Admiral Squish
2013-01-28, 12:01 PM
Quetzal
Designed for Vespuccia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269334)
Personality: Quetzal have strong personalities, and they can be quite convincing when they want to be. Their society heavily favors the intelligent over the physically strong, due to their ability to use their mind to manipulate objects, so schemers are not only politically powerful, but physically as well. They are highly zealous, and have a tendency to be immovable on a point once they make up their minds.
Physical Description: Quetzal are massive snakes, some 10-12 feet in length, the diameter of their body about as thick as a human neck, covered with feathers down their back and sides. Their heads are human, and usually rather attractive, with particularly long feathers mimicking hair on a normal human. These feathers and the ones around their neck rise and fall with their mood, flaring out into a spectacular frill when angry or eager to impress, flattening down when frightened or sad. Their plumage is most commonly green, with bright streaks of red, yellow, and orange color in the longer feathers around the head and neck that are only exposed with they fan them. However, it’s not unheard of for some quetzal to come in brighter colors all over. Their stomach-scales are usually yellow, with a narrow red strip running down both sides of the broad scales. Quetzal can open their mouths unnaturally wide to unfold their long, sharp fangs, but they generally avoid this, as it's considered extremely uncivilized. Quetzal males outnumber the females about 4:1, but the females are notably larger and generally rule the groups.
Relations: Quetzal are highly regarded by the Aztec, who believe them to be the children of Quetzalcoatl. The quetzal rarely have contact with outsiders, and those who do meet them are usually at the business end of a sacrificial dagger, so they don’t often have a high opinion of them. Within quetzal communities, females are regarded highly, being larger and usually stronger. Most females will have at least one mate, and the whole harem will share responsibility for raising children. The preisthood, however, is usually male. Priesthood is considered one of the few ways for a male to reach a status equal to a female.
Alignment: Quetzal are usually strictly lawful, but they range between good and evil evenly. They have a tendancy to reach the extremes of good and evil, getting swept away in their zeal.
{table=head]|L|N|C
G|20|10|5
N|15|10|5
E|20|10|5[/table]
Quetzal Lands: Quetzal dwell in and around temples to the Aztec gods. Their priests and clerics dwell in the temples itself, but entire quetzal clans often live in the immediate surroundings. Quetzal communities often subsist entirely upon the offerings and sacrifices made to the gods in some of the larger temples. Other communities supplement the tribute with hunting, fishing, and farming.
Religion: Quetzal are often preists of the Aztec gods, but they revere Quetzalcoatl above all the others. Some believe they are his children. Others believe they are simply made in his image. Still others believe the resemblance is just a happy coincidence.
Language: Quetzals speak Nahuatl. They rarely have use for other languages, but some learn them out of curiosity.
Names: Quetzal do not have last names, using a single name. The names are usually determined by meaning, but sometimes they can be named after heroes or the day they were born.
Adventurers: Quetzal adventurers are usually zealots. There are some clerics, but zealots are more common, as clerics have a secure position in the preisthood. Zealots are usually the ones who have the drive required to leave their temples and communities.
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength. Quetzal are quick and flexible, with strong personalities, but they aren’t particularly strong.
Type: Quetzal are Abberations
Medium: Quetzal are medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Slow Speed: A quetzal’s base land speed is 20 feet.
Low-light Vision: Quetzal can see twice as far as a human in moonlight, starlight, torchlight, or other conditions of poor visibility. A quetzal retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
Serpent Body: Quetzal have serpentine bodies, which leads to some challenges. A quetzal cannot wear bracers, boots, gloves, or cloaks. A quetzal cannot use a claw or rake attack. A quetzal can wear an additional necklace and an additional belt, and can wear rings, though they wear them on their fangs. Armor for a quetzal costs twice as much as normal armor.
Phantom Limbs: A quetzal can use telekinetic force to mimic the use of limbs. This force is approximately as dextrous as hands, but there are a few limitations. The phantom limbs reach out to five feet, and cannot affect anything that the quetzal does not have line of effect to. The strength of the limbs is proportionate to your mental strength. This lets a quetzal use their intelligence modifier instead of their strength modifier for most purposes. A quetzal uses their intelligence modifier instead of their strength modifier for attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and CMB checks. They still use their strength score to determine their carrying capacity, but may lift objects as though using their intelligence. They can also use their intelligence modifier in place of their dexterity modifier for physical ranged attack rolls, disable device, and fly checks. A quetzal wielding a weapon with their phantom limbs cannot be disarmed.
Skills: A quetzal gains a +4 racial bonus to escape artist checks and climb checks.
Bite: Quetzal have a bite attack that deals 1d4 points of damage.
Languages: Quetzal begin play speaking Nahuatl.
Designed for Vespuccia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269334)
Personality: Quetzal have strong personalities, and they can be quite convincing when they want to be. Their society heavily favors the intelligent over the physically strong, due to their ability to use their mind to manipulate objects, so schemers are not only politically powerful, but physically as well. They are highly zealous, and have a tendency to be immovable on a point once they make up their minds.
Physical Description: Quetzal are massive snakes, some 10-12 feet in length, the diameter of their body about as thick as a human neck, covered with feathers down their back and sides. Their heads are human, and usually rather attractive, with particularly long feathers mimicking hair on a normal human. These feathers and the ones around their neck rise and fall with their mood, flaring out into a spectacular frill when angry or eager to impress, flattening down when frightened or sad. Their plumage is most commonly green, with bright streaks of red, yellow, and orange color in the longer feathers around the head and neck that are only exposed with they fan them. However, it’s not unheard of for some quetzal to come in brighter colors all over. Their stomach-scales are usually yellow, with a narrow red strip running down both sides of the broad scales. Quetzal can open their mouths unnaturally wide to unfold their long, sharp fangs, but they generally avoid this, as it's considered extremely uncivilized. Quetzal males outnumber the females about 4:1, but the females are notably larger and generally rule the groups.
Relations: Quetzal are highly regarded by the Aztec, who believe them to be the children of Quetzalcoatl. The quetzal rarely have contact with outsiders, and those who do meet them are usually at the business end of a sacrificial dagger, so they don’t often have a high opinion of them. Within quetzal communities, females are regarded highly, being larger and usually stronger. Most females will have at least one mate, and the whole harem will share responsibility for raising children. The preisthood, however, is usually male. Priesthood is considered one of the few ways for a male to reach a status equal to a female.
Alignment: Quetzal are usually strictly lawful, but they range between good and evil evenly. They have a tendancy to reach the extremes of good and evil, getting swept away in their zeal.
{table=head]|L|N|C
G|20|10|5
N|15|10|5
E|20|10|5[/table]
Quetzal Lands: Quetzal dwell in and around temples to the Aztec gods. Their priests and clerics dwell in the temples itself, but entire quetzal clans often live in the immediate surroundings. Quetzal communities often subsist entirely upon the offerings and sacrifices made to the gods in some of the larger temples. Other communities supplement the tribute with hunting, fishing, and farming.
Religion: Quetzal are often preists of the Aztec gods, but they revere Quetzalcoatl above all the others. Some believe they are his children. Others believe they are simply made in his image. Still others believe the resemblance is just a happy coincidence.
Language: Quetzals speak Nahuatl. They rarely have use for other languages, but some learn them out of curiosity.
Names: Quetzal do not have last names, using a single name. The names are usually determined by meaning, but sometimes they can be named after heroes or the day they were born.
Adventurers: Quetzal adventurers are usually zealots. There are some clerics, but zealots are more common, as clerics have a secure position in the preisthood. Zealots are usually the ones who have the drive required to leave their temples and communities.
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength. Quetzal are quick and flexible, with strong personalities, but they aren’t particularly strong.
Type: Quetzal are Abberations
Medium: Quetzal are medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Slow Speed: A quetzal’s base land speed is 20 feet.
Low-light Vision: Quetzal can see twice as far as a human in moonlight, starlight, torchlight, or other conditions of poor visibility. A quetzal retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
Serpent Body: Quetzal have serpentine bodies, which leads to some challenges. A quetzal cannot wear bracers, boots, gloves, or cloaks. A quetzal cannot use a claw or rake attack. A quetzal can wear an additional necklace and an additional belt, and can wear rings, though they wear them on their fangs. Armor for a quetzal costs twice as much as normal armor.
Phantom Limbs: A quetzal can use telekinetic force to mimic the use of limbs. This force is approximately as dextrous as hands, but there are a few limitations. The phantom limbs reach out to five feet, and cannot affect anything that the quetzal does not have line of effect to. The strength of the limbs is proportionate to your mental strength. This lets a quetzal use their intelligence modifier instead of their strength modifier for most purposes. A quetzal uses their intelligence modifier instead of their strength modifier for attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and CMB checks. They still use their strength score to determine their carrying capacity, but may lift objects as though using their intelligence. They can also use their intelligence modifier in place of their dexterity modifier for physical ranged attack rolls, disable device, and fly checks. A quetzal wielding a weapon with their phantom limbs cannot be disarmed.
Skills: A quetzal gains a +4 racial bonus to escape artist checks and climb checks.
Bite: Quetzal have a bite attack that deals 1d4 points of damage.
Languages: Quetzal begin play speaking Nahuatl.