Shades of Green
First Post
While I've posted my previous attempt in this area in another thread, here is a new one, inspired by the 2E (Savage Coast) Rakastas; I've also decided not to use a quasi-egyptian backround for the most part for various reasons (though a few elements do remain). Alot of the game rules are based and/or inspired by Thia Halmades, whom I heartly thank for them.
Bastit
The Bastit (the name is used as both the single and the plural forms) are renown in Renya and beyond as excellent hunters, proficient herders and cunning warriors. At their home, the vast dry steppes to the east of Renya, they either lead a nomadic lifestyle and make a living out of herding, or live in their few cities and perform various crafts and commerce. When they settle away from their barren homeland, they sometimes find work as mercenaries or game-keepers, using their naturally acute senses and feral nature to the advantage of their employers.
Personality: Bastit are an emotional, curious and proud race: they are quick to befriend others, quick to laugh, quickly offended and quickly angered. They take pride in their racial and cultural heritage, as well as in their personal achievements; they are ready and willing to fight in defence of this pride. Bastit also like to experience and explore new things, sensations, foodstuffs and places, face new challanges and meet new people; their famous curiousity often also leads them into great trouble. Despite their impulsiveness, many Bastit warriors follow a rough code of honor which revolves around avoiding the use of their usual sneaky combat tricks when they are challanged to a duel; outside of a duel, such self-imposed rules are usually ignored.
Physical Description: Bastit are feline humanoids who are almost as tall as humans, though their bodies are somewhat more sleek and flexible. They posses long tails (about a meter in length) and their bodies are covered with a short plum of hair; on their heads, and in the case of adult males, their torsos, they have longer hair. While the skin is tan in color, their plume of fur and the rest of their hair could be in various colors, sometimes in more than one color in the same individual. Bastit ears are long and pointy, and their large, yellow eyes have slitted pupils. They also posses retractable claws, which are capable of combat use, in both hands and legs. Bastit mature a little faster than humans, and age at a slightly faster pace, rarely living more than 80 years.
Relations: Bastit get along well with the similarly adaptive and flexible-minded Celirans, as well as with most Humans who live alongside the Celirans in southern Renya; however, they have trouble adapting to the rigid, formal Dwarven way of conduct, or to the Lizardfolk tendancy to unwittingly insult nearly everone in their surroundings when they are angry or drunk. Despite this, most Bastit get along well enough with most other races to trade with them, with one exception - Goblinoids and Kobolds. The Great Hobgoblin Empire has conquered the Bastit homelands nearly two centuries ago, and still rules them to this day with an iron fist - leading to a consumate hatered to all Goblinoid races - who are viewed as slave-driving exploiters - among the Bastit.
Alignment: Bastit have a strong tendancy towards chaos; while a few of them can become lawful, their impulsive and emptional nature usually pulls them toweards chaos. Other than that, both good and evil could be found among the Bastit in nearly equal prop[ortions.
Bastit Lands: The great dry steppes to the east of Renya are the ancestral home of the Bastit. Their forefathers (sp?) lived in close-knit nomadic tribes that lived of herding, as many of them still live today, even though about a fifth of their entire population lives in permament villages, towns and even cities. The village dwellers make a living from agriculture, while the city-dwellers are typically merchants and craftsmen. Two centuries ago, however, a great shadow fell over their lands: after many repelled attempts, the Goblinoid hordes of the Great Hobgoblin Empire of the south have managed to conquer the Bastit homeland. While the Bastit queendom was reinstated as an Imperial vassal state, Hobgoblin occupation forces still terrorize the villsges and opress the cities on occasion, usually to take slaves and loot; Kobold industrialists have opened shop in these lands as well, exploiting the local cheap Bastit workforce for their financial gain. Several resistance movements have grown over time, usually among the city poor and the more warlike nomadic tribes, but so far the effective Hobgoblin, Bugbear and Goblin troops were able to brutally crush any attempted revolt.
Religion: Most Bastit follow Animistic, Shamanic beliefs; a minority, however, have adopted the One Mother faith which is common in thhe neighbouring (sp?) Renya; their local name for that goddess is "Bast".
Language: Bastit speak Bastitish, which uses the Ceran alphabet in writing. Bastit writings are famous for their heart-touching poetry and their epic heroid myths. Bastit often speak the languages of their enemies as well as of their trade partners: Goblin, Ceran, Modern Dwarven and Lizard-Speak. Some also learn the more obscure Old Dwarven, Draconic and Giant languages.
Names: <<this is a hard part, I'll probably end up using the Aslan names out of the Traveller RPG or something similar>>>
Adventures: many bastits' curiousity often leads him into unexpected adventures; others seek to gain prestige and honor in the field of battle or as hunters or cat-thieves; still others find employment as professional mercenaries or game-keepers.
Bastit racial tratis:
* Type is Humanoid (Feline)
* +2 to Dexterity, -2 to Wisdom. Bastit are agile and swift, but tend to be rather impulsive and restless.
* Medium Size: as medium-size creatures, Bastit have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
* Bastit base speed is 30 feet.
* Low Light Vision (40m [120ft]). Bastit have exceptional low light vision.
* Claws: Bastit have sharp, retractable claws on their hands which could function as natural weapons, each dealing 1d4 damage and having a critical of x2. A bastit monk using his or her claws is considered to be unarmed and gains all the subsequent bonuses; a bastit may fight withh both claws, following the usual rules about two-weapon fighting. Bastit may choose not to retract their claws and thus to inflict only subdual damage as normal. It takes one free action to retract the claws; a Bastit is "armed" when the claws are retracted. The Bastit also recieve a +2 racial bonus to all Climb checks when their claws are out.
* Safe Fall: Bastit can recover from a fall equal to 10' x 1/2 their current level by making a Reflex Save for half damage. If there's a more standard rule for Safe Fall, then apply it instead, but this is the first thing that came to my mind.
* Natural Survivors: +2 racial bonus to all Wilderness Lore checks; this bonus becomes +4 when in a desert or a dry steppe environment.
* Keen Senses: +2 racial bonus to all Spot checks.
* Natural Grace: +2 racial bonus to Move Silently, Balance, and Tumble. Balance is always a class skill.
* Tail Accommodation: A Bastit needs to wear armor or clothes that accommodate their tail, as it can't fit in typical clothes made for other humanoids their size. Bastit must spend 10% more on armor and clothes when buying or trading for such goods not tailor-made to fit Bastit in the first place. This assumes that the armor or clothing is made to allow the tail's freedom of movement while still covering it partially or fully. It takes a day of an armorer's work, costing 10% of the armor's value, to make armor that protects the tail and suitably fits a Bastit, without impeding use of the tail any more than the armor check penalty already does. This 10% cost increase applies even when the armor is made for Bastit in the first place.
* Keen Smell: Bastit may opt to take the Scent feat at level one.
* Automatic Languages: Bastitish, Goblin and Ceran. Bonus Languages: Modern Dwarven, Old Dwarven, Lizard-Speak Draconic and Giant.
* Favored Class: Ranger. A multiclass Bastit's Ranger class does no count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty when multiclassing. Bastit are well adapted to hunting and to wilderness life, and even those of them born in the larger cities still feel at home in the wilderness.
Bastit
The Bastit (the name is used as both the single and the plural forms) are renown in Renya and beyond as excellent hunters, proficient herders and cunning warriors. At their home, the vast dry steppes to the east of Renya, they either lead a nomadic lifestyle and make a living out of herding, or live in their few cities and perform various crafts and commerce. When they settle away from their barren homeland, they sometimes find work as mercenaries or game-keepers, using their naturally acute senses and feral nature to the advantage of their employers.
Personality: Bastit are an emotional, curious and proud race: they are quick to befriend others, quick to laugh, quickly offended and quickly angered. They take pride in their racial and cultural heritage, as well as in their personal achievements; they are ready and willing to fight in defence of this pride. Bastit also like to experience and explore new things, sensations, foodstuffs and places, face new challanges and meet new people; their famous curiousity often also leads them into great trouble. Despite their impulsiveness, many Bastit warriors follow a rough code of honor which revolves around avoiding the use of their usual sneaky combat tricks when they are challanged to a duel; outside of a duel, such self-imposed rules are usually ignored.
Physical Description: Bastit are feline humanoids who are almost as tall as humans, though their bodies are somewhat more sleek and flexible. They posses long tails (about a meter in length) and their bodies are covered with a short plum of hair; on their heads, and in the case of adult males, their torsos, they have longer hair. While the skin is tan in color, their plume of fur and the rest of their hair could be in various colors, sometimes in more than one color in the same individual. Bastit ears are long and pointy, and their large, yellow eyes have slitted pupils. They also posses retractable claws, which are capable of combat use, in both hands and legs. Bastit mature a little faster than humans, and age at a slightly faster pace, rarely living more than 80 years.
Relations: Bastit get along well with the similarly adaptive and flexible-minded Celirans, as well as with most Humans who live alongside the Celirans in southern Renya; however, they have trouble adapting to the rigid, formal Dwarven way of conduct, or to the Lizardfolk tendancy to unwittingly insult nearly everone in their surroundings when they are angry or drunk. Despite this, most Bastit get along well enough with most other races to trade with them, with one exception - Goblinoids and Kobolds. The Great Hobgoblin Empire has conquered the Bastit homelands nearly two centuries ago, and still rules them to this day with an iron fist - leading to a consumate hatered to all Goblinoid races - who are viewed as slave-driving exploiters - among the Bastit.
Alignment: Bastit have a strong tendancy towards chaos; while a few of them can become lawful, their impulsive and emptional nature usually pulls them toweards chaos. Other than that, both good and evil could be found among the Bastit in nearly equal prop[ortions.
Bastit Lands: The great dry steppes to the east of Renya are the ancestral home of the Bastit. Their forefathers (sp?) lived in close-knit nomadic tribes that lived of herding, as many of them still live today, even though about a fifth of their entire population lives in permament villages, towns and even cities. The village dwellers make a living from agriculture, while the city-dwellers are typically merchants and craftsmen. Two centuries ago, however, a great shadow fell over their lands: after many repelled attempts, the Goblinoid hordes of the Great Hobgoblin Empire of the south have managed to conquer the Bastit homeland. While the Bastit queendom was reinstated as an Imperial vassal state, Hobgoblin occupation forces still terrorize the villsges and opress the cities on occasion, usually to take slaves and loot; Kobold industrialists have opened shop in these lands as well, exploiting the local cheap Bastit workforce for their financial gain. Several resistance movements have grown over time, usually among the city poor and the more warlike nomadic tribes, but so far the effective Hobgoblin, Bugbear and Goblin troops were able to brutally crush any attempted revolt.
Religion: Most Bastit follow Animistic, Shamanic beliefs; a minority, however, have adopted the One Mother faith which is common in thhe neighbouring (sp?) Renya; their local name for that goddess is "Bast".
Language: Bastit speak Bastitish, which uses the Ceran alphabet in writing. Bastit writings are famous for their heart-touching poetry and their epic heroid myths. Bastit often speak the languages of their enemies as well as of their trade partners: Goblin, Ceran, Modern Dwarven and Lizard-Speak. Some also learn the more obscure Old Dwarven, Draconic and Giant languages.
Names: <<this is a hard part, I'll probably end up using the Aslan names out of the Traveller RPG or something similar>>>
Adventures: many bastits' curiousity often leads him into unexpected adventures; others seek to gain prestige and honor in the field of battle or as hunters or cat-thieves; still others find employment as professional mercenaries or game-keepers.
Bastit racial tratis:
* Type is Humanoid (Feline)
* +2 to Dexterity, -2 to Wisdom. Bastit are agile and swift, but tend to be rather impulsive and restless.
* Medium Size: as medium-size creatures, Bastit have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
* Bastit base speed is 30 feet.
* Low Light Vision (40m [120ft]). Bastit have exceptional low light vision.
* Claws: Bastit have sharp, retractable claws on their hands which could function as natural weapons, each dealing 1d4 damage and having a critical of x2. A bastit monk using his or her claws is considered to be unarmed and gains all the subsequent bonuses; a bastit may fight withh both claws, following the usual rules about two-weapon fighting. Bastit may choose not to retract their claws and thus to inflict only subdual damage as normal. It takes one free action to retract the claws; a Bastit is "armed" when the claws are retracted. The Bastit also recieve a +2 racial bonus to all Climb checks when their claws are out.
* Safe Fall: Bastit can recover from a fall equal to 10' x 1/2 their current level by making a Reflex Save for half damage. If there's a more standard rule for Safe Fall, then apply it instead, but this is the first thing that came to my mind.
* Natural Survivors: +2 racial bonus to all Wilderness Lore checks; this bonus becomes +4 when in a desert or a dry steppe environment.
* Keen Senses: +2 racial bonus to all Spot checks.
* Natural Grace: +2 racial bonus to Move Silently, Balance, and Tumble. Balance is always a class skill.
* Tail Accommodation: A Bastit needs to wear armor or clothes that accommodate their tail, as it can't fit in typical clothes made for other humanoids their size. Bastit must spend 10% more on armor and clothes when buying or trading for such goods not tailor-made to fit Bastit in the first place. This assumes that the armor or clothing is made to allow the tail's freedom of movement while still covering it partially or fully. It takes a day of an armorer's work, costing 10% of the armor's value, to make armor that protects the tail and suitably fits a Bastit, without impeding use of the tail any more than the armor check penalty already does. This 10% cost increase applies even when the armor is made for Bastit in the first place.
* Keen Smell: Bastit may opt to take the Scent feat at level one.
* Automatic Languages: Bastitish, Goblin and Ceran. Bonus Languages: Modern Dwarven, Old Dwarven, Lizard-Speak Draconic and Giant.
* Favored Class: Ranger. A multiclass Bastit's Ranger class does no count when determining whether he suffers an XP penalty when multiclassing. Bastit are well adapted to hunting and to wilderness life, and even those of them born in the larger cities still feel at home in the wilderness.
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