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pyrefiend
2006-11-10, 01:42 PM
Cobac
The Cobac are a friendly people driven by ancient instinct to travel. They are generally friendly toward all people, which at times can be their greatest fault. There is a distinctive feeling to the residents of Scale that the Cobac are a new race, born of the most recent age, yet no one, not even the long lived elves, can remember when they were born to the world. Perhaps this is because of the way they live. Their lifespans are the shortest of all humanoid life on Scale, and even shorter is the time they spend in one place. Indeed it is impressive feat to have a conversation with the same Cobac twice, unless the Cobac chooses to maintain a lasting relationship, which is even less probable. Because of their short lifespans, the Cobac are not usually interested in the affairs of other races, but when they choose they can be some of the greatest leaders, due to their natural ability to relate to others. The Cobac are largely considered the most exotic and unusual race on all of Scale.
Personality: In sharp contrast to the elven races, Cobac never seem distant. They constantly seek new experiences to fill their short lifespans. They can be very passionate in their hobbies or profession, making them some of the finest craftsmen for their age, which is always young. However, it is the constant bane of the Cobac that they can rarely produce goods as fine as those of the ancient races- because of their short time in the world. In fact, Cobac are generally bitter that the get only a glimpse of the world they find so amazing. Even Cobac adults are like children, relishing every new experience.
Physical Description: Cobac stand a little taller than humans, about 6' 6" on average, weighing about 110-210 pounds. The men are noticeably larger in frame and weight than women. Because of their very short lifespans, the Cobac are more diverse in appearance than any other race, with skin color ranging anywhere from deep blue to indigo to brilliant crimson. Their hair is always strait and usually matches their skin color roughly. Cobac favor bright cloths with contrasting color. They love to write bright, interesting symbols all over their garments. Most races of Scale assume these are magical, but in reality they mean nothing. Cobac cherish nothing if not individuality, and so any two Cobac can sport very different cloths.
Relations: No matter how others feel, Cobac are ready and willing to talk with anyone and exchange stories and conversation. Elves, Dwarves and Humans, none have any special favor or disfavor in the eyes of the Cobac. Humans and Cobac are most likely to remain friends though. Gnomes and halflings can have good relations with Cobac too, but Dwarves and Elves feel that the Cobac are simply too outgoing, and make friends too easily.
Alignment: More so than any other race, Cobac bend heavily toward chaos over law. They simply do not understand monks, paladins, and other law inclined professions. They simply feel life is too short to let ones self get involved with anything you don't want to do. Cobac generally favor good over evil, though there have been cases of radical evil Cobac who treasure nothing but what they can get in their lifetime.
Cobac Lands: Because the Cobac have no permanent settlements and treasure all land equally, they are likely to be found in any lands they know of. Cobac covet mapmaking and exploration more than any other profession, so "lands that the Cobac know of" is pretty much anywhere on Scale. Cobac settlements generally have no more than 350 souls living in small, temporary settlements. In extremely rare cases Cobac settlements can find a trueland, an area of such intense natural beauty that the settlement decides to stay their forever. The finding of a trueland is the most sacred event in Cobac society. Cobac settlements rarely involve other kinds of humanoids, but any amounts of non-Cobac are welcome.
Religion: Cobac never worship the common dities of Scale. Instead, the worship the elements, the land around them. All Cobac share a devout respect for the primal art of the elementalists, and treasure their own elemental composition. Unlike other races, Cobac covet imbalances of the elements in themselves, finding that this makes them even more unique. One of the stranger customs of the Cobac is the way they generate quintessence. At each morning every Cobac alive is expected to donate part of his own element to the great Cobac quintessence pool, located in a special trueland in the foothills of the slate mountains. At this spot an ever-growing, ever-changing crystal of pure elemental energy has been generated by years of quintessence donation. Through this crystal the Cobac can commune to one another from anywhere in the far-flung lands the so love to explore.
Language: Cobac speak Cobac. Most also speak Sylvan, which is very similar to their own language. Because they do interact with other races whenever they can they speak Common as well.
Names: Cobac names are never used twice, each is individually crafted by the parents. They usually mean nothing, but are instead chosen for the way they sound. Most names begin or include smooth sounding symbols to match the style of language Cobac enjoy.
Adventurers: Because of their need (and sometimes even desperation) to see new things in their lifetime, 30-35 years, Cobac make some of the very best adventurers. They get along well with all of other races and are happy to join any adventuring party, so long as their goal is not totally different from the Cobac's own.
Cobac Racial Traits
-Medium Creature
-Nomadic Stride: A Cobac may move through any sort of natural impediment (such as rocky ground or underbrush) at his normal speed, without hindering his move speed.
-Know the Land: Cobac gain a +4 bonus to Knowledge (geography) checks.
-Weapon Familiarity: Cobac treat ring blades as simple weapons and ring staves and chain arrows as martial weapons.
-Quintessence Born: A Cobac can commune telepathically with any other Cobac he knows within 10 miles once per day. There is no limit to the number of words said, but communication lasts only 5 min. He can also sence the location of any Cobac within 5 miles of him.
Obsessive Talent: At first level, Cobac choose one craft skill, which they always count as a class skill thereafter.
-Racial Modifiers:Cobac have the following racial modifiers:
+2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom
Endurance: Cobac receive endurance as a bonus feat.

XtheYeti
2006-11-10, 01:59 PM
LA 1, they have a bonus and a feat given, + they have wooland stride as a race feature, sorta, at least LA 1, and what are the ring thingies?

Hefty Lefty
2006-11-17, 09:43 PM
Hey Dan, this is Steve.
Sorry about all the bad-mouthing you've heard that I do to this race. It's just that my brother totally explained it to me wrong (he said, for one, that they get a +4 CHA), and now that I've seen what it actually is, I like it. One thing I'd add is the feat Endurance. I'm not sure what you'd take out, since you already have a +1LA and want to reduce that, but I just think that with all the walking they do, they would have no problem enduring long marches.

sigurd
2006-11-17, 11:59 PM
I'm not a balance lawyer, but I don't think I would have a problem with this as an LA:0 in my game(s).

You need to be more clear about the range of the telepathy.


Logic-wise you might consider changing the negative from wisdom to constitution. It seems like this race is highly in tune with the world around him which would oppose a wisdom hit while their shorter lifespan might suggest a lower con.

Longer living races might find the Cobac a very sad tale. Whats 30 years to a nigh immortal elf?

Squatting_Monk
2006-11-18, 12:17 AM
Umm... there's no way this race needs a level adjustment of +1. I was doing the math, and these things are just a tad ahead of half-orcs. You could give these guys a few more abilities and still have a level adustment of +0 with no problem. I would suggest +1 bonus skill point per level (as the human), since it would reflect the quick learning and adaptability of the race that's implied by your writing. Granted, they won't live long enough to be truly skilled, but...

Also, don't forget a land speed (especially because of the Nomadic Stride ability). I'd suggest making it 40ft. instead of the standard 30, simply because it fits with your roaming ideal. Combine that with your skill points and you have a relatively powerful LA +0 character.

Have you thought of a favored class? I'd suggest Bard, since it fits with the roaming, the seeking new experiences, the friendliness, and the chaotic approach. Goes well with the Charisma bonus, too.

Btw, do you have something in particular you wanna do with the telepathy ability? It seems kinda thrown in there, and it's not really powerful enough to effect game balance. I'd suggest either improving it, or dropping it altogether.

I like your concept. I'm assuming you know a little more about them than what you wrote here, but you might wanna think about carving out a little bit more of a niche for them in your world. In your post, you kinda portray them as a curiosity that's sorta tacked onto the world. Then again, maybe that's the image you want to go for (fits with the other races thinking they're new to the world).

All in all, keep up the good work. :smallsmile: