Shadow's contest I

[ShadowFireLance]

The reward: A engraved Trophy! In paint

The contest: Make a D&D 3.5/ pathfinder race. The requirements:

Insectoid ,and influnced by the Egypt gods such as Khepri and or Serket.

DUE DATE IS JUNE 14 2012
Let the contest begin! And may the voters be ever in your favor.



(Vote by post at here)

This might help

or This

Or This!

[Milo v3]

Kephra

Erevan gazed across the waste, he need water desperately. His body was withered and throat was dry, his flesh was slowly blackening. But hope burned in his mind, in the distance he could see what looked like an oasis, just over the next dune. The mage stumbled forward towards his salvation, each step reveberating through his body and pounding through his mind.

Eventually he reached the calm waters, his mind too far gone to judge how much time it had taken to reach the spot. He stumbled at the base of water, falling to his knees, a black corpse lay next to him, but he paid no heed to it. The Karmainian dumped his face into the pool. The liquid flowed down his throat.

After a few minutes of drinking Erevan's mind cleared and he raised his head. He seemed to be in the shadow of a tree. He didn't remember a tree nor anything around.

Slowly he turned, aiming to examine his source of shade. But it was no tree. A creature stood behind him. Its face was that of a scarab, with a clicking maw and large compound eyes. Its body was covered in a carpace which was lithe, and smooth. Its body was a grim black, within its shadow, but a shone brightly on its back.

Erevan reached for his belt, hoping that he didn't lose his dagger while incapacitated. It was gone. The mage looked up at the creature with desperation in his eyes. Erevan knew he was going to die. The creature spoke, with a voice like the wind.

"You have been saved by Altan as I returned to this world. This is a sign."

Personality
The Kephra prefer small groups and are nomadic. They have no fear of death and feel no grief for those who have entered the afterlife. Despite this they are rather caring individuals, who understand that life is short for others.

Physical Description
Their heads are strange and insectoid, with two large, compound eyes taking up a large amount of the face. They have small mandibles that serve only for eating, not for attacking. They have two antennae atop their heads that function as sensory organs, as well as indicators of mood.

Kephra stand 4 – 5 feet in height on average, with females being slightly larger, but with more slender heads. Their bodies, like most insects, have a defined head, thorax, and an abdomen.

Kephra's sleek bodies, and powerful limbs allow them to move through lose materials (like sand) very easily. This helps them move around in the hot desert without being attacked or burnt by the sun.

A Kephra begins life with a hard and smooth exoskeleton. This exoskeleton is black in colour, and is known to shine even after the Kephra has been tunnelling. This exoskeleton is also covered in small bioluminescent orbs which can glow blue.

Kephra feed on raw flesh.

Relations
Kephra are rarely ever seen by other species because of their travel method and nomadic lifestyle. This has caused them to seem strange and exotic, especially to the Dunesti which despite living in the desert for many generations have only recently encountered them. They are a myth in many desert nations.

Alignment
They are generally neutral, prefering to care about their survival rather than morality.

Lands
The Kephra travel under the Desert of Sumra using their burrowing to great effect. Being Nomadic they generally don't form settlements, but some have been known to create temporary homes for themselves in the corpses of colossal beasts.

Religion
Kephra worship and respect Atlan, Mistress of the Oasis. Atlan is the bringer of life in the desert, but death to the Kephra because of their scarab physiology. Even though Kephra lack settlements, they do pray at Oasis's which serve as temples.

Language
Kephra speak by vibrating their version of vocal cords in their necks. This causes their language to sound very reedy and sound like the wind. The language of the Kephra is very similiar to the Auran of Air Elementals.

Names
Kephra names are normally hard to say in any language other than Auran or Kephran. Their names are normally a soothing word in Kephan.

Male Names: Lathan, Preher, Monu, Soma
Female Names: Anon, Kulai, Malai Saccith

Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -2 Strength: Kephra are lithe and have hard shells, but this exoskeleton restricts its growth of the insects muscle.
• Humanoid (Insectiod)
• Medium: As Medium creatures, Kephra have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.
• Kephra base land speed is 30 feet.
• +4 Natural Armor: A Kephra's chitinous exoskeleton is tough and resistant to blows.
• Come into Being (Su): Kephra are linked to the afterlife at birth. When a Kephra dies of old age he must make a fortitude save (DC 10) or immediately die. If he succeeds at this saving throw he dies and returns to life at the age of 1 year in 1d4 days (all ability modifiers from aging are removed).
• Hard to Read (Ex): Their inhuman facial features and foreign body language make it extremely difficult for creatures without the insectiod subtype to tell when they are lying, bluffing, or even joking. Insectoid creatures gain a +4 racial bonus to all bluff, and intimidate checks against all creatures without the insectiod subtype. While Kephra gain a -4 racial penalty to all Diplomacy checks against all creatures without the insectiod subtype.
• Insect anatomy: Kephra, like most insects, breathe not through their mouths, but through six spicules in their thorax, three on either side of the body, though they can (and do) speak by vibrating their version of vocal cords in their necks. A Kephra will drown if standing in water of even chest height. Their clothing is designed to accommodate this, but it makes tailoring armor extremely difficult. For a non-Kephra to create armor for a Kephra, the cost of creation is double, and the time to craft it is tripled.
• Light of the Sun (Ex): A Kephra can make his exoskeleton glow at will, providing bright light out to 30 feet and shadowy illumination out to 60 feet. In a medium of loose soil such as sand or dust a peculiar quality of the light allows a Kephra to make out solid objects up to 5 feet away. While tunneling this light is sufficient for navigation and general identification of objects, but not for reading recognizing individuals or other similar feats of finer perception.
• Sanguine Weakness: Though a Kephra's exoskeleton is extremely durable, it is vulnerable. If cracked, a Kephra is in real danger of bleeding to death. Kephra that take lethal damage begin losing hp due to blood loss at the rate of 2 hp per round per wound until either magically healed or a heal check is made (DC 15). Left on it's own, treat fractured chitin the same as a broken bone as far as natural healing time goes.
• Tunneller (Su): Kephra are naturally born to burrow through sand, dust, and even inanimate flesh. A Kephra can "Tunnel" through such materials at his land speed while wearing light armor or carrying a light load. His speed drops to 5 feet if a Kephra wears heavier armor or carrier a medium load. A Kephra cannot Tunnel while carrying a heavy load. A Kephra breathes normally while tunneling. This supernatural ability doesn't allow a Kephra to breath in mediums other than dust, sand, or flesh. When tunnelling through flesh you leave a passage.
• Favoured Class: Necromaster.

Vital Statistics

Kephra Random Starting Ages
Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
1 Year	+1d4	+1d6	+1d8

Kephra Aging Effects
Middle Age	Old	Venerable	Maximum Age
10 Years	15 Years	20 Years	+1d6 Years*

* See Come into Being above.

Kephra Random Height and Weight
Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight
Male	4'5"	+1d8	80 lb.
Female	4'9"	+1d8	90 lb.

[Wavelab]

Seteri



As Imhotep ascended into godhood he looked upon his lands and saw workers toiling in the sun, burning, dying. This burdened his heart heavily, and he sought to save them from the heat. And so he used his newly found deific powers, to empower his people with the durability of the scorpion.

His people were able to work in the sun ten times as long as they usually could. They saw that they had power. And they used this power to fight and conquer their enemies, going against Imhotep’s love of peace and pacifism.
Enraged he warped their appearances to fit that of the scorpion they had received their durability from.

They fled from their god. Travelling into the great desert, where they formed tribes and communities. Where they fought wars and conquered cities. A race of war, had been made.

Personality
Seteri are bred from war and hatred. They fight and duel instead of paying or bargaining. Their lives are based around small tribes who hunt and farm, and as such are extremely loyal to their allies.

Physical Description
Their faces and bodies look mostly normal, from a human perspective, except for the ocassional shell that apears over it. The rest of their bodies resemble a giant scorpion. A hard carapace, six legs, a tail and pincers make them stand out in the crowd.

Seteri are an average of 6 - 7 feet tall, with the females taking the lead slightly. They weigh more than an average human due to their carapace.

Seteri have strong muscular bodies, with powerful limbs extending from it. Their six legs allow them to run through sand, and their natural weapons allow them to combat effectively unarmed.

A Seteri isn't born in the normal sense. They come out of eggs which are buried in the sand for a week. After they hatch they are forced to stay with their parents wherever that may lead. It is not uncommon to see dozens of little Seteri on a battlefield, following their parents and learning the art of war.

Relations
Seteri's relationships are limited to their tribe. In a tribe there are hunters, farmers and warriors. A typical tribe consists of 4 hunters, 5 farmers, 20 warriors and 1 chief. If a tribe's chief is killed then ownership of the tribe confers to the tribe that killed him. In this way tribes can get very large, but there will always be infighting for the position of chief.

Alignment
Due to their constant bloodlust and warfare, most Seteri are chaotic. They don't usually hold any moral standard, disregarding both good and evil.

Lands
Seteri live in desert areas, spread out in their tribes. No one land is reserved to them. Some have been known to move their tribes to forest, mountainous and even arctic environments.

Religion
The Seteri shun gods, due to Imhotep's rage.

Language
The Seteri speak common and can also communicate in a special language, which uses echoes that only they can hear. This helps greatly when ambushing or being stealthy.

Names
Male Seteri names tend to end in vowels and involve k's and clicking sounds. While females names usually end with non vowels and involve a lot less clicking.

Male Names: Karak'tu, Revkana, Skergi;
Female Name: Sevran, Hearav, Sarin;

Racial Traits

• +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma: The Seteri have hard shells nd have adapted to the harsh desert conditions, but their isolation from everyone but their tribe leaves them without the necesarry skills to survive anywhere else.
• Humanoid (Insectiod)
• Medium: As Medium creatures, Seteri have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.
• Seteri base land speed is 40 feet.
• Natural Attacks: Along with their armor, the Seteri have their own weapons. They have two pincer claw attacks(1d6) and one tail strike(1d8). The tail strike once contained poison, but over the years it has become more common to use it as a weapon than a syringe.
• +4 Natural Armor: The Seteri's exoskeleton is strong and durable, helping to deflect blows placed upon it.
• Divine Punishment: Betrayal by their god has caused them to seeth with hatred at the thought of a divine creature. If the Seteri knows a particular creatures faith he goes into a rage if he attacks the creature. This can only happen once per encounter regardless of the number of creatures.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Seteri. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, and Orc.
• Favoured Class: Warblade

Vital Statistics

Seteri Random Starting Ages
Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
10 Years	+1d4	+1d6	+2d8

Seteri Aging Effects
Middle Age	Old	Venerable	Maximum Age
20 Years	30 Years	40 Years	+1d10 Years

Seteri Random Height and Weight
Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight
Male	5'8"	+2d10	130 lb.
Female	5'10"	+2d10	140 lb.