Kazyan's Bucket of D&D 3.5 Races

[Kazyan]

Min-lau

Min-lau are a race of charming wanderers that have long been treated the same way monsters are, for their unusual proportions and the wicked points they have in place of feet. However, they are gaining acceptance among the common races for their entertaining acrobatics and other unique balancing talents. Nevertheless, they still seem to be treated more as tame monsters than anything else, partly because they haven't developed quite the intellect of the more common races. Min-lau are simple, content to live as a cross between a performer and pet among the common races.

Personality

Min-lau are natural followers, but at the same time, they are exuberant and personable. They often form a close bond with their friends--or those who take care of them, if they are being treated like a tame monster. Min-lau love to move, often hopping in place if they're caged. Commonly, Min-lau will talk to themselves, even in the company of others in the middle of conversation--they consider it natural to use oneself as a conversation partner. This confuses most other races, but groups of Min-lua seem to have no problem telling if someone can directed an "Isn't that right?" to themselves or someone else. In one noteable case, a min-lau was placed in solitary confinement for a week and didn't seem to notice.

Despite seeming to be airheads, Min-lau are an ambitious race, which is why they're not held in groups when used as tame monsters. Together, min-lau come up with grandoise plans and ideas, organize themselves frighteningly efficiently into organizational structures to get things done, and finish their plans before moving on to something else. Despite not being very smart overall, min-lau can and have made headway into wizarding colleges.

Physical Description

Min-lau have awkward proportions at first glance. Their legs are far too long and rather thick, their torsos too short, and their arms too stubby. At second glance, one would notice that they have no feet--instead, their legs come to single, hardened points, and typically, a min-lau will balance on only one of them while keeping the other leg bent. They are naturally buoyant when on the ground, allowing them to balance easily.

Conventional Min-lau clothing is a single light blue scarf-like garment that is wrapped around their torso in such a way as not to be indecent, but exposes their limbs and head.

Min-lau have a rough, yellowed skin tone. They lack hair in the conventional sense, but they do have several twisting, multi-ended growths that extend from their heads, colored dark brown and having the same visual presence as a full head of hair.

Relations

Min-lau are by and large simply performers and/or pets to the more common races, and approved of in those roles. But when the ambitions of a min-lau lead them to become sometime more, they are usually shunned or rejected from whatever they're trying to do--one wouldn't let a dog become a wizard, after all. Good-aligned races are more accepting of their ambitions, but at the same time, wary. Only chaotic good races, like gnomes, are fully accepting of the race.

Alignment

The airheaded min-lau tend strongly towards chaos, and are decent-natured enough for a slight tendency towards good as well. Those with more intellectual streaks are more varied in their alignments, to the degree that they're as unpredictable as humans.

Lands

Min-lau share whatever lands the common races who use them as pets and performers do.

Religion

Min-lau are usually kept away from religious texts, but those that do learn about religion tend to worship Olidammara. More disturbingly, free and knowledgeable min-lau are known to worship the vestige Paimon. The superficial similarity between min-lau and Paimon seems incidental, but it is said that min-lau favored souls have learned to draw spells from Paimon...

Language

Min-lau speak a confusing agglutinating language of their own, called Min-lau, and refuse to teach it to others. (Min-lau is not a secret language, but it is hard to find a teacher and it's difficult to learn.) They also know Common due to their "domestication", and the intelligent ones may know any sort of language due to exposure through the other races they perform for and are owned by.

Names

Due to the structure of the Min-lau language, min-lau names are three syllables long, with the first syllable stressed and ending in a vowel. Min-lau does not have rhoticism (the letter "r").

Adventurers

Natural ambition makes the min-lau perfect for adventuring, provided they are free in the first place. Some may simply wish to learn to cast the most powerful spells; some may want to own a castle; some might want to rule the world...all min-lau have some sort of grand goal for thmeselves, and adventuring is a fast way to get it (if you don't mind the 99%+ chance of death).

Racial Traits

+2 Charisma, -2 Intelligence: Min-lau are cute and charming, but not particularly bright.
Monstrous humanoid type
+12 bonus to Balance checks: Min-lau have a natural buoyancy on the ground, which allows them to easily stay upright on the single support point of one foot. A min-lau takes no penalty to balance checks for standing on one point.
Medium size
Land Speed: 20 feet. Min-lau have exemplary balance on their pointed feet, but their jagged gait when walking is not a quick one.
Swift Stand: With their bouyancy, a min-lau can push themselves upright from prone as a swift action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Languages: Min-lau, Common. Bonus Languages: Any (excluding secret languages)
Favored Class: Battle Dancer (DComp)
Level Adjustment: +0



Racial Feats

Pointed Kick
Prerequisite: Min-lau
Benefit: You can use the points of your legs as secondary natural weapons that deal 1d4 points of piercing damage plus 1/2 your Strength bonus. When standing on the ground, only one point can be used to attack because the other is required for standing. When prone, flying, or otherwise not standing, both points can be used to attack.

Powerful Legs
Prerequisite: Min-lau, Str 13, Improved Unarmed Strike
Benefit: You can use the points of your legs as primary natural weapons. When used in this way, you add 1-1/2 your Strength bonus to damage.