Sriseru's Pathfinder Races

[Sriseru]

Despite not playing Pathfinder as much as I would like to, I really love to create new races and variant races, as well as alternate classes and/or class archetypes for those races. Therefor I have decided to try to organize and showcase my work on this thread.
While some of these races are made for my own campaign settings, you all should feel free to use and/or repurpose them for your own games, as long as you don't claim them as your own.
Also, feel free to give me some creative criticism. :)

Original Races
Sheferu - Serpent Folk (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=18907933&postcount=11)

Variant Races
Mermaids - Merfolk Variant (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=18908010&postcount=12)
-- Shark Warrior (Fighter Alternate Class) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?264173-Sriseru-s-Pathfinder-Races&p=18908056#post18908056)

[mad_brewer]

Balance wise, it isn't too bad. Nimble edges on fine line between powerful and OP, but the race doesn't really have any other extra-ordinary abilities, so it maybe balances out. Sort of surprised not to see some poison use or resistance, or maybe some kind of natural fang attack.

I completely agree with there not being any good or neutral snake races at all *cough Yuan-Ti cough*. It's really unfair to settings with a Egypt-Persian-esque society build in. Good work overall.

NOTE: These are just opinions, I'm no expert :smallwink:

[Deepbluediver]

Nothing here seems out of place for pathfinder; I don't think the +2 dodge bonus is overly powerful. At worst, it would only be a slight bit above other races, I think; not enough to be game-changing, especially at higher levels.

If anyone complained, you could offer some kind of penalty in Cold environments or susceptability to Cold-based damage as a balancing factor. Another option would be some -2 racial skill penalty. Overall though I'd only bring it up if some one objects to this as-is.

I'm not certain just how useful low-light vision is really powerful enough to be a factor of any kind in most campaigns; usually my group found it difficult enough just keeping track of Darkvision in a mixed party, which is simpler in the fact that it's all or nothing. I'm not objecting to that trait, I just think it's sort of a non-factor.

It's fairly common for lizard/snakemen, but I don't mind that they DON'T have a poison-based or bite attack; a race might have some superficial resemblence to another animal without taking on ALL of it's most cliched characteristics. That's why humans don't get a climb bonus despite being distantly related to monkeys.


Really, the only problem I have with this race is the honking-big mammeries on a reptile. :smallbiggrin:

[Domriso]

I have one question, and it is nothing to do with the stats. Why do the females have breasts? Assuming that breast's are milk producing organs, a creature descended from a snake would have no purpose for them. Is there a reason given for them, or is this a simple oversight/creative decision to ignore?

[mad_brewer]

I have one question, and it is nothing to do with the stats. Why do the females have breasts? Assuming that breast's are milk producing organs, a creature descended from a snake would have no purpose for them. Is there a reason given for them, or is this a simple oversight/creative decision to ignore?

That is a good point. However, as (I think) they are at least 50% of human descent, they might of inherented a human feature although it (possibly) serves little purpose. Although I know nothing whether Sheferu babies need breast feeding, their is also the possibility for a human baby to be born from a Sheferu, so I guess they still need them after all.

As for the +2 dodge bonus, it was probably a personal overreaction. The 20 dex halfling rogue and the 20 ac 1st lvl fighter still haunt me :smalleek::smallwink:

[Gnorman]

As the sheferu evolved from humans, they are still mammals

There's your explanation. It's the dragonborn/Argonian problem all over again.

[Andion Isurand]

I would change the enchantment resistance to a bonus against all mind-affecting spells and effects. It sounds more organic that way, and less contrived as it does by basing it on a school of magic...

I would also give them a +2 bonus on Swim checks because of those tails.

[Domriso]

Okay, so they're humans who gained reptilian traits. If they aren't actually used to breastfeed, however, I would suggest making them much more reduced. It doesn't make sense that they would get larger as their use declined (unless it's an artificially selected trait, such as the males choosing larger breasted individuals because of appearance, which would be kinda funny; huge breasts on a reptile-mammal that doesn't use them).

[Gnorman]

Okay, so they're humans who gained reptilian traits. If they aren't actually used to breastfeed, however, I would suggest making them much more reduced. It doesn't make sense that they would get larger as their use declined (unless it's an artificially selected trait, such as the males choosing larger breasted individuals because of appearance, which would be kinda funny; huge breasts on a reptile-mammal that doesn't use them).

Natural selection doesn't always work in tandem with magical selection.

[Sriseru]

Why do the females have breasts?

The sheferu are descended from magically altered humans, and as such they are still mammals, they breastfeed their young, and sheferu males (like most human males) find large mammaries attractive.
Yes, I know it's odd, but I hope this serves as a sufficient explanation.



I would change the enchantment resistance to a bonus against all mind-affecting spells and effects. It sounds more organic that way, and less contrived as it does by basing it on a school of magic...

I would also give them a +2 bonus on Swim checks because of those tails.

The enchantment resistance bonus is based on the "Elven Immunities" of elves, minus the immunity to sleep effects.
I really like it as is, though, so I think I'll keep it unless more people object.

As for the +2 bonus to Swim checks. Hmm... tell you what, I'll think on that one.

[Sriseru]

Image
http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/1627/sheferuspeciessheetwebb.jpg (http://sriseru.deviantart.com/#/d5lsi9c)

Sheferu
The sheferu, also known as the snakekin or the serpentfolk, were once human.
At the dawn of civilization, the people of the city of Harnesut asked their patron deity, the cobra goddess Neidjet, to bless their children with her beauty and magic. She answered their prayers and the children born by the people of Harnesut became the sheferu, the children of Neidjet.
However, there was also a sheferu girl born with the hood of a cobra. This girl was the divine daughter of Neidjet and she would go on to lead Harnesut, unify the cities of the Abu river and establish one of the greatest civilizations in history.
The hood which marked this ruler's divine blood would go on to be inherited by her descendants, marking their divine right to rule.

As the sheferu evolved from humans, they are still mammals and are capable of interbreeding with humans. Also, like humans, sheferu breastfeed their young.
If a sheferu has an offspring with a human, there is a 50% chance that said offspring will be either sheferu or human, there are no hybrids. Likewise, if the human offspring then goes on to sire another offspring with a human of non-sheferu descent, there is a 25% chance that the offspring will be sheferu, and so on.

Sheferu Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution: Sheferu are outgoing, creative, and nimble, but frail.
Humanoid (sheferu)
Medium: As Medium creatures, sheferu have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Sheferu have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Sheferu can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Enchantment Resistance: Sheferu gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws made against enchantment spells and effects.
Magical Blood: Sheferu receive a +2 racial bonus on Spellcraft skill checks.
Keen Senses: +2 racial bonus on Perception skill checks.
Nimble: +2 racial dodge bonus to Armor Class.
Languages: Sheferu begin play speaking Common and Sheferu. Sheferu with high Intelligence scores can choose may choose from a pool of seven languages.


Behind the Scenes
One of the reasons I made this race is because I've found D&D and Pathfinder to have a very negative view of snakes and snake-people, and I'm just really fed up with it.
So I decided to base a race on the ancient cultures where snakes were seen as symbols of wisdom, rejuvenation, immortality, and even magic. I wanted to restore these traits in order to subvert the fictional stereotype that exist almost everywhere these days.

[Sriseru]

{scrubbed}

Mermaids
Mermaids are an aquatic all-female race of fish people with human-like upper bodies. They are predatory obligate carnivores and tend to live in small migratory groups, though a few do settle down in areas where food is plentiful, particularly around kelp forests, seamounts, and reefs.
Although they are amphibious and can survive just fine on land, they move only with difficulty out of water and few spend long periods on land. Some notable exceptions are mermaids who live on cays where they have easy access to the coral reefs' bounty and can trade with seafarers.
Mermaids are curious and playful, but also cruel and opportunistic, and they have a nasty habit of eating anything or anyone they kill. This behavior is due to their predatory nature: the combination of curiosity, opportunism, and cruelty help them find and take advantage of any food source they find without hesitation. Their playfulness, on the other hand, is due to their social nature.
The ocean is a very dangerous place and mermaids often depend upon their group for survival, as such they are highly gregarious and form close bonds with their peers. A mermaid is a very close and loyal friend, even towards her non-mermaid companions.
Because they for the most part live underwater, mermaids use very few complex tools and tend to be quite feral. Although mermaids are usually illiterate, they tend to have rich oral traditions.

Physical Description
Mermaids are fish-like creatures with upper torsos which resemble those of well-built and attractive human women. Completely hairless, mermaids are covered with tough eel-like skin, the color and pattern of which varies greatly between ethnicities.
They have human-like heads and faces, except for a few differences: the mouth is slightly wider and filled with fish-like, needle-shaped teeth; where the ears of a human would be are instead ear-holes that are covered by a few fins; on the top and back of their heads they have several long and thick, tentacle-like appendages, which almost give the impression of the long, flowing hair of some humans; and their unblinking eyes are large and shark-like, and have nictitating membranes rather than eyelids.
Mermaids have webbed hands with long fingers tipped with large, talon-like claws, and their necks have several large gills.
On a mermaid's back is a dorsal fin, while pelvic fins are situated on either side of its genital slit. The mermaid's long tail has a second, smaller dorsal fin, and the tail ends with a heterocercal caudal fin.

Sex and Reproduction
A mermaid can reproduce by mating with any humanoid male, and such a union will always result in mermaid offspring. Mermaids are viviparous, with a gestation period of 11 months, and typically give birth to one to four daughters.
Mermaids are also capable of facultative parthenogenesis, meaning that if they cannot secure a viable male, they can undergo asexual reproduction and produce half-clone children.
Mermaids are born toothless and remain so for about eight months, and during this time they are nursed by their mother. After this period their teeth will begin to erupt, which will prompt their mother to wean them off her milk by feeding them small prey or pieces of flesh which they can swallow whole. Once her children have fully formed teeth, she teaches them to feed themselves.

Society
There are essentially three types of mermaid societies: nomadic, settled, and urban.

Nomadic mermaids live in small groups made up of family and friends. They are constantly on the move, following the migrations of the animals they prey upon. Nomadic mermaids are the most dangerous kind, because they are the most opportunistic, and they often eat any land-dwelling people they find in the water. A few groups are even bold enough to attack ships or seashores, though they tend to resort to this only when food is scarce.

Settled mermaid communities are somewhat larger than their nomadic kin and are found in areas where there is plentiful of game for them to hunt, particularly around kelp forests, seamounts, and reefs. They tend to be much more peaceful and only eat land-people if they have a shortage of food.
They often capture non-aquatic humanoids as slaves, provided that they have somewhere to keep them, such as air-filled underwater caves. However, these slave-keeping mermaids tend to have few slaves as they have little need for laborers, rather they keep slaves as mates, teachers, or playthings.

Urban mermaids have the most prosperous and most rare societies of all three types, and they usually adopt much of the culture and technology of nearby civilizations. They can only be found on cays or atolls, as well as on islands with surrounding coral reefs or kelp forests; such areas are required to feed the mermaids living there.
Their towns tend to be very popular trading ports and a big part of this is that urban mermaids have an easy access to undersea luxury resources such as pearls and precious corals, which results in them being the chief exporters of such goods.
The nobles and merchants of urban societies tend to live on the actual island, while the lower class live in the surrounding coral reef or kelp forest and produce food and tradegoods.
While urban mermaids are the most peaceful of all three types, anyone who dares to threaten them will quickly find out just how dangerous they are.
Urban mermaids keep many more slaves than settled mermaids, this is because access to land makes it easier to keep them alive and provides an incentive to acquire slave labor. They favor slaves of other races, since land-dwellers are much more useful on land than their fellow mermaids.
Some urban mermaid societies also export their own kind as slaves, usually criminals or dissidents.
Their architecture usually depend upon the size of the land they have to work with. Small islands typically only have small villages and towns, while larger islands have complex networks of canals and sometimes even underwater buildings. Virtually every building on the island has a pool, in fact the size of a mermaid's private pool is a sign of her status.

Relations
With few exceptions, nomadic mermaids view all other races short-term mates or food, and often both.
The other types of mermaids, however, view the land-dwellers with curiosity and believe that the other races have much to offer them. They sometimes even make deals with sailors and coastal peoples if it can benefit themselves in some way. Non-nomadic mermaids can be said to be xenophilic, as many of their kind love to surround themselves with foreign cultures.

Alignment and Religion
Mermaids care deeply for their friends and family, but they are usually indifferent towards anything beyond this social circle.
Their feral nature often lead to bouts of extreme violence, but this is almost never due to evil intentions; mermaids display such behavior either out of fear, due to a sense of protectiveness, because they're hungry, or because they want to feed the ones they care about. In their minds, those reasons make violence perfectly acceptable.
Most mermaids are neutral, though some who care more strongly about tradition will lean towards lawful neutral, while a few who care more about individuality and open-mindedness lean towards chaotic neutral.
Mermaids tend to worship nature itself rather than any specific god, though many urban mermaids adopt the religions of neighboring cultures.

Adventurers
Despite that many mermaids xenophiles, most stay close to the ocean. However, a few possess a curiosity stronger than their fondness for the sea, and these precious few are the ones who are bold enough to travel further inland. Mermaid adventurers are often motivated by a desire to discover and experience new things.
Mermaids favor the barbarian, bard, druid, rogue, and sorcerer classes. However, most mermaids tend to rely on what nature has provided them with, rather than carry bulky equipment. They also gain access to the shark warrior class, which is unique to their race.

Additional Content
- Shark Warrior (Fighter Alternate Class) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?264173-Sriseru-s-Pathfinder-Races&p=18908056#post18908056)

Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Intelligence: Mermaids are graceful and beautiful, but also quite feral.
Humanoid (Aquatic)
Medium: As Medium creatures, mermaids have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Slow Speed: Mermaids have a base speed of 5 feet. They have a swim speed of 50 feet.
Amphibious: Mermaids are amphibious and can breathe both air and water.
Low-Light Vision: Mermaids can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
Tough Skin: Mermaids gain a +1 natural armor bonus to their Armor Class.
Legless: Mermaids have no legs, and cannot be tripped.
Bite: Mermaids gain a natural bite attack, dealing 1d6 damage. The bite is a primary attack, or a secondary attack if the mermaid is wielding manufactured weapons.
Claws: Mermaids receive two claw attacks, each dealing 1d4 damage. These are primary natural attacks.
Obligate Carnivore: Mermaids can consume raw meat without any ill effects, but ingesting plant material will make them sick and lead to vomiting.
Languages: Mermaids begin play speaking Common and Aquan. Mermaids with high Intelligence scores can choose from any language (except secret ones).

[Sriseru]

Shark Warrior - Mermaid Alternate Class
Some doubt the martial ability of mermaids, viewing them as nothing more than pretty fish that awkwardly crawl around on land. This is a mistake that often proves deadly, as these warrior mermaids' ability to kill is only rivaled by their ferocity.
Mermaids have been perfectly adapted killing machines since long before civilization even existed. Their eel-like skin can grow incredibly tough and their natural weapons make them extremely lethal in close proximity.
In a stark contrast with the soldiers of the other races, the shark warriors go bare-skinned into battle and often armed with nothing more than tooth and claw.
Shark warriors are infamous for attacking ships and coastal peoples, forcefully pulling their victims into the depths of the sea to be drowned and eaten, and not necessarily in that order. This history have taught them how to use their natural weapons and tough skin with maximum efficiency.
Role: Shark warriors are masters of combat at close quarters, and while they fall a bit short in ranged combat, their reliance on what nature has given them result in the shark warriors being essentially impossible to disarm.
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d10.

Class Skills
The shark warrior's class skills are Climb (Str), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Ranks per Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A shark warrior is proficient with all simple weapons, and are not proficient with any armor or shields.

Bare-Skinned Savages: Shark warriors eschew most equipment, and instead rely on what nature has provided them with. They may never become proficient with any armor and are forbidden from taking any feats that would grant such proficiencies. In addition, their starting wealth is 1d6 x 10 gp.

Bonus Feats: At 1st level, and every even level thereafter, a shark warrior gains a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement (meaning that the shark warrior gains a feat at every level). These bonus feats must be selected from those listed as combat feats.
Upon reaching 4th level, and every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, 16th, 20th), a shark warrior can choose to learn a new bonus feat in place of a bonus feat she has already learned. In effect, the shark warrior loses the bonus feat in exchange for the new one. The old feat cannot be one that was used as a prerequisite for another feat, prestige class, or other ability. A shark warrior can only change one feat at any given level and must choose whether or not to swap the feat at the time she gains a new bonus feat for the level.

Natural Armor Increase (Ex): Starting at 1st level, a shark warrior grows increasingly tougher. Her natural armor bonus increases by +6. At 3rd level, this bonus increase by +1, and every three levels after 3rd level (6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, 18th), this bonus increase by +1 each time, to a maximum of +12.
Agility (Ex): At 2nd level, a shark warrior gains a +1 bonus on saving throws made against effects that cause her to become paralyzed, slowed, or entangled. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 2nd (6th, 10th, 14th, 18th).

Slither (Ex): At 3rd level, a shark warrior gains a +15 bonus to her speed on land. This benefit applies only when she is wearing no armor and not carrying a heavy load.

Natural Savagery (Ex): At 5th level, a shark warrior gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with natural weapons. This bonus also applies to CMB and CMD for grappling. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 5th (9th, 13th, 17th).

Deadly Creature (Ex): At 7th level, the shark warrior's bite deals 1d8 damage and claws 1d6 damage. At 11th level, her bite deals 1d10 damage and claws 1d8 damage. At 15th level, her bite deals 2d6 damage and claws 1d10 damage. And at 19th level, her bite deals 2d8 damage and claws 2d6 damage.

Savage Takedown (Ex): At 9th level, when a shark warrior hits an opponent with two natural weapons as part of a full-round action, she can make a grapple or trip attempt against that opponent as an immediate action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Careful Claw (Ex): At 13th level, when using a natural weapon to attack a creature using fire shield or a similar effect that damages creatures attacking it (such as a barbed devil's barbed defense), a shark warrior reduces the damage from such effects by an amount equal to 1/2 her fighter level.

Deadly Critical (Ex): At 17th level, when a shark warrior confirms a critical hit with a natural weapon, she can increase the weapon's damage multiplier by 1 (x2 becomes x3, for example) as an immediate action. She can use this ability once per day.

Dragonhide (Ex): At 19th level, a shark warrior gains DR 5/-.

Natural Weapon Mastery (Ex): At 20th level, a shark warrior chooses one of her natural weapons. Any attacks made with that weapon automatically confirm all critical threats and have their damage multiplier increased by 1.