Steel Men and other strange creatures (3.5, PEACH)

[afroakuma]

Leir
Leir 1st-level Warrior
Medium Monstrous Humanoid
HD 1d8+2 (6 hp)
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Init: -2
AC 13; touch 8; flat-footed 15 (+3 studded leather armor, +2 natural armor, -2 Dex)
BAB +1; Grp +3
Attack Whip +2 melee (1d3+2 subdual) or barbed bolas^CWar -1 ranged (1d4+2)
Full Attack Whip +2 melee (1d3+2 subdual) or barbed bolas^CWar -1 ranged (1d4+2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Restraint
Special Qualities Antivenom, curl, darkvision 60 ft., insectile, odor signals, poison immunities, swarm resistance
Saves Fort +4 Ref -2 Will +1
Abilities Str 10, Dex 7, Con 15, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills Climb +6, Intimidate +2, Jump +6
Feats Dive for Cover^B, Weapon Focus (whip)
Environment Temperate forests
Organization Solitary, clutch (4-8), or conclave (16-60)
Challenge Rating 1/2
Treasure Standard plus studded leather armor
Alignment Often lawful (any)
Advancement by class; Favored Class Factotum
Level Adjustment +0

Uncommon on most worlds, the leir are a displaced people who live in small enclaves and have limited contact with others. Despite their appearances and mannerisms being off-putting to many humanoids, leir weavers are known for producing some of the finest silks that can be found on any world, and while few would ever describe a leir as "friendly," they are almost universally agreed to be cordial.

A leir stands roughly 6 to 7 ft. tall, with a rare few being shorter. Lithe and slender in appearance, they appear somewhat skeletal, with chitinous plates over their limbs that resemble large leaves and bony fingers with needlelike tips. Leir faces are ovoid and feature jet-black eyes that occasionally exhibit internal facets, catching the light as a gemstone would, a total lack of nose (leir smell through their necks), and a lipless humanoid mouth with pointed teeth, surmounted by two slender chelicerae. A leir's tongue, rarely seen, is a foot long, threadlike and feathery. In place of eyebrows, leir have two black "eyespots" over each eye, which are believed to assist in darkvision but have no inherent capacity for sight. Leir skin is coated either in chitinous leafy plates or a fine hair, and is conventionally either golden, red, brown, or black (with hair to match). Chitin is most commonly white but may exhibit "stain" or tinting closer to the leir's skin coloration. A leir's back looks slightly domed due to chitinous shells covering vestigial wings. Around the leir's collar, between throat and scapulae, is an oily, colorful membrane which may take any hue (similar membranes appearing at the back of the leir's head where a humanoid's hair would be). Leir also exhibit 1-4 pairs of tiny vestigial antennae on their foreheads, and may bear cornifications or tiny horn patterns made of chitin. Most unusually, leir have a "second leg" emerging from each thigh above the knee, a curving, stiff, insectile structure that provides additional balance, more force when jumping, and another contact point when climbing. This gives them a slightly centaur-like profile, though not substantially so.

Leir have difficulty conveying their emotional states without overt signalling. For simple emotions communicated between each other, they use odor signals, but most carry white or rose-colored lacquer masks that they can switch onto their face to ensure that their mood is being exhibited outwardly. Many leir forget to remove or switch these masks when not having strong feelings, which can lead to misinterpretation on the part of others. They do not speak with any kind of insectile "buzz" or "hum" and most find it quite rude when others imitate them in such a fashion. About once a year, a leir will roll up into a ball and exude scapular oils to form a cocoon, which lasts about a week and helps them grow and refresh chitin. Some leir will cocoon more often depending on their individual needs, and typically a leir's end of life involves rolling up into a cocoon and simply never emerging.

The leir have had a rough history, beginning with the destruction of their homeworld by the grell, forcing the leir to flee to other worlds. Leir and desmodu hate one another for reasons long lost to time, while their distaste for elves stems from their resemblance to drow, who enslaved and tortured large numbers of leir. While the leir have a basic appreciation for dwarves as a people, they find it hard to be on truly good terms with them as they consider the dwarven mindset rather odd. Leir get on best with xephs and bhukas (the latter of whom rarely encounter leir in their current habitats) and they are considered particularly tasty prey by ettercaps.

Leir are experts in enamel and lacquer, owing to their habit of cultivating insects for resources; most particularly, they are considered masterful handlers of silk, producing several unique varieties that they employ to make a variety of useful tools. The best nonmagical silk is produced by the leir. Leir are egg-layers who lay clutches of 8-32 young at a time, though the fragility of infant leir means a 90% mortality rate in their first year of life is not unexpected. Leir live for around 250 years.

Antivenom (Ex) Leir scapular oils function as an antivenom when administered fresh from the leir's body, providing a +2 alchemical bonus on the leir's Heal checks to treat poison (+6 if the poison is the natural venom or toxin of a vermin). The oils go inert one round after removal from the leir's body if not applied by a Heal check. A leir cannot benefit from this bonus directly; only another non-leir creature being treated can enjoy the benefits.

Curl (Ex) A leir's body reflexively curls when it is prone, conferring an additional +4 natural armor bonus (bringing the leir's total to +6). A leir can elect to resist curling up when falling prone, but as there is no meaningful disadvantage to doing so, rarely bothers.

Insectile (Ex) Leir share many traits with vermin, though they are not insects or arachnids in any real sense. Effects which function on vermin (but not a specific kind, such as only spiders) may work on a leir as well; if they allow a saving throw, the leir gets a +4 bonus to such a save. If the effect deals damage to vermin but would not deal similar damage to a monstrous humanoid, it deals only half damage to the leir (or the amount of damage it would specifically do to a monstrous humanoid, whichever is greater).

Odor Signals (Ex) Leir emit a narrow range of faint odors which convey moods, and can concentrate these to deliberately convey a feeling to other leir (treat as a message of at most three words, each of which must be an emotion). Any leir within 60 ft. of another can pick up on mood and immediately detect a deliberate emission unless there is a strong wind, large flame (at least one 5 ft. square within 10 ft. of the leir), or contaminating gas/vapor present. Leir odor signals are not inherently mutually intelligible with similar signals emitted by other creatures (such as saurials) though with familiarity and practice, a degree of recognition could be achieved. Leir know which other leir is emitting which odor. Creatures with the scent ability have a +4 bonus on checks to track or locate a leir.

Poison Immunities (Ex) Leir are immune to the poison of any natural vermin of Large or smaller size and have a +2 bonus on Fortitude saving throws to resist the effects of any other poison.

Restraint (Ex) Leir are masters of nonlethal methods of subdual. When using a weapon to deal subdual damage (including an unarmed strike), they get a +2 bonus to damage rolls. They are also surprisingly accomplished grapplers despite their relative fragility and gain a +2 racial bonus to grapple checks. A leir using a weapon that normally deals lethal damage to inflict subdual damage takes only a -2 penalty on their attack roll rather than the normal -4 penalty.

Swarm Resistance (Ex) Leir ignore swarm damage from vermin, as well as any effect that would require damage to be dealt (e.g. injury poison). Other swarm abilities such as distraction, and the swarm damage of non-vermin swarms (such as bat swarms or swarms of fiendish vermin), are unaffected.

• -2 Str, -2 Dex, +2 Con, +2 Int, +2 Wis, -2 Cha. Leir have brittle chitinous bodies and thin slender limbs, but a durable torso; they are observant and contemplative but withdrawn and uncomfortable interacting with others for very long.
• Medium-size.
• A leir's base speed is 30 ft.
• A leir has +2 natural armor thanks to chitinous plates.
• A leir gains Dive for Cover^CArc as a bonus feat.
• Leir are monstrous humanoids.
• Leir have a +2 racial bonus to Appraise and Craft checks pertaining to silk, enamel, or lacquer.
• Leir have a +2 racial bonus to Balance, Climb, and Jump checks due to their unusual leg structure.
• Leir have a +2 racial bonus to Search and Spot checks conducted in anything less than bright illumination.
• Darkvision 60 ft.
• Leir are proficient with whips, bolas, sai, sasumatas^DR331, and nets.
• Antivenom: As above
• Curl: As above
• Insectile: As above
• Odor Signals: As above
• Poison Immunities: As above
• Restraint: As above
• Swarm Resistance: As above
• Automatic Languages: Common, Leir. Bonus Languages: Bhuka, Desmodu, Dwarven, Elven, Formian, Grell, Ignan, Silthilar, Sylvan, Tirbana, Undercommon, Xeph
• Favored Class: Factotum.
• Level Adjustment: +0