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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
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    Here and there.
    Gender
    Female

    Default The Pretanians (Race)

    I notice a lot of conflicting ideals about Changelings. Many people play them as featureless creepy things, others try to play them more humanized. I see plenty of more humanoid pictures of Changelings but many more pictures in which they are somewhat featureless, with hints of features more then actual features. There are also lots of questions as to Changeling's gender, and effects of changing gender.
    I read it up and its true. Changelings are, much to my disappointment, creepy things.
    So here's to all you Reality Seekers who want to look nice without having to be someone else.




    The Pretanians

    The Pretanians, or either Pretana when referring to a single one ("I'm a Pretana paladin.") or Pretanian wen referring to a single Pretanian but in a genrealized way ("We should find ourselves a Pretanian paladin...") but it really doesn't matter, are a race derived from the Changelings and Doppelganger heritage pool.
    Pretanians are more reputable in their deeds and have a racial social structure all their own. Pretanians, unlike there Doppel and Changeling relatives have very humanoid appearances that are only somewhat alienlike, but only about as much as a Tiefling would be.


    Personality: Pretanians are a nobler race, they have values and morals and uphold ideals that are in the lawful good spectrum. Unlike most Lawful Good creatures or people, Pretanians do not view trickery in combat or guile as something evil, only as evil as what it is used for. To use poison against a corrupt business man trading in slaves is acceptable, to use poison against the kind owner of an orphanage is evil.
    That is the mindset of the Pretanians. Actions are only as evil as their intent. With that in mind, many Pretanian paladins have a few bottles of poison with which to give their smite an extra punch, or many rogues still hold a holy symbol close to their heart. No Pretanian is above using their abilities to get themselves in positions elsewhere in life or to blend into a different race for a variety of reasons, but their more natural looking appearance unlike the Changelings allows them to simply be themselves if they desire it when by comparison a Reality Seeker changeling would have some baggage.

    Physical Description: Pretanians appear as averaged sized humanoids, with hair like any real "humanoid" would. Their colors are always soft, soft pale grey skin or soft toned hair. Faded purplish, reds, blues, and less commonly greens are the typical colors of a Pretanian. Their skin is typically only slightly grey or silvery in its tone, but otherwise based on a very soft pink of a very human shade. Where the familiar humanlike appearance ends is in their eyes, and in their nails. Pretanians have eyes that are pitch black and just ever so slightly larger then a human's. Their nails are hard, and durable, allowing them to be used akin to claws if filed with an edge and grown out a bit long. Beyond the black however, they don't openly appear all that unnatural, perhaps just like black nail polish has been applied. Their eyes are less inconspicuous. They are likened to orbs of obsidian that stain the flesh around them, making it look like they have built in eyeliner. Still, they aren't too unnerving. They have long elven ears that are tinged with black in the edges where the cartilage is most visible through the skin, but lastly, Pretanians have a pair of small black horns, like their nails, these small horns are impractical for use and are in fact rather blunt, but they actually look rather cute if you think about it. As you may notice from the ears, horns, and nails; Pretarians have black skeletons and bones, which some of the lawful-stupid races take as a mark of their demonic origins, having been blackened by the infernal fires of hell. Unlike Changelings Pretanians have clear and defined genders just as humans.

    Relations: Pretanians like to keep in good standing with the other races. Their best relations however would be with the Changelings. The Pretanians take in changelings who wish to live a normal life away from all the lies and deception. Reality Seekers fit in best with the Pretanians, and even have some places among the Pretanian ruling class to help with governing.
    Pretanians are seen as a slightly demonic and evil race, and some celestial races question them despite evidence of them reaching out to be as good as any race can be. It is common for a lone Pretanaian to be mistrusted as they are put in a similar bracket with Changelings in the minds of those who are uneducated and are simplistic judgmental twits.

    Alignment: Pretanian society is generally lawful good, however the individual Pretanian can be just as diverse as a human would be. A Human heavily influenced by social norm that is. Pretanians are not cookie cutter, and have their own personalities, aspirations, motives, and outlook on life.

    Lands: Pretanians can be found on any plane Changelings or Doppelgangers exist. They tend to keep together and form cities and kingdoms just as well as any other race. They tend to live where other races would not, because of their lack of need for some things that may be critical for other races to survive. They need less to eat, need less air to breath, and need less water to drink. As such, they can live in deserts and wastelands as easily as a human can live in a prosperous kingdom. But just as well the Pretanians who live on rich land don't use as much, and tend to have a good export of food they don't use for cheaper then it would if a human kingdom was there, much to the thanksgiving of lesser kingdoms in surrounding lands.

    Religion: Pretarians do not have an established religion, and they do not have a patron deity. The true origins of their species is a complete mystery even among the gods. The first pretarians seemed to appear quite suddenly, humans and changelings alike woke up one morning to find themselves changed. Since then, the race met and established itself and reproduced normally without any known cases of changelings or humans finding themselves to be Pretanian one morning since the first day.
    There are theories by scholars aplenty, but none know why or just how they came to be. However, there are a fair few deities who can care for them and a few religions that are more dominate among the Pretarians. However, most interesting seems to be a keener intrest in the Pretarians from Celestian, Cyndor, and the greater goddess Istus. None of the three deities will comment about their interest and seem to be meeting with one another more frequently then observed in the past, causing a bit of tension among the gods.

    Language: Pretanians speak common and are perfectly capable of learning other languages. Pretanians who are in immense stress or call out in duress in the midst of danger sometimes find themselves speaking a strange language that is unknown, even among themselves. Few words are known of the language, as in such situations its uncommon for anyone to remember exactly what was said. But a Pretanian once traveled with a bard, who described the language as simultaneously filling her with dread and hope and sounding musical in nature, as if the language is one meant to be sung rather then merely spoken.

    Adventures: Pretanians know all the same reasons for adventure as seen among humans. Their motives vary, their desires change. You'd be just as likely to find a Pretanian who adventures to retrieve a legendary plant in order to make a medicine for her dying lover, or to meet a Pretanian who quests to slay a dragon that took the lives of its family. Pretanians are slightly more likely to be landed with quests that involve skill and stealth then a human, however, as such quests tend to seek them out as there are few races who could be better suited to these. But its a minimal difference, a Fighter or Paladin Pretanian is no less common then a rogue.


    Pretana
    Humanoid
    +2 to one stat
    30ft speed
    Medium size:
    Pretanians don't have benefits or penalties due to size.
    Power of Belief: "You will see. I'll save you, I'll save you all someday."
    Pretanians have this thing they do. You see, humans often say that "If you believe it, it is possible". Well. For Pretanians, its much more true. Pretanians who believe that they can do something usually can. A DM should never make something wholly impossible for a Pretanian, within reason, so long as they convincingly tread the path towards that goal. Circumstance bonuses are double their normal value for Pretanians.
    Be who you want to be: "I am who I am, and I am you"
    A Pretanian can alter her appearance through her Power of Belief. This functions similarly to a Changelings Change Self ability. A Pretanian can perfectly alter her appearance slowly over time, over the course of one week taking a standard action each day before she sleeps to focus on her desired form. By the fifth day, they have a +10 to disguise checks to appear as that individual, but it is not yet complete until the seventh day.
    This is considered a true change and is not effected by True Seeing, but normal rules apply and they gain extraordinary abilities of the new form, but not Spell Like or Supernatural.
    While changed, a Female Pretanian who is now a Male Human can impregnate, like wise a male Pretanian is now a Female Elf can become pregnant. In that situation, the Pretanian cannot change back until the baby is delivered or otherwise removed from within her as hormones and protective instinct build up in her subconscious and interfere with her ability to change.
    A Pretanian always remembers her true form, and she must continue to believe in the new self (Consider it a free action once a day) or else her original appearance reveals itself as she changes back over three days, this is not in effect on a pregnant Pretanian who is stuck until the condition ends.
    Mechanically, there is no visual difference between the two and the belief doesn't so much as change her personality so much as it adds a second layer. The new form has instincts and is somewhat intuitively guided in knowledge the new form should know, but it does not actually know what her mimicked form knows. This means she gets a +20 to disguise checks made with this form as opposed to a normal +10 from shapechanging effects.
    Special: With this ability, polymorph spells and abilities obtained through other means can last twice as long.
    Skill Bonuses: The Pretanians have a +2 to Disguise, and gain one extra skill point per level.
    Automatic Languages: Common
    Bonus Languages: Any
    Favored Class: Any one.


    Pretanian Aging:
    Pretana Random Starting Ages
    {table=head]Start|Simple|Moderate|Complex
    20 |+12d6|+12d8|+12d12[/table]

    Pretana Aging Effects:
    {table=head]Middle Age|Old Age|Venerable|Maximum Age

    75 | 120 years| 150 years|+10d6 years[/table]


    Pretana random Height and Weight
    {table=head]Gender|Base Height|Height Modifier|Base Weight|Weight Modifier

    Male| 5'2”|+2d6| 135 lb.|+ (1d8 * 1d12) lb.

    Female|4’8”|+2d6| 90 lb.|+ (1d6 * 1d10) lb.[/table]



    Feats:

    Rapid Change
    [racial]
    The pretanian learns to channel their will more effectively in altering their appearance.
    Prerequisites:
    Pretanian level 2
    Benefit:
    The pretanian may assume a new form in three days time, rather than seven.

    Daily Change
    [racial]
    The pretanian learns to channel their will more effectively in altering their appearance.
    Prerequisites:
    Pretanian level 4
    Benefit:
    The pretanian may assume a new form in a single days time, rather than three.

    Quick Change
    [racial]
    The pretanian learns to channel their will more effectively in altering their appearance.
    Prerequisites:
    Pretanian level six
    Benefit:
    The pretanian may assume a new form in a full round action.
    Last edited by Cipher Stars; 2012-12-18 at 02:41 PM.

    My Homebrew

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Ettin in the Playground
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: The Pretanians (Race)

    So, let me get this straight. Your changelings get the following:

    • +2 to any one stat.
    • Double bonus from Circumstance bonuses.
    • Change Self
    • +2 racial disguise bonus
    • +1 skill point per level


    Right?

    Because if so, this is the most balanced piece I've seen from you. Don't get me wrong, I always love anything you make, but they always seem to exist in the Cipher Tier.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Here and there.
    Gender
    Female

    Default Re: The Pretanians (Race)

    Quote Originally Posted by Troll Brau View Post
    So, let me get this straight. Your changelings get the following:

    • +2 to any one stat.
    • Double bonus from Circumstance bonuses.
    • Change Self
    • +2 racial disguise bonus
    • +1 skill point per level


    Right?

    Because if so, this is the most balanced piece I've seen from you. Don't get me wrong, I always love anything you make, but they always seem to exist in the Cipher Tier.
    Thanks

    Well, for these guys I made an effort to make them totally playable in standard games with potential to compare to buffer races in nonstandard games.

    and yes, that looks right. but do note their Change Self takes a long time and isn't good for on the fly use like a Changeling's, but in return its more convincing and can be used long term.
    Last edited by Cipher Stars; 2012-06-24 at 02:27 PM.

    My Homebrew

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