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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Barbarian in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Gender
    Male

    Default Potpourri Creation Contest IV: Origin of Species

    Origin of Species

    ---

    The contest is over.
    Playground Favorite: unosarta's Zaletah!

    Most Fun: Thrice Dead Cat's Relicforged!

    Wish I'd Thought of That: M-Bark's Unspirited!

    ---

    "No, no, see, what you've got there's a wolfwere, often mistaken a werewolf. Actually, the way you describe the fur patterns, it sounds like it could be a wolf-man. You said you're positive it's not a shifter?"

    _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

    Potpourri Creation Contest IV: Custom Races

    The contest begins with the posting of this thread and will run through 11:59 EST of October 18th.

    Soon after a poll will be opened for voting that will last through November 1st.

    Rules

    1) You will be creating an 'original' race, complete with fluff and description.

    2) Entries must include names and complete crunch, and a description of the race's physical and mental traits and characteristics. Incomplete entries at the deadline will be disqualified.

    3) Entries must be 3.5, and should probably be using the standard format below. The format isn't required, but it makes everybody's life easier, especially voters.

    4) Post all entries in this thread. Post all conversation, questions, etc in the chat thread.

    5) Maximum of one entry per participant.

    6) Entries must be your own work, and must not be copied for other places. Only new work may submitted; no previously posted work will be accepted. Such entries will be disqualified.

    7) No reserving posts. Feel free to tweak your creation, but the initial post must include the basics.

    Voting

    There will be three categories for voting: Playground Favorite, Best Connection, and Wish I'd Thought of That! Entrants are allowed to vote for themselves, but that's usually poor form, and you're encouraged not to unless you truly believe yours is far and away superior. In the event of a tie in any or all categories, I will cast the deciding vote.

    Playground Favorite: This is the basic one. Any member of the playground who wishes to will vote for whichever entry they like the best.

    Most Fun: For this category, voters are to vote for whichever entry they think they would most want to play as in a campaign.

    Wish I'd Thought of That!: Only the entrants are allowed to vote in this category. Entrants will PM me their vote for whichever entry they wish they had made themselves. Maybe you really liked the fluff behind it and wish you'd thought it up; maybe you think the fluff is dumb, but one of the mechanics really caught your fancy and you wish you could've used it in your own creation. Whatever! Pick the one you most wish you'd thought of!

    _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/
    Last edited by DaTedinator; 2010-12-02 at 12:36 PM.

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Barbarian in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Potpourri Creation Contest IV: Origin of Species

    RACE DESCRIPTION FORMAT

    RACE NAME

    A brief overview of the race.

    Personality: A description of the race's mental characteristics.

    Physical Description: Speaks for itself.

    Relations: What the race thinks of other races, and what other races think of them.

    Alignment: What, if any, alignments the race tends towards.

    [Race name] Lands: The type of environments the race tends to live in, and how they live there.

    Religion: Who their chief deity is, if they have one, and their approach towards/tolerance of other deities. Feel free to make up a new deity for them.

    Language: A description of their native tongue. What it sounds like, what other races think of it, what alphabet it uses, that sort of thing.

    Names: Naming rituals of the race.

    Male Names: A list of sample names males usually take.

    Female Names: A list of sample names females usually take.

    Surnames/Clan Names/etc.: A list of sample family names of the race.

    Adventurers: Reasons members of the race take up adventuring.

    ---

    [RACE] RACIAL TRAITS

    • Ability modifiers, and why those modifiers.
    • Size. Any bonuses or penalties their size gives them.
    • Speeds, and any special movement effects (such as a dwarf's ability to move full speed in armor).
    • Other racial abilities, one after another.
    • Automatic Languages: [List here]. Bonus Languages: [List here]. Reasons for those languages.
    • Favored Class: [Class]. Reason for that choice.
    • Level Adjustment: +X. If +0, leave this section off.


    ---

    Random Starting Ages
    {table="head"]
    Adulthood
    |
    Simple
    |
    Moderate
    |
    Complex
    X years
    |
    +XdY
    |
    +XdY
    |
    +XdY
    [/table]

    Aging Effects
    {table="head"]
    Middle Age
    |
    Old
    |
    Venerable
    |
    Maximum Age
    X years
    |
    X years
    |
    X years
    |
    +XdY years
    [/table]

    Random Height and Weight
    {table="head"]
    Gender
    |
    Base Height
    |
    Height Modifier
    |
    Base Weight
    |
    Weight Modifier
    Male
    |
    X'Y"
    |
    +XdY
    |
    X lb.
    |
    × (XdY) lb.
    Female
    |
    X'Y"
    |
    +XdY
    |
    X lb.
    |
    × (XdY) lb.
    [/table]
    Last edited by DaTedinator; 2010-09-17 at 10:20 PM.
    Thanks to Dashwood for the avatar!

    Check out my Homebrew.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    zagan's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jul 2007

    Default Re: Potpourri Creation Contest IV: Origin of Species

    LESSER SILTHILAR

    OVERVIEW

    Lesser Silthilar as their name indicates are related to SilthilarLoM. Their precise origin is shrouded in as much mystery as the Silthilar themselves. Still among the scholars that know of them a number of theories have been made. The first is that they have the same origin, that of a magical plague and the desperate spell to save their race from it, on the one hand it produce the true Silthilar when the spell “succeed” and on the other the hand it produce the Lesser Silthilar where it was only a partial success producing far weaker being but still allowing them to survive the plague.
    The second theory is that they are a result of some unknown Silthilar early experiments, perhaps in an effort to regain a permanent corporeal body. This theory has less support because it seem absurd to trade the incredible benefit of being a swarm for being solid, but some speculate that at present the Silthilar can’t or at least have some difficulty to reproduce if this is the case this second theory hold more weight.

    No matter the cause the result is the Lesser Silthilar, creature composed of fleshy sphere forming an individual and with only very limit ability to stay separate for long. In any case the Lesser Silthilar now exists and they form a distinct race from their progenitor. They still very often associate with them, cooperating with them for their research. They also have formed their own sort of society centered around exploring the mystery of life and to study exotic beings. Lesser Silthilar are not male or female, they reproduce in two way once in their entire life they can choose to create an offspring, they need to spend two month eating a large quantity of food and at the end of this period they enter in their disperse state and maintain it for as long as possible. Once they resume corporeal form, a smaller copy of themselves is left behind. They will spend a least a year taking care of this offspring until it has grow enough and they will then go their separate way, generally cutting ties completely. The other means is for two of them to get together, again they need to eat a large quantity of food, and after that they fused into one immobile being, a sort of cocoon, for two week after that they separate and a third small Lesser Silthilar is create. They will take care of it together for one year, at this point it as reach adulthood unlike the previous case the group will often remain in contact and try to meet at least once a decade, more often, if possible.

    Personality: Lesser Silthilar are very curious; they can focus on thing that interest them with an unsettling intensity and at the same time ignoring everything around them. They love to study new things, mostly creatures that they have never encountered before, and they can spend a long time doing nothing else, sometimes even forgetting to eat. Despite that they have a deep respect for life and they always try to not harm the creature they study. On a personal level they are relatively friendly but they come of as a little rude because they often ask very indiscreet questions to the people they talk to. They are always ready to help anyone they consider a friend. They go along well with nearly any sort of researcher, magic user in particular, but anyone smart enough to understand their work is viewed in good light.

    The only thing that can really anger them is the interrupting their research, particularly killing their subject. In that case they can be become very aggressive and they won’t hesitate to unleash their mightiest spell on the offender.

    They can also be very proud if they manage to discover something new in that case they can’t talk of anything else for some time, thankfully it doesn’t last long and as soon as they find a new subject they stop and get back to work.

    Physical Description: Lesser Silthilar look like crude green column with a block-like pattern to their skin and eight limb, four small feet that allow them to advance slowly and four arms, two longs one on their “front” that serve to manipulate item and end in three fingered hand and two atrophied ones on what serve as their back; these are nonfunctional. Their head is a crude sphere on the top of the column that contains some sort of mouth to talk and a patch of transparent green skin that serve as their eye. In disperse state they look like a heap of a green sphere with tentacles and claws on top of each other constantly in movement, surrounding anything in their path.

    Relations: Their relationship with other race consist mostly of curiosity on their part, always eager to discover news thing. The only thing they don’t really like are undead, but even then sometimes their curiosity got the better of them. The other race’s treatment of them on the other hand varies a lot. Their monstrous appearance means that fear is pretty common but because it’s easy to see that they are harmless so it rarely reaches dangerous level. Nature oriented races generally like them for their respect of all life, this includes, among others elves, halflings and shifters. Magic oriented races appreciate the ability to share their magical experience with them, most notably gnomes. Other race relations vary wildly, Orcs for example don’t like them much, considering them weaklings.

    Alignment: Lesser Sithilar tend towards chaotic alignment because of their boundless curiosity and dislike of thing that would stop them from studying something including sometimes the law. They are generally good, respecting all life equally.

    Lesser Sithilar Lands: Lesser Sithilar have no real land to themselves, they either live with true Sithilar or travel the world in search for new thing to discover. They feel the most at home in jungle and forest and if they were to settle anywhere it would be in that sort of environment.

    Religion: Lesser Sithilar are not very religious and do not have any racial deity, too preoccupied with their research to really care about it. Those that feel the desire to pray generally do so to nature oriented deity such as Ehlonna or Obad-Hai or to deity dealing with magic like Boccob.

    Language: Sithilar and by extension Lesser Sithilar have their own language composed of clicking and buzzing sound but it’s only ever used between themselves It’s nearly impossible to speak for any other creature. They love learning the language of other creature to better learn from them and with them.

    Names: Lesser Silthilar name are formed in two part the first part is generally very short formed of only one or two syllables and just serve to identify him. The second part is very long and always gets longer as he advance in age, it serve as a sort of combination between a biography and a title for the Lesser Silthilar and include a list of the important event in his life and always include all their discovery. For example a relatively young Lesser Silthilar full name could be so: Fro (first name) Born of Def and Tra, writer of Study on phase spider reproduction, researcher for Giant Wasp habits in captivity, survivor of a Tall Mouther attack, coauthor with Aelrua the elf of Crossbreeding between magical beasts, friend of Lothaenorixius the Gold, explorer of the jungle of Lodos and healer of Mill Destor. (second name)

    Example Names: Ard, Ay, Agu, Alde, Bes, Criu, Cos, Diqr, Doir, Dyyn, Fro, Faim, Got, Iner, Jui, Jafe, Kcru, Lom, Lem, Lyut, Mon, Ner, Neti, Pov, Pas, Qite, Res, Roy, Rel, Sla, Stoi, Tran, Tse, Voui, Vin, Wor.

    Adventurers: Lesser Silthilar take to adventuring for only two common reasons and often the two are linked, discovering new creatures, exploring unknown territories or the like and protecting life.

    ---

    LESSER SILTHILAR RACIAL TRAITS

    • -2 Strength -2 Dexterity +2 Inteligence. Lesser Silthilar’s swarmlike constitution means that they have a hard time holding things and coordinating their movement but its multitude of small brain allow him to store and analyze information faster than most.
    • Medium. As Medium creatures, Lesser Silthilar have no special bonus or penalties due to their size.
    • Lesser Silthilar based land speed is 20 feet. Being composed of multiple beings, moving on the ground is not easy for them.
    • Type: Lesser Silthilar like their creator are Aberration, as such they are not subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person.
    • Lesser Silthilar (unlike most aberrations) do not have Darkvision.
    • Dispersion (Ex): Lesser Silthilar aren’t really swarm like their creator but they share some quality in common with them and can even briefly assume a swarm shape. A number of time per day equal to their constitution modifier a Lesser Silthilar can, as an immediate action, enter into a dispersed state. In this state they gain the swarm subtype and are considered tiny. This grants them various benefit describe below. They can only stay in disperse state for 1 round per use, but at the end of the round they can expend a use of this ability as a free action to stay in this state for an additional round. When they enter this state any armor they wear falls to the ground, and other smaller item are simply transported to various part of the swarm. In this state they lose the ability to use spell, spell-like abilities, supernatural abilities, psionic powers, psi-like abilities and similar abilities.
      Spoiler
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      Type: They gain the swarm subtype with all associate benefit and penalties.
      Size: Being Tiny grants a +2 size bonus to attacks rolls and to AC, A -8 size penalty to grapple check and a +8 size bonus to Hide check.
      Space/Reach: Their space doesn’t change but they only threatened their own square.
      Attacks: They gain a swarm attack, see swarm subtype below, but they lose the ability to use any weapon including natural weapon and unarmed strike.
      Special attack: They gain the distraction special attack

      Swarm subtype: A swarm has no clear front or back and no discernable anatomy, so it is not subject to critical hits or flanking. A swarm made up of Tiny creatures takes half damage from slashing and piercing weapons. A swarm composed of Fine or Diminutive creatures is immune to all weapon damage. Unlike normal swarm reducing a Lesser Silthilar to 0 hit points or lower force it to return to its normal state and suffer all the normal consequences for being reduce to 0 hit points or lower, though damage taken until that point does not degrade its ability to attack or resist attack. Swarms are never staggered or reduced to a dying state by damage. Also, they cannot be tripped, grappled, or bull rushed, and they cannot grapple an opponent.
      A swarm is immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate), with the exception of mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects) if the swarm has an Intelligence score and a hive mind. A swarm takes half again as much damage (+50%) from spells or effects that affect an area, such as splash weapons and many evocation spells.
      Swarm attack: Creatures with the swarm subtype don’t make standard melee attacks. Instead, they deal automatic damage to any creature whose space they occupy at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed. Swarm attacks are not subject to a miss chance for concealment or cover. A swarm’s statistics block has “swarm” in the Attack and Full Attack entries, with no attack bonus given. The amount of damage a swarm deals is based on its Hit Dice, as shown below.
      {table=head]Swarm HD|Swarm Base Damage
      1-5|1d6
      6-10|2d6
      11-15|3d6
      16-20|4d6
      21 or more|5d6
      [/table]
      A swarm’s attacks are nonmagical, unless the swarm’s description states otherwise. Damage reduction sufficient to reduce a swarm attack’s damage to 0, being incorporeal, and other special abilities usually give a creature immunity (or at least resistance) to damage from a swarm. Some swarms also have acid, poison, blood drain, or other special attacks in addition to normal damage.
      Swarms do not threaten creatures in their square, and do not make attacks of opportunity with their swarm attack. However, they distract foes whose squares they occupy, as described below.
      Distraction (Ex): Any living creature vulnerable to a swarm’s damage that begins its turn with a swarm in its square is nauseated for 1 round; a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 swarm’s HD + swarm’s Con modifier) negates the effect. Spellcasting or concentrating on spells within the area of a swarm requires a Concentration check (DC 20 + spell level). Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Concentration check.

      If a Lesser Silthilar is under an effect that would reduce it's size, it also change the size of it's component part by the same factor when it use this dispersion ability. With a minimum of fine size.
      If a Lesser Silthilar is under an effect that would augment it's size, it does not change the size of it's component part, they stay tiny. (When enlarged they are simply streched to make the whole bigger)
    • Flesh knowledge (Ex): By their very nature Lesser Silthilar have a great understanding of all sort of physiology. Heal is always considered a class skill for them and they gain a +2 bonus on all heal check.
    • Small feet (Ex): Despite possessing four feet Lesser Silthilar do not gain any specific benefit from that and their carrying capacity is treat as if they were biped.
    • Nonhumanoid shape: Because of their unusual shape, Lesser Silthilar can’t wear armor made for humanoid but they are flexible enough to accommodate other sort of clothes without too much trouble.
    • Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Any. Lesser Silthilar great intellect made learning language easy for them.
    • Favored Class: Wizard. Being physically weak and naturally smart make wizardry an obvious choice for them.


    ---

    Lesser Sithilar mature and learn very fast and can live for a very long time.

    Random Starting Ages
    {table="head"]
    Adulthood
    |
    Simple
    |
    Moderate
    |
    Complex
    1 year
    |
    +1d4
    |
    +2d4
    |
    +3d4
    [/table]

    Aging Effects
    {table="head"]
    Middle Age
    |
    Old
    |
    Venerable
    |
    Maximum Age
    200 years
    |
    400 years
    |
    800 years
    |
    +10d% years
    [/table]

    Random Height and Weight
    {table="head"]
    Base Height
    |
    Height Modifier
    |
    Base Weight
    |
    Weight Modifier
    3'5"
    |
    +2d4
    |
    70 lb.
    |
    × (2d6) lb
    [/table]

    ---

    LESSER SILTHILAR RACIAL FEATS

    List of feats
    {table=head]Feats name|Prerequisites|Benefit
    Diminutive Part|Lesser Silthilar|Your component part are smaller
    Extend Dispersion|Lesser Silthilar, Con 15|You can stay disperse longer
    Stronger Back Arms|Lesser Silthilar|You can hold thing with your back arms
    Swarm Power|Lesser Silthilar or Silthilar, Concentration 8 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks|You can use spell while disperse
    Swarm Spell|Lesser Silthilar or Silthilar, Concentration 8 ranks, Psicraft 8 ranks|You can use power while disperse
    Swarm Spell-like ability|Lesser Silthilar or Silthilar, Spellcraft 4 ranks, Spell-like ability at caster level 6th or higher|You can use spell-like abilities while disperse
    [/table]

    Diminutive Part [Racial]
    Your component part are smaller than those of other of your races
    Prerequisite
    Lesser Sithilar
    Benefit
    When using your dispersion ability you are considered to be Diminutive instead of Tiny. Being Diminutive grant a +4 size bonus to attacks rolls and to AC. A -12 size penality to grapple check and a +12 size bonus to Hide check. As a Diminutive swarm you also become immune to weapon damage in this state.
    Special
    This feat can only be taken a 1st level during character creation.

    Extend Dispersion [Racial]
    You know how to stay disperse longer than most.
    Prerequisite
    Lesser Silthilar, Con 15
    Benefit
    When using your dispersion ability you stay in swarm shape for 2 rounds per use expend instead of 1.

    Swarm Spell [Racial] [Metamagic]
    With the right preparation you can cast your spell even in swarm form
    Prerequisite
    Lesser Silthilar or Silthilar, Concentration 8 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks
    Benefit
    You can cast a Swarm spell even when you are in swarm form. (using the dispersion ability for Lesser Silthilar or when not in coalesced form for Silthilar). A swarm spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell’s actual level.

    Swarm Power [Racial] [Metapsionic]
    You’ve discover a trick that allow you to use a power even in swarm form
    Prerequisite
    Lesser Silthilar or Silthilar, Concentration 8 ranks, Psicraft 8 ranks
    Benefit
    To use this feat, you must expend your psionic focus.
    You can manifest a Swarm power even when you are in swarm form. (using the dispersion ability for Lesser Silthilar or when not in coalesced form for Silthilar). Using this feat increases the power point cost of the power by 2. The power’s total cost cannot exceed your manifester level.

    Swarm Spell-like ability [Racial]
    You’ve learned how to use your spell-like ability even in swarm form
    Prerequisite
    Lesser Silthilar or Silthilar, Spellcraft 4 ranks, Spell-like ability at caster level 6th or higher
    Benefit
    Chose one of your spell-like ability (subject to the restriction below) to use while in swarm shape up to three times per day (or the ability normal use limit whichever is less).
    The spell-like ability you wish to use while in swarm shape can be chosen only from those abilities that duplicate a spell of a level less than or equal to 1/2 your caster level (round down).
    Special
    Alternatively this feat can be use with a Psi-like ability in that case change the prerequisite to “Psicraft 4 ranks, Psi-like ability at manifester level 6th or higher”

    Stronger Back Arms [Racial]
    Your back arms are a little more develop than what is common for your race.
    Prerequisite
    Lesser Silthilar
    Benefit
    Your back arms are strong enough to be use to make somantic component during spellcasting and to hold, but not pick up, object weighting 1lb or less.
    Special
    This feat can only be taken a 1st level during character creation.

    ---

    NEW ARMOR QUALITY

    Silthilar armor

    Some Silthilar and Lesser Silthilar interest in more martial career or simply wanting to benefit from stronger defenses, have create a new type of armor that they can wear even in swarm form.
    Silthilar armor is always of masterwork quality and made specifically for the shape of the wearer.
    A Silthilar armor is composed of numerous small armor part with small hook and hole on the outside to link with the other pieces when the creature regain a solid form.
    A Silthilar armor provide it’s full bonus when the wearer is in solid form and half is normal bonus when in swarm form, this does not include any enhancement bonus who are gained in full even in swarm form. Magical armor special properties are retained even in swarm form.
    A Silthilar armor cost more to make than normal it depend on two things the armor type and the size of the creature in swarm form (fine for Silthilar and Tiny or Diminutive for Lesser Silthilar) the additional cost is list in the following table and include the masterwork component.

    {table=head]Armor type|Armor Cost modifier|Swarm size|Armor Cost modifier
    Light|
    +2500 gp
    |Tiny|
    +2500 gp

    Medium|
    +5000 gp
    |Diminutive|
    +5000 gp

    Heavy|
    +7500 gp
    |Fine|
    +7500 gp
    [/table]

    For example a Silthilar who wish to wear Silthilar Full-plate armor would need to pay 18000 gp, 3000 gp for the base cost of the full plate for a nonhumanoid, 7500 gp for adding the Silthilar quality to heavy armor and 7500 gp to add the Silthilar quality to an armor design to be worm by a fine size swarm.
    Last edited by zagan; 2011-04-27 at 12:32 PM.
    Latest homebrew: The Avatars of Magic, powerful monster each dedicated to ne school of magic.

    My homebrewer's Extended Signature
    My character :
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    Mirar, Bizarre human Focused Conjurer/Master specialist (summoning specialist)
    Xilef, shifter Druid 8//Barbarian 5/Weretouched master 3
    Other Character.

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Troll in the Playground
     
    OldWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Michigan
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Potpourri Creation Contest IV: Origin of Species

    Relicforged

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    "Dawn rarely spoke of the weight on her heart and although she often wore a smile, I could see beneath it the great pain it caused her. She told me not to worry, but I could not help but do whatever I could to try to save her. However, no priest could seem to beat back the ailment that had claimed her. Before she died, she told me not to try to resurrect her: she had accepted her fate... but I could not just stand by." - Personal diary of "Eldritch"

    The Relicforged are the result of an attempt to resurrect someone without the aid of the divine, instead resorting to methods similar to creating Warforged.

    Personality: Most Relicforged act as they did in life, but a few lash out at their "creator" or are generally unable to deal with the strain of crossing the threshold between death and life.

    "Looking to my own arm, I knew that I could create her a heart that would withstand the great pressure she had endured in life. It would take time, but she would one day return to the land of the living, finally discarding that terrible ailment!" - Personal diary of "Eldritch"

    Physical Description: Almost all Relicforged bear some unnatural material that distinguishes them from what they were in live. The few that do not have some sort of mechanical prostheses, heavy scaring marks the surgeries that brought them back to the living. Otherwise, Relicforged look as they did before.

    Relations: Much like Warforged and the undead, the general populace looks down upon the Relicforged as something bizarre and taboo, generally referring to them as "Goreforged." Warforged, however, tend to accept the Relicforged as their own.

    "The problem would be in bypassing a true resurrection. Clearly, she would just ignore such a request if offered. Luckily for us, I caught wind of some sort of strange steel with an affinity for souls. With a small piece of it, I knew it would be short work to modify the necessary spells needed to forcefully attract Dawn back to her body." - Personal diary of "Eldritch"

    Alignment: Most Relicforged have the same alignment as they did in life. Again, a small few are damaged by their resuscitation and undergo a radical change.

    Relicforged Lands: As they are not a true race, Relicforged have no lands of their own. Some try to integrate back into the lands of their people, a small few decide to join the various Warforged movements, but most simply stay mobile to avoid the stings of persecution.

    "After years of work, I had everything in place to return my love to me. Her body still preserved by simple magics, I could begin the final stages of my constructed ritual. - Last page of the personal diary of Eldritch

    Religion: The Relicforged have no deity to themselves so most tend to worship the same deity they did in life. Those that join Warforged society may eventually convert to one of their various cults.

    Language: The Relicforged have no language of their own.

    Spoiler
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    One of the few remaining magic circles needed for the Ritual of Recreation


    Names: Relicforged generally go by their previous names. Most tend to pick up some sort of nickname and the few who have issue returning to their former status in life will adopt one of the various Warforged names.

    Adventurers: The vast majority of Relicforged are adventurers due to the occupational hazards of being such.

    Process of Revivification: The process of becoming a Relicforged is rarely done with consent. Instead, what often happens is friend or loved one finds himself without the money or power to resurrect someone, resorting to a comparatively cheap ritual instead. Over the course of a day, a magical circle is prepared with silver and incense costing 1000 GP and the aid of an arcane caster of at least 6th level. Meanwhile, the body to be resurrected must be augmented with prostheses costing another 1000 GP. Once both the body and the circle are prepared, the caster who prepared the circle must begin an 8 hour ceremony to forcefully call back the soul of the deceased. Once the formerly deceased are resurrected, they lose the usual one HD or 2 constitution as per normal but gain the benefits of the specific ritual, chosen by the person who modified their body.

    ---

    GERNAL RELICFORGED RACIAL TRAITS
    "Relicforged" is a quasi-template that may be applied to any living non-Construct, non-Outsider creature with the exception of Outsiders with the native-subtype.

    • A Relicforged's type changes to Construct with the Living Construct and Augmented Subtypes. For all effects related to race, a Relicforged is considered to be a living construct and a member of the race it was before its Revivification process.
    • Unlike other living constructs, Relicforged are not automatically immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exhaustion, effects that cause the sicken condition, and energy drain.
    • Each Relicforged also gains other abilities depending on how exactly they are revived.
    • Automatic Languages: Same as the base creature. Bonus Languages: Same as the base creature.
    • Favored Class: Same as the base creature.


    Revivification of Structure
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    • +2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom. A Structured Relicforged is more hardy due to its new internal organs but is often disorientated by them. The organs themselves also due an imperfect job of maintaining the mind of the Relicforged.
    • A Structured Relicforged gains a +2 bonus on saves versus disease, poison, and any effects that cause the sicken condition. The prosthetic organs of the Relicforge allow it to shrug off most ailments with ease.
    • At 6HD, the Relicforged organs have better integrated themselves into its body allowing it to receive full affect from spells of the healing sub-school. The Relicforged also becomes immune to disease, poison, and any effects that cause the sicken condition.
    • At 9HD, the Relicforged gains Light Fortification as per the armor enhancement.
    • At 12HD, the Relicforged's fortification improves to Moderate Fortification as per the armor enhancement.
    • At 15HD, the Relicforged's fortification improves to Heavy Fortification as per the armor enhancement. At this point, the Relicforged also becomes immune to energy drain.


    Revivification of Frame
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    • +2 Stength, -2 Dexterity. A Framed Relicforged is stronger due to extra support its new skeleton offers to its muscles but at the cost of being stiffer and slower. The ribs are usually replaced with a large slab of plating not unlike that of a Warforged.
    • A Framed Relicforged gains the composite plating Warforged racial feature, which may be enhanced as if it were normal armor.
    • At 6HD, the Relicforged's body has begun to grow around his new skeletal system, augmenting metal with bone and vice versa. The Relicforged gains damage reduction equal to his hit dice bypassed by adamantine. Thus, a 6th level Relicforged would have DR 6/adamantine, and an 8th level Relicforged would have DR 8/adamantine.
    • At 9HD, the Relicforged's body hardens further. Now nothing bypasses his damage reduction gained by being a Relicforged. Thus, a 9th level Relicforged's DR goes from DR 9/adamantine to DR 9/-.
    • At 12HD, the Relicforged's AC bonus provided by his composite plating increases to +6.
    • At 15HD, the Relicforged's musculature has further integrated itself into its artificial skeleton, hardening immensely. Once per round as an immediate action, a Relicforged may negate one attack against it, treating an otherwise successful attack as a miss. He may do so after hearing what the damage from the attack would otherwise have been.


    Revivification of Base
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    • +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength. A Base Relicforged's mind is improved by its metallic spine, but its extra weight takes a toll on the musculature.
    • Unlike other Relicforged, Base Relicforged retain enough of their previous identities to not suffer a crisis of self. As such, instead of gaining an additional ability from becoming a Base Relicforged they instead retain all previous racial abilities. Thus, a human Base Relicforge would still retain the human bonus feat and extra skill point per level.
    • At 6HD, the supernatural powers of the Relicforged's spine have begun to integrate itself into the the higher functions of the Relicforged's mind. This ability comes in one of two forms. For spellcastering Relicforged, they may, once per day, recharge either a previously used spell slot of 2nd level or lower. Prepared casters must specify which previously cast spell is recharged, but spontaneous casters simply regain the spell slot. Psionic Base Relicforged instead may regain 4 power points once per day. In either case, this is a swift action. If a Base Relicforged can both cast spells and manifest powers, he must instead choose which ability to gain at this level, locking him into the same "set" of abilities gained at later HD. If a Base Relicforged can neither cast spells or manifest powers, he gains no immediate benefit from this level, but he he late gains the ability to either manifest powers or cast spells, he gains the appropriate power.
    • At 9HD, the higher ordered mind of the Relicforged begins to better harness the raw energy of its artificial spinal column. Now whenever he would recharge a spell slot or power points, depending on which ability he gained access to at 6 HD, he may instead recharge a spell slot of up to highest level minus one or power point equal to his level minus two. Thus, a spellcaster capable of casting 5th level spells could recharge up to a 4th level spell slot while a 10th level psion would recharge 8 power points.
    • At 12HD, the mind of the Relicforged begins to better harness the electrical energy of artificial spine, allowing it to pay for the costs of meta-supernatural abilities. At this point, a spellcaster reduces the slot adjustment cost of one metamagic feat he knows by 1 to a minimum of +0. A psionic Relicforged instead reduces the power point cost of using one metapsionic feat he knows by 2 to a minimum of + 0 power points, but still must pay the psionic focus cost of the metapsionic feat.
    • At 15HD, the cackling spine of the Relicforged is now completely under the control of the Relicforged. Now, whenever a Base Relicforged uses any metamagic feat or metapsionic feat he knows, as appropriate, its cost is reduced by 1 slot adjustment or 2 power points, minimum 0 for both respectively. At this point, a Base Relicforged gains immunity to electricity-based effects.


    Revivification of Bough
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    • +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution. A Boughed Relicforged's limbs and torso have had extra joints added to them making them much more flexible but have also resulted in slight damage to the internal organs.
    • A Boughed Relicforged is capable of stretching and squishing his limbs no small amount. Boughed Relicforged gain the slight-build racial and powerful-build racial features, but only one at a time and must spend a swift action to change which of the two they are benefiting from.
    • At 6HD, twists and turns more than any creature should. As such, whenever a Boughed Relicforged would make an atack, his reach is considering 5 ft. longer than normal. However, this takes considerable effort on the Relicforged's part and they do not threaten these additional 5 ft.
    • At 9HD, a Boughed Relicforged has gained such control over his various joints that he can cling and grasp most natural surfaces, giving him a climb speed equal to his base land speed. At the same time, the joints in the legs are now capable at moving at lightning fast pace. Once per day, as a swift action, a Boughed Relicforged may move up to his base land speed, although this movement still provokes attacks of opportunity.
    • At 12HD, a Boughed Relicforged has become more adept at contorting his body to unusual lengths. Now, instead of only benefiting from only one of his different racial "builds," he benefits from both at all times.
    • At 15HD, the joints of a Boughed Relicforged are now as natural to him as his own breath, allowing him to strike at lightning pace. Once per encounter, the Relicforged may take a move action as an immediate action. He also gains a +6 bonus on initiative checks as well.


    Revivification of Belief
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    • +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma. A Believer's eyes have been enhanced greatly, giving it an almost secondary sight. Although this sight comes naturally to a Believer, its great difference from normal sight cannot easily be expressed.
    • Unlike other living constructs a Believer gains both darkvision 60 ft. and low-light vision upon her resurrection. The low-light vision allows the Believer to see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions. Believers also have easier time focusing their vision, lessening the penalties on spot checks from -1 per 10 ft. of distance to -1 per 50 ft. of distance, in effect acting much like a spy glass.
    • At 6HD, Believers are able to pierce through and see the ethereal plane as if under the effects of a see invisibility spell as they grow accustomed to their new eyes. Once per day, they may magnify this vision, gaining the full benefits of the see invisibility spell, treating their HD as their caster level. They also gain a +4 bonus on saves versus illusions and illusion-like abilities as they are better able to pierce through the veils of such falsehoods.
    • At 9HD, a Believers eyes no longer strain as they go from scanning fields to reading parchment. The penalties to spot checks from distance decrease further down to -1 per 100 ft. The supernatural qualities of the eyes also increase. In addition to being able to reproduce see invisibility, a Believer may now have her eyes give them the benefits of the true seeing spell once per day with her HD as your caster level.
    • At 12HD, the Believer's eyes widen to the point where the iris is but a sliver against the deep pool of her pupils. At this point, a Believer gains blindsense 60 ft. as her eyes become capable of "seeing" the slightest changes in air pressure that would suggest someone's presence.
    • At 15HD, Believers tap into the further magical qualities of their eyes. At this point, a Believer permanently gains the benefits of the arcane sight, greater spell.


    Revivification of Wit
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    • +2 Charisma, -2 Intelligence. A Relicforged of Wit has had some portion of its brain removed, altered, or replaced, damaging its intellect but improving the fluidity of its speech.
    • A Relicforged of Wit gains a +2 racial bonus to bluff, and diplomacy and Charm Person as the spell once per day as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to his HD.
    • At 6HD, whenever a Relicforged would intimidate someone, they become frightened instead of shaken. If they are already shaken, they instead become panicked. If they are already frightened, they instead become crazed as per Heroes of Battle page 73.
    • At 9HD, the Relicforged may use their charisma modifier in place of their wisdom modifier for all will saves. The Relicforged also gains a +2 bonus on all mind-affecting abilities as he begins to rely more on the artificial portion of his mind.
    • At 12HD, the Relicforged gains telepathy out to 100 feet. They may use the intimidate, bluff, and diplomacy skills on anyone they can contact with through their telepathy.
    • At 15HD, the Relicforged gains immunity to all mind affecting abilities as they have come to rely almost entirely on his artificial mind rather than his biological one.

    ---

    Random Starting Ages
    {table="head"]
    Adulthood
    |
    Simple
    |
    Moderate
    |
    Complex
    Same as the base race
    |
    Same as the base race
    |
    Same as the base race
    |
    Same as the base race
    [/table]

    Aging Effects
    {table="head"]
    Middle Age
    |
    Old
    |
    Venerable
    |
    Maximum Age
    Same as the base race
    |
    Same as the base race
    |
    Same as the base race
    |
    -
    [/table]

    Random Height and Weight
    {table="head"]
    Gender
    |
    Base Height
    |
    Height Modifier
    |
    Base Weight
    |
    Weight Modifier
    Male
    |
    Same as the base race"
    |
    Same as the base race
    |
    Same as the base race
    |
    Same as the base race
    Female
    |
    Same as the base race
    |
    Same as the base race
    |
    Same as the base race
    |
    Same as the base race
    [/table]
    Last edited by Thrice Dead Cat; 2011-01-09 at 12:14 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wings of Peace View Post
    "See these cookies? Note how while good they taste sort of bland. Now try these, they're the same cookies but with chocolate chips added. Notice how with the second batch we expended slightly more ingredients but dramatically enhanced the flavor? That's metamagic."
    Quote Originally Posted by Doc Roc View Post
    Seriously, can we kill this misconception now? A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He shops for precisely what he means to.


    Winner of Junkyard Wars 31.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Potpourri Creation Contest IV: Origin of Species

    Zaletah



    The Zaletah are birdmen, graceful and strong, who worship the fae, more specifically the Summer King.

    Personality: Zaletah tend to be joyous within Zaletah communities, and helpful to all, but relatively jaded outside of the roosts that they call home. They are often interested in smaller more simple things that are alien to other races, like the wings of a beetle, or the knots on a tree. They often become overawed at the bustle of larger cities, with so much to see and learn. To outsiders and those not from their roost or clutch, they are usually cold and aggressive, never learning how to act otherwise.

    Physical Description: Zaletah are about 6’ 6” to 7’ 5” on average. Females are slightly taller than males, and tend towards brighter colors. The hues that males evoke are often darker and more subdued, while females tend toward bright, almost gaudy colors. Zaletah have no hair, instead they have feathers, which appear all over the Zaletah’s body, in small tufts and clumps. Their faces are slightly like those of a partially bovine humanoid, with long, pointed ears. Their feet are large, and end in short claws.

    Relations: Most races see the Zaletah with a natural fear or loathing. Humans, Orcs, and halflings tend to see only the jaded and cold atmosphere and presence the Zaletah appear to hold, and their strange physique. Gnomes and dwarves tend to dislike them because they live and survive in the sky. Elves tend to dislike them because they live in similar locations, and hunt almost the same prey, leading to many a dispute.

    Alignment: Zaletah tend slightly towards neutrality, and chaos.

    Zaletah Lands: Zaletah live in mostly temperate forests, seeing as they cannot survive intense heat or cold, it killing off the chicks before they get the chance to hatch. Zaletah build giant canopy houses and tents. They tend towards being nomadic, and not overhunting a single spot quickly. The tents tend towards being smaller, with a small collection of family treasures that have been passed down from generation of Zaletah to generation.

    Religion: Zaletah worship the Summer King. They desperately hate his counterpart, the Scholar of the Iron Codex, and fear his power. Although the Iron Codex has no power over them, it can lead to their imprisonment by the greater fae that are under the Scholar’s sway.

    Language: Zaletah speak a minor localized variation of Sylvan, with a greater emphasis on the vocalized portion. Zaletah generally use a sort of pictorialized system of writing, drawing pictures in order to leave messages for the chicks, rather than writing down stories. They greatly fear the power of written words, viewing it as the domain of the Scholar, and giving him power over them. They dislike writing greatly, and therefore deal very badly with scholars and librarians. They view librarians as the Scholars’ ultimate haven, where he can peruse any words to his delight.

    Names: Zaletah tend to name based on what they want their children to become, rather than qualities that they seek to embrace. Common names are usually translations of jobs and animals that the Zaletah parents want their chick to become like. Family names are based upon the roost upon which the chick is born, not the parents that hatched it.

    Male Names: Geshra, Sihng, Forassoom, Krif, Difredas, Quet, Coul, and Saroon.

    Female Names: Sohn, Geheht, Esoloaria, Tesra, Iksila, Okrit, and Sommna.

    Surnames/Clan Names/etc.: Gitranya, Fortan, Kikkorat, Sunoraihat, Thesharn, Fax, Gareneht, and Demmnes.

    Adventurers: Zaletah take up adventuring because most, if not all, seek to free the Winter Queen to whom they owe the utmost homage, and to give the Summer King power once again. They also seek to further empower their homesteads and roosts, even to the dismay of many old-fashioned Zaletah, who fear what the strange mortal gold will bring to their race. They desperately hate iron, and cannot abide by its touch.

    ---

    ZALETAH RACIAL TRAITS

    • +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Strength, -2 Constitution. The Zaletah are fast and graceful, and their perception is better than most, but their hollow bones, and smaller frames mean that they are weak in battle, and take poisons and diseases harder than most.
    • Medium. As medium creatures, the Zaletah take no penalty, and gain no bonus based on size alone.
    • 30 ft. base land speed. 40 ft. Glide speed.
    • Zaletah gain a +2 bonus to all Spot and Survival checks; they have sharp eyes, and can see and smell tracks and survive in nature better than most.
    • +4 to all Diplomacy checks with Fey. -2 penalty to any Diplomacy check made against a non-Zaletah humanoid race.
    • +2 bonus to all Knowledge (Nature) checks.
    • Zaletah can treat the Archbow and Gesh Spear as martial weapons rather than exotic ones.
    • Zaletah take a -2 penalty to all checks and rolls while touching an item made or steel or iron. Cold iron makes this penalty become -3.
    • Automatic Languages: Zaletah. Bonus Languages: Sylvan, Elven, and Common. The Zaletah automatically know their own language. They share a language root with Sylvan, which makes learning it much, much easier than other languages, and come frequently in contact with Elves, who they have tried (if not very hard) to become friendly with, allowing them the chance to learn Elven and Common.
    • Favored Class: Ranger or Druid. Zaletah are well suited to the life of a ranger. They live as hunters naturally, and take to hunting with a passion. They also are able druids, working to remove the Iron Codex and its master from the lives of the fae, who they view as ancient Zaletah. They must choose which class at first level, and cannot change it after that.


    ---

    Random Starting Ages
    {table="head"]
    Adulthood
    |
    Simple
    |
    Moderate
    |
    Complex
    40 years
    |
    +4d10
    |
    +8d10
    |
    +12d10
    [/table]

    Aging Effects
    {table="head"]
    Middle Age
    |
    Old
    |
    Venerable
    |
    Maximum Age
    70 years
    |
    100 years
    |
    130 years
    |
    -
    [/table]

    Random Height and Weight
    {table="head"]
    Gender
    |
    Base Height
    |
    Height Modifier
    |
    Base Weight
    |
    Weight Modifier
    Male
    |
    6'5"
    |
    +3d4
    |
    120 lb.
    |
    × (1d4) lb.
    Female
    |
    7'1"
    |
    +4d4
    |
    160 lb.
    |
    × (2d4) lb.
    [/table]

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Exotic Weapons
    {table=head]Weapon Name|Cost|Damage (Sm)|Damage (Md)|Critical|Ranged Increment|Weight (lbs)|Type

    Archbow|
    100 gp
    |
    1d6
    |
    2d4
    |
    x2
    |
    80 ft.
    |
    4 lbs.
    |
    Piercing

    Gesh Spear|
    70 gp
    |
    1d8
    |
    1d10
    |
    19-20/x3
    |
    30 ft.
    |
    1 lbs.
    |
    Piercing
    [/table]

    Archbow: The Archbow is a Zaletah weapon that is long and unwieldy, but can become incredibly accurate while gliding or flying. If you are gliding or flying while using this weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to any attack roll made with it.

    Gesh Spear: The Gesh Spear is even longer than the Archbow, and is thin and buoyant. If it is used in a ranged attack while flying, you gain a +2 bonus to any attack roll made with it. If it is used as a melee weapon, you gain no benefit. This weapon also has the reach quality.

    Feats
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    Keeneye
    Prerequisites: Zaletah, Spot 12 ranks
    Benefits: You may ignore any Damage Reduction a target has once per encounter, by making a Spot check as a move action, with a DC equal to (10 + the Hit Dice of the target). This effect lasts for the rest of the encounter.

    Wings of the Hunter
    Prerequisites: Zaletah, Base Attack Bonus +6
    Benefits: Your wings no longer just glide. You gain a fly speed equal to your glide speed, with a maneuverability of clumsy. You qualify for feats and classes as if you had a natural fly speed.

    Climb the Trees
    Prerequisites: Zaletah, Climb 4 ranks, Jump 2 ranks
    Benefits: You may ignore all terrain, and move through wooded areas at your base land speed. You must be at least 20 feet off of the ground in order to use this ability. You may take 10 on all climb checks made while in medium or dense forests. These abilities only work in medium or dense forests.

    Guidance of the Fae Brethren
    Prerequisites: Zaletah, Diplomacy 7 ranks
    Benefits: If you succeed on a diplomacy check against a Fey, they may make a will save (15 + ½ their Hit Dice) and if they succeed, they become free of the Scholar’s command for a number of minutes equal to your Hit Dice. Fey only realize that they are under his control after they have been freed.



    Lore of the Scholar of the Iron Codex, the Winter Queen, and the Summer King
    Spoiler
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    The Scholar of the Iron Codex:
    He writes the laws of Fae, and all of Fae must obey them, or risk persecution. He lives in a giant iron palace, where lesser Fae work as slaves. It is because of his magic that Fae are vulnerable to Cold Iron, and that they must follow rules. He also is incredibly truthful, a quality the Fae have yet to grasp. It is said that he was a mortal god of Justice before he became the dictator of the Fae.

    Spoiler
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    Alignment: Lawful Evil
    Domains: Law, Inquisition, Evil, Knowledge, Metal, Truth
    Favored Weapon: Warhammer
    Holy Symbol: A small book, which holds the secrets and the truenames of all of the fae, excepting the Fae Lords


    Summer King:
    A rebel Fae god, and lord of the princes. He breaks the Laws of the Scholar of the Iron Codex, and writes his own. He lives on the Material Plane, where the Scholar cannot go. He is constantly hounded by lesser Fae who work for the Scholar. He seeks to destroy the Scholar, and the Iron Codex.

    Spoiler
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    Alignment: Chaotic Good
    Domains: Chaos, Good, Liberation, Fey, Fire, Trickery
    Favored Weapon: Rapier
    Holy Symbol: A small leaf, which feels warm to the touch, and appears to be lit with an inner light


    The Winter Queen:
    The lover of both the Scholar and the Summer King. She was first the Summer King’s wife, but when the Scholar came and imprisoned all of the Fae in his book, and they had to submit to his rule. She longs for the days of summer and winter, instead of the cold, dark fall that the Faewyld now endures.

    Spoiler
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    Alignment: Lawful Good
    Domains: Law, Good, Cold, Healing, Renewal, Fate
    Favored Weapon: Longbow
    Holy Symbol: A tiny snowflake motif, in wood that is eternally frozen solid


    DM Note
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    This is a pretty radical take on Fae. If your campaign has its own version of Fae, simply take out the fluff about the Fae being respected and thought of as ancestors by the Zaletah, and say that the Zaletah simply think the Fae are interesting, or something like that. A lot of the Fluff is pretty stand alone, but the gods (the Scholar, the Summer King and Winter Queen) are fairly specific, and are not fundamentally necessary to the Zaletah, but add some zest to the race.
    Current Project: Campaign Setting

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lix Lorn View Post
    NOTHING is simple. NO EXCEPTIONS. No, not even that.

  6. - Top - End - #6
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    Default Re: Potpourri Creation Contest IV: Origin of Species

    Unspirited

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    Art by youxiandaxia


    The Unspirited are a race that has its roots in ages beyond human memory, but whose existence took a long time to manifest into the shape their race has today. They came to be from the union between lung dragons and nymphs and overtime departed from their parental heritages and mingled some more with humanoid races. It took a long time before their numbers were large, but once that point in time came they began to stick together and form a bit of culture of their own. The centuries which followed were much like early human civilization, but it took a huge step back when a major event happened that changed them forever: the Rending.

    In their early days the Unspirited simply seemed like a cross between nymphs and lung dragons, nothing more or less, and due to their spiritual nature they were called the Spiritfelt. The most influential amongst them was the Spiritfelt Archduke, whom had secured a large amount of land for the Spiritfelt to live on as subjects to a human emperor, who, wishing to be engaged with an elven princess, saw that it was in his best interests to show that he felt a connection to those of other races and of mixed race. The Spiritfelt Archduke was an admirable man and was as such adored by many.

    One particular Spiritfelt woman of sorcerous blood - her true name lost to time - was infatuated with him and sought to show him her love. However, the woman, suffering from psychological trauma from her childhood, had twisted concepts of love and common morality. When she confronted the Spiritfelt Archduke and told him of her feelings, his retort that he did not love her back and that she were to cease her crimes struck her hard. She summoned up a storm to consume the entire castle and the city around it and let the thunder and lightning strike people every which way, until the Archduke and his wizards opened a portal to another plane and prepared to throw her to the multiverse and curse her to remain there, blasting her through the portal before sealing it shut, the storm dying soon after.

    But it was not the end of her story… The woman was flung to the Far Realm, where she was driven mad and transformed heart and soul, transformed into a deity of unnatural power to the core of her being. And then she returned… and upon her return she tore at the souls of all Spiritfelt and broke them away from their bodies, shredded them apart into tiny pieces, chewed on them and spewed them to the maelstrom of souls bound for the Outer Planes. But the aged and venerable Archduke stood upon his castle walls again as he watched on and sent a desperate plea towards their gods to save them and with him joined the pleas of thousands of souls torn asunder and the Masked Deer appeared and took the woman on its antlers and threw her away into the void beyond the planes as she screeched that she would return and her name, Skish, would madden even him. And then the One Darkness came forth and collected all the pieces of all the souls and the Three Lights came forth and put all the pieces back together again and back to the bodies of the Spiritfelt.

    But there was something different: the souls could not be patched correctly, not even by these goddesses. The soul that now was tied to each body was a patchwork of pieces of souls, most of which not even previously belonged to that body. Many Spiritfelt experienced strong melancholy or madness because of the discrepancy, as they could feel their souls strongly because of their heritage. They felt powerless, abilities common amongst them before now practically non-existent, their link to their nymph and lung dragon heritage almost turned to nothingness. In their woe, they dubbed themselves the Unspirited, for that was what they had been by the mad goddess Skish.


    Personality: Unspirited feel a need for structure, and some break down if plans and agreements aren’t made up before acting. They do have a curious streak, as do all fey, and find it easy to explore beyond their lands as long as they can agree to return to civilized lands soon enough. While appearing to a good lot of others as a little stiff or nuts due to this race-inspired OCD, Unspirited are quite social and mean to establish contact with others if possible - due in part because it helps them keep their minds calm.

    Unspirited are also fond of pets and some wealthy families possess faerie dragons, while plebeian Unspirited make do with trained ravens and tamed wild animals - showing off the fact that for fey they are yet a little detached from the natural world.

    Physical Description: As many fey, Unspirited are of a rather fair-looking kind. Their skin tends to be of pale colours in shades of white, grey, yellow or red. They stand on average a little shorter than humans and are lighter as well, with females usually being taller by a small margin. As they age they grow decorative horns reminiscent of deer or lung dragons (which, frankly, have deer-like horns, really) that sprout from the region between their temples and forehead. Some Unspirited are born with skin that is a little rough and sometimes even flaky, upon closer inspection even looking like tiny scales. This is no doubt due to their lung dragon heritage and simply manifests a little stronger in some than others. Unspirited also often wear heavy clothing that emphasizes their heritage with its appearance, with many married women wearing gowns that appear as if they conceal dragon tails, or actually look like them.

    Relations: The Unspirited usually live in regions where they co-exist with the elves, and while they respect them and their views on nature and the arts, they deem them to act too haughty too often, or too freely and for themselves. In that regard, the Unspirited much prefer the companionship of dwarves, strange though it may sound for creatures of fey blood. They enjoy the structure the dwarves give to almost everything and find it to be soothing in a way, though their gruffness may irk them. Luckily, dwarves often co-exist with gnomes, whose presence washes away the slight unpleasantness of dwarven social interaction. While Unspirited may think that gnomes are worse than elves in their freespirited acting and deem them quite childish, many gnomes have managed to garner respect from Unspirited by their wits and craftsmanship.

    Unspirited rarely come into contact with halflings, unless it is in a human settlement, and there they usually try to avoid them due to the idea that halflings are either like gnomes in their childishness, or that they are all thieves, whether or not it is intentional. Unspirited are not shy of human contact and quite enjoy it, seeing their way of interaction as a balance between dwarven and gnomish traits but with an airy and lighter take on it - probably due to not being underground for most their lives.

    While Unspirited are just as prejudiced against orcs and gnolls as the common civilized races, especially because they cling to a form of government and society that is only beneficial for the few, or even the lone top dog, a good lot of them are actually quite fond of the company of goblins or kobolds, whose societies usually have a good structure, even though it might not always be fair for all, and they have respect for that. Some Unspirited even manage to become revered by kobolds, who see their dragon heritage as a sign of strength and dominance. This view is not shared by other reptilian races like troglodytes or lizardmen however, though the latter is less opposed to dealing with Unspirited.

    Alignment: Curious among the fey, the Unspirited have come to hang onto the structure of society much more strongly than many others, for fear of letting control slip away again. They wish for the Rending not to happen again and have come to the conclusion that to prevent it, they must all work together in one way or another. It is for that reason that most Unspirited tend towards Lawfulness, but there are as many that are Good as there are ones that are Neutral or Evil.

    Unspirited Lands: Unspirited have their settlements located close to nature: near forests, in the shade of mountains or within canyons. They usually pick locations with plenty of shadow, from which their towering buildings rise up. These buildings, often decorated with or built in spiral-like shapes, are made entirely out of bone and have smooth, ivory colours. The bone towers are created by the architects of the Unspirited: faytpriests who specialize in the soul-entrancing power of song. Their songs are infused with magical power as they enter the bones of their dead and make tendrils spiral forth from them and form shapes and forms and expand into a base, then rooms and more and rising higher until an entire tower has been created from a single corpse. The dead Unspirited is also contacted through the song and tied to the building that forms from their corpse, enabling their souls to briefly return if the home needs to be defended or if the inhabitants desperately need guidance.

    Unspirited who leave their traditional lands usually try to find their way to fit into the societies of others, usually those of dwarves, humans or goblins, but kobolds and sometimes elves find Unspirited amongst them as well. Most fey don’t have a structured enough society for the taste of Unspirited and they grow restless and mentally uneasy if they’re with them for too long.

    Religion: The main deity of the Unspirited is the Masked Deer, a deer-like being with glowing, levitating plates covering almost its entire body and face and a web of lightning strung between its antlers. The Masked Deer, a True Neutral greater deity, is known to take the guises of physically disabled humanoids in which he provides cryptic advice to heroes, craftsmen and lonesome wives; his most famous form being a peg-legged masked goblin by the name of Guven. While he is a god of riddles, he is not a god of trickery, for he merely tries to test others while aiding them at the same time. Some even believe that the Masked Deer would be so willing to even take the guise of a villain just to put up a test for others, but his clergy waves off any suggestions of the Masked Deer being Evil. (Note: while the Masked Deer is referred to as ‘he’, this is to make the connection sound more personal. In his natural form, the Masked Deer is genderless.)

    Also much revered amongst the Unspirited are the Three Lights and One Darkness. The Three Lights are depicted as distant associates of the Masked Deer, with sometimes one being his consort. In their natural form they are depicted as red, blue and green stars, capturing a dark field between them that symbolizes the One Darkness. The Three Lights are otherwise depicted as female, while the One Darkness is shown in artistic works as male, all Three symbolizing and possessing virtues, showing off the different flavours of Goodness, while the One Darkness stands for the perversion of those virtues or the use of them in the wrong way. Being a prime corruptive force in Unspirited mythology, the One Darkness is also respected greatly for his abilities and for being known to keep his word.

    Lastly, there is Skish, the Screeching Lady, the broken Unspirited from old times that was forcefully put through the Far Realm by the Spiritfelt Archduke, returned as a raving mad goddess and caused the Rending. Of course all Unspirited hate her for putting them through that and still suffering the aftereffects centuries later. Many Unspirited quest to destroy her temples, monsters or followers.

    Language: Unspirited have some slang of their own, developed from bits and pieces of Common, Draconic and Sylvan, which usually refer to how structuralized their society is or sneakily poking fun of a third person regarding their odd-but-still-interesting racial traditions.

    Names: The Unspirited have a few specific naming conventions. Personal names are usually long, but a short version is used when among very close friends and directly-related family members. Family names refer to titles of ancestors or of the family itself and may be adopted from other languages, titles their allies or enemies gave them that they have come to bear with pride.

    Male Names: Male names often end in soft, hiss-like sounds or nasal hums, while the beginning of the names rarely do. Examples include Boubarsbalaxs, Dooírquan, Ganatúsh, Jerikso, Kamasse, Rraneshem or Wansukun.

    Female Names: Female names, like male ones, can have large differences, but usually end in sounds that emphasize the tongue. Examples include Celavile, Devoda, Liliúzel, Malalÿde, Tÿrelle, Zathoina or Zygcelièra.

    Family Names: Below is a list of family names and the story they tell of how they received it. Also given are mechanical benefits the family bestows on its members. However, this is merely optional and need not see use in a game.
    Blackstar: Followers of the One Darkness, the Blackstar family is proud of that fact and engraves black stars in all their weapons, which family blacksmiths forge for them. Obviously, this is also where they derive their name from and other Unspirited families have often suspected them of being involved with highly dangerous and criminal activities or dealings with fiends and evil clerics. Few are crazy enough to dare speak the idea they might have something to do with Skish, however.
    Benefits: A +2 racial bonus on Bluff, a -2 penalty on Gather Information. Allies within 5 feet get a +2 bonus on Hide and Move Silently.

    NAME: An Unspirited family known for having detached itself very much from main Unspirited society and having integrated into dwarven cities with great success. They are known for their bards and strongly-built war drums which they carry proudly into battle alongside and behind their dwarven allies.
    Benefits: A +2 racial bonus on Intimidate and Perform (percussion instruments), a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy when dealing with dwarves, -2 Diplomacy in other situations, -2 Bluff, -2 Gather Information. Perform (percussion instruments) is always a class skill.

    NAME: Descendants of a famous drakeknight - prior to fame known as Darvleshz ás Toothbreaker - who was known for his campaigns against evil fey and the destruction of forests corrupted by them. They aren’t really popular among the Unspirited, but at least they are respected, though grudgingly so by the elders. Elves still do not get along well with them as they have not forgotten, nor forgiven, Darvleshz’ acts.
    Benefits: A -2 penalty on Diplomacy and a +2 racial bonus on Sense Motive when dealing with elves or fey. A +1 racial bonus on attack rolls made with the handaxe, battleaxe, greataxe, and dwarven waraxe.

    Kuvleahs: The Kuvleahs family is known in dwarven and gnomish cities as crafty dealmakers, illusionists and tricksters, which has earned them their name, an inversion of a popular gnomish phrase meaning “empty box”, as if to show that that is exactly what they aren’t. Some gnomes use the name a little mockingly though, as Kuvleahs aren’t as sharp in some areas as in others.
    Benefits: A +2 racial bonus on Disguise, Forgery and Sleight of Hand, a -2 penalty on Listen and Search.

    NAME: A family that is commonly seen in human cities and has ties to noble families whom they often serve as bodyguards, the Masketeers are known for their swordsmanship and the fact that their faces remain hidden behind masks while they deal in public.
    Benefits: A +2 racial bonus on Disguise. Automatically proficient with the club, dagger, rapier and longsword.

    Nashkerym: One of the fewer Unspirited families with strong ties to elves, they have fought alongside elves in many wars against orcs or defended from raids by that despicably chaotic race. They have a strong sense of honour in battle, but this is accompanied by a free spirit in easy times.
    Benefits: A +1 racial bonus to AC and attack rolls when being attack by an orc or attacking one. Automatically proficient with the short sword, shortbow and composite shortbow.

    NAME: This family started as a group of siblings that lost their parents to a raid upon their village by evil fey and they took it upon themselves to vanquish them, eventually not even settling there but slaying all fey that came on their path, forming a band of thieves and monster-slayers. For this they became wanted by Unspirited authorities and they fled to another plane. Their descendents have told that they got lost and wondered the planes for a long time and ended up continuing their trade, but with the inhabitants of the planes they visited as their targets instead of fey. The family has since settled in Sigil, where they got their name, for they are not simple berks in the planescape no more, but an entire family of true cutters. Cutters that hunted for fey and now hunt for souls.
    Benefits: A +1 racial bonus on opposed Strength and Dexterity checks or opposed skill checks (Bluff, Disguise, Escape Artist to escape from ropes, Forgery, Hide, Intimidate, Listen, Move Silently, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Use Rope to tie someone up) when dealing with elementals or outsiders. A -1 on such opposed checks against all other creature types. Knowledge (the planes) is always a class skill.

    NAME: Living away from most Unspirited, or really from most societies at all, this family resides in desert cities, where they make their trade of sandsailing, using boats adapted to gliding through the sand at high speeds. Many of them pick up the trade of a pirate, and even those who move away from the desert find that they have the urge to create boat-like modes of transport, be it through sand, snow, sea or even the air.
    Benefits: A +2 racial bonus on Appraise, Craft (boat) and Profession (sailor), a -2 penalty on Hide and Move Silently. Knowledge (geography) is always a class skill.

    Adventurers: Whilst as all the races Unspirited may adventure for many reasons, most do it out of curiosity for other societies, to find more applications of their abilities or to fight against Skish in whatever way they can. If they belong to a famous family they may often even be encouraged to become adventurers for whichever reason the family is well-known for.

    ---

    UNSPIRITED RACIAL TRAITS

    • +2 Con, -2 Int.
    • Fey (dragonblood, incarnum). Unspirited are fey with the dragonblood (Dragon Magic 4) and incarnum subtypes (Magic of Incarnum 169).
    • Medium. As Medium creatures, Unspirited have no special bonus or penalties due to their size.
    • Unspirited base land speed is 30 feet.
    • Low-Light Vision: An Unspirited can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
    • Extra essentia: The essentia pool of an Unspirited increases by 1. If they have no essentia pool they gain one with 1 essentia in it.
    • Caste ability (Su): The Unspirited are divided into three castes, which are called the palechildes, the faytpriests and the drakeknights. The palechildes receive neither of the caste abilities listed below. The faytpriests have the fragmented focus ability. The drakeknights have the dragonfire initiation ability.
      Fragmented focus: By investing 1 point of essentia in this ability, the Unspirited can use all mental skills (those based off Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma) untrained. Furthermore, they count as having a virtual minimum effective skill rank in all mental skills equal to (essentia invested -1).
      Dragonfire initiation: By investing essentia into this ability, the Unspirited’s melee attacks and attacks with thrown weapons deal extra damage equal to 2 times the amount of essentia invested. This extra damage is either acid, cold, electricity or fire damage, chosen at the time of investment. To change the energy type, all essentia invested in this ability must be removed first and may not be re-invested until a full turn has passed.
    • Washed Skin: The skin of an Unspirited seems almost constantly washed over by a very thin layer of water, thanks to their lung dragon heritage no doubt. They take only half damage from non-magical fire.
    • Automatic Languages: Common and Draconic, Common and Sylvan, or Draconic and Sylvan.
      Bonus Languages: Aquan, Auran, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnomish, Goblin, Ignan, Sylvan, Terran. The Unspirited usually have at least one person in the family who keeps contact with their distant fey relatives and for that reason also often come into contact with beings of elemental descent. Unspirited also often live in societies where another humanoid race is prevalent and they adopt their language, if they find themselves able to.
    • Favored Class: Totemist. Most Unspirited try to find a stronger bond to their souls and their hardy nature allows them to do so easily as Totemists, despite it being more common among tribal races. (One could always ‘fix’ this by making Unspirited Totemists automatically literate, since they have that different, more educational background.)


    ---

    Random Starting Ages
    {table="head"]
    Adulthood
    |
    Simple
    |
    Moderate
    |
    Complex
    44 years
    |
    +1d10
    |
    +1d12
    |
    +2d12
    [/table]

    Aging Effects
    {table="head"]
    Middle Age
    |
    Old
    |
    Venerable
    |
    Maximum Age
    82 years
    |
    130 years
    |
    163 years
    |
    +1d100 years
    [/table]

    Random Height and Weight
    {table="head"]
    Gender
    |
    Base Height
    |
    Height Modifier
    |
    Base Weight
    |
    Weight Modifier
    Male
    |
    4'2"
    |
    +2d12
    |
    75 lb.
    |
    × (2d4) lb.
    Female
    |
    4'4"
    |
    +2d12
    |
    75 lb.
    |
    × (2d4) lb.
    [/table]

    ---


    Note: While I have tried to create a unique flavor for them, you must take into account that not all the fluff is tied to the crunch, like how the Unspirited create their bone towers and the spirits of the dead linger within these. Furthermore, the caste of the palechildes is obviously intended for NPC use rather than PC use, but I simply felt it right to include a caste that did not gain a special ability - just like how in many caste-based societies of the real world there was/is a caste for soldiers and nobility, one for priests and one for basically everyone else (farmers, craftsmen, merchants, etc). Of course, however, they still gain the extra essentia, so they could do something with that, I suppose.
    Also, the family benefits are merely optional and can be easily discounted or brought back to a mere fluff standpoint.

    EDIT: Forgot to take out the extra essentia gained at higher HD. Sorry. It's been fixed now.
    Last edited by Morph Bark; 2017-08-05 at 11:43 AM.
    Homebrewer's Signature | Avatar by Strawberries

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    HalflingPirate

    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Nova Scotia
    Gender
    Male

    Post Re: Potpourri Creation Contest IV: Origin of Species

    Race: Lissoan

    Thought to be amiable cousins to the infamous and aptly-named chokers, the lissoa are an aberrant race of invertebrates known for their discipline and pursuit of physical ability. They enjoy testing their skills against worthy opponents, and can often be found training in local monasteries.

    Personality: Lissoa are a universally energetic race. Whatever they may do, they do it with vigor. This translates into an incredible work ethic, as even in the bleakest of moods, the average lissoan finds it hard to do nothing. While it can not be said that they have a universal love of life, they often seem like they do to those who more often let their emotions rule their physical bodies.
    The lissoa people enjoy employing their physical gifts, and can often be found competing with one another, as well as other races. If a traveling carnival has a wrestling competition, or the king offers the princess’ hand to the one who successfully runs “The Gauntlet”, you can be sure you’ll find most of the local lissoa population entering the contests. It should be noted, however, that even a lowly lissoan woodchopper will compete with themselves to be the best they can be, regardless of potential recognition.
    In pursuit of physical ability, lissoa have a disciplined mind, and often have habits, customs, and/or routines that baffle other races. Some lissoa can be annoyed or frustrated when their structured lifestyle in interrupted, while others may see such interruptions as challenges to be faced.

    Physical Description: The most alarming, if not automatically noticeable, feature of lissoa is that they maintain a cartilaginous network of structural tissue rather than a calcified skeleton. This gives the lissoa a very slight build that would be called gaunt if not for their lack of bony protuberances. Lissoa stand just above 4ft. tall, and weigh no more than 60-80 pounds, with females being only slightly shorter and lighter than males. They have skin, hair, and eye tones ranging from white, through shades of grey, to ebony black. Typically the more solid a lissoan’s skin coloring, the more attractive they are perceived by the opposite sex, although mottled tones are not unheard of. Their hair, and nails, are usually worn long, and their eyes are of a solid color.

    Relations: Lissoa find dwarves easy to work with if not overly pleasant company, while gnomes are seen as great sources of amusing activities but not overly practical. They find half-orcs to be too unfocused and overbearing, while respect those humans, elves, and half-elves that respect them in turn. Halflings and lissoa butt heads as often as they become life-long companions, as they often share similar skill sets, and are either intimidated or challenged by one another respectively.
    It should be noted that while many of the other cultures may view the lissoa a cocky and competitive race, and some do sport those traits, the average lissoan competes largely with herself, rarely holding their prowess over others. A lissoan who comes out on top of a challenge will be the first to congratulate their opponent on their efforts, often attempting to coach their fellow challengers on how to improve their form, game, etc. While this advice is usually given in sincerity and with modesty, others can find it degrading. Those who accept such advice from a lissoan are usually the better for it, and lissoa are often excited if and when a previously defeated opponent returns to challenge them again.

    Alignment: As a race devoted to mastering physical pursuits, the lissoa are predominantly lawful, and those within a lissoa society usually lawful good or lawful neutral to support said society. Those lissoa of evil alignment, or of neutral or chaotic bent, tend to be those that live amongst other races, tending toward the diversity found throughout the human racial community.

    Lissoa Lands: While the lissoa have no great lands to call their own, they are often found in tightly knit clan-monasteries. These monasteries vary widely in environment and architecture, but have a universal theme that would be described by other races as ‘maze-like,’ as the lissoa favor twists, turns, ups, downs, jumps, climbs, and squeezes to the more traditional straight hallways and ‘ease of use’ other races seem to prefer. It is not uncommon to be out of breath while making one’s way through a lissoan monastery. Lissoa monasteries are usually found closer to civilization than those ascetic retreats populated by other races, as the lissoa love of competition, both with each other and other races, requires that they be somewhat accessible to fresh challengers.
    These monasteries usually prescribe to a certain code or discipline, but are largely on friendly, if competitive, terms with other lissoa monasteries. Such competitions are usually used to test one another and one’s self, but will often be used as a marriage ritual, having the single best male and female members of both clans compete against one another, with the two winners marrying, and the two losers marrying.

    Religion: Devoted to the perfection of the self, most lissoa find little to gain from faith in greater powers. Some monasteries will be devoted to an individual deity of protection, physicality, or discipline, with most of the inhabitants devoting themselves to that same deity. Religious lissoa are most often found outside a monastery life, adopting those faiths found among those cultures within which a lissoan finds herself.

    Language: Lissoan have their own language using the Undercommon alphabet. Lissoa is an awkward language for many to speak, as it utilizes the race’s supple jaw structure to form “rebounding letters.” Any letter can be spoken in a variety of ways, from a hard and sharp sound (rarely, usually for unpleasant words) like most skeletal races would use, to a drawn out one letter syllable (such as if you were to draw out the word “round”). Due to the nature of lissoan vocal chords, they can achieve a wide range of and smooth transition between sounds, amounting to a pleasant blend of trills and hums. As such, double vowels and consonants are the norm, triple letters common, and quadruple letters not unheard of.

    Names: Lissoa prefer names that “bounce” around the mouth when spoken, often with repeated and/or similar syllables. They will also often borrow naming traditions from other cultures, attempting to improve upon those borrowed rules.
    Lissoa from lissoan lands, that is to say from a lissoan clan-monastery, will usually use their monastery’s name as their ‘family’ name; to do otherwise would be disrespectful to their clan. The family name is most often separated from their given name by the preposition “siq” (meaning “from”), as in the name Sphaeltsinaae siq Brohggjint’. Exceptions to this tradition are when a lissoan relocates to another monastery, such as might result from a marriage. In such a case, the relocated spouse will often be referred to by both clan names, using the preposition “ay” (meaning “of”). Males traditionally keep their original clan’s name using “siq” as their last name, and their newly-acquired spouse’s clan name using “ay” as a middle name (Ferrinnn ay Brohggjint siq gGrennae ay l’Scheena), while females traditionally adopt their new clan name as their last name, and their former clan’s name as a middle name (Sphaeltsinaae siq Brohggjint ay gGrennae ay l’Sheena).
    Monastery names are often a description of the martial form or tradition for which the monastery is known, such as
    gGrrennae ay l’Scheena (“Way of the Interposing Fist”) and Bwrawiin siq Grek (“Shielded From Harm”).
    Lissoa living in outside a lissoan monastery may keep their ancestral monastery’s name as their family name, or may give themselves another, often a descriptive word or phrase describing or representing their disassociation from their, or any other, monastery.

    Male Names: Ferrinnn, Hrruua, Sseq’wilae, Tsutsatsu.

    Female Names: Apdepta, La’lalae, Lyyyrrahh, Sphaeltsinaae, Zs’ Zxa.

    Monastery Names: Brohggjint’, Bwrawiin siq Grek, gGrennae ay l’Scheena.

    Adventurers: Due to the challenges of adventuring, often in the physical mien, the profession of ‘adventurer’ comes easily to lissoa, allowing them varied opportunities to test their strengths. However, they remain practical in their pursuits, rarely teaming up with zealots or thrill-seekers, and will be the first to pass on a job that they feel has too much potential risk.

    - - -

    Lissoa Racial Traits:
    - +4 Dex, -2 Con, -2 Int. Lissoan possess an alien grace unmatched by the vertebrate, while at the same time suffer from the absence of calcified bone in their bodies. Some theorize that lissoan are less analytical than many of the other civilized races due to their brain being unprotected by a sturdy skull structure. While lissoa are a universally social race, their alien and competitive natures tend to unsettle most people.
    - Aberration (bizarre anatomy): Lissoa not subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person.
    - Medium*: As medium creatures, lissoa have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
    - Darkvision 60ft. Like the majority of aberrations, lissoa have keen vision in the absence of light.
    - Lissoa base land speed is 30ft*.
    - Slight Build*: The physical stature of lissoa lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category smaller. Whenever a lissoan is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as Hide), the lissoan is treated as one size smaller if doing so is advantageous to the character. A lissoan is also considered to be one size smaller when "squeezing" through a restrictive space. A lissoan can use weapons designed for a creature one size smaller without penalty. However, the space and reach of a lissoan remain those of a creature of their actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject's size category.
    - Invertebrate: lissoa are unaffected by spells, powers, and effects that deal with bone.
    - Low Structural Integrity: Not having the rigidity of a solid skeleton also has its drawbacks. Lissoa are unable to create the force required to move as fast as other creatures in an all-out sprint, able to use the run action at only x3 their movement rate (this can change with feats, such as Run or Muscle Isolations, Legs, and/or abilities). Also, lissoa are treated as having a Strength score 4 points lower when determining carrying capacity, and are treated as “carrying twice their maximum load” when wearing heavy armor.
    - Stunning Susceptibility: Whenever a lissoan is stunned, she remains so for twice as long as the effect dictates.
    - Weapon Familiarity: braid blade. Lissoa treat the braid blade as a martial weapon proficiency rather than an exotic one.
    - +4 racial bonus to Escape Artist checks. Lissoa can literally tie themselves in knots.
    - +2 racial bonus to Tumble, Move Silently, and Perform (Sing) checks. Precise and delicate movement comes easily to the lissoa.
    - Class Skill: Speak Language is always considered a class skill for lissoa. Achieving the varying sounds in differing dialects comes easy to them.
    - All lissoa gain a +1 racial bonus to a single Craft or Profession skill of their choice, chosen at character creation.
    - Automatic Languages: Lissoan, Common. Bonus Languages: Dependant on region.
    - Favored Class: Monk.
    * See Low Structural Integrity racial trait for situational modifiers.

    - - -

    Random Starting Ages
    {table=head]Adulthood|Simple|Moderate|Complex
    18 years|+1d4|+1d6|+2d6[/table]

    Aging Effects
    {table=head]Middle Age|Old|Venerable|Maximum Age
    36 years|55 years|73 years|+2d20 years[/table]

    Random Height and Weight
    {table=head]Gender|Base Height|Height Modifier|Base Weight|Weight Modifier
    Male|3'11"|+1d4|60 lb.|× (1d4) lb.
    Female|3'10"|+1d4|55 lb.|× (1d4) lb.[/table]

    - - -

    Lissoan Feats:


    Lissoan Grappler [Fighter, Lissoan]

    Training the muscles in your arms and legs you are able to crush your grappled foes like a python.
    Prerequisites: Lissoan, Muscle Isolations (Arms and Legs), BAB +1.
    Benefit: You gain the Constrict ability, dealing 1d4 + Str bonus non-lethal damage on a successful grapple.
    Special: If you also have monk unarmed strike damage, you instead deal damage with your Constrict ability as a monk 2 levels higher than your current monk class level.

    Lissoan Water Kata [Fighter, Lissoan]
    Your defensive training has left you less susceptible to bludgeoning forces and falls.
    Prerequisites: Lissoan, Combat Expertise, Toughness.
    Benefit: You gain a racial damage reduction versus bludgeoning weapons of 2, or your damage reduction versus bludgeoning weapons increases by 2. You also suffer -1 point of damage per die from falls.

    Muscle Isolations, Arms [Lissoan]
    You have trained the muscles in your arms to move in every direction and to hold unusual positions and angles.
    Prerequisite: Lissoan, BAB +3, Disable Device 5 ranks, Craft (any) 5 ranks.
    Benefit: You are considered ambidextrous, and do not suffer off-hand penalties. You gain a +1 racial bonus to Disable Device and all Craft checks.
    Note: This feat does not grant any increased proficiency in wielding two weapons at once; the Two-Weapon Fighting feat is still required to gain those attack modifiers.

    Muscle Isolations, Face [Lissoan]

    You have trained the muscles in your face and throat to move in every direction and to hold unusual positions and angles.
    Prerequisite: Lissoan, Disguise 5 ranks, Listen 5 ranks, Perform (Sing) 5 ranks.
    Benefit: +1 racial bonus to Disguise, Listen, and Perform (Sing) checks. You can drink a potion as a move-equivalent action (rather than a standard action; this still provokes attacks of opportunity).

    Muscle Isolations, Feet [Lissoan]
    You have trained the muscles in your feet to move in every direction and to hold unusual potions and angles.
    Prerequisite: Lissoan, Balance 5 ranks, Climb 5 ranks, Move Silently 5 ranks.
    Benefit: +1 racial bonus to Balance, Climb, and Move Silently checks. You can pick up small or smaller items with your toes, allowing you to perform the ‘pick up an item’ action without provoking attacks of opportunity.

    Muscle Isolations, Hands [Lissoan]

    You have trained the muscles in your hands to move in every direction and to hold unusual positions and angles.
    Prerequisite: Lissoan, Forgery 5 ranks, Open Lock 5 ranks, and Sleight of Hand 5 ranks.
    Benefit: +1 racial bonus to Forgery, Open Lock, and Sleight of Hand checks. +1 competence bonus to resist being disarmed. +1 competence bonus to catch items.

    Muscle Isolations, Legs [Fighter, Lissoan]

    You have trained the muscles in your legs to move in every direction and to hold unusual positions and angles.
    Prerequisite: Lissoan, BAB +3, Jump 5 ranks, Improved Grapple.
    Benefit: +1 racial bonus to Jump checks, and can run at x4 your normal movement rate. You may make unarmed attacks with your legs, allowing you to attack even with both hands full. Finally, you also gain a +1 racial bonus to grapple checks, as your legs now act as a second set of arms.
    Normal: Lissoa are able only to run at x3 their normal movement rate.

    Muscle Isolations Master [Lissoan]

    You are a master of muscle manipulation.
    Prerequisite: Lissoan, Muscle Isolations (Hands, Feet, Legs, Arms, Torso, and Face), 8 ranks in all prerequisite skills for Muscle Isolations feats.
    Benefit: You gain an additional +1 racial bonus to all skills affected by your Muscle Isolations feats. You gain an additional +1 racial bonus to resist being disarmed or bull rushed and to catch items. You gain an additional +1 racial bonus to Bluff checks to feint in combat.

    Muscle Isolations, Torso [Lissoan]

    You have trained the muscles in your torso to move in every direction and to hold unusual positions and angles.
    Prerequisite: Lissoan, Ride 5 ranks, Escape Artist 5 ranks, Tumble 5 ranks.
    Benefit: +1 racial bonus to Ride, Escape Artist, and Tumble checks. +1 competence bonus to resist bull rush attempts. You treat your Strength score as only 3 points lower in regards to determining carrying capacity.
    "Rest in reason; move in passion." - Kahlil Gibram

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Barbarian in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Potpourri Creation Contest IV: Origin of Species

    Derp. Sorry for my unannounced absence. Contest closed! Voting thread is up!
    Last edited by DaTedinator; 2010-10-22 at 03:29 PM.
    Thanks to Dashwood for the avatar!

    Check out my Homebrew.

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