[Hourglass of Zihaja] Chapter 9: Creatures

[Zeta Kai]

Pahari

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Warrior 1
Medium Humanoid (Aquatic)
Hit Dice: 1d8+3 (7HP)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20’ (4 squares), Swim 50’ (10 squares)
Armor Class: 15 (+3 Dex, +2 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/+3
Attack: Punching Dagger +3 melee (1d4+2/×3) or Halberd +3 melee (1d10+2/×3)
Full Attack: Punching Dagger +3 melee (1d4+2/×3) or Halberd +3 melee (1d10+2/×3)
Space/Reach: 5’/5’
Special Attacks: N/A
Special Qualities: Aquatic traits, Cold Resistance 5, Dehydration, Humanoid traits, Low-Light Vision, Partially-Amphibious, Skills
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +1
Abilities: Str 14 (+2), Dex 17 (+3), Con 10 (+0), Int 11 (+0), Wis 12 (+1), Cha 10 (+0)
Skills: Hide -1*, Ride +6, Swim +11
Feats: Toughness
Environment: warm aquatic (Siraaj)
Organization: company (2-4), patrol (9-16 plus 2 3rd-level lieutenants, 1 leader of 3rd-6th level, & 2 medium sharks), or band (30-60 plus 1 3rd-level sergeant per 20 adults, 5 5th-level lieutenants, 3 7th-level captains, & 5 medium sharks)
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: standard
Alignment: usually Neutral
Advancement: by character class
Level Adjustment: +1

Combat
Pahari are agreeable, civilized folk, & so they are not given to battle needlessly. However, many predators stalk the ocean waters, & so the arts of war are not foreign to them. They will defend themselves & others of their kind with vigor & spirit. They usually rely on their speed & swimming prowess to command the battlefield, often using hit-&-run tactics to sap an opponent’s strength. The spellcasters among them employ their magic in a fight with glee, whereas the rest of the pahari use bladed weapons, such as knives & polearms.

Aquatic traits: All creatures with the Aquatic subtype possess the following traits:

• Swim speeds & thus can move in water without making Swim checks.
• Can breathe underwater, & are immune to drowning (but not suffocation).

Dehydration (Ex): A pahari has a -4 racial penalty on Constitution checks to avoid thirst effects (non-lethal damage & fatigue). A pahari can only go without water for 12 hours plus a number of hours equal to its Constitution bonus (if any) before it must make a Constitution check.

Humanoid traits: All creatures with the Humanoid type possess the following traits:

• Proficient with all simple weapons, or by character class.
• Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium, or heavy) it is described as wearing, or by character class. If a humanoid does not have a class & wears armor, it is proficient with that type of armor & all lighter types. Humanoids not indicated as wearing armor are not proficient with armor. Humanoids are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any form of armor.
• Humanoids breathe, eat, & sleep.

Partially-Amphibious (Ex): A pahari can only breathe air for so long before its gills are exhausted. It can be above water for a number of hours equal to 24 plus its Constitution modifier. Neither magical healing nor partial immersion are effecting in restoring its gills to full function; only complete immersion in either freshwater or seawater for 1 full hour will restore the pahari’s gills.

Skills: A pahari has a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks, & can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if rushed or threatened. They also have a -4 racial penalty to Hide checks, but only when they are out of the water, due to their bright teal skin & clumsy land movements.

Pahari Lore
Characters that have ranks in Knowledge (Local) can learn more about paharis. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DC’s.

• DC11: “Under the sea, there lives a strange race of fish-people.” A character making this check recalls all aquatic humanoid traits.
• DC16: “The curious beings, known individually & collectively as pahari, are most adept in the water, although they have been known to come ashore.” A character making this check knows the workings of the Partially-Amphibious ability, & knows about their swimming Skill bonuses.
• DC21: “Despite their relative weakness on land & their dependence on the sea, they often travel to coastal lands to learn more of life among the air-breathers.” A character making this check remembers the mechanics of Dehydration & Low-Light Vision.
• DC26: “Ardent practitioners of the arcane arts, each pahari seems to know a little bit about magic.” A character making this check is familiar with the nearest pahari settlement & how to contact them.

Abilities & Racial Features
Pahari characters possess the following racial traits:

• Dexterity +4, Constitution +2.
• Humanoid (Aquatic): Pahari are subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person. They have swim speeds & thus can move in water without making Swim checks, can breathe underwater, & are immune to drowning (but not suffocation).
• Medium Size: As Medium creatures, pahari have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• A pahari’s base land speed is 20 feet.
• A pahari’s base swim speed is 50 feet.
• Low-light vision.
• Cold Resistance (Ex): A pahari is resistant to all damage from cold (including non-magical forms of cold damage); they ignore the first 5 points of cold damage each round.
• Dehydration (Ex): A pahari has a -4 racial penalty on Constitution checks to avoid thirst effects (non-lethal damage & fatigue). A pahari can only go without water for 12 hours plus a number of hours equal to its Constitution bonus (if any) before it must make a Constitution check.
• Partially-Amphibious (Ex): A pahari can only breathe air for so long before its gills are exhausted. It can be above water for a number of hours equal to 24 plus its Constitution modifier. Neither magical healing nor partial immersion are effecting in restoring its gills to full function; only complete immersion in either freshwater or seawater for 1 full hour will restore the pahari’s gills.
• Skills: A pahari has a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks, & can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if rushed or threatened. They also have a -4 racial penalty to Hide checks, but only when they are out of the water, due to their bright teal skin & clumsy land movements.
• +2 natural armor bonus.
• Automatic Languages: Pahrai (Pahari). Bonus Languages: Common & Borean.
• Favored Class: Sorcerer.
• Level Adjustment: +1.

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Racial Statistics
Average Height: 5’0” - 6’6”
Average Weight: 90 - 150 lbs.

Ability Scores: +2 Charisma, +2 Dexterity OR +2 Intelligence
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares
Vision: Low-Light

Languages: Common, Pahrai
Skill Bonuses: +2 Insight, +2 Arcana
Aquatic: You are considered an aquatic creature for effects that relate to subtype. You can breathe normally underwater, & have a swim speed equal to your speed.
Cold Resistance: You gain resistance to cold equal to 5 + 1/2 your level.
Slippery: +2 AC & Reflex vs. opportunity attacks & attacks made during your turn. You also gain a +2 racial bonus to skill checks made to escape a grab or restraints.
Tail Slam: You can use the Tail Slam power once per encounter.

Tail Slam
Your tail whips out, sending your foe flying back.

• Encounter *
• Minor Action Melee 1
• Target: One creature
• Attack: Strength +2, Dexterity +2, or Constitution +2 vs. Will
• Hit: 1d8 + strength, dexterity or constitution modifier damage, & you push the target 2 squares.
• Special: Increase the attack bonus to +4 at level 11, & increase the attack bonus to +6 at level 21. At character creation, choose one of Strength, Dexterity or Constitution. That ability score becomes the one you use for this racial power. Once made, this choice cannot be changed.

Favored Classes: Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Out of the inky sea swims a strange figure. It looks like a lithe young human, except that its skin has a creamy teal hue, & is completely devoid of hair. Upon closer inspection, more abnormal features are apparent. A small dark fin rises from the crown of its smooth head, & many tendrils & tentacles emerge from the back of that head, forming a mane of sorts. The aquatic being has a short, flat tail, & is barely clad in silver-laden scraps of clothing.

To many who live in the former empire of Admaja, the world is a seemingly-endless desert. But under the warm tropical waves of Siraaj, an entirely different world exists. An entire underwater society is thriving there, a strange-yet-amicable variant of the temperate merfolk known as the Pahari.

Also known as a Nuzaqanas (from the Admajai phrase, meaning “Sea-People”), a pahari (pah-HAR-ee) is an inquisitive creature, always eager to learn & explore new things. Unlike some dry-land cultures, the pahari are avid users of magic; their cities are truly places of wonder, replete with arcane items, & many pahari are accomplished sorcerers or wizards. They are also fascinated by the lives of surface folk, to point where some brave & curious pahari (which others would call obsessed) risk their lives to travel above the waves in search of knowledge & adventure.

On the occasions that one of them stands on land, a pahari is about 5’-6½’ tall, & weighs about 90-150 pounds. They speak their own language (Pahrai), although the more learned of them speak Common &/or Borean as well.

Plot Hooks

• A pahari envoy has journeyed ashore, offering to establish trade relations between the land-folk & the sea-realms.
• The locals are appalled & incensed by a pahari sorcerer’s public displays of magic.
• A Limalite cleric is attempting to organize an expedition to the undersea cities of the pahari, something that the normally-amiable pahari are unusually apprehensive about.