My Take on Elans

I've been doing some work on the Elan race, trying to flesh them out as possessing-aberrations rather then enlightening-aberrations. I'd welcome any comments. It is rather long, read what you want...

On the Elan Lifecycle
Elan distinguish between three bodies: the physical body, the spiritual body, and the causal body. At the first stage in its life, the Elan is nothing more than a vague incorporeal cloud, devoid of thought or sentience. This is the AjaH (“unborn”) stage of its existence, and this body is the spiritual body, known as Deheii.
To move into the second stage of their being, the spiritual body must be put in a physical body, the DehaaH. This is done through a complex psionic ritual that involves carving mystical patterns on the host's body, typically as tattoos or scars. This ritual is known as Dehaantara (“body transference”). This process kills the original host.
Once possessing a host, the AjaH awakenes to sentience. He learns the host's mother tongue, and his memories (but not class benefits, skills, feats, and so on). He has reached the second stage of Elan existence, and has become a Jahni (“newborn”). In his new body the Elan can grow and develop just like any other character, gaining class levels as normal. After he proves himself capable (typically 10 or so years), the Elan is considered a Yuvan (“adult”).
The Elan can lead out a long life within his host. Its inherent psionic abilities rejuvinate the host body, prolonging its life (double all age categories). Eventually, however, the body will start to physically age (this takes 50 years for the typical host body). At this point an Elan typically chooses to undergo another Dehaantara, to switch bodies into a new host. Elan who possessed two bodies or more are known as NityaH (“eternal”), marking their eternal spiritual existence (this is considered a higher rank then Yuvan).
Should the DehaaH die, the life of the Elan is not necessarily over. If the dead corpse is available and still largely intact, the Dehaantara ceremony can be conducted as normal. Otherwise, the Elan is truly dead and can only be brought back to life by a raise dead or similar spell.
The Elan think of their soul as the causal body, the Dehatman. It is thought to be in stasis, atemporal, and as such not truly alive. The Dehatman exists, the Dehii thinks, and the DehaaH acts. Each is necessary for the next to function, but the Elan emphasise the importance of the second, as embodying the true self.
Elan do not procreate naturally. They multiply by a mental process similar to fission, where the mature Elan seperates and nurtures a fraction of his personality until it develops an independent existence of its own. This requires the Psicrystal Attunement feat. Creating a spawn is much like creating a new psicrystal with a unique personality fragment. The “parent” Elan must relinquish any current psicrystal, and must spend a year in meditation to cultivate the personality of the psicrystal until it develops into an AjaH, and invest 100 XP in its creation. In this way the Elan life-cycle is completed.
An elan that sired another is known as a Jahndana (“birth-giver)”), perhaps the highest honor and rank amonst the Elan. This involves creating the AjaH, as well as arranging for its first Dehaantara. It also implies transporting the AjaH in force-spheres (items made for this purpose), arranging for a secret locale for Dehaantara rituals, and teaching and caring for the Jahni until it matures.
Some ancient Elan refer to themselves as Praachi (“elder”). Like Yuvan, NityaH, and Jahndana this is a social designation, and not a part of the Elan's life-cycle proper. It is telling that Praachi and Jahndana are equally prestigious titles.
While the physical aging of the Elan is dependent on their bodies, their mental aging is not. All Elan enjoy the mental benefits of aging according to their aging categories as listed in the XPH. Elans are immortal, and will not die a natural death as indicated in their XPH aging table. However, the GM may desire to arrange for their permanent death at that point.

More on the Lifecycle

The Elan's true body is the Dehii – an incorporeal motionless cloud. While in this form an Elan can see and hear, but cannot move or act physically. He can manifest psionic powers and use psi-like abiltiies (if any), but only ones that affect only the mind (calirsentience and telepathy effects mostly). Elan in this state are especially vulnerable and often feel “naked”. An AjaH is a Dehii that has not yet awakened, and is unconscious.
When an Elan possess a host, his Dehii is absorbed into the host's body. Only trueseeing and similarly powerful effects can discern the Elan's true shape and nature, although its creature type (Aberration) may be discerned indirectly through other means. The Dehii serves as the host's spirit or soul, and is knocked uncoscious when the host is dead or unconscious. It remains in the host's body until the body decays, at which point the Dehii is dispersed and the Elan dies.
The Dehii is usually extracted from a previous host as part of the Dehaantara ritual. AjaH are often carried in force-spheres, and Dehii are sometimes extracted from corpses; the ritual can accommodate such changes. Most Elan know the ritual, as their progenitor invariably taught it to them. It requires the ritualistic scarring or tattooing of the target body, some incense and crystals, 2 power points, and chanting that goes on for 24 hours. Obviously, only a corporeal person can perform the ceremony whereas the Elan that is the target of the ceremony must be incorporeal during it, so an Elan cannot conduct the ritual by himself – other Elan are needed.
The Dehii is, for all practical purposes, the spirit or soul of the Elan. It is subject to effects such as soul bind, trap the soul, and so on. If a raise dead, resurrection, or true resurrection spell is used, the Elan will rise in the body of its last host.
Elan have no gender, and no sexual drive. They can, when in a female body, become pregnant but the child will be purely mundane and Elan feel no maternal instinct towards them. Male elan are impotent, although some have managed to use psionics or magic to induce lust in themselves.

On Elan Society

On Elan Society
Elan are few in number, there are perhaps a few hundred in existence. Almost every land and has a few, however, often in positions of power such as guild heads or noble families where they can maintain their power throughout multiple hosts. Such powerful Elan usually maintain a cadre of blindingly loyal henchmen, lead other Elan, and arrange for Dehaantara rituals.
Elan are almost never alone. It is pivotal that at least one other Elan will know of you and be in a position to claim your body so that your Dehii could continue living in case of an accident, or that it could conduct the Dehaantara should you wish to change host. As a result Elan are often found in small groups, cabals that occsionally meet in clandestine meetings to support each other or arrange for a Dehaantara. They are especially inclined to take positions as undertakers, priests, or entire families to ensure access to the body.
Some Elan, especially younger ones, are prone to wonderlust, and travel around the world. These often settle down after they “found themselves”, pursuing a more-or-less normal lifestyle while secretly forwarding the Elan community in the region. Some, however, continue to travel long past their maturity. These are seen as weirdos in the eyes of most Elan.
A few Elan do not settle in hidden cabals, but rather retreat from the mortal world to live in solitary conclaves. These include some of the most powerful and anceint Elan. Conclaves are usually all-Elan communities deep in inhabitable lands with no food or water for miles – places only Elan can live in. More then anywhere else, it is in these places that an Elan can feel at home.

Most Elan, even NPC Elan, puruse the path of the Psion. Most arhcetypical is the telepath who uses display-less manifestation to manipulate the people around him. Many others take on levels in other psionic classes, or more rarely in other PC classes. Elan typically do not take levels in NPC classes, or as wizards – the first are too mundane, while wizards often espouse worldviews not appealing to the Elan. There are only a few divinely-inspired Elan, and these are often of sympathetic deities such as the god of aberrations, psionics, secrets, or so on.
A single cleric/paladin of a Good deity, calling himself Angel, is currently rampaging on a crusade against the Elan in a far land. Most Elan have had the good fortune of hearing of him, yet.

The Mayahlan Conclave

Arjuna is my PC - this is his "home base".

The Mayahlan Conclave
Arjuna was born (possessed) in the Mayahlan Conclave, an Elan conclave located in the Mayahlan mountains. This is a massive mountain range of tall mountains to the north, its peaks covered with snow and much of its slopes arid and barren. The conclave resides in a natural cave deep within the mountains.
It consists of six members, all of which are Elan. All reside in the bodies of elves to lessen the need for new bodies, and they are content to let their bodies age. They specialize in creating psionic items, and between them have mastered crafting all the psionic item types. Most of their time is spent in philosophical discourse, though they also play games, practice calligraphy, and create psionic items.
Chief amongst the members is Annan, a powerful Shaper. He has created a few constructs that serve as guardians and servants, and also creates armaments and universal items. His powers also serve to supply the conclave with much of their material needs, and his constructs dig deep into the mountains to mine raw materials. Annan has developed a unique power that allows him to siphon the life energy (XP) of others, which allows the conclave to create psionic items for others. Their willingness to do so has brought a steady stream of Elan to the conclave, who provide what other material needs the conclave desires in return to their efforts.
Arjuna was not sired by Annan, however, but rather by Manhut, a mediocre member of the conclave that is in charge of managing its defenses. He was intriugued by the monk Kumar, which he detected when he sweeped the mountain with clairvoyant sense, and predicted an Elan borne by him will become a carrier of a great fate, though he could not say if for good or for ill. The other members of the conclave were not too happy with this omen, but Manhut decided to sire a new Elan through him, and so sired Arjuna.
Manhut is a crafter of psionic tattoos, and imparted many onto Arjuna before he left on his quest for uncarnality. Despite this, he chose to conduct the Dehaantara using ritual scarring over Kumar's entire body, which left the body as well as the psyche scarred – a decision the rest of the conclave frowned upon. As a result of all of this, Manhut's status in the conclave is fairly low at the moment, and Arjuna himself is treated with a mixture of suspicion and hope.
The other members of the conclave are Jored, a Psychic Warrior and crafter of cognizance crystals, Genezin, a Nomad and crafter of drojes and psicrowns and the only member to leave the mountain in centuries, Dulor, a Wilder and crafter of power stones, and Fenram, the only non-psionic member of the conclave, a Druid.

The Tallak Secret Council

The Tallak Secret Council
The Tallak cummunity is the most famous Elan community amongst the mortal races, though even it is known only to a few. It consists of an unknown number of members, all answering to the Secret Council in the great city of Tallak , the Gem of the South.
Perhaps it is good that the Tallak community is so famous, for unlike most Elan conclaves admission into it is not forced. Indeed, the Secret Council has managed to create such a positive buzz that many aspiring applicants seek it out each year. The nominees are carefully screened and selected, and only a few are chosen each year. It is unknown how the council selects the candidates or how large is the Elan community it manages, but sages estimate the council numbers only a few Elan, and maintains a constant sized community of a few hundreds or so (these sages typically just estimate the number of Elan in the world).
Elan sired by the council are expected not to sire others; this power is reserved to the council. Indeed, unlike most Elan they are not even taought the rituals of Dehaantara, although they are of course aware of it. Some Elan resent this and learn the ritual themselves, often severing their ties with the council. But the Tallak-Born Elan community at large is loyal to the council, and respects their decisions.
People aspiring to live as Elan are often sick of their current lives, and want a transformation. They are indeed given one, but perhaps not quite what they expect. Like all hosts, their original lives end in the Dehaantara ritual. There are some indications, however, that the council chooses applicants who are so sick of their lives that they are about to kill themselves anyway. It is whispered some motals even serve knowingly, gladly willing to sacrifice their lives to prolong the life of the Eternal. If this is truly the case, perhaps the council's doings are not so terrible after-all.
Many of the Tallak-Born Elan are of Good or Neutral alignment, and are not aware of the exact ramificaions of the Dehaantara ritual. On their second Dehaantara, however, one would imagine they realize the truth. One has to wonder how many NityaH are amongst the Tallak-Born.

Knowledge of the Elan is not widespread. Those who know of them usually identify all Elan with the Tallak-Born, who are considered to be a benevolent cult of enlightment, suffusing supplicant's bodies with psionic energies rather then possesing it. So in its way, the council is a great boon to all the rest of the Elan out there, who resort to more nefarious means.

On the Elan Language

On the Elan Language
The Elan use a secret language, much like Druidic. All Elan are invariably taught it by their progenitors. The written form of this language is intentionally both aesthetic and cryptic, serving as a code for the purpose of Dechiper Script or language-related spells. Normally, only those aleady familiar with this language can read its writing.
The most ancient writing in Elan is the Akenarthi Scrolls. Sadly, they contain only a tedious accounting of meteorological data. They are estimated to be roughly 7000 years old.
The most important piece of writing in Elan is probably the Samsara Gita, an epic poem detailing the story of a powerful psion named Srikhna, who seems to have mastered all psionic disciplines. It is not clear when Srikhna lived, or where. Many Elan believe Srikhna to be the first psion and the progenitor of their race. The legend says that when Srikhna died, his psicrystal became the first Elan. Many other Elan, however, scoff at this belief, and it is not part of the Samsara Gita. Regardless, the Samsara Gita is to be found in many places where Elan dwell.
Elan writings are often mistaken for aesthetic geometric designs – that is the intent. Many Elan carry a tattoo with their name on it at some prominent place, so another Elan could recognize them on sight. Many others, however, consider this foolhardy – hiding the tattoos or scars of the Dehaantara is trouble enough.
[The Elan language terms used in this document are based on Sanskrit.]

Crunch

The Dehaantara Ritual
Display: Material
Manifesting Time: 24 hours
Save: Will negates
XP Component: 100 XP
This special power is available to any Elan. It is not strictly speaking a power, and does not count as a power known. Instead, an Elan can learn it from anyone that knows it.
The ritual requires incense, crystals, and other materials worth 10 gp. It must be conducted on a flat floor, and severe winds may snuff out the incense (ruining the ritual). It can be used to create any of the two following effects, or both of them together:
First, this power allows the manifester to extract the incorporeal body of an Elan (the Dehii) from a host body (whether living or dead). The host body must be present and largely intact, and the Elan receives a Will saving throw to negate this effect (that he can choose to fail).
Secondly, this power allows the manifester to invest the incorporeal body of an Elan (the Dehii) into another host body. The old body or the incorporeal body of the Elan must be present. The new host body must be inscribed with the proper mystical symbols during the ritual; this process requires a DC 15 Craft (tattoo) or Dex (for branding) check. Only medium-sized humanoids can be possessed, and the resulting Elan will have the same game statistics regardless of the host's race.The host's physical ability scores will be maintained, sans any modifiers (racial, inherent, level, and so on). If the body is unhealthy or for any other reason not fitting to the intended Dehii (at the GM's discretion), the ritual will fail. The body must be kept alive and umoving (restrained) through the entire ritual, and the target receives a Will saving throw to resist the effect even if unconscious.
There is some leeway in the markings needed for the ritual, and some manifesters develop unqiue styles or theories regarding them. It is impossible to determine whether the markings will work or not except that if the check did not meet the needed DC the ritual will always fail. Of course, there could be other reasons for failure. The markings need not cover the entire body, but at least a few fairly large ones are required.
The Dehii is slowly extracted during the manifesting time, and infused into either the body or its incorporeal shape. This is accompanied by material manifestations of energy strands arching between the Dehii's current and intended locale.
Manifesting this ritual requires 24 hours of continuous chanting and effort. Unless the manifester can do without food and drink, he must make a DC 10 Concentration check to succesfully complete the ceremony.

This ritual may allow an Elan to possess physically superior specimens. GMs that are uncomfortable with this option should use their discretion to limit suitable bodies to take into account the character's existing physical ability scores (in point-buy worth, for example).

Sipohn Life
Psychometabolism
Level: 6 [requires research to discover]
Manifestation Time: 10 minutes
Duration: Permanent
Saves: NA; willing target only
Through this power, the manifester can siphon the XP of the target. Only a willing target can be affected, and any [Mind-Affecting] effect will disrupt the working of this power.
The target determines how much XP it gives to the manifester. It cannot relieve herself of so much XP that she loses a level. For the purpose of this power, one can assume the manifester and target both understand the meaniny and quantities of XP involved (although they typically treat it as “life energy” or some other designation).
The XP is not transferred to the manifester's XP total, but rather stored in a temporary pool of Temporary XP. This XP can be used in the creation of psionic or magic items, as a power or spell component or so on – but it does not increase the manifester's level.
Note that a dispel psionics or similar effect can dismiss this power, in which case all Temporary XP are lost.

Glove of Lifestealing
This is a gauntlet made of a black metal, whose outer surface is covered in small sharp spikes. Once per day, the wearer of the gauntlet can press it against the flesh of another, letting the spikes pierce into his body. Both are then connected through the spike's power, and the flow of XP can commence.
Despite its omnious name, the glove cannot force its target to exhange XP. A willing target, however, can transfer XP to the wearer of the gauntlet. The amount of XP trasfered is limited in that it cannot result in level loss. The wearer does not receive the XP towards his XP pool, but rather towards a pool of Temporary XP as detailed in the siphon life power. Temporary XP can be used to create psionic items, manifest powers with XP costs, and so on.
Major Psychometabolism [Transmutation]; ML 11; Market Price 26,400 gp.

Siphon Life and the glove of lifestealing are absolutely bat guano crazy, but everything else is awesome. I like.

Wow...

Free psionic gravy goodness =).

I'm not a huge fan of psionics but you take on the Elan is pretty damn cool!

- Mercucio

Anabstercorian said:

Siphon Life and the glove of lifestealing are absolutely bat guano crazy, but everything else is awesome. I like.

Click to expand...

I agree they are problematic. Siphon Life basically allows the characters to spread the XP cost of making magic/psionic items, with just a little leeway to allow item crafters to haggle for a little more. As it requires research, the psion needs 6000 gp and 6 weeks (plus a DC 16 Psicraft check) to get it (as per DMG p. 198), and needs to invest one of his precious power slots. A good power for any psionic item crafter, for sure, but I don't think it is a game breaker. Indeed, I like the campaign ramifications, as long as it is confined to a rare few manifesters (maybe just one). If you are concerned, however, you may want to add a price of 5 gp per XP in materials; that might balance it.
Consider that at power level 6 a psychometabolist can raise the dead, regenerate bodies, and restore level and ability drains. So I reckon that is about right for transfering XP.

As for the rest - I'm glad you like it.

mercucio said:

I'm not a huge fan of psionics but you take on the Elan is pretty damn cool!

Click to expand...

Thanks