The Tanarkin (Player Race) [PEACH]

[Lyndworm]

Here's a race I wrote up quickly the other day. I'm quite proud of it, and plan on making a character using this race soon.



Personality
The Tanarkin (both plural and singular) are a nomadic race of strange, but mostly peaceful, creatures. Their tribes are loosely based around knowledge and experience, led by a small group of elders. They believe in honor and freedom for all sapient beings, and avoid conflict except in cases where these ideals are suppressed. Most Tanarkin are amiable and approachable, and are surprisingly open about their culture and customs. Many have a hard time understanding the concept of currency as the metal coins in circulation are pretty, but useless. Within Tanarkin tribes, honor dictates wealth, and all wares are given freely. Tanarkin are usually quite curious, and crave knowledge. Although most show no interest in things like engineering and mechanics, they love the science of nature. Most tribes even catalogue plant and animal species in their territory. Despite their amiable nature, the Tanarkin are skilled hunter-gatherers, as well as fierce warriors. Conflicts are rare, but bloody.

Adventurers
The Tanarkin are deeply curious about the surrounding world, and most enjoy the thrill of hunting and combat. When tribal life no longer appeals to them, many Tanarkin venture into the cities in search of adventure.

When playing as a Tanarkin, it is important to remember their ignorance and curiosity. Because their tribal societies are based on honor, the Tanarkin have a poor concept of money, and tend to form permanent bonds with other party members. They feel bound to honor as if it were law, and most will do anything to repay a debt.

Physical Description
Similarly built to some prehistoric reptiles, the Tanarkin resemble a cross between an Dromaesaur and a Baboon. The males stand roughly six feet tall and are around ten feet long, while females are around five feet, six inches tall and nine feet long. When moving, they look even more birdlike, as they bob and seem to constantly tilt their heads and reposition their necks. They have short, thick fur covering most of their bodies, though their face, hands, and feet are bare. The skin coloring varies between tribes, and certain tribes have near-white or near-black skin, but the coloring is usually somewhere between pale pink/brown and rich, dark brown The body is dinosaur-like, with a long neck, a horizontally lengthened torso and a tail nearly as long as the body. The hands possess a three-digit thumb and three four-digit fingers, each of which ends in human-like nails. The legs are digitigrade, resembling those of birds or dinosaurs, though entirely with nails in place of claws. The bare face of a Tanarkin is similar to that of a human, but the ears are more lupine and the face is drawn out into a muzzle reminiscent of some monkey's. They have a flattened nose and angular features with recessed eyes, giving them an eagle-like browridge. Fur color can be anywhere from a light, golden brown to black, though most tribes have similar coloring. Atop the "base coat" is a pattern of, normally, darker and/or lighter stripes, spots, and rosettes that are unique to individuals and vary greatly even within a single tribe. Tanarkin coat colors tend to match the location of the tribe and act as a natural camouflage. Eye color is usually amber, though green is not unheard of and cases of blue have been observed. Eye color can vary greatly from light to dark, appearing nearly white to nearly black.

Relations
Although the Tanarkin are quite friendly, many races find their features unsettling. In addition to their somewhat grotesque appearance, the Tanarkin are rather new to the political scene, and there are rumors of violent, brutish Tanarkin enslaving, eating, or otherwise harming innocents. The beliefs are entirely unfounded of course, but they persist none-the-less. Those who have close contact with, or a desire to understand, the Tanarkin get along quite well with them.

Alignment
Tanarkin are mostly True Neutral. On the occasions when the axes shift, it is normally towards Good. Tanarkin are Lawful about as often as they are Chaotic.

Lands
The Tanarkin are most commonly found in thick forests and nearby plains, but a few desert and mountain dwelling tribes have been recorded as well.

Religion
The Tanarkin are highly spiritual beings, but do not worship any one god. Instead, they praise the miracles of life and nature. Because they're constantly moving around their territory, they have no place of worship. The Tanarkin mostly pray individually, but they do congregate to contemplate their place in the world on full moons.

Names
Newborn Tanarkin are given meaningless personal names and surnames at birth. Upon reaching adulthood they gain another personal name. Birth names include Jukte (Juk rhymes with took, and te sounds like tea; male,), Kora (female), and Fargek (male). They take their mother's birth name as their surname, and create a meaningful name such as Farspear (male), Greateye (male), or Manyspots (female) upon reaching adulthood. A sample name would then be Torla Neko, and upon reaching adulthood she might rename herself Torla Widestripe, and only her siblings, parents, and mate would refer to her as Neko. As is shown, surnames come first among Tanarkin. Chosen names for males tend to reflect a skill or deed whereas female names tend to reflect physical attributes, however, this is not actually a tradition, but just the average.

Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, −2 Charisma, −2 Constitution: The Tanarkin have a higher Dexterity score due to their strange hands and a higher Wisdom score due to their link with nature, but a lower Charisma score due to a frightening and unsociable appearance and a lower Constitution score due to a frail frame.
Monstrous Humanoid.
Medium: As Medium creatures, Tanarkin have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.
Tanarkin base land speed is 40 feet.
Scent (Ex)
Low-Light Vision
-2 Disguise
+2 Balance and Survival
Inhuman Body (Ex): Tanarkin must have their armor custom fitted. Armor for a Tanarkin costs twice the regular amount. Additionally, a saddle for a Tanarkin's mount costs twice as much as it otherwise would.
Automatic Languages: Tanarkin. Bonus Languages: Any.
Favored Class: Druid or Ranger. (In my campaign all races have two favored classes, one martial and one caster.)
Level Adjustment: +0



Any thoughts, comments, or suggestions? I'm specifically interested in opinions regarding overall balance and playability.

[FoeHammer]

What would happen to the charisma penalty if someone has no preconceptions about them in the first place? I still need to read the rest.

[Lyndworm]

That was from an earlier version, but I've since updated it. Thank you for pointing out my error.

[Lyndworm]

Does anyone else have questions or comments?

[Caracol]

Nice,but I'm still trying to figurre out how would they look.
The skill bonuses are a bit too much, why don't you reduce them as +1 bonus/-1 penalities?
The other stats are good, although a combo like +2 Str -2 Con sounds a bit odd.
Nice characterization, expecially for personality. Did you create this stuff for a specific campaign?

[Lyndworm]

Thank you for your comment and your suggestion. I had already changed the Str bonus to a Dex bonus on my computer, but forgot to do that here. Thank you for pointing it out to me. I took your advice into consideration, and have since removed the Move Silently bonus, though I left the others in place. I also added a penalty to their saddle costs, as their strange bodies would require specially built saddles. I also added further description to their face, hopefully it will encourage your understanding of my ramblings.

"The bare face of a Tanarkin is similar to that of a human, but the ears are more lupine and the face is drawn out into a muzzle reminiscent of some monkey's. They have a flattened nose and angular features with recessed eyes, giving them an eagle-like browridge."


This is the dromaesaurid deinonychus, a successful predator of the late cretacious. If you were to imagine the arms a tad longer and stronger, and the hands possessing "a three-digit thumb and three four-digit fingers absent of claws or nails," as well as a fur covered body, you'd have a pretty good idea of a Tanarkin's body.


The feet look much like this, only thicker and stronger for supporting much more weight. In addition to being scale-less and covered in fur right down to the toes, they are also "entirely without claws."

Hopefully that helps.



P.S.

Spoiler

Show

I found this while searching for those, and it's too good not to share.

How mad is he?

[Lyndworm]

Does anyone else have comments or suggestions?

[Lyndworm]

Anyone at all?

[GreatWyrmGold]

It's not thread necromancy if it's less than three pages, right?
Cool idea.

[Siosilvar]

Low-light vision doesn't have a range, that's darkvision.

[Lyndworm]

@GreatWyrmGold: I think it is still in fact necromancy...but nobody cares much in the homebrew forums. I think it's actually encouraged. Thank you for your support.

@Siosilvar: Wow, I made all kinds of errors on this one. Thanks for pointing that out; it's since been fixed.

[Light-Hero]

You say that they are friendly minded, but aren't they kinda predatory and carnivorous? Making them naturally aggressive?
Also would you be able to stop such a being with hold person?

[Eldan]

Just a question: there is no connection between them and the Tanar'ri, right?

[Lyndworm]

You say that they are friendly minded, but aren't they kinda predatory and carnivorous? Making them naturally aggressive?
Also would you be able to stop such a being with hold person?

They are indeed carnivorous, but they're not particularly aggressive. I imagine that the Tanarkin eat many different varieties of fruit and vegetable that grow naturally.

As Monstrous Humanoids, Hold Person has no effect on them. This is silly, but beyond changing their type, out of my control.

Just a question: there is no connection between them and the Tanar'ri, right?

No, the Tanarkin are most certainly not Tanar kin. Good catch, though; I hadn't noticed that.