New 3.5 race (PEACHing will be appreciated)

[Silverbit]

Hello, I'm not a very experienced homebrewer at all, so any advise or criticisms will be gladly received and acted upon. With that out of the way, here's my new race (intended for PC's). Male gender pronouns used as a matter of convenience, no offence intended.

The Hestak:

These humanoid beings are of uncertain provenance; it is unknown even to their own sages in what age of the world they first arose. They possess an uncanny ability to work Incarnum instinctively, like Azurins or Dusklings. As a consequence of this, many among them become meldshapers, mostly Law Incarnates, but with a substantial proportion of Totemists as well.

Personality:

Few of the Hestak share exactly the same personality or quirks, but many are somewhat alike. The average Hestak thus has a love of crafting objects with his own hands (this could be a consequence of their innate Meldshaping ability), a tendancy to be somewhat covetous (particularly of finely worked objects wrought of precious metals) and a strong sense of duty to whoever they perceive as the leader in a group.

Physical description:

Hestak stand about as tall as a human, with a tendancy to be slightly taller. They weigh around the same as well, from 135 lb to 260 lb. They have rough, grey skin nautical observers might compare to a sharks, but with a slight blue tinge. Hestak of both sexes are bald on their heads, yet have some hair elsewhere on their bodies, usually of a black or dark blue colour. Males can also grow beards, but the practice is deemed barbaric amongst high Hestak society. Only a soldier on campaign or a wild Totemist would keep one for long. They have lines of coloured spots stretching from the top of their spine to their foreheads; the size of these spots varies from pinprick to almost coin sized, as does the colour from dark blue to white, turquoise or even red. These are used amongst the Hestak as an aid to determine family ties; the shape of the spots, or Den as the Hestak call them, is inherited from the mother, and the colour from the father.

Relations:
Hestak get along well with other lawful and Incarnum using races, such as the Skarn and some Azurin, but especially treasure their relationship with the dwarves. Both species share a love of craftsmanship and cunning artifice, among with a common habitat of mountains and hills. Hestak generally prefer more gentle hills than the doughty folk of Moradin, but will still mine and delve deep for precious metals.

Alignment:

With a solid sense of duty to authority but a greedy streak, most Hestak are LN, with a substantial minority of TN and LG.

Hestak lands:

Most Hestak dwell in citadels built atop low hills, generally in warm, fairly dry climes (think northern Greece). Beneath these hill forts, mines are dug deep for gems and metal. Around each central hill fort, there is generally at least one client village, and often a small community of Meldshapers (an Incarnate monastery, a Totemists circle, or a Soulborn camp) nearby. Hestak naturally obey authority, which leads to most of their lands having a strong leadership. Whether this is a King, Queen, or any other form of government depends on the idiosyncrasies of the local Hestak.

Religion:

Due to their uncertainty about when they arrived in the world, the Hestak have no racial gods. Most worship whichever Lawful or Neutral deity is closest to their outlook, with favourites being Wee Jas and St Cuthbert. Some even turn to Moradin.

Language:

Common and Hestak, which has a written form in the Dwarven alphabet. Most Hestak also speak Dwarven.

Names:

Male: Istil, Eneged, Forsh, Kaed.
Female: Istel, Enegede, Forshe, Kaede.
Some Hestak use dwarf names out of habit when in the company of dwarves.

Adventures:

The local dwarves have uncovered an ancient Hestak artefact, that could shed light on your species' genesis. Try it get them to part with it.
A NE Incarnate has moved into the hills nearby with a host of evil warriors. Try to remove him from his stronghold.
Your ruler has been acting erratically; under close examination, it is revealed he is in fact a Changeling duplicate. Solve the plot of who replaced your beloved monarch, and why.

Hestak racial traits:
+2 Strength, -2 Dex
Hestak are strong, but not over delicate, much like their allies the Skarn.
Medium. No bonuses or penalties.
Base land speed of 30ft.
Hestak start with a natural Essensia pool of 1. This stems from their natural Meldshaping abilities.
+2 to Craft: Weaponsmithing and Craft:Armoursmithing. The Hestak can forge weapons of war with great skill.
Dwarven Friendship: Hestak ignore the racial prerequisite for Ironsoul Forgemaster, and can take Dwarf Soulborn racial substitution levels.
Automatic Languages: Common and Hestak. Bonus languages: Dwarven, Terran, Gnome, Goblin, Giant, Orc, Undercommon.
Favoured Class: Incarnate or Soulborn, chosen at first character level and cannot be changed thereafter.

Well, what do you think? Have I done anything catastrophically wrong? Has this race intrigued you? Please, feel free to comment.

(For those interested how this unlikely creature came about, I'm thinking of taking part in a dawn of worlds game IRL soon, and I'm going to have this ace be my chosen ones. Long live the Hestak!)

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Hestak racial traits:
+2 Strength, -2 Dex
Hestak are strong, but not over delicate, much like their allies the Skarn.
Medium. No bonuses or penalties.
Base land speed of 30ft.
Hestak start with a natural Essensia pool of 1. This stems from their natural Meldshaping abilities.
+2 to Craft: Weaponsmithing and Craft:Armoursmithing. The Hestak can forge weapons of war with great skill.
Dwarven Friendship: Hestak ignore the racial prerequisite for Ironsoul Forgemaster, and can take Dwarf Soulborn racial substitution levels.
Automatic Languages: Common and Hestak. Bonus languages: Dwarven, Terran, Gnome, Goblin, Giant, Orc, Undercommon.
Favoured Class: Incarnate or Soulborn, chosen at first character level and cannot be changed thereafter.

Looks fine to me. Nice job making a Strength race that doesn't thematically lean towards the barbarian class.

[bobthe6th]

Hestak racial traits:
+2 Strength, -2 Dex
Hestak are strong, but not over delicate, much like their allies the Skarn.
Medium. No bonuses or penalties.
Base land speed of 30ft.
Hestak start with a natural Essensia pool of 1. This stems from their natural Meldshaping abilities.
+2 to Craft: Weaponsmithing and Craft:Armoursmithing. The Hestak can forge weapons of war with great skill.
Dwarven Friendship: Hestak ignore the racial prerequisite for Ironsoul Forgemaster, and can take Dwarf Soulborn racial substitution levels.
Automatic Languages: Common and Hestak. Bonus languages: Dwarven, Terran, Gnome, Goblin, Giant, Orc, Undercommon.
Favoured Class: Incarnate or Soulborn, chosen at first character level and cannot be changed thereafter.

hmm... straight up worse then then the human variant(except the dwarf thing... which depends on build). I suggest adding a bit more, like low light vision or something...

[Silverbit]

Looks fine to me. Nice job making a Strength race that doesn't thematically lean towards the barbarian class.

Thanks ! Glad you like it.

hmm... straight up worse then then the human variant(except the dwarf thing... which depends on build). I suggest adding a bit more, like low light vision or something...

In my option, that point of Essensia counts for quite a lot. It can mean an extra 2 points of AC or an extra +1 to hit or something like that if they take a level in an Incarnum class, which I recommend. Also, they get +Str, which I think is quite rare (of the top of my head, only Skarn and half-orcs). I could be wrong. Anyone else think it needs something?

[ericgrau]

The first thing that comes to mind with easily determined parentage is a culture where the unfaithful are quickly ratted out. This may make cheating less common, or make cheaters especially brazen about it. They are often lawful so I suspect the first situation, but even more than your typical lawful people.

Anyway nice background information.

Mechanically they are reasonable. The high strength is logically going to cause a lot of warriors both for PCs and NPCs. But there are no mental penalties so other classes will appear too, so it's fine.

Overall the race seems fine the way it is.

[bobthe6th]

Azurans don't get an ability bonus or penalty, a point of essentia and a feat.

[Silverbit]

Azurans don't get an ability bonus or penalty, a point of essentia and a feat.

The Hestak get the ability to count as a dwarf for feats and a craft bonus. I accept its nothing massive but it's as good as a feat, in my option. Thanks for the criticism by the way . I might add something later but I'm a bit rushed at the moment.

[Sylthia]

Purely from a variety standpoint, I approve of the +Str,-Dex. It seems like the same combos get reused too frequently. I'm not sure if you play Pathfinder much, but if you did, were would you add the other +?

[Silverbit]

Purely from a variety standpoint, I approve of the +Str,-Dex. It seems like the same combos get reused too frequently. I'm not sure if you play Pathfinder much, but if you did, were would you add the other +?

Probably Wis; it ties in with craft checks and DCs for Incarnum. I think it also implies they're quite strong willed too, which I like .