I used the tribal name from the ERB book for the name of this creature. (See the credits section at the bottom.)
Thark
Huge Monstrous Humanoid
Hit Dice: 5d8+5 (27 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 35 ft. (7 squares)
Armor Class: 16 (-2 size, +3 natural, +3 hide), touch 8, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+13
Attack: Lance +5 melee (3d6/x3), or bite +5 melee (2d6), or projectile weapon +5 ranged (2d10)
Full Attack: Lance +5 melee (3d6/x3), or bite +5 melee (2d6), or projectile weapon +5 ranged (2d10)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Telepathy 90 ft., uncanny aim, illiterate
Saves: Fort +2*, Ref +4*, Will +5*
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 11, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 9
Skills: Balance +5, Intimidate +2, Jump +1, Listen +5, Move Silently +3, Spot +9
Feats: Endurance(B), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
Environment: Warm desert
Organization: Solitary, team (2-4), squad (11-20 plus 2 3rd-level leaders and 1 jed of 4th-6th level), or clan (30-100 plus 5% noncombatants plus 1 3rd-level lesser jed per 10 adults, 5 5th-level jeddaks, and 3 7th-level high jeds)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually chaotic neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +1
This grotesque creature is born of a low gravity world, and hence their body has unusual proportions when compared to a human. The body is completely hairless, with a olive green hue that is lighter in the female, and changes from a yellow-green color in the hatchlings. It has a total of six limbs, consisting of two arms, two legs, and two intermediate limbs that can be used for either purpose. Only the females of the species have the rudiments of nails on the fingers and toes.
The thark has a slightly over-sized head at the end of a long, scrawny neck. There is a pair of eyes projecting out on the sides, allowing them to be directed forward or backward, and independently of each other. This permits the creature to look in any direction without the need to turn its head. The iris is blood-red, with a dark pupil. The eyeball itself is very white, as are the teeth. The latter give this already formidable-looking creature a most ferocious appearance, as the lower tusks curve up to end in sharp points above their mouth. The teeth are as white as the most pristene china, standing out from the dark olive flesh.
The ears are located slightly above the eyes and closer together, consisting of small, cup-shaped lobes protruding above the head. The nose is formed of longitudinal slits in the center of the face, midway between the mouth and ears.
Despite their intimidating size and appearance, the thark are creatures evolved for life on a low-gravity world and are much less powerful and agile, in proportion to their weight, than a human. They have heavy bones and only modest musculature. Few can even stand on a world with gravity equivalent to the earth.
They possess a form of telepathy, which they can use for communication with other intelligent creatures from their world. They combine this ability with asimple language for conversing with their own kind, or use the telepathic power to control the mounts and beasts they have domesticated. The thark do not have a written language, and can not read unless taught.
The thark reproduce by laying eggs which require about five years to hatch. They are very long-lived beings, and it is rare for a thark to suffer from sickness or disease. A thark is about fifteen feet in height and weighs 400 lbs.
Combat
Thark are trained from infancy in battle skills and mass combat. They are highly capable fighters who can use a variety of weapons and can fire projectiles with uncanny accuracy.
Telepathy (Ex): This ability only works with creatures that are within 90 ft., have an intelligence score, and understand the tharkian language.
Uncanny Accuracy (Ex): When a thark is using a projectile weapon, such as a rifle, its range increment is doubled.
Illiterate: The thark lack a written language and normally can not read. A thark may spend 2 skill points to gain the ability to read and write all other languages she is able to speak.
Skills: Thark have a +4 racial bonus on Balance and Spot checks.
Thark Culture
The thark is a violent creature, and few are ever encountered unarmed. Both male and female are highly skilled in the use of their deadly weapons. They respect creatures that demonstrate great skill in combat, and care little for the innocent and those inept at fighting. Most are devoid of those human traits of friendship, love, or affection. They do not enjoy most forms of humor, and find only death or suffering to be cause for hilarity. Their chief form of amusement is to kill a prisoner of war by some ingenious or nasty means.
They are somewhat civilized creatures, and readily make use of technology, particularly for the purpose of making war. All travel heavily armed, and wear body armor for defense. The thark do not normally wear cloding, but adorn themselves with various ornaments of precious metals and furs, at least for the purpose of decoration.
The offspring of the thark are grouped together in a hatchery that is guarded by the entire clan. When the young finally emerge from their eggs, usually at the same time, the adults take possession of the infants and raise them as if they were their own child. None of the young know their parents, but are brought up by the entire community.
The clans of thark abide by tradition and custom, but craft laws as needed with little regard for past precedent. There are no lawyers, and rulings are made by a jury of peers with heavy inflence from the leaders.
Thark as Characters
Thark leaders are almost always fighters. Tharks possess the following racial traits.
Credits
The thark is based on the green martian from Edgar Rice Burrough's novel, "A Princess of Mars", now out of copyright.
Thark
Huge Monstrous Humanoid
Hit Dice: 5d8+5 (27 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 35 ft. (7 squares)
Armor Class: 16 (-2 size, +3 natural, +3 hide), touch 8, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+13
Attack: Lance +5 melee (3d6/x3), or bite +5 melee (2d6), or projectile weapon +5 ranged (2d10)
Full Attack: Lance +5 melee (3d6/x3), or bite +5 melee (2d6), or projectile weapon +5 ranged (2d10)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Telepathy 90 ft., uncanny aim, illiterate
Saves: Fort +2*, Ref +4*, Will +5*
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 11, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 9
Skills: Balance +5, Intimidate +2, Jump +1, Listen +5, Move Silently +3, Spot +9
Feats: Endurance(B), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
Environment: Warm desert
Organization: Solitary, team (2-4), squad (11-20 plus 2 3rd-level leaders and 1 jed of 4th-6th level), or clan (30-100 plus 5% noncombatants plus 1 3rd-level lesser jed per 10 adults, 5 5th-level jeddaks, and 3 7th-level high jeds)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually chaotic neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +1
This grotesque creature is born of a low gravity world, and hence their body has unusual proportions when compared to a human. The body is completely hairless, with a olive green hue that is lighter in the female, and changes from a yellow-green color in the hatchlings. It has a total of six limbs, consisting of two arms, two legs, and two intermediate limbs that can be used for either purpose. Only the females of the species have the rudiments of nails on the fingers and toes.
The thark has a slightly over-sized head at the end of a long, scrawny neck. There is a pair of eyes projecting out on the sides, allowing them to be directed forward or backward, and independently of each other. This permits the creature to look in any direction without the need to turn its head. The iris is blood-red, with a dark pupil. The eyeball itself is very white, as are the teeth. The latter give this already formidable-looking creature a most ferocious appearance, as the lower tusks curve up to end in sharp points above their mouth. The teeth are as white as the most pristene china, standing out from the dark olive flesh.
The ears are located slightly above the eyes and closer together, consisting of small, cup-shaped lobes protruding above the head. The nose is formed of longitudinal slits in the center of the face, midway between the mouth and ears.
Despite their intimidating size and appearance, the thark are creatures evolved for life on a low-gravity world and are much less powerful and agile, in proportion to their weight, than a human. They have heavy bones and only modest musculature. Few can even stand on a world with gravity equivalent to the earth.
They possess a form of telepathy, which they can use for communication with other intelligent creatures from their world. They combine this ability with asimple language for conversing with their own kind, or use the telepathic power to control the mounts and beasts they have domesticated. The thark do not have a written language, and can not read unless taught.
The thark reproduce by laying eggs which require about five years to hatch. They are very long-lived beings, and it is rare for a thark to suffer from sickness or disease. A thark is about fifteen feet in height and weighs 400 lbs.
Combat
Thark are trained from infancy in battle skills and mass combat. They are highly capable fighters who can use a variety of weapons and can fire projectiles with uncanny accuracy.
Telepathy (Ex): This ability only works with creatures that are within 90 ft., have an intelligence score, and understand the tharkian language.
Uncanny Accuracy (Ex): When a thark is using a projectile weapon, such as a rifle, its range increment is doubled.
Illiterate: The thark lack a written language and normally can not read. A thark may spend 2 skill points to gain the ability to read and write all other languages she is able to speak.
Skills: Thark have a +4 racial bonus on Balance and Spot checks.
Thark Culture
The thark is a violent creature, and few are ever encountered unarmed. Both male and female are highly skilled in the use of their deadly weapons. They respect creatures that demonstrate great skill in combat, and care little for the innocent and those inept at fighting. Most are devoid of those human traits of friendship, love, or affection. They do not enjoy most forms of humor, and find only death or suffering to be cause for hilarity. Their chief form of amusement is to kill a prisoner of war by some ingenious or nasty means.
They are somewhat civilized creatures, and readily make use of technology, particularly for the purpose of making war. All travel heavily armed, and wear body armor for defense. The thark do not normally wear cloding, but adorn themselves with various ornaments of precious metals and furs, at least for the purpose of decoration.
The offspring of the thark are grouped together in a hatchery that is guarded by the entire clan. When the young finally emerge from their eggs, usually at the same time, the adults take possession of the infants and raise them as if they were their own child. None of the young know their parents, but are brought up by the entire community.
The clans of thark abide by tradition and custom, but craft laws as needed with little regard for past precedent. There are no lawyers, and rulings are made by a jury of peers with heavy inflence from the leaders.
Thark as Characters
Thark leaders are almost always fighters. Tharks possess the following racial traits.
- Strength -2, Dexterity -2, Wisdom +2.
- Huge size. -2 penalty to Armor Class, -2 penalty on attack rolls, -8 penalty on Hide checks, +8 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits quadruple those of Medium characters.
- Space/Reach: 15 feet/15 feet.
- A thark's base land speed is 35 feet.
- Racial Hit Dice: A thark begins with five levels of monstrous humanoid, which provide 5d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +5, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +4.
- Racial Skills: A thark's monstrous humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 8 x (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1). Its class skills are Balance, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot. Thark have a +4 racial bonus on Balance and Spot checks.
- Racial Feats: A thark's monstrous humanoid levels give it two feats.
- Weapon Proficiency: A thark is proficient with all simple and martial weapons.
- +1 racial bonus on attack rolls with missile weapons.
- +2 racial bonus on saving throws against disease. *Not reflected in the saving throw numbers given here.
- +3 natural armor bonus.
- Natural Weapons: Bite 2d6.
- Special Qualities (see above): Telepathy 90 ft., uncanny accuracy, illiterate.
- Endurance as a bonus feat.
- Automatic Languages: Tharkian.
- Favored Class: Fighter.
- Level Adjustment: +1.
Credits
The thark is based on the green martian from Edgar Rice Burrough's novel, "A Princess of Mars", now out of copyright.
