Other Races

Goblin

A goblin stands 3 to 3½ feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Its eyes are usually dull and glazed, varying in color from red to yellow. A goblin’s skin color ranges from yellow through any shade of orange to a deep red; usually all members of a single tribe are about the same color. Goblins wear clothing of dark leather, tending toward drab, soiled-looking colors. Goblins speak Goblin; those with Intelligence scores of 12 or higher also speak Common.

Goblin Racial Traits

• -2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma.
• Small size: +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, -4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits ¾ those of Medium characters.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• +4 racial bonus on Move Silently and Ride checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Goblin. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Elven, Giant, Gnoll, Orc.
• Favored Class: Rogue.

Hobgoblin

Hobgoblins are larger cousins of goblins. Hobgoblins’ hair color ranges from dark reddish-brown to dark gray. They have dark orange or red-orange skin. Large males have blue or red noses. Hobgoblins’ eyes are yellowish or dark brown, while their teeth are yellow. Their garments tend to be brightly colored, often blood red with black-tinted leather. Their weaponry is kept polished and in good repair. Hobgoblins speak Goblin and Common. Most hobgoblins encountered outside their homes are warriors; the information in the statistics block is for one of 1st level.

Hobgoblin Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Goblin. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Infernal, Giant, Orc.
• Favored Class: Fighter.
• Level adjustment +1.

Maenad

Maenads typically stand more than 6 feet tall and weigh about 200 pounds; males are the same height as and only marginally heavier than maenad females. Maenads have no facial or body hair, and they prefer heavier clothing and armor if possible.

Meanad Racial Traits

• +2 Wisdom
• Medium size.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Maenad. Bonus Languages: Aquan, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Goblin.
• Level Adjustment: +0.

Orc

An orc’s hair usually is black. It has lupine ears and reddish eyes. Orcs prefer wearing vivid colors that many humans would consider unpleasant, such as blood red, mustard yellow, yellow-green, and deep purple. Their equipment is dirty and unkempt. An adult male orc is a little over 6 feet tall and weighs about 210 pounds.

Females are slightly smaller.

The language an orc speaks varies slightly from tribe to tribe, but any orc is understandable by someone else who speaks Orc. Some orcs know Goblin or Giant as well.

Orc Racial Traits

• +2 Strength, -2 Charisma.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Orc. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, Undercommon.
• Favored Class: Barbarian.

Sea Elves

Two races of elves make their homes in the depths of the ocean: the Dargonesti (Deep Elves, or Quoowahb [KWOO-wab] in their native tongue) and the Dimernesti (Shoal Elves). The following traits are shared by both races, which are described in greater detail afterward.

Dargonesti Racial Traits

• +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Aquan.
• Favored Class: Fighter.
• Level Adjustment +1.

Dimernesti Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Aquan.
• Favored Class: Barbarian.
• Level Adjustment +1.

Xeph

Xephs are acknowledged for their skill in feats of agility, their uncontested ability at generating bursts of speed, their matchless knowledge of movement and distance, and their capacity for humor. Xephs are celebrated for the fabulous objects of subtle beauty they produce for trade. Their lands lie far to the east, contained within a great rift that hides a broad valley permanently plunged into darkness, except for several psionically illuminated forests. Despite the lack of sunlight in this environment, xephs thrive.

Xeph Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength.
• Medium size.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• +1 racial bonus on saving throws against powers, spells, and spell-like effects. Xephs have an innate resistance to psionics and magic.
• Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Elven, Gnoll, Goblin, Halfling, Sylvan.

Kenku

Kenkus evolved from avians, although they no longer possess wings or the ability to fly. Soft, dark feathers cover a kenku's head and torso, although its scrawny arms and legs remain bare.

Selfish and secretive in their dealings, kenkus gather in large cities, lurk in dark alleys, and hoard purloined gold. They rarely travel alone, instead preferring to roam the streets in small gangs, all the while hatching plots to amass more wealth and power. Due to their penchant for shady ventures, they are often employed as thugs, thieves, spies, and assassins.

Beneath their unremarkable brown robes, kenkus conceal a variety of useful tools and weapons. Vicious but cowardly, kenkus usually flee or surrender the instant things start to go badly for them.

Kenkus hatch like birds and dwell in family aeries and nests, most of which are located in or near large cities. At age nine, a young adult kenku leaves the home-nest forever and strikes out on its own, usually falling in with small groups of like-minded kenkus. Adult kenkus remain with these groups for mutual protection and gain. A few strike out on their own or partner with other types of creatures who value the services a kenku can provide.

Kenku characters tend toward neutrality; although most kenkus are evil, neutral and neutral good kenkus also exist. Kenkus favor the rogue class and often pursue the assassin prestige class. Kenku clerics are rare, but those that exist typically worship Vecna, the god of secrets.

A kenku averages 5 feet in height. Because its bones are partly hollow, it weighs a mere 75 pounds.

Kenku Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength.
• Medium size.
• Low-light vision.
• Mimicry (Ex): A kenku can perfectly mimic familiar sounds, voices, and accents. This ability does not enable the kenku to speak languages it can't normally speak. To duplicate a specific individual's voice, a kenku makes a Bluff check; a listener familiar with the voice being imitated must succeed on an opposed Sense Motive check to discern that the voice isn't genuine.
• +2 racial bonus on Hide checks and Move Silently checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Auran, Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling.
• Favored Class: Rogue.

Dromite

Dromites might be mistaken for halflings at a distance, due to their diminutive stature. However, closer scrutiny reveals dromites to have hardened, chitin-encrusted skin, compound eyes like those of an insect, and two small antennae protruding from their brows. Called "bug-men" by the ignorant, dromites share far more traits with humans than they do with insects. One major difference between dromites and most other races is their androgynous physiology. Aside from their Grand Queen (female) and their Elected Consort (male), dromites are genderless and possess no sexual characteristics.

Dromite Racial Traits

• +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength
• Monstrous Humanoid: Dromites are not subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person.
• Small size.
• Chitin: A dromite’s skin is hardened, almost like an exoskeleton, and grants the character a +3 natural armor bonus to AC and one of the following kinds of resistance to energy: cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5, or sonic 5. The player chooses what type of energy resistance is gained when the character is created. (This choice also dictates which caste the dromite belongs to.) This natural energy resistance stacks with any future energy resistance gained through other effects.
• Scent: Its antennae give a dromite the scent ability. A dromite can detect opponents by scent within 30 feet. If the opponent is upwind, the range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at triple normal range. When a dromite detects a scent, the exact location of the source is not revealed - only its presence somewhere within range. The dromite can take a move action to note the direction of the scent. Whenever the dromite comes within 5 feet of the source, the dromite pinpoints the source’s location.
• Blind-Fight: Its antennae also give a dromite Blind-Fight as a bonus feat.
• Compound Eyes: This feature of its anatomy gives a dromite a +2 racial bonus on Spot checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Gnome, Goblin, Terran.
• Level Adjustment: +1.

Bariaur

The creature looks a bit like a centaur, but it mixes the forms of human and ram rather than a human and horse. From the waist down, it is indistinguishable from a powerful ram. From the waist up, it looks human, except for two curling horns emerging from the top of its forehead.

Native to the rolling hills and woods of Ysgard, the centaurlike bariaurs wander the lands in search of evil. When a vile foe is located, the bariaurs charge into glorious battle.

Personality: To those unfamiliar with them, bariaurs appear carefree or even irresponsible, but this behavior is merely the outward sign of their wanderlust. They rarely remain in one place for long, preferring a life of travel to sedentary existence. When evil rears its ugly head, this carefree demeanor disappears, replaced by single-minded pursuit of that which endangers good folk of the area.

Physical Description: Standing roughly half a foot taller than a human, a bariaur resembles a centaur. Its lower body is that of a ram, with sleek brown or golden fur and cloven hooves. Its upper body is humanlike, powerfully muscled and sporting a pair of ramlike horns atop its head. The skin of a bariaur ranges in color from pale tan to deep nut-brown. The typical male weighs nearly 300 pounds, with females about 40 pounds lighter. The average bariaur reaches adulthood at about the same age as a half-elf, and the eldest members of the race live to well over 200 years of age.

Relations: Bariaurs are social and outgoing, though not foolishly trusting. They get along well with elves, gnomes, half lings, and wil dren, as well as aasimars who aren't too strict in their outlook. They grudgingly accept dwarves as allies against evil. Halfbreeds, such as half-elves and half-orcs, are objects of curiosity to bariaurs. They are moderately suspicious of races with heritages tied to planes of evil or shadow, including tieflings, but they prefer to take a positive outlook about individuals until proven wrong.

Bariaur Racial Traits

• +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity
• Large Creature
• +1 LA

• Alignment Lock: Chaotic Good, Neutral Good, Chaotic Neutral only

Neraphim

A neraph (plural neraphim) is sometimes mistaken for a slaad at a distance, due to the two races' similarity in appearance. However, neraphim and slaadi are distinct kinds of creatures, at least so far as any race can be considered distinct in the roiling chaos of the plane of Limbo.

Neraphim are a nomadic people who hunt through the maelstrom of Limbo, tracking their elusive and evermoving prey. Neraphim have developed special hunting tools and techniques, giving them exceptional skill in bringing down the game they seek above all else: the chaos beast, one of which provides a neraph tribe with a week's worth of nutrition and raw materials for clothing. They are proficient leapers, able to jump from mote to mote of stable earth in the otherwise ever-changing environment of Limbo.

For social and economic purposes, the neraphim organize themselves in houses. Each house lays claim to certain hunting grounds, giving its members access to resources within that territory. The various houses congregate once every seven years to conduct a great racial celebration known as the Festival of Spawning. During the festival, the houses negotiate with one another, exchanging resources and influence as each house seeks to better its position within the neraphim hierarchy.

Personality: Neraphim cannot afford to be as inconsistent as the plane they inhabit and the game they hunt - only stern discipline within each neraph house keeps its members from succumbing to poverty and starvation. Each house consists of a bonded group of neraphim made up of several related families and one matriarch. In the time between their Festivals of Spawning, the various neraphim houses meet only rarely, and then often in conflict over disputed hunting grounds. Alliances between houses are not uncommon, if a particular threat warrants.

Within each house, the rule of the matriarch is law, and her rule can be harsh. The most severe punishment a matriarch can dispense is exile from the house. Exiled neraphim can be encountered, though most are slain by other houses, slaadi, githzerai hunting parties, and roaming chaos beats. Some exiles have open personalities and strike up friendships with travelers from other planes, hoping to accompany them home and leave the dangerous realm of Limbo behind.

Physical Description: Neraphim are roughly humanoid in shape, with coarse red hide. Though bipedal like other humanoids, a neraph has a massive, toadlike head shaped like that of a red slaad. The range in height and weight found among neraphim is the same as found among humans. Chitinlike encrustations on a neraph's skin provides it some natural protection; however, neraphim also prefer to wear colorful bone-spiked leather (made of stabilized and cured chaos beast hide). Neraphim take longer to mature than humans do, not reaching adulthood until age 40, but they can live to be more than 400 years old.

Neraphim Racial Traits

• Neraphim gain 36 points for the stat point buy system, an increase in 6 over all other races.
• They also gain 6 times skill points at level 1, an increase from the 4 times skill points that all other races gain.
• +1 LA

• Alignment Lock: Neramphim may only be of chaotic alignment.

Rogue Modron

Modrons are a race of immortals known for their zealous adherence to the principles of law and order above all else. They have inhuman appearances, resembling geometric shapes with eyes, limbs, and wings. Just as fiends were considered the embodiment of evil and celestials the embodiment of good, so are modrons the embodiment of the universal principle of order. Sometimes, however, they become separated from their kind and are tainted by chaos (though to a being of pure order even Chaos isn't all that chaotic), gaining their own free will. These individuals are called rogue modrons.

Rogue Modron Racial Traits

• +2 Intellect, +2 Constituion, -2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma
• +2 Natural AC
• 5/- Cold, Acid, and Fire resistance.
• +1 LA

• Alignment Lock: Any Lawful
• RP: Rogue Modrons are unable to critically pass or fail a skill check or attack. To reflect this they are always allowed to 'take 10' on any skill check they are proficient in during a DM event. This must be declared before the any skill roll is made.

Bladeling

A rarely-encountered people due to their tendancies towards xenophobia and isolation, bladelings are among the only planar natives of the plane of Acheron. Having immigrated to this plane only within the last two centuries, they set up kip in the harshest environs it has to offer, the layer of Ocanthus with its endless storms of razor-sharp shards of black ice.

Bladelings are close in size and profile to the average human, with males and females alike averaging around 6 feet tall. Their skin ranges from light purple to dark black, and keeps a sheen to it at all times; thanks to its nature, it can even be polished, which some more vain bladelings try to keep for greater effect. The sheen also partially comes from their blood; black and oily, although no more flammable than any mortal's blood. As all mammals, they do have hair, its color in the same ranges as skin; a bladeling's hair and spikes are usually of the same color, as the latter is similar in physiological nature to hair. Some even possess facial hair, but its coarser nature causes it to be more similar to spines than that of other species. Eyes tend to be bright purple with the occasional vivid blue or white, with an elven, pure-black sclera; additionally, bladeling eyes tend to be even more reflective than their skin, even seeming to glow under the right lighting much like cat eyes.

Bladeling clothing tends to be well-tailored, specially made for the individual bladeling wearing it and fit to their unique spike pattern. Due to the extra effort needed, their clothing is rarely ostentatious, but this is more out of time concerns than a lack of appreciation for aesthetics. (In fact, something all bladelings seem to enjoy of the outside world is the wider variety of clothing available.) Instead, personal expression tends to be through accessories, with most clouds tending towards a similar, but rarely identical, overall style.

Bladeling Racial Traits

• +2 Strength
• +2 Natural AC
• 10/- Acid Resistance
• +1 LA

• Alignment Lock: Lawful Evil, Lawful Neutral, Neutral Evil only

Lizardfolk

Living mostly in the marshy areas, lizardfolk are large, scaly humanoids who are savage marauders and scavengers. They have no traditions for cultivating food, so they arrange their meals by either hunting prey or raiding the larders of others.

Lizardfolk grow to between 6 and 7 feet tall, and weigh between 200 and 250 pounds. Their scales range in color from dark green to gray to brown. Their thickly muscled tails run from 3 to 4 feet long. Most nonlizardfolk have a very hard time telling the difference between males and females, but the lizardfolk have no such troubles, of course.

Lizardfolk have the same life expectancy and age categories as humans.

Lizardfolk Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Intellect, +2 Wisdom, -2 Consitution
• +1 LA

Giff

Personality: The giff are not so much a warrior race as a soldiering race. Giff communities organize themselves in a chain of command, freely borrowing grandiose ranks and titles from races they encounter. Giff society is built upon discipline and hierarchy, but they harbor no imperial ambitions. In fact, they care little for land - theirs or anyone else's. Nor do they care for money, preferring payment in what they really value, such as food, weapons, and - especially - explosives. The bigger the explosion, the better they like it.

For all their love of ostentation and arms, giff remain intensely orderly creatures. A giff's word is his bond, with one exception - giff refuse to fight other giff, no matter how well paid either platoon might be.

Physical Description: A giff resembles an anthropomorphic hippopotamus - a gray, broad and seemingly clumsy creature. Shorter than an ogre but much more massive, a giff's bulk disguises quick reflexes and surprising grace. Although herbivorous, giff possess powerful tusks and iron-muscled arms.

Giff would appear terrifying to most races if not for their fashions. Giff demand spit-and-polish military garb, and take this to such an extreme of ostentation as to border on the absurd. No one doubts the bravery or ferocity of the giff and those who know their predilections know to keep a safe distance from them, but few are intimidated by an 8-foot-tall humanoid hippopotamus who hides the entirety of his plate armor beneath a mess of campaign ribbons.

Giff Racial Traits

• +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom
• Large Creature
• +1 LA

Mortif

The deathtouched trace their ancestry to a half-undead being - usually a katane or the victim of a bungled resurrection. Although rarely recognized as such, the taint of unlife lingers through generations, and a deathtouched can manifest abilities derived from its unliving ancestor.

Deathtouched tend to be pale and thin, with black, dirty brown, or gray hair. Many have some small physical feature that belies their heritage, such as sharpened canines, a ghoul-like tongue, a faint smell of the grave, eyes that glow red, yellow, or green in low light, or tight, corpselike skin. They wear the clothing and hairstyles of the region they live in but favor fashions that conceal their nature and discourage notice. Deathtouched can be reclusive and are prone to fits of depression that last days or even weeks at a time. They become fond of anyone who can understand or tolerate their affliction.

Most races do not trust creatures that are undead, in whole or in part, and a deathtouched whose ancestry has been exposed is likely to be driven off or killed. Some elves consider them abominations that must be hunted to extinction. This causes most deathtouched to be fearful of others. Neither can deathtouched expect acceptance from their undead kin, who see them as no different from other mortals. Certain cults of death gods treat deathtouched with respect, though, and necromancers might welcome them in exchange for skin, hair, and blood samples, which are invaluable to their experiments. Deathtouched feel a kinship with tieflings but do not get along well with aasimar.

Like the planetouched, the deathtouched have no society or culture of their own and instead blend into existing ones. Mortif, the deathtouched described here, are the most common variety: humans with an undead or half-undead forebear. Other races might also have deathtouched members.

Mortif adventure out of greed, a need for meaning, or a desire for self-validation. Some go out of their way to hunt down their undead progenitor, or all undead, to exact revenge for their torment-filled lives. Others seek to gain mastery over their nature or to gain acceptance by their fellow citizens. Mortif are usually neutral, though there are many chaotic and lawful individuals in their number. Their isolation from society discourages loyalty to any but themselves.

Mortif fight out of self-preservation or greed. They do battle when and if it benefits them and usually protect their own hides before their honor or reputation.

Mortif Racial Traits

• +2 Intellect, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma, -2 Consitution
• +1 LA

Hadozee

A race of simianlike humanoids, they are covered in light brown fur, with a slightly stooped posture, a shaggy mane, and a fanged muzzle. And they have flaps of skin that hang beneath their arms that enable gliding, if not true flight. Because they're also good climbers and balancers, hadozee are particularly suited for life aboard a ship sailing the seas of adventure.

Hadozee stand at about 5—1/2 to 6 feet tall, though they always seem slightly shorter due to their natural stooped posture. They tend to weigh between 200 and 250 pounds, most of that weight being solid muscle. Their eyes are black and glitter brightly, and their fur can range in color from a light tawny golden brown to a deep chocolate. Hadozee do not really need clothing due to their fur covering, though many who work aboard ships wear harnesses and belts for their tools and weapons. Hadozee generally have about the same lifespan as humans, though they are considered adults a little earlier.

Most fascinating of all, however, is a hadozee's patagial flaps—flaps of skin between legs and arms, similar to those of a flying squirrel. With these patagia, the hadozee can launch herself into the air and glide for significant distances. It is not uncommon for hadozee in the rigging of ships not to bother climbing down, but simply throw themselves into the air and glide to another part of the ship.

Hadozee Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity
• Flight Widget
• +1 LA

Tortle

Tortles are humanoid tortoises. Most are peaceful beings, content to ignore the world outside their tribes. Others adapt to the more advanced cultures of the Savage Coast and live as peasants. Each tortle stands approximately 6 feet tall and appears humanlike except for a shell and tail like those of a tortoise.

The natural shell color of a tortle ranges from shiny black to a deep, lustrous purple, and tortle chieftains often encrust their shells with sparkling gems or channel them with gold intaglios. The creature's mouth is beaklike and toothless, and its head, feet, legs, and tail are green, yellow, or black - sometimes one solid color and sometimes pied. Most tortles forego clothing, although warriors often don breastplates and greaves. Tortles speak Tortle and Common. They cannot breathe water, but the Endurance feat aids them in swimming long distances.

Tortles tend to avoid combat whenever possible. When danger threatens, a tortle's first instinct is to plunge into any nearby water and hold its breath until the threat has passed. When forced to fight, tortles form regimented warbales and approach their enemy in groups. Young tortles often form noncombatant bales that carry spare tridents for the warbales.

Most torte tribes along the Savage Coast possess little technology and subsist primarily as hunter-gatherers. They maintain loose contact with other nearby tribes, joining them for hunts, hut building, and other communal activities.

A typical tortle village consists of a cluster of mud and thatch huts just off a beach. Sentry huts, each equipped with a gong or conch shell horn for sounding alarms, form a perimeter 200-300 yards from the central cluster. Notable tortle villages along the Savage Coast are Tlech', R'nach, and Prash. The most unusual tortle settlement is the Free City of Dunwick, which was built around a fallen monastery. Most of Dunwick's citizens are peasant tortles, but representatives from many intelligent races, including goblinoids, dwell there as well. Many of the tortles there embrace the ancient Order of Dunwick and become monks.

Since tortles are adept at working underwater cinnabryl deposits, tribes are often self-sufficient, acquiring their own cinnabryl as well as food, water, and shelter.

Tortles are spiritual creatures. They worship Mother Ocean, the protector: Father Earth, the life-bringer, Brother Shell, the warrior; and Sister Grain, the patron of farmers and fertility. The typical tortle hut contains a seashell shrine dedicated to at least one of these deities. The domains to which these deities can grant access are given on the following table.

Tortle Racial Traits

• -2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
• Armor Skin
• Large Creature
• +1 LA