Cliopodan Redux: Now with less idiotic rules! [PEACH] [p1e]

[Aniikinis]

This is a hopefully more balanced version of the Cliopodan race I made years ago. Most of the fluff is the same, but I toned down the power of the race and basically nixed the overly complicated "realistic" and near broken poison idea that I'd tacked on for some reason. Hopefully it's a bit more balanced for a monstrous race, though that's a strange thing to say especially since pathfinder 1e never had good equivalents to LA. The feats were written while severely sleep deprived so they seriously need critiquing.

Cliopodans

"I'll tell ya officer, the assailant was big, like really big, and long too. It was kinda like a human with 4 arms and a massive centipede below. It tried to stick me with some kind of weird needle/dagger thingy"

"So it was riding on a centipede?"

"No, it was the centipede..."

- Failed assassination attempt and an officer of the law[/CENTER]

Physical Description

Cliopodans are typically large creatures that seem relatively human from the waist up. They possess two antenna on the top of their heads, no nose or ears, four arms, two forcipules that are easily retractable and fit where their cheeks would normally be, and one poison sac within each of the forcipules that is not easily seen. On opposite sides of their torso, starting at just below the chest, a few small pairs of chitinous ridges lead down and quickly grow into vestigial legs. These vestigial legs cannot be used for anything, but can aid in intimidation or deflecting blows from the abdomen. From the waist down they have the body of a gigantic centipede, similar to those of the scolopendridae family. Some cliopodans have variations on these norms however due to strange defects or environmental circumstances, such as: webbing between their legs and arms, different numbers of arms, different sizes, no poison sacs, more poisonous areas, or the inability to retract their forcipules.

Cliopodan skin tends to be very fair due to their dwelling habits, but may be very tanned if they're out in the sun for long enough. The colouration of their hair and carapace may be of any colour, though darker hues are far more common than lighter ones. Usual eye colours include blue, brown, green, purple, red, amber, yellow, and black, but orange and white are not unheard of. Their forcipules fold into themselves when retracted into the mouth with the last section folded between the first and second. Due to this folding, the second section of the forcipules has ridges to aid the teeth in the chewing and shredding of food. The forcipule sections also have three colours with the base sharing the colouration of the skin, the second section sharing the colour of the carapace, and the last section coloured black.

The average cliopodan(taking in both sexes) stands about 5' 7.5" with about 10' 8" of tail behind them and weighs about 538 lbs.(or about 244 Kg). Cliopodans have between 19 - 21 segments to their lower body with each segment having a separate pair of legs.

Cliopodan Clothing is typical very light in material and quite often is simply little more than an apron-like piece of cloth with designs woven into it. Most cliopodans wear darker-hued colours, but a some wear brighter colours to show that they are not quite like the majority.

Society

Cliopodan societies are mainly democratic in nature with a ruling council that is made of representatives from each of the major races within their cities (or if they are the only race, each of the sections of the city). From there the society resembles many human settlements with a larger connection to so-called black markets and shady businesses. While the inhabitants of these cities usually stay within the laws and regulations, there are a few differences between the rules in these cities and those of many others.

For example:

• Illicit goods and contraband are freely traded and can be smuggled freely without the guards caring about the wares so long as the city is not threatened by the items
• Slavery is allowed but must not be publicly shown and slave auctions and the like must be done at least 120 miles from the nearest city
• No drug or material is illegal within the city limits, leading to poachers and black market dealers setting up shop in these cities
• Murder, assassination, and related actions are perfectly legal as long as the relative peace of the city is not threatened and it is not done out in the open. Mass murders and slaughters in the "open air" are still illegal however, and any such action will be met with pain of death or torture. Should the former not work the latter will get the point across very swiftly. If neither of those punishments work, then the offender will be blinded, deafened, silenced, and had all of his limbs, sensory organs, and the like removed slowly and painfully before being put into a cell and tortured whenever a civilian needs some stress to take out on something.
• Racism will not be tolerated by anyone within the city, due to the various races not being welcomed or well received outside of it
• All crimes will go before either the Council or the court system, no jury need be present but the defendant can choose to have one at the risk of a much harsher ruling or possibly getting off scot-free

Relations

Cliopodans tend to get along well with most common races, however some races (such as most kinds of elves, orcs, etc.) tend to view them in a negative light due to their highly aberrant nature.

A few of the more socially-ostracized or aberrant races(such as driders, Mimics, Medusa(the must wear protective glasses for the safety of others), Scarxi, Serpentfolk, Vegepygmies, and renegade drow (alongside other underdark races fleeing towards the surface but shunned) live within their cities and often find niches for themselves where otherwise they would find death or exile.

Alignment and Religion

Most cliopodans are True Neutral and most have no strong leanings towards either good or evil, or law or chaos. The best and worst are found among them, but a surprising number of rouges are found within their ranks.

Cliopodan society is fairly secular when it comes to laws and traditions, though they do have their own gods and give offerings on holidays and at festivals. The most common gods found at temples in cliopodan cities are:

• Ob'ox'ob, The Plague Lord/ - Sharing a similar name to an obyrith demon lord born of the same mold, this evil god represents decay, disease, filth, and is said to have gifted the cliopodan their poison. His symbol is a weevil head.
• Chiitherin, The Seductress - This purifying goddess is said to watch over broods and families, and is always called upon in medical rites for her blessing. She is said to have blessed the cliopodan with the ability to brood, but with the warning that too many would lead to famine. Her symbol is usually a pair of fanged lips or a green egg.
• Kraavashi, The Shadowed Carapace - The lord of shadows and patron to thieves, it is believed that every wandering beggar has the chance to be Kraavashi in disguise and as such must be treated with respect and given a small amount, lest he take it himself. His symbol is a black knife.
• Oolmurazni, The Thousand in One - An intelligent swarm of centipedes, legends say that their first thought is what brought the first laws known to the cliopodans deep within their first cavern. Their symbol is three radial centipede legs.
• Ventix, The Serpent Below - Ventix is said to be a vast, draconic centipede-like creature that slew a great number of lesser beings and a few gods in the earliest times before burrowing deep into the earth to escape the trailing adversaries. Its worshippers claim that the reason there is such a plethora of life beneath the surface is that the blood, sheddings, and refuse of Ventix seeded the underground with all of the nutrients needed for life to thrive, and that it laid a great many eggs, some of which hatched into great insectoid horrors, one that hatched into the cliopodans, and many more that still lie in wait where the great tunnels of the underdark have yet to reach. His symbol is an ouroboros centipede.

Notable Cities

All of these cities are cliopodan only cities, were founded by cliopodans, or have an above average amount of cliopodans.

A'anath setting:

• Kaalmarvix (a city beneath the major city of Rad'drillmar that connects through the sewer system and the rogue's guild)

Adventurers

Cliopodans often make the lives either adventuring or through helping the rogue's guilds of major cities near/above their cities. Most cliopodans are of the rogue, expert, fighter, or ranger class, but almost all other classes have been seen within their ranks. Nearly all cliopodans deal with severe culture clash when adventuring for the first few times due to the vastly different morals that cliopodan cities usually promote than nearly all other cities.

Cliopodan Racial Traits
Cliopodan characters possess the following racial traits:

• +2 Dexterity +2 Constitution -4 Charisma (-4 App): Cliopodans are a hardy people that are nimble for their size, yet have a hard time relating with others
• Large (Long) Quadrupedal Aberrations
• 10 foot space and 5 foot reach
• Speed: 40 feet, 30 Climb
• Special Qualities: Multiple Limbs, Poison Resistance
• Automatic Languages: Common, Cliopodan, and Undercommon. Bonus Languages: Any, except secret.

Natural armour: Due to the carapace of their centipede-like lower body having smooth sides and being very hard, Cliopodans have +3 natural armour that stacks with other instances of Natural armour.

Multiple limbs: Cliopodans have 4 arms and thus can take the Multiweapon Fighting feat.

Poison Resistance: Cliopodans receive a +2 bonus to all Fortitude saves against poison due to their diet, which includes quite a few poisonous plants, creatures, and contaminated water.

Quadrupedal: cliopodans possess an extreme amount of insectoid legs similar a centipede (giving them their name, a bastardized version of the word chilopoda in reference to how their forcipules look similar to their legs), granting them a racial immunity to trip attempts and a +25 foot bonus to their base speed (already factored in). In addition, members of this race use weapons, barding, and armour as if they were Medium (instead of Large).

Natural Attacks: One bite attack that deals 1d6+STR damage, and threatens a critical on a 20 with a x2 modifier.

Poison(Ex): When a cliopodan attacks with their bite, the cliopodan can choose to inject a potent venom into the opponent; additionally the cliopodan can choose to milk out the poison from their forcipules in a way much similar to how venomous spiders and snakes are milked to be used later (Craft: Poison DC 10+1/2 HD+Wis). The venom is an injury and ingested poison and deals 1d4 dex and wisdom damage either 1/round for 8 rounds if used as an injury poison or 1/minute for 8 minutes if ingested. Poison DC is 10+1/2 HD+Con.

Racial Skills: Climb, Craft: Poison, and Perception are always class skills for this race.

Racial Skill modifiers: Cliopodans have a +2 racial bonus on hearing and smell-based perception checks, +2 racial bonus on hide checks, a +8 racial bonus on climb checks, and a +2 racial bonus on survival; they also have a racial -10 penalty on acrobatics checks due to having an unwieldy body shape

Automatic Languages: Common, Cliopodan, and Undercommon. Cliopodans with high intelligence scores can also learn any language (except secret).

Alternate Racial Traits

For Game Masters allowing players to choose this race for the first time, you might recommend or require the use of the Duplex Armatus Alternate Racial Trait.

Size:
Medium Menace: A few cliopodans are hatched slightly smaller than others. The cliopodan's size in decreased to Medium, the average height for males is 3', for females 3' 6", tail length for males is 8', for females is 8' 6", normal weight for males is 425 lb., for females is 450 lb.. This trait changes the racial size.

Tiny Terror: Some cliopodans suffer from an extreme case of "dwarfism". The cliopodan's size in decreased to Small, the average height for males is 1', for females is 1' 6", average tail length for males is 3', for females is 3' 6", normal weight for males is 55 lb., for females is 60 lb. and they do not have the Constrict special ability. This trait changes the racial size and the constrict ability.

Mouf:
Messed-up Mouth: Sometimes, the forcipules of a cliopodan are formed strangely and are unable to retract back into the mouth. The damage of the cliopodan's bite attack increases to 1d10 + x2 Strength modifier; but the cliopodan cannot speak any language, they can only use written languages meaning that they cannot cast spells with verbal components. This trait changes the Bite attack and Automatic Languages traits.

Spitter: Occasionally, a cliopodan will hatch with strangely formed fangs, these fangs can, instead of injecting poison, shoot a specialized form of saliva(occasionally mixed with poison) out in a forceful jet that can in many cases pierce through skin.

The cliopodan loses their bite attack but gains a Spit attack that does the same amount of damage as well as has the poison special ability however they must roll a linguistics check DC 15 to cast a spell with a verbal component. This trait replaces the Bite natural attack.

Arms:
Duplex Armatus For 1 out of every 1 thousand cliopodan, they don't have the same number of arms as a usual member of their species. The cliopodan only has two arms and cannot take the Multiweapon Fighting feat unless they find a different way to attain the prerequisites. This trait replaces the Multiple Arms trait.

Sex Armatis: While not common, some cliopodans are hatched with an ''extra'' set of arms. The cliopodan has six arms instead of four. This trait modifier the Multiple Arms trait.

Poison:
Non-Poisonous: Some cliopodans aren't hatched with the most distinguishing part of the race. (Yes, because being half centipede isn't totally distinguishable. Right)

The cliopodan doesn't have the ability to use the Poison(Ex.) ability, but due to this the cliopodan is a little more aggressive with their attacks; instead of poisoning the victim, the cliopodan instead inflicts a bleeding condition of (1/4 cliopodan's HD) with the same DC to resist.

Hyper Poisonous: A few cliopodans are hatched with lines that run down the front of their bodies from the sides of their mouth to their waist where the humanoid portion meets the insectoid portion. These cliopodans are much more dangerous than the normal kind due to the enhanced ability to use their poison.

These cliopodans add the ability to use their Poison(Ex) ability as a Contact poison with the same qualities as Injury if they are grappling or pinning a creature with any amount of their ventral side exposed(this does include neck and face). The cliopodan cannot control the poison within their lines and therefore it can be easily wasted on a person or creature without meaning to. This trait modifies the Poison(Ex.) trait.

Other:
Water Worm: Due to a strange case of circumstance, sometimes when cliopodan eggs roll into polluted water(such as sewer water, bad swamp water, or waste collection tanks) the toxins and contaminants will seep into the egg and change the physiology of the cliopodan inside. These cliopodan are hatched with a thick membranous "webbing" between their legs that thinly connects to their arms, much as a cuttlefish's "wings" would. This cuts down on the mobility of the cliopodan but gives them a much different opportunity.

Cliopodans who have this trait gain the aquatic subtype, gain the amphibious special quality, and have a Base Speed of 20, and replace their climb speed with a swim speed of the same amount. This trait modifies the Creature Type and Speed traits. Many cliopodans who have this trait also have the "Thin Shelled" trait as well. This trait may be taken with "Thin Shelled".

Thin-shelled: This cliopodan's carapace isn't quite as thick as the other's are.

The cliopodan only gets a +1 natural armour bonus that stacks with the same kind, instead of the +3 that the race normally gets. However the cliopodan's base speed is 55 instead of 40, and their climb speed is 45 instead of 30. This trait modifies both the Speed and Natural Armour traits. This trait may be taken with "Water Worm". If this trait is taken with "Water Worm", the base speed gain is overlapped by the replaced speed and the cliopodan does not gain the 55 foot base speed.

Favored Class Options

Rogue: Add a +1/3 bonus to the DC of the Cliopodan's poison ability and on the rogue's sneak attack damage rolls during the surprise round and/or before the target has acted in combat.

Ranger: Add a +½ bonus on Perception and Survival checks.

Alchemist: Add +1/4 to a new Discovery.

Vital Statistics

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
20	+1d8	+1d10	+2d6

Gender	Middle Age	Old	Venerable	Maximum Age
Male	82 Years	164 Years	200 Years	+20d20 years
Female	85 years	175 years	230 years	+25d20 years

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Tail Length	Tail Length Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	5'	+1d8 Inches	10'	+2d8 inches	500 lbs.	+1d20 lbs.
Female	5'6"	+1d8 inches	10'	+3d6 inches	525 lbs.	(2d10)*3

Feats
Knockout Poison
Prerequisites: Cliopodan, 6 HD, Poison racial trait.
Benefit: You can choose to add a secondary effect to your poison that causes the target to become unconscious for 1d10 rounds.
Special: If the poison was ingested, the time instead becomes hours.

Paralytic Poison
Prerequisites: Cliopodan, 8 HD, Knockout Poison
Benefit: You can choose to add or change a secondary effect of your poison to cause the target to become paralyzed for 1d10 rounds.
Special: If the poison was ingested, the time instead becomes hours.

Charming Poison
Prerequisites: Cliopodan, 8 HD, Knockout Poison
Benefit: You can choose to add or change a secondary effect of your poison to cause the target to become charmed for 1d10 rounds.
Special: If the poison was ingested, the time instead becomes hours.

Warped Dose
Prerequisites: Cliopodan, 10 HD, Knockout Poison
Benefit: You can choose to switch the initial and secondary damages of a poison you can produce naturally.
Special: The original initial effect becomes the new secondary effect and vise versa. If an effect would change the secondary effect after this feat was used, it changes the new secondary effect.

Lingering Effect
Prerequisites: Cliopodan, 12 HD, Knockout Poison
Benefit: You may reduce the DC of a poison you made by 5 to cause the duration of any effects to last twice as long.
Special: You must use the effects of this feat when the poison leaves your body either by milking or biting, not when the poison enters the body of the target (even though it is the same moment when biting).

Powerful poison
Prerequisites: Can produce poison as an extraordinary abiltiy, 10 HD
Benefit: You may reduce the DC of a poison you make by 10 to increase the damage die size by 1 and number of damage die by 1.