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View Full Version : New Race: Ghūl [3.5 PEACH]



Owrtho
2010-07-29, 05:38 PM
This is a race for my Sun Behind Night (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143657) world building project. I plan to also give the others their own threads as well if this works for feedback.
It should be noted that the intended power of the races is somewhere between high LA+0 and low LA+1. As all the races in the setting will be stronger it will cancel out (hopefully, and I do intend to revamp humans after the other races are done).

Ghūl
Physical Description: In their natural form, ghūls look mostly like humans, though generally of a slightly larger build despite an emaciated look of skin taunt on the bone. Their skin tends to be fairly dark, and they have sharp teeth and claws.
However, it is not uncommon for them to look otherwise. Ghūls possess the ability to take the form and mannerisms of those that they eat. They frequently make use of this ability when travelling or dealing with other races to help them feel more at ease. However, this ability only works on souled races.
Outside that, all ghūls possess the ability to turn into a hyena.

Personality: Ghūl's tend to be fairly amicable with those who are willing to deal with them. They frequently are not above using dubious methods to accomplish their goals though. Ghūls almost always respect death as an important part of the cycle of life and something to be made use of.

Relations: Ghūls are usually on hospitable terms with other races. They tend to run cemeteries and morgues, making memorials and performing autopsies or using magic to gain information from the dead in exchange for the bodies. However, due to their respect for death and culture focused around making full use of it, it is also not uncommon to find them working as butchers, tailors, tanners, cooks, or in other professions that involve working with dead bodies (be they sentient or just animals) which they tend to be quite skilled at.

Alignment: Ghūls can run the range of alignments. Many prefer to deal fairly with others, but as mentioned they often are not among using less fair methods to get what they want if dealing fails.

Ghūl Lands: Ghūls tend to live around where other races do or in small settlements of their own.

Religion: Coming later.

Ghūl Racial Traits
+2 Constitution, -2 Charisma
Medium Humanoid (Shapeshifter): As medium creatures, ghūls have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Ghūl base land speed is 30 feet.
Souled: Ghūls possess souls. This allows them to be affected by any spell that targets souled creatures.
Darkvision 30 feet.
Natural Attacks: While in its own form or that of another ghūl, a ghūl has two primary claw attacks (1d4 x2) and one secondary bite attack (1d6 x2).
Large Appetite: Ghūl need to eat twice as much as most other medium creatures. However they can also go three times as long without food, and when starving only make checks half as frequently.
Hyena Form: As a full round action a ghūl can transform into a hyena (Monster Manual page 274) or back again. If killed a ghūl reverts back to its natural form.
Take Form: By eating at least one pound of a souled creature, dead or alive, a ghūl gains the ability to take on its form, even copying its mannerisms. Changing form requires a full round action. When taking on another creatures form, the ghūl loses its natural attacks, but gains any racial features the creature it turned into has (though racial ability modifiers and type do not change). If the ghūl becomes an Erilite, it can only have up to two tendrils. While taking another creatures form, the ghūl gains a +15 bonus to disguise checks to appear as that creature. The age of the body eaten does not matter for this ability, but the ghūl always takes on the form of the creature before it died though lacking any unhealed wounds or diseases.. A ghūl can remember a number of forms up to its constitution modifier -1 (minimum 1). Whenever a ghūl would learn a new form it replaces the oldest one.
Corpse Eater: Ghūls are used to eating long dead flesh. They are immune to all ingested poisons and diseases. This does not make the ghūl immune to poisons and diseases spread through injection, biting, contact, or other methods.
Automatic Language: Ghūlian, Common. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
Favored Class: Dread Necromancer. When determining whether a multiclass ghūl takes an experience point penalty, its Dread Necromancer class
does not count.
LA ?


Racial Feat:
Stolen Form (Ghūl)
You have taken a liking to a specific form and learned to prevent it from being lost as normal.
Prerequisites: Ghūl, Take Form, Constitution 15
Benefit: Upon taking this feat, choose one of your forms gained from the take form ability. When you would normally lose this form upon gaining a new form, instead losing the next oldest form.
When gaining a new form, you may choose to replace your current stolen form, in which case your current stolen assumes its place in the order of forms to be lost (being lost if it is the oldest one), and the new form becomes your stolen form and will not be lost as normal.
Normal: You can't choose to keep a specific form.

So, thoughts?

Owrtho

Zeta Kai
2010-07-29, 08:16 PM
In their natural form, ghūls look mostly like humans, though generally of a slightly larger build despite an emancipated look of skin taunt on the bone.

Emancipated (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emancipated):


To free from restraint, control, or the power of another; especially : to free from bondage.

I'm pretty sure that you mean emaciated (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emaciated).

Also, the fact that you state your name at the end of every single post has always made it hard for me to take you seriously.

Owrtho
2010-07-30, 12:46 PM
Thanks for the catch, I fixed the typo.

Also, not sure why you would feel that way about me signing all my posts.

Owrtho

Temotei
2010-07-30, 01:13 PM
not sure why you would feel that way about me signing all my posts.

Probably because your name is right there. On super long posts, it makes sense because you can't see the username all the time, but other than that...

The souled ability says "effected" where it should be "affected."