GitP Pathfinder Grab Bag Competition Competition XXIV: Taste My Steel!

[Adam1949]

The Mehndi

The Mehndi are a race of human-like tribal warriors, who believe that the act of crafting weapons imparts a portion of the creator's soul into it, giving it life and personality. More than that, though, they also believe that mortals are merely the 'weapons and tools' of the spirit realm, given a form of flesh rather than of metal and wood. As such, they revere weapons of all sorts, and can summon weapons from within their souls.

Physical Description: A Mehndi looks similar to a tall, lithe human. They always have a stark contrast in their skin tone and their hair; if one is dark, the other is ghostly-white. The most common looks are of "raven-haired and snow-white-skin" and "Tanned-flesh and stark-white hair". In addition, they wear tattoos across their bodies, and have them since adolescence; a Mehndi that has no tattoos is labelled a pariah and is almost always an early-age runaway.

Society: Traditionally tribe-based, Mehndi culture is one that reveres a threefold aspect: The Weapon, the Mark, and the Soul. From an early age a Mehndi is trained in using a weapon which resonates with them; the one that 'feels right' to the youth.
After he or she has found their weapon of choice, they are then branded and marked with a special tattoo which never fades, traditionally on the back; this extravagant tattoo shows that they are a full member of their tribe, and have reached maturity in the eyes of their people.
Over time, a Mehndi often decorates their body with other, lesser marks, usually on the palms, shoulders, soles, and face. These each mean something special to the Mehndi in question, and can be read by someone who is familiar with the detailed and highly-specialized tattoos as easily as a well-researched tome (DC 10 Knowledge [Local] check to read a single tattoo and understand what it means; a Mehndi reduces this DC by 5).

Relations: Due to their similar appearance, humans often look at mehndi as more spiritual versions of themselves; indeed, both races count as the same type and subtype and can breed true with anything that a human would be able to breed with. Elves appreciate their inner spirituality, but are more ambivalent about their lifestyle, which often includes huge bonfires and meat-sacrifices to the weapon-spirits.

Alignment and Religion: As a whole, the Mehndi are a people of tradition and self-sufficiency. As such, they are usually Lawful Neutral.
They have no patron god, instead worshiping different weapons (or rather, an iconic 'chief' spirit of said weapons); these Weapon-Deities are almost always mirrors of traditional gods in the guise of their favored weapon or profile (for example, The Harvester, who is the calm scythe-god of Harvest Moons and Death, is actually Pharasma). As such, they mix and mingle easily with other worshipers of said gods, although they often come to well-meaning and entertaining debates as to their exact gender, profiles, and personalities.

Adventurers: Sometimes, a Mehndi will have a sort of 'Crisis of Faith' in which they aren't sure if their chosen weapon was the right one. In this event, such a tribesman will venture forth into the world to find his place in it all.
Other times and this is the more likely scenario, a Mehndi will instead come to 'know' that their soul-weapon is the 'right and proper' one, and go out to prove themselves correct.
Rarest of all are those that come to understand that a mastery of many weapons is the true path to spiritual knowledge, and start adventuring in order to gain more knowledge of the world's varied and numerous blades.

Male Names: Aalok, Ahiga, Devnaj, Emiya, Honovi, Jawarah, Motega, Talib.

Female Names: Anaba, Devi, Hamsa, Lenmana, Nidhiam, Sisika, Shanoa.

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RACIAL TRAITS

• +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma. Well-connected to the spirit world and tough of skin, a Mendhi often finds herself in introspection and contemplation; this makes it difficult to connect with others on a personal level.
• Humanoid (Human). A Mehndi is a humanoid with the human subtype. Traditional thinking places the mehndi as a splinter-group of normal humans. However, they may not select human favored class bonuses (they may select human-only Archetypes, though).
• Size: Mehndi are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Speed: Mehndi have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Languages: Mehndi begin play speaking Common. Mehndi with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Necril, and Sylvan.
• Skilled: A Mehndi gains a +2 racial bonus on Knowledge (Local) and Craft (Weapons) checks. In addition, Craft (Weapons) is always a Class Skill for a Mehndi.
• Weapon of Choice: At 1st level, a Mehndi chooses one simple or martial melee weapon. They are proficient in that weapon and gain the Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats for it as well, ignoring prerequisites. They may choose an Exotic weapon instead, although they do not gain Weapon Specialization if they do so.
• Like a Body's Extension: A Mehndi is proficient with any individual weapon he creates. This does not give him proficiency with other weapons that are statistically the same however; only by forging it himself does the Mehndi understand the innate balance and stance required for it.
• Spell-Like ability: A Mehndi can use Spiritual Weapon once per day as a spell-like ability. The caster level for this ability equals the mehndi's character level. In addition to the religious and alignment choices, a mehndi may also form their weapon to be the same as their Weapon of Choice.
• Tattoo of Power: You gain a +1 racial bonus to all saving throws.

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Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Intuitive	Self-Taught	Trained
15 years	+1d4 years	+1d6 years	+2d6 years

Aging Effects

Middle Age	Old	Venerable	Maximum Age
45 years	65 years	75 years	+6d6 years

Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	5'0"	+4d6 in.	120 lb.	× (2d10x5) lb.
Female	4'8"	+4d6 in.	90 lb.	× (2d10x5) lb.

Favored Class Options

• Barbarian: Gain a +1 bonus to speed. This bonus does not affect combat in any meaningful way until you select it 5 times.
• Cleric: Select one domain power granted at 1st level that is normally usable a number of times per day equal to 3 + the cleric's Wisdom modifier. The cleric adds +1/2 to the number of uses per day of that domain power.
• Druid: Add +1/3 to any damage you deal with a natural weapon.
• Fighter: You gain 1/3 of a feat. The feat must be one of the following: Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, or Exotic Weapon Proficiency. You do not have to decided what feat you will gain until you've selected this bonus enough times to gain said feat, however.
• Magus: If you are wielding your Weapon of Choice and it is currently enchanted (whether permanently or temporarily), you gain a +1/3 bonus to damage while using it.
• Monk: Add +1/4 to your bonus to AC and CMD.
• Summoner: Add +1/3 to all damage dealt by the summoner's eidolon.
• Witch: Add one spell from the witch spell list to the witch's familiar. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level she can cast. If the witch ever replaces her familiar, the new familiar knows these bonus spells.
• Psychic Warrior: Add a +1/2 bonus on concentration checks when manifesting psychic warrior powers.
• Soulknife: The soulknife gains +1/5 of a new blade skill, OR Add +1/2 to the soulknife's psychic strike damage.