, as the Black Arachnochs are the most gifted necromancers among the race, although the significance of the mark is questionable as Arachnoch's did not encounter humanoids until relatively recently in their history. They tend to take it as a sign that they are destined to one day rule the races of the surface as well as the depths.

Brown Arachnochs are middling in size and resemble a brown recluse spider. Their legs are shorter and somewhat furry, and their fangs are less pronounced than other varieties. Their heads are somewhat larger than the others, possibly signifying their greater intellect. Their eyes are largest as well, as befits their curiosity. Many races find their appearance to be the least frightening of the Arachnochs, although a five-foot spider is unlikely to be welcome in many places, so it is all relative.

Red Arachnochs are the largest variety, and look like nothing so much as giant red tarantulas. Their legs and bodies are all covered in coarse red fur, and their fangs are massive. This has little effect other than to make their speech somewhat garbled, however, as Arachnochs have long since lost their potent bites to natural selection, no longer needing them as they have possessed weaponry for countless generations. Red Arachnochs have beady little eyes that dart around suspiciously at any sign of movement, and they tend to drool copiously.

Society and History:Long ago, too far in the past to determine with any degree of accuracy, there were beings the size of mountains living beneath the earth. One of these, the Web Queen, was a massive spider who ruled vasts swaths of territory. This wicked being was eventually slain (mostly) in a fight with That Which Slumbers, which threw a death curse into her nest. Although the Queen died, an egg sac within her nest was altered by the residual negative energy, and eventually hatched into the first Arachnochs, who lingered somewhere between life and unlife. There were three breeds, or Castes.

The Black Arachnochs were the closest to undeath, and wielded mighty necromantic magic as a result. They venerated the spirit of their dead progenitor, and were gifted with divine power in return. They became the "Ruler Caste" as a result.

The Red Arachnochs were the biggest and strongest of the lot, and swiftly formed a nearly unstoppable fighting force. Under the guidance of the Black Arachnochs, they conquered cavern after cavern as the "Warrior Caste".

The Brown Arachnochs were the most intelligent, and swiftly took to becoming alchemists and arcanists. They designed weaponry and magical tools, devised strategies, and researched their enemies weaknesses as the "Scientist Caste".

For a long while it seemed inevitable that the spiders would eventually spread their empire over the whole world, but then something happened to instill a deep hatred between the Castes. Some say the Rulers decided that with divine right on their side, they knew they were above sharing their empire with lesser spiders, and sought to wipe the others out. Others say that the Warriors got tired of taking orders and being cannon-fodder, seeking to take control through force. Still others say the Scientists struck first, distrusting divine magic and not wanting to live by the rules of a dead Queen.

Whatever happened the three Castes fell into war, and this war has continued ever since. The once mighty Web Empire has fallen into disarray, with territories being invaded, occupied, and re-invaded over and over. Several millenia ago, this conflict came to a head when That Which Slumbers stirred in its sleep, its movement raising a mountain (Mt. Desco, on which a monastery now stands), and collapsing a pit several hundred miles in diameter.

This Web Pit exposed the Arachnochs to the surface world for the first time, and each Caste took it as a sign that they were to expand and take over this newly available territory. However, they have of course spent most of their time simply battling amongst themselves, and control little territory beyond the pit itself. Nevertheless, some enterprising Arachnochs have explored the world outside the darkness, and gone off to seek their fortunes, either to escape the endless conflict, or to acquire enough power that they can one day return and win it for good.

As it currently stands, the Black Arachnochs control the most territory deep within the Web Pit, which suits them as they dislike the bright lights of the surface world. The Red Arachnoch's control more territory closer to the surface, and are the most commonly encountered near the Pit. Brown Arachnochs control the least turf, but have spread out into the world more, and are the most often encountered abroad.

Relations:Arachnoch's don't play very nicely with others. It is in their nature to be predatory, prideful, and selfish. Their nature as creatures halfway between life and unlife exacerbates this, as they don't place much value on life as a whole.

Even if this weren't the case, there are few people to whom a giant spider is a welcome sight, so they would probably not win civic awards anyway. Nevertheless, Arachnochs are not stupid and they reserve most of their hatred for each other, so they can see the benefit to getting along with other races, at least well enough to not find themselves under Bigby's Exterminating Boot. They can trade goods (spider silk especially), sell their services, and ply any number of trades. Arachnochs also are unafraid to deal with monstrous races (they find all non-Arachnochs equally ugly), and may act as a go-between for species that do not like to associate with each other.

Between Castes, however, there is nothing but an intense loathing, and few Arachnoch's will willingly associate with members of another Caste for very long. Any meeting between them will be terse, brief, and probably end with both parties locking gazes and backing away slowly with weapons drawn.

Alignment and Religion:Most Arachnochs, it must be said, are evil. It's a pragmatic sort of evil, bereft of pettiness and spite, but evil nonetheless. The average Arachnoch makes no attempt at concealing the fact that they eventually want to take over the world and subjugate all other beings, but they are equally forthcoming about the fact that this will never come to pass until they defeat the other Castes of Arachnochs, and that this is not likely to happen until long after they are dead. So why worry about it? Black Arachnochs tend to be Lawful Evil, Browns tend more towards Neutral Evil, and Reds toward Chaotic Evil.

However, exposure to the surface world has broadened them somewhat, and this is no longer the iron-cast rule it once was. Plenty of Arachnochs, having left the pit in search of power and glory, have found after years of living abroad that they simply have no desire to return to the war, and would rather simply live out the rest of their days on their own terms. Some Arachnochs in recent years have even been born in other lands, and to them the Web Pit is just some far off place they have no desire to ever see, let alone die fighting for. These Arachnochs tend more towards moral neutrality, with their ethical biases remaining the same.

Most religious Arachnochs worship the Web Queen, whose spirit lingers in her massive body after death. She can grant spells to her followers, with the Black Arachnochs being by far the most devout, and the Brown Arachnochs the least likely to bother.

Adventurers:Arachnoch's leave the Web Pit for any number of reasons. Some want to escape the endless conflict, other want to acquire power and prestige abroad so that they can one day return and shift the tide of battle in their favor. Rulers often seek to spread to word of the Web Queen to other monstrous races and bring new worshipers to the fold, Warriors may seek to raise armies and acquire powerful new weaponry, and Scientists seek new secrets and discoveries that can increase their power.

Cleric is the most common class choice for Black Arachnochs (especially those based around necromantic magics), with Oracles and Inquisitors slightly less so, and Druids almost unheard of. Red Arachnochs prefer Fighter and Barbarian, with some being Rogues or Ninjas, and very few having the patience to be Monks. Brown Arachnochs have a particular love for being Alchemists, though some take the Wizard or Summoner path instead.

Brown Arachnochs are the most common Caste to be found throughout most of the world, followed by Red. Black Arachnochs prefer the subterranean realm, as they dislike bright light.

Arachnoch Racial Traits:Note: ALL Arachnochs take one of the "Alternate Racial Traits" listed below, representing their caste. The traits listed here are merely what each caste has in common.

* Type: Aberration (Half-Undead)

* Size: Medium

* Speed: 40 feet, Climb Speed 20 ft.

* Ability Modifiers: +2 Str +2 Cha -2 Con; Arachnochs are strong in both body and personality, but their semi-undead nature makes them somewhat vulnerable.

* Languages: Common and Arachnoch. Arachnoch's with a high intelligence score can also learn Elvish, Goblin, Murid, and Draconic.

* 8-legged: Arachnochs can only use their front two legs as arms, and usually rear up on their other six to fight. This grants them marvelous stability; they get a +6 racial bonus to CMD against trip attempts and a +10 foot bonus to their base speed

* Half-undead have darkvision out to 60 ft.

* Half-undead gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against disease and mind-affecting effects.

* Half-undead take no penalties from energy-draining effects, though they can still be killed if they accrue more negative levels than they have Hit Dice. After 24 hours, any negative levels they've gained are removed without any additional saving throws.

* Half-undead creatures are harmed by positive energy and healed by negative energy.

Alternate Racial Traits (Castes):Black Arachnoch (Ruler Caste):

* Advanced Wisdom: Black Arachnoch's gain an additional +4 Wisdom, signifying their closeness to the divine.

* Fell Magic: Black Arachnochs gain +1 to the DC of any saving throws against necromancy spells that they cast. Those with a Wisdom score of 11 or higher also gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—Bleed, Chill Touch, Detect Poison, Touch of Fatigue. The caster level for these effects is equal to the user’s character level. The DC for these spell-like abilities is equal to 10 + the spell’s level + the user’s Wisdom modifier.

* Light Blindness: Abrupt exposure to bright light blinds members of this Caste for 1 round; on subsequent rounds, they are dazzled as long as they remain in the affected area.

Red Arachnoch (Warrior Caste):

* Carapace: Red Arachnoch's have a tougher chitinous body than other castes and gain a +1 Natural Armor.

* Advanced Strength: Red Arachnoch's gain an additional +4 Strength, as they are the most combat ready Caste.

Brown Arachnoch (Scientist Caste):

* Advanced Intelligence: Brown Arachnochs gain an additional +4 Intelligence, as they are the brightest and most intellectually curious Caste.

* Spinnerets: Alone among the Arachnochs, Browns can spin webs. A member of this Caste can do so once per day as a full round action. By doing so the Arachnoch can produce either 50 feet of straight line (equivalent to a silk rope), ten square feet of webbing (suitable for use as a medium sized net or hammock), a special sticky ball of webbing that can be used as a Tanglefoot Bag, or a single square yard of solid spider-silk (equivalent to a yard of silk). The chemicals that make the ball sticky dry up after 24 hours, making the item useless, but the rope, net/hammock, and silk are permanent items, and can be reused or sold as their equivalent goods.

Jack_Simth
2012-12-24, 05:29 PM
No bonus languages?

Starscream
2012-12-24, 11:46 PM
No bonus languages?

Good catch, fixed.

roguemetal
2012-12-25, 12:25 AM
Are these supposed to be a PLAYER race, or simply a race for your setting? They certainly don't feel appropriate for player characters being that they are undead spiders that have no humanoid appearance, are usually clerics of an unusual order, and probably invoke screams of terror from everything that sees them. As a standard race in your setting, I am curious how other races deal with creatures that don't have faces. Something many humans in real life have serious issues and phobias with. In other words, expand on your relations section. I really have no idea how a simple daily chance encounter with a local spidersilk merchant might go down, and cannot imagine it being nonchalant, let alone why spiders get away with selling their bodily product for profit. In most games that's a far too easy source of wealth.

Starscream
2012-12-25, 03:52 AM
Are these supposed to be a PLAYER race, or simply a race for your setting? They certainly don't feel appropriate for player characters being that they are undead spiders that have no humanoid appearance, are usually clerics of an unusual order, and probably invoke screams of terror from everything that sees them. As a standard race in your setting, I am curious how other races deal with creatures that don't have faces. Something many humans in real life have serious issues and phobias with. In other words, expand on your relations section. I really have no idea how a simple daily chance encounter with a local spidersilk merchant might go down, and cannot imagine it being nonchalant, let alone why spiders get away with selling their bodily product for profit. In most games that's a far too easy source of wealth.

So far the main races in this setting are dragons, pirate goblins, steampunk kobolds, shamanistic rat-people, weird aliens from a crashed spaceship, sentient horses, and elves.

So other than the elves (who are actually shaping up the be the most evil of the lot), no one is really traditionally "pretty" in appearance. We don't even have humans at all yet. This is shaping up to be a rather odd looking populous. And I guess it's a question of what you're used to; if you grew up around spiderfolk, you can probably handle them.

That being said, I made these guys in response to the goblins turning out to actually be good guys in this setting. I added goblins to be nasty pirates, but they ended up as mostly good aligned swashbuckling types instead. Since they turned mostly good, I wanted someone else to make up for it by being mostly evil, and these were the result.

They're playable, but in the same way orcs and goblins are playable in most settings; you can do it, but it's not common because most of them are bad guys. I'm probably going to play one of the rat-people, but if someone else wants to be a spider that's fine.

As for the silk thing, I'm not really worried about it. A standard adventurer selling stuff for half price could make 5 gp a day from that power, and that value will never increase with level. If he had his own shop he could get 10 gp, but how on earth could you run a shop when you can only produce one item a day? You'd need a whole staff of Arachnochs to make it work.