Races: gallery and creation

[Arkhandus]

I'm running short on ideas, probably won't post much beyond this except to fill in gaps among the racial descriptions I've already posted. Hope other folks contribute some more.

Vrym'ka, the blind sentinels (By Arkhandus)

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Overview
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I'll put something here Saturday evening probably....
Personality: Likewise....
Physical Description: Vrym'ka stand between 3-3/4 and 4-1/2 feet tall, weighing in at 40 to 50 pounds, but never flabby. A vrym'ka is an unusual humanoid for a few reasons, which are very obvious to anyone who sees them. First, vrym'ka have no eyes, just a protruding horn with three prongs, approximately half a foot long in total. The side prongs are shorter and jut out from about halfway down the length of the main horn. A vrym'ka's nose is split between the left and right sides of its face, one nostril on either side, since their horn extends from the upper-middle portion of their face. Second, vrym'ka possess ten long, pointed ears, projecting from all over the left and right sides of a vrym'ka's head, with each ear similar in length to the horn. These ears move about constantly, twitching to and fro, listening for any sounds, since vrym'ka are blind and use echolocation for a vague kind of sight. Third, vrym'ka are hairless, with grayish shark-like skin. Four, a vrym'ka's legs extend out to the sides and cause them to move about like crocodiles or frilled lizards, rather than moving about like a human. Vrym'ka swim much like frogs do. The last notable difference is that vrym'ka possess a set of gills along their shoulders and the sides of their abdomen. However, vrym'ka have two sets of lungs; air lungs filled by breath from their mouth and throat, and water lungs filled by water from their gills. They can breathe in either airy or aquatic environments, and have natural muscle valves that seal the water lungs while unsubmerged, or the air lungs while submerged. Also, vrym'ka have the unusual feature that their necks can straighten in such a way as to shift their head forward and upward, just right for streamlining themselves while swimming. Vrym'ka have strong neck muscles and a sturdy spine.
Relations: Likewise....
Alignment: The vrym'ka tend towards lawful alignment in most cases, only rarely taking to chaotic traits. Theirs is a dutiful and responsible people, and those who reject or ignore their obligations are cast away as living refuse, tattooed with the Aquan symbol of shame at the back of their head. Vrym'ka are more likely to be good-aligned than evil-aligned, but more often just tend towards neutrality in matters of good and evil. They are usually merciful and forgiving when they can afford to be, but will not allow an enemy to survive if still a danger to them and their allies. Vrym'ka's fervor in fighting off the attacks of sahuagin, bullywugs, and krakens, regardless of who those creatures attack, tends to make vrym'ka allies to most seafarers and river-going folk regardless of the vrym'ka's alignment.
Example Lands: Likewise....
Religion: Likewise....
Language: Likewise....
Names: Likewise....
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Vrym'ka Racial Traits
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• Strength -2, Wisdom +2, Charisma -2; Vrym'ka look rather unusual to most other races, and are not very sociable, being absorbed in thoughts of combat, hunting, and observation. They are pragmatic and clear-thinking, with steady minds and good awareness, but they don't enjoy socializing, nor do they have much affinity for music and sorcery. The small stature of vrym'ka leaves them somewhat less muscular and strong than humans, but they are still a reasonably tough race. However, vrym'ka lack the agility of most other small humanoids. Part of their strangeness and lack of good agility is that they move with their legs sticking out to the side, walking and running somewhat like a crocodile or frilled lizard, while swimming much like a frog.
• Base speed 20 ft, swim 50 ft, vrym'ka also receive the normal benefits for having a natural swim speed
• Small-sized: Vrym'ka have a +1 size bonus on attack rolls and Armor Class, as well as a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but they suffer a size penalty on certain rolls, such as -4 on grapple checks. Vrym'ka deal a base of 1d2 nonlethal (subdual in 3.0 rules) damage unarmed, and must use smaller equipment than humans. Their carrying capacities are only three-quarters those of a Medium-sized creature with the same Strength score.
• Type: Vrym'ka are Humanoids of the Aquatic and Vrym'ka subtypes. Though naturally aquatic, vrym'ka are actually amphibious and can survive outside of water just as well as they can underwater.
• Blind: Vrym'ka have no eyes and thus cannot see normally. If their blindsight quality is disrupted or negated, a vrym'ka is fully blinded.
• Blindsight: The vrym'ka possess blindsight out to a range of 60 feet, extended to 120 feet underwater, allowing them to effectively 'see' but without discerning color or fine details. Vrym'ka blindsight is based on sound, using an advanced form of echolocation. Their secondary mouths, while the vrym'ka is conscious, constantly produce a series of clicking sounds at frequencies not heard by most humanoids' ears. The vrym'ka may consciously restrict their clicks to high frequencies or to low ones, but they're still going to irritate many animals, whose range of hearing is greater than a human's. Animals will generally move out of the vrym'ka's blindsight range after hearing a few of the irritating clicks, but any creatures without ears, or who normally use echolocation or tremorsense themselves, will typically not be irritated by the vrym'ka's noise. Thus, some reptiles, some vermin, some sea creatures, and a few other creatures can effectively ignore the vrym'ka's clicking, such as bats and porpoises.
• Three-Pronged Horn: A vrym'ka's horn is useful for self-defense, but can't match a decent manufactured weapon for hunting and war. Vrym'ka have one gouge natural attack they may use each round, and vrym'ka are proficient in their gouge attack. With their strong neck, tough skull, and large horn, vrym'ka deal 1d4 damage with each gouge attack, plus one-and-a-half-times their Strength modifier. This is piercing damage.
• Endurance: All vrym'ka receive the Endurance feat as a racial bonus feat.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen skill checks: Vrym'ka have several keen ears, though most of their ears are usually occupied with receiving returned soundwaves from echolocation.
• Aquatic Affinity: Vrym'ka need to drink twice as much water as normal when not submerged in a clean body of water. Also, vrym'ka are somewhat more vulnerable to heat-based attacks than a human would be, so vrym'ka suffer a -2 racial penalty on saving throws against fire attacks and other heat-based effects, such as to resist heat stroke.
• Sonic Sensitivity: With their advanced sense of hearing, and their significant dependance on that particular sense, vrym'ka are woefully sensitive to loud noises and sonic attacks. A vrym'ka suffers a -2 racial penalty on saving throws against sonic effects, including such things as a thunderstone. Also, vrym'ka are stunned for 1 round if damaged by a sonic attack, rendered deaf by a sonic attack, or stunned by a sonic effect; in the latter case, simply add this 1 round of stunning to the duration of that stunning effect. Any time a vrym'ka is deafened by a sonic effect, that deafness lasts twice as long as normal. Lastly, any vrym'ka stricken by a damaging sonic effect suffers 25% more damage than normal, rounded up.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Aquan. Bonus Languages: Any, except for restricted languages.
• Favored Class: A vrym'ka's favored class is monk.

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Racial Paragon Class
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look into the link! http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm#paragonClassesInYourGame
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Racial Feats
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No race-specific feat as of yet
Prerequisits: nothing yet
Benefit: nothing yet
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Design Notes
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not really sure what to put here
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Plot hooks
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• none as of yet

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[Arkhandus]

I've finished the Vrym'ka's stats and some of their description, and I've done a minor edit of the Somnii and Nemeons, adding a bit more description and also slightly adjusting a few of the Somnii's stats.

I'll finish the rest of the Vrym'ka's basic description, the Mistfolk's description, and some more of the other races' descriptions, over the course of the week. Tonight and tomorrow I'll at least get one or two of those done.

 

[guardianfallenangel]

has anyone??

There is a character in the Marvel Universe that I think would make a cool race, though I'm not sure how to work it. The character is Marrow. She has control over her bone structure allowing her to create weapons and body armor for herself, along with a healing factor. Not sure what else there is, or how to work it. SO, if anyone has the time and desire to work something up, I'd appreciate it.

 

[Arkhandus]

Alrighty, I'm back home now so I'll finish up most of the statistical details for osseofexes now. I'll add a few more Osseomancy options later.

Osseofex, the bone-shapers (By Arkhandus)

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Overview
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I'll put something here later....
Personality: Likewise....
Physical Description: An osseofex looks much like a human from the outside, but their bone structure is actually more advanced and capable of growing at their mental command, and osseofex have slightly sparser muscle tissues. Their internal organs are also spaced just far enough apart as to allow thin bone growths to slide between them to reach the surface. Osseofex often sport various bone spurs, ridges, and plates, but can shed these extra bone growths when desired. Osseofex skin and other tissues regrow quickly after being split by bone growths.
Relations: Likewise....
Alignment: Likewise....
Example Lands: Likewise....
Religion: Likewise....
Language: Likewise....
Names: Likewise....
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Osseofex Racial Traits
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• -2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence; the osseofex are resilient, and can alter their bone structure quickly to increase their body's flexibility, but they have less muscle mass anchored to their bones to allow for ease of bone movement. Osseofex are energetic but somewhat dull-witted and not generally interested in study.
• Base speed 30 ft.
• Medium-sized: Osseofex have no bonuses or penalties due to size.
• Type: Osseofex are Humanoids of the Osseofex subtype.
• Harshness: Osseofex have a tough time being sociable, respectful, or amicable, so they suffer a -2 racial penalty on Bluff and Diplomacy checks for social interaction.
• Accelerated Healing: An osseofex's natural healing rate is double that of a human. Even when you are in the midst of strenuous activity, you naturally heal at the same rate a human would during light activity. Furthermore, an osseofex's chance of stabilizing when at negative hit points is 40% rather than 10%.
• Osseomancy (Ex): Osseofex have the remarkable natural ability to manipulate their bone structure and even cause their bones to grow rapidly in unusual ways, forming bone spurs, shields, armor plates, and more. There are several uses to this ability, but also a few limitations. Osseofex have 10 'osseomancy points' available to them each day, representing the limitations of how much they can force their bones to grow within a 24-hour period. These osseomancy points are replenished once each day after 8 hours of sleep.
  
  Each time an Osseomancy ability is activated, the osseofex suffers 1 hit point damage per OP spent for that activation, from the shifting of bones and cutting of flesh involved, even though these cuts mend rapidly. Using Osseomancy is a painful and slightly-harmful process, but osseofex heal quickly so they don't really have to worry about it. The following Osseomancy abilities may be used by any osseofex who has enough OP available:
• Bone Plates: This osseomantic ability grows numerous plates and scales of bone over portions of the character's skin, providing a limited degree of protection. Activating this ability is a standard action, or a full-round action if spending 3 OP, and it provokes attacks of opportunity.
  
  Deactivation is a move-equivalent action, which does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and simply causes the bone plates and scales to fall off and crumble into small pieces, while skin mends itself over the former locations of the plates and scales. The plates and scales otherwise crumble and fall off naturally after 8 hours, requiring no action on the osseofex's part, with skin regrowing over those spots of course.
  
  The osseofex spends either 1 OP for a +1 natural armor bonus, 2 OP for a +3 natural armor bonus, or 3 OP for a +5 natural armor bonus. The natural armor bonus applies to AC for as long as the Bone Plates ability remains active. The osseofex is considered, for all intents and purposes, to be carrying a medium load as long as this ability is granting +3 or +4 AC, or a heavy load as long as this ability is granting +5 AC.
  
  Each time you suffer 10 or more damage at once, reduce the AC bonus from this ability by 1 point; if this reduces the AC bonus to 0, this ability is simply deactivated as a result, with no cost in actions on your part.
• Bone Spurs: This osseomantic ability grows various bony spurs, blades, and plates around one or both hands of the osseofex, and around one or both lower arms as appropriate. Upon activation, the osseofex chooses whether both hands (and lower arms, as appropriate), or just one, will be covered in bony spurs and such; this choice does not affect the cost of this ability in OP, nor the activation and deactivation times.
  
  The Bone Spurs are relatively small and isolated to the hand (or hands) if spending 1 OP, or several inches long and protruding from the lower arm (or arms) as well if spending 2 OP, or nearly a foot long and protruding from both the hand and lower arm (or hands and arms) if spending 3 OP. Bone Spurs do not interfere with normal hand use.
  
  Activating this ability is a standard action, or a free action if spending 1 OP, and it provokes attacks of opportunity. This ability only may be activated once per round. Deactivation is a move-equivalent action, which does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and simply causes the bony blades and such to fall off and crumble into small pieces, while skin mends itself over the former locations of the spurs, blades, and tiny plates. After 8 hours, the Bone Spurs deactivate naturally and automatically, not requiring any action on the osseofex's part.
  
  As long as the Bone Spurs are active, they provide the following benefits. The osseofex is considered to be wearing normal gauntlets for the duration, firstly. Secondly, the osseofex's unarmed strikes deal greater base damage for the duration; 1d4 damage if 1 OP was spent, 1d6 damage if 2 OP were spent, or 1d8 if 3 OP were spent; adjust this damage as appropriate if the osseofex has been somehow altered to a different size category besides Medium; this does not stack with other increases to base unarmed damage dice. Thirdly, the same damage increase applies to grapple damage, and the osseofex may deal normal damage with grapple attacks at no penalty, and the osseofex does not provoke attacks of opportunity for initiating or entering a grapple.
  
  Fourthly, the osseofex gains a +1 racial bonus on Climb checks if he or she spent 1 OP on Bone Spurs, increased to +2 if 2 OP were spent, or increased to +3 if 3 OP were spent. Lastly, the osseofex gains a natural claw attack with each hand covered by the Bone Spurs; if both hands are covered, this allows for two claw attacks as a full-attack action. The osseofex is considered proficient in his or her Bone Spur claw attacks. These claws deal slashing and piercing damage, of the same amount as the unarmed damage granted by Bone Spurs. The osseofex applies his or her full Strength modifier to damage with each claw.
• Bone Weapon: This osseomantic ability causes a single arm bone or leg bone to grow an unusual spur outwards, extending and expanding in shape until it acquires the appropriate general size and shape of a weapon, at which point it detaches from the arm or leg. The osseofex may grab hold of this Bone Weapon immediately as a free action, with one or both hands, or allow it to drop.
  
  This ability costs 1 OP if creating a light weapon, an arrow, a bolt, or a sling bullet. It costs 2 OP instead if creating a one-handed weapon, or 3 OP instead if creating a two-handed weapon. This ability cannot be used to create weapons larger than that. Activating this ability is a standard action, or a full-round action if spending more than 1 OP, and it provokes attacks of opportunity. However, activation is a mere free action if creating an arrow, bolt, or sling bullet, and does not provoke attacks of opportunity in that case; only one arrow, bolt, or sling bullet may be produced in this manner each round.
  
  There is no deactivation for this ability; the Bone Weapon simply remains useable until it is broken, crumbled, or otherwise destroyed. This Bone Weapon crumbles naturally to bits and pieces after 4 hours, if not otherwise destroyed. An osseofex chooses which kind of weapon to grow when activating this ability, but his or her choices are somewhat limited. It must be a simple, martial, or exotic weapon the osseofex knows of and is proficient in. This ability cannot produce shields, shield spikes, or armor spikes.
  
  Only a weapon that lacks moving parts may be created through this ability, such as a sword or mace, but not any kind of flail, gauntlet, glove, cestus, bow, crossbow, artillery piece, firearm, sling, whip, chain, net, bola, or similar weapon. The exception is that a longbow or shortbow, but not composite versions thereof, may be created by this ability, but such a bow lacks a string, so the osseofex must add a normal bowstring themselves in order to use these bows for firing arrows. In any case, the Bone Weapon is of a normal, appropriate size for the osseofex to wield, though nothing inherantly prevents other creatures from taking the Bone Weapon and wielding it themselves.
  
  Arrows for bows, bolts for crossbows, and bullets for slings may be created in this manner, but they are of a size appropriate to bows, crossbows, or slings normally wieldable by the osseofex, and the osseofex does not need to be proficient in these weapons for purposes of creating this ammunition, unlike other weapons. The Bone Weapon is a normal version of the chosen weapon or ammunition type, not masterwork, and due to its material and rough craftsmanship the Bone Weapon suffers a -1 penalty on attack rolls and damage. Also, if creating a bow, the range increment is reduced by 10 feet. Bone Weapons effectively have the same hardness and hit points as wooden weapons of the same general size and shape.
• Automatic Language: Common. Bonus Languages: Any, except for restricted languages.
• Favored Class: An osseofex's favored class is fighter.

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Racial Paragon Class
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look into the link! http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm#paragonClassesInYourGame
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Racial Feats
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Improved Osseofex Healing (Special)
You have advanced your natural healing ability.
Prerequisites: Osseofex race, Con 15+.
Benefit: You gain fast healing 1 as an extraordinary ability. This does not replace your natural healing rate, however. This ability only heals up to 1 hit point per character level per day. Once it has healed you of that much damage on any given day, it ceases functioning for the rest of the day. However, separate from this, you naturally heal 1 additional point of temporary ability damage each day. Also, you gain a +1 racial bonus on saving throws against disease.

Greater Osseofex Healing (Special)
Your efforts have greatly improved your already-impressive natural healing rate.
Prerequisites: Osseofex race, Con 17+, base Fortitude save +3 or higher, Improved Osseofex Healing, Great Fortitude.
Benefit: Your fast healing from the Improved Osseofex Healing feat improves to fast healing 2, and your limit on the total amount of fast healing per day is doubled. Furthermore, your racial bonus on saving throws against disease improves to +3.

Superior Osseofex Healing (Special)
Your racial healing capabilities have improved to their maximum, due to your focused efforts in that regard.
Prerequisites: Osseofex race, Con 19+, base Fortitude save +5 or higher, Improved Osseofex Healing, Greater Osseofex Healing, Great Fortitude, Toughness.
Benefit: Your fast healing from the Improved Osseofex Healing feat improves to fast healing 3, and your limit on the total amount of fast healing per day is tripled. This overrides the fast healing benefits of Greater Osseofex Healing. However, you now have the ability to control your fast healing to an extent, allowing you to activate or deactivate your fast healing ability as a free action at the end of your turn. This does not affect your limit on fast healing each day, but it does allow you to decide when your body will mend itself quickly and when it will allow natural healing to take its course, in effect. However, any time you are reduced to 0 hit points or fewer, your fast healing ability automatically activates if you are still alive at that time. You cannot deactivate your fast healing while at 0 hit points or fewer; it will remain active on its own until either it reaches its limit or your current hit points are increased above 0.
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Design Notes
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none as of yet
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Plot hooks
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• none as of yet

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[DreamChaser]

Faen (By [DreamChaser])

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Overview
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The breeding experiments of the Flayer Yoke produced many freaks and failures but on occasion a creature such as the faen would emerge: one seemingly useful but with a dark core. The faen proved to be anathema to the illithids due to their toxic minds. Due to the fact that they are nearly indistinguishable from humans, they made the perfect weapons in the court games of the Flayer Yoke. While the faen would like to claim that they caused the fall of the Flayer Yoke, this is too simple to be true; still, many illithids fell to the Faen Whispers.
The original faen were engineered with the essence of udoroots and their floral characteristics have only increased over the centuries. A faen has three distinct life stages.
Seed–upon the branches of elderfaen trees, the fleshy translucent seeds of faen young grow and develop. These young look like pulpy dolls moving around and drawing nourishment from their mother tree. A single tree might have 6-10 seeds at one time.
Traveler–after 7 years, a faen-seed splits and releases a young adult faen, standing little more than 5 feet tall. For the next 150 to 200 years, the faen will grow and learn until it is ready for its final stage of life. A male faen becomes fertile at 100 years old and is expected to fertilize an elderfaen flower at least once every few years.
Planting–faens do not die so much as they become so slow that they are forced to take root and they enter the third stage of life. Females take root and become elderfaen trees, the mothers of the faen. Males become elderfaen brambles, aggressive and territorial defenders of the elderfaen trees. As faen males outnumber females 5 to 1, there are vastly more elderfaen brambles than mother trees.

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Faen Racial Traits
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While externally identical to humans, faens are very different. For example, a faen’s “blood” is a milky pink liquid that seeps through his body like xylem and his hair is actually root fibers. As he ages, a faen continues to grow, his skin becomes woodier, and his body becomes denser. As a rule, faens have brown, red, or blonde hair and blue eyes, though black or red eyes are not unknown.

• +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom: faen are hearty and almost childlike in their capacity to learn; however, they possess the sensibilities of the young as well.
• Plant (Sentient): A faen is a plant with the Sentient Plant subtype.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, faen have no special bonuses or penalties due to size.
• Faen base speed is 30 feet.
• Speak with Plants (Su): A faen can commune with any plant by touch. This requires 1 minute of uninterrupted concentration and allows the faen to Gather Information (as per the skill) from the subject. In addition, a faen has a +2 racial bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Gather Information checks made with plant creatures.
• Toxic Mind (Ex): As an accident of their creation, the psyche of a faen is toxic. In order to target a faen with a mind-affecting power, a manifester must pay 1 additional power point. In addition, using a mind-affecting power on a faen requires the manifester to make a Fortitude save (DC 15) or contract Faen Whispers (see sidebar). If the power used is Dominate, then the Fortitude DC becomes 25. Fortunately, faen are incapable of learning any power from the Telepathy discipline.

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Design Notes
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I decided I wanted an interesting yet playable plant race. This was for a game where all of the races were about ECL +1. I know AU has a faen race as well; any similarity in name is purely coincidental. I was partly inspired by the "piggies" from Speaker for the Dead as well.
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[Arkhandus]

Leaflings, the green-thumbed halflings (By Arkhandus)

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Overview
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Leaflings are a race of halflings, long separated from their kin in a remote valley where they cultivated and grew a wonderful, edible, flowering plant they named chromaflower, for its multihued flowers. However, after generations of ingesting this plant, they found that it didn't always get digested, and fused within their bodies as a symbiote. This was not noticeable until the symbiotic chromaflowers had adapted so well that they began sprouting harmless, leafy growths through the halflings' skin. By this point, even after they stopped harvesting the chromaflowers, the halfling communities of that flower's native valley discovered that the leafy growths did not cease, and even carried over to infants born after the symbiotic bonding. Eventually the halflings gave up on trying to remove the plants from themselves, as they seemed resistant to priestly attempts at purging from the body; another, albeit not so pleasant, miraculous trait of the chromaflower. Eventually, halfling druids concluded that chromaflowers were strongly infused with nature's gifts, the source of their survivability and adaptation. It was also concluded that they were mostly harmless and would not change the halflings into anything unnatural or un-halfling-like, only yielding minor changes as they merged with the halflings fully and became a natural part of their bloodlines.
Personality: As per halflings of the Player's Handbook.
Physical Description: As per halflings of the Player's Handbook. However, leaflings bear a some plant-like physical traits that make their unusual heritage quite obvious. Their eyes are pure, featureless green, with no distinguishable irises, pupils, or the like. Everything they see bears a slight twinge of green in their own vision. A pair of wing-like growths sprout from the rear of a leafling's shoulderblades, resembling small feathery wings, but more green and leafy than feathers. Leaflings possess grass-like hair on their head, the back of their hands, and the top of their feet, which is moderately less flexible than true hair, but they possess no other hair on their bodies. A leafling's skin bears varying degrees of greenish tint on some parts of their body, such as most of the skin on their neck, back, chest, lower arms, and lower legs. A leafling has a green tongue and a mixture of green, red, and yellowish blood, which is quite unusual to other races, but leaflings have grown used to it. Their blood is somewhat thicker than a normal halfling's. A leafling sprouts tiny, colorful flowers on their scalp during the springtime, but these fall off and wither away by summer. Leaflings possess only very minor internal differences, and are still entirely capable of interbreeding with other halflings, but most children of such unions are leaflings as well.
Relations: As per halflings of the Player's Handbook.
Alignment: As per halflings of the Player's Handbook. Leaflings are more likely than other halflings to be neutral in alignment.
Example Lands: As per halflings of the Player's Handbook.
Religion: As per halflings of the Player's Handbook.
Language: As per halflings of the Player's Handbook.
Names: As per halflings of the Player's Handbook.
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Leafling Racial Traits
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• Strength -2; leaflings are not as nimble and swift as their fellow halflings, but they are just as short and physically meek.
• Base speed 20 ft
• Small-sized: Leaflings have a +1 size bonus on attack rolls and Armor Class, as well as a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but they suffer a size penalty on certain rolls, such as -4 on grapple checks. Leaflings deal a base of 1d2 nonlethal (subdual in 3.0 rules) damage unarmed, and must use smaller equipment than humans. Their carrying capacities are only three-quarters those of a Medium-sized creature with the same Strength score.
• Type: Leaflings are Humanoids of the Halfling subtype.
• Minor Plant Traits: A leafling has some traits resembling those of plants, and some other traits resulting from their strange plant-symbiote melding. They are immune to paralysis, sleep, dream, and nightmare effects. Leaflings have lost the need for sleep and their minds have adapted, though leaflings must undertake complete bed rest in order to regain spells or other abilities that would normally require sleep. The leafling simply doesn't sleep at those times, instead lying in rest but fully awake. A leafling who rests in this way for at least 8 hours of the day, if lying on decent or good soil, of at least minor moistness, with no clothing or other materials between their torso and the soil, will absorb sufficient nutrients from that soil (through minute, retractable roots) to provide half the nutrition and moisture they would need for that day. Leaflings possess low-light vision, allowing them to see twice as far as a human in conditions of poor illumination, but not in absolute darkness. Lastly, a leafling suffers only half damage, rounded up, from nonlethal damage attacks (but not other nonlethal damage effects, such as from fatigue or starvation or natural heat effects), due to a reduced sense of pain and a reduced dependance on sensitive organs.
• Leafling possess the same bonuses on saving throws and skill checks as other halflings, but leaflings do not have the throwing attack bonus of other halflings. They abandoned some of their traditional games and sports during their isolation, and took up a greater interest in gardening and socializing.
• Additional +2 to their racial bonus on Fortitude saves: A leafling's body has become more resistant to toxins, disease, trauma, and other dangers, while their vitality is less easily sapped.
• -4 racial penalty on all saves against fire and saves to extinguish themselves when on fire: Leaflings are more vulnerable to catching fire and burning rapidly, compared to normal halflings.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Halfling. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Orc, Sylvan, or Terran.
• Favored Class: A leafling's favored class is ranger.

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Racial Paragon Class
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Leafling Paragon
Alignment: Any.
Hit Dice: D8.

Class Skills: The leafling paragon's class skills, and the key ability for each, are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Survival (Wis).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier. Multiply this amount by 4 at 1st-level in the class if it is also the leafling's 1st character level.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Leafling paragons are proficient in simple weapons and light armor.

Social Gardener: Leafling paragons gain a +2 bonus on all Diplomacy, Knowledge (Nature), Profession (Gardener), and Sense Motive skill checks.

Spells: A 2nd-level leafling paragon gains the spellcasting ability of a 1st-level bard, druid, or sorcerer, if he or she does not already possess such ability. The leafling paragon suffers the same restrictions and hindrances as the chosen class regarding spellcasting (including a druid's or bard's alignment and equipment restrictions, if applicable). If the leafling paragon already has spellcasting ability from one of those classes, or from the ranger class, then instead he or she gains improved spellcasting from one class. The leafling paragon must then choose one of those four classes, and it must be a class that he or she receives spells from. Add +1 to the leafling paragon's effective level in the chosen class for purposes of spellcasting, including caster level, spells known, and spells per day, but not for other class features, such as bonus feats, familiars, bardic music, or animal companions.

Ability Boost: At 3rd-level, a leafling paragon's Charisma score increases by 2 points.

Class.....Base........Fort....Ref.....Will.......Special
Level.....Attack.....Save...Save...Save.....Class Features
1...........+0..........+0......+2......+0........Social Gardener
2...........+1..........+0......+3......+0........Spells
3...........+2..........+1......+3......+1........Ability Boost (+2 Charisma)
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Racial Feats
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Leafling Shearer (Special)
You apply your skill in gardening and tree pruning to combat, mastering quick and precise skills with a knife or sword.
Prerequisites: Leafling race, Profession (Gardener) 4+ ranks, Dex 13+.
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus on melee damage with a dagger or short sword, doubled against creatures of the Plant type. Multiply this bonus damage normally if you score a critical hit, when the target is susceptible to critical hits. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus on threat confirmation rolls with daggers and short swords used in melee.

Leafling Stalker (Special)
You have learned to cultivate some padded plant growth on your feet, and longer grass-like or leafy growths across various parts of your body, through your symbiotic relationship with the chromaflower in you. You've also practiced well at hiding among true plants in the wilderness.
Prerequisites: Leafling race, 5+ ranks Hide, 5+ ranks Move Silently, Wis 13+
Benefit: Your racial bonus on Move Silently checks improves by +4 when moving around barefoot. You gain a +4 circumstance bonus on Hide checks while in forests or other areas of moderate or significant trees and undergrowth, including some gardens. This Hide bonus is reduced to +2 if you are wearing significant materials that do not blend in somewhat with the environment.
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Design Notes
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I thought of making a race with some plant traits and peculiarities, and wanted to do something with symbiotic critters. So this is what sprang to mind, a neat little variation on halflings that can fit in most any setting that uses halflings.

They give up the Dexterity bonus and throwing attack bonus of normal halflings, and their languages/favored class are a tad different but still very similar, since they were normal halflings to begin with. The race gains better Fortitude saves to compensate for the lost throwing bonus and a weakness against fire, which is the most abundant non-physical attack form in D&D. This also helps make up just a bit for their plant traits.

Their Dex loss makes up for their minor plant traits; about a third of it makes up for the minor immunities, another third makes up for the low-light vision and the resting benefit, while the last third makes up for the nonlethal reduction.
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Plot hooks
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• A leafling youth has wandered out of their people's valley, looking to explore the outside world, and gotten lost in the wilderness several miles away. He or she ran afoul of a few bugbears and narrowly escaped, after they roughed him or her up a bit (nonlethal punches and the like) and took the leafling's backpack of food, water, keepsakes, and valuables (leafling-minted gold coins, and some onyx talismans used as good luck charms and trade pieces). The leafling has little else of any value, and needs help to get his or her stuff back or at least bring him or her back to some civilized place; in the latter case, the leafling still has no real way of making a living, without his backpack of tools and supplies. Fortunately he's come across a party of adventurers out in the wilderness (or at the edge of a road he or she didn't know about)....... This leafling could be a PC or an NPC, and may be willing/able to reward the adventurers for their help if they retrieve his or her backpack. The leafling would also be grateful enough to help them out if so, and will even try to help in retrieving the backpack if they agree.
• Some leaflings have set out from their valley as a small caravan, seeking out distant brethren amongst the halflings of another land. They bring trade goods and all their possessions, but are set upon by a large band of kobold raiders at night, who slay most of the leaflings and take most of their victim's possessions, leaving only the wagons and least-valuable materials. A few leaflings escape, thanks to the valiant efforts of a few leafling warriors who died securing the escape route. These survivors manage to reach a nearby town, ragged and half-starved, seeking aid and vengeance. They use what coinage they have in their collective pockets to get food and water, and to try hiring adventurers or mercenaries to go after the kobolds. The leafling survivors only want to retrieve some of their possessions and see kinfolk avenged, so their hired allies are promised most of the loot. The remains of the wagons and the numerous leafling corpses will attest to the veracity of the story, as the survivors did not have any chance to bury the dead yet.
• Ogres have recently come across the leafling valley and raided a town on the fringes. The town's remaining inhabitants, those not killed or eaten by the ogres, have organized a small force to go back out and strike at the ogres, who have returned to their base in some nearby hills. This group of hastily-gathered leafling adventurers is tasked with defeating the ogre marauders and retrieving some unspecified valuable item taken by the ogres. Likely a magic item of some significance to the town's church, the town's leaders won't say what it was, only the general size of the stolen relic. The leaders do know and inform the party that an ogre mage is in charge of the enemy force, and it is estimated that a little over half a dozen ogres were involved in the attack, but only one was slain by defenders. The ogres were well-armed and probably have more valuables in their base, from raids on other races outside the valley.
• A community of leaflings has sprung up in a forest outside the valley, near a human city where they are having some difficulty integrating and doing business. Unfortunately, a cult of priests serving a death-god has begun to prey upon the leaflings, and suspicions about the disappearances are rising in the community. A few leaflings don't think the investigations are helping, and want to do something more about the disappearance of their kindred. They'll seek allies among the human city while searching for their lost friends and family, and the leaflings' priests may be assisting the effort by talking with fellow clergymen of the city's churches to the same deities. Difficulties interfere a bit, from generations of separation that yielded a few peculiar variations in the leaflings' passed-down religious teachings.

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[Arkhandus]

Boura-Boura, the echidnoid nomads (By Arkhandus)

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Overview
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The boura-boura, a race of echidna-like hunter-gatherer nomads, were raised up to sentience and humanoid stature by their mysterious demon-goddess, Bhikael. Though appearing at first to be nothing more than savage warriors and bloody ritualists, boura-boura have a passionate zest for life, celebration, and friendly competition, that often goes unnoticed by other races. Boura-boura are only violent when hunting or when their camps are intruded upon, but they often compete with one another while hunting, making it even more intense, and they perform blood rites afterward to honor Bhikael, their prey, and their fellow hunters. Boura-boura also hold many celebrations, with copious amounts of mead and debauchery. They can be reliable and fiercely-protective comrades even to folk of other races, but a boura-boura's friendship must be earned, not given. The only authority boura-boura have any regard for is that of their demon-goddess creator, Bhikael, and the Bhikaelite priests within boura-boura society. Despite this, boura-boura are not inherantly evil nor do they have any great tendency towards evil. They are more a rowdy and debauched people than a villainous one.

A rare and far-flung people, the boura-boura live in har-adruun bands of a few small families each, keeping their distance from other har-adruun bands to avoid intruding on one anothers' territory. Each band travels through its territory slowly, moving from one campsite to another before the local supply of insects and reptiles gets too severely depleted, allowing the creatures to repopulate before the boura-boura return some years later. Their diet consists mainly of insects both small and monstrous, and various snakes, lizards, and marsh- or pond-dwelling reptiles. However, boura-boura are known to eat dead humanoids on occasion, when they are enemies and not fellow boura-boura. Enemy boura-boura who blasphemed against Bhikael are instead chopped into pieces, burned to ash, and cast into the nearest river or sea.

A typical familiy of boura-boura consists of a few male and female adults, all married in a strange polygamous arrangement, along with their half-dozen or so children, and sometimes a few grandparents who have not yet died in the hunts or chosen themselves for sacrifice to Bhikael, while still strong enough to be of value in the afterlife. Boura-boura have no patriarchs or matriarchs, and only allow temporary leaders amongst each har-adruun band and its warriors; each family has one or two respected elders or parents who lead them, and in turn follow the one or two greatest leaders of the community.

Boura-boura live in tents or large pavillions of patched-together reptile hides, tree bark, and giant-insect carapaces. Lacking the skills of blacksmithing, boura-boura rely on non-metallic weapons, armor, and tools, favoring bone or obsidian. They use their own quills for arrows, darts, blowgun needles, and a unique sword called the goma-bahardu, or quill-blade. Often, the corpses of their comrades fallen in battle or Bhikaelite sacrifice are used as a source of these quills, seen as allowing the boura-boura to serve alongside their kin in battle even after death.

Personality: Boura-boura are a proud, passionate, and temperamental race, prone to violence when others interfere with a hunt or enter their camps unbidden. However, they are also quite open and friendly, when not ensnared by the bloodlust of a hunt or the zeal of defending the har-adruun. They are given to fierce yet good-natured competitiveness, and other races should beware the boura-boura love for rough-housing in even friendly competitions. Boura-boura are wont to feast and party whenever there is anything worth celebrating, and are actually less violent and more amicable when drunk. Boura-boura are very defensive, but jovial when there is no immediate danger.

They keep to their word whenever possible, so long as their har-adruun is not endangered by it, but this and their fierce defensive of allies are their only real civilized, reliable qualities. Boura-boura are independant and free-minded folk, with no love for laws, restrictions, and stingy behavior. They have only a loose concept of ownership, so they consider most objects to be shared by everyone; they are generous with gifts and payments, but expect others to be perfectly willing to allow any possessions to be borrowed when needed. This is, understandably, a stumbling block for mechants dealing with boura-boura.

Physical Description: The boura-boura people are similar in height to humans, but a little broader in frame and more hunched-over in form. They have red-brown skin with fur of tan, gray, or black, while boura-boura eyes are some shade of blue or green. Boura-boura have gray, grayish-tan, or yellowed plates over their chest and abdomen, formed from hardened hair-like material similar to that of fingernails. Their back is covered in spines of the same material, but darker, hollow, and connected to tiny poison sacs. Fur covers much of their body where plates and spines are absent, but some parts of their face, hands, feet, and joints are bare. Softer hair-like spines protrude and droop from a boura-boura's scalp, neither hollow nor connected to poison sacs, rather resembling the hair of other humanoid races. Boura-boura have protruding snouts like the echidnas they are descended from, and sharp teeth suited to shredding meat. Their tongue is long and flexible, used to snatch morsels from between the carapaces of giant insects the boura-boura slay. Their hands and feet are similar to a human's in shape, but have more pronounced fingernails and toenails. Boura-boura have a more flexible neck than that of a human, able to turn their head 180 degrees to the left or right, and they have a similarly greater degree of flexibility in their arm and leg joints.

The lifespan of boura-boura is approximately 70 years, barring premature death or sacrifice; they reach adulthood at 12 years, middle-age at 28 years, old age at 42 years, and venerable age at 55 years; they perish 4d4 years after reaching venerable age. They reproduce basically like mammals, except boura-boura are hatched from eggs, after a year of incubation outside the mother. It takes half a year for the eggs to grow within the mother boura-boura before she lays the eggs, in a batch of three to six eggs. Typically one or two eggs of each batch fail to mature and hatch, then being sacrificed in a bonfire to Bhikael out of grief. Boura-boura have a low fertility rate, and females are only able to birth eggs a few times in their lifetime at most. The dangerous lifestyle of boura-boura as hunters and warriors leads to their people often dying by middle-age or slightly later, so despite the number of offspring they do produce each generation, boura-boura remain a scarce people. Those who survive to middle-age often elect to be sacrificed to Bhikael for the good of the community and so as to be valued in the afterlife as still possessing a strong body; boura-boura believe their spirit-body to resemble their physical body at the time of death.

Relations: Other races generally regard boura-boura as savage, nomadic hunters with a love for blood-spilling and demonic rituals. However, the boura-boura are somewhat more tame and innocent than others believe, though still savage. Boura-boura try to avoid the settlements of other races, and stay out of each others' territory most of the time, but conflict still arises between them and other races. They respect anyone who puts up a good fight or competes well, but boura-boura are ultimately a chaotic and temperamental people anyway. They have few peaceful interactions with other races, but har-adruun bands occasionally forge alliances with small communities of other races.

Alignment: The boura-boura have a strong tendency towards chaotic alignment, and are rarely lawful-aligned. Though usually neutral with regards to good and evil, boura-boura have slightly greater inclinations towards evil than they have towards good. Thus, most are chaotic neutral, true neutral, chaotic evil, or neutral evil, but a few are chaotic good or neutral good, and boura-boura of lawful good, lawful neutral, or lawful evil alignment are almost unheard of.

Example Lands: Boura-boura prefer living near wetlands, as their favored prey of reptiles and monstrous insects are more abundant in such regions. However, like other nomads, boura-boura wander far and wide, though keeping a nominal claim to a certain vast territory in which their band wanders. This varies from one har-adruun band of boura-boura to another. Wherever insects and reptiles are less abundant, boura-boura may eat roots, tubers, berries, and nuts, but they are primarily a carnivorous race.

Religion: As former echidnas gifted with sentience and humanoid form by Bhikael, the boura-boura are very devoted to their patron demon-goddess. As no one but boura-boura has any records of Bhikael, and boura-boura have only meager written records, none can say whether Bhikael is some new divine entity or just an aspect of some other divinity known to other races. Bhikael is mysterious even to the boura-boura, who portray her in idols as a beautiful (by their standards) boura-boura woman, though possessing twelve arms instead of two, garbed in armor of dragon-bones and beetle-shells, wielding obsidian swords, and wearing an elaborate golden headdress. Her breath is said to be poison, her merest touch deadly, and her voice terrible to behold, yet she is revered as the boura-boura's creator and protector, giving them knowledge of weapons, armor, hunting, herbs, salves, culture, mead, and stories.

Boura-boura perform frequent blood rites in Bhikael's honor, and offer daily sacrifices of food, drink, valuables, war trophies, or blood. They seem to be indifferent to other religions and are wise enough to avoid performing their rites near living people of other races, when possible. Boura-boura priests often keep a group of undead minions around, animated from the corpses of enemies whose flesh was not needed for food. Boura-boura clerics of Bhikael rebuke undead, cast spontaneous Inflict spells, must be chaotic neutral, chaotic evil, or neutral evil, and choose their domains from amongst Chaos, Protection, Travel, and War.

Language: Boura-boura speak their own language, Boura, and adventurers amongst them speak Common as well. The religious language of their priests is Abyssal. The boura-boura's own language is rather odd and sounds like garbled gibberish to other races, though it is understandable to any foreigner who bothers to learn its unusual nuances. It often takes longer to say anything in Boura than it does in other languages, and Boura is a somewhat primitive language that covers a limited range of concepts.

Names: Boura-boura use only a personal name and the name of their har-adruun band, placing the latter first when initially introducing themselves, but otherwise rarely mentioning the name of their har-adruun. There is no difference between male and female names in the Boura language, and they are generally unique in the language, not based on any particular words. Boura-boura are named at their hatching by whichever Bhikaelite priest is present. Individual names for boura-boura include Amrakaal, Terik-Nal, Bula, Gabir, Druun, Toriya, Larisae, Hess-Maleek, Faerok, Bajik, Ni-Raal, Elaar, and Soumak, amongst many others. Har-adruun names are just combinations of Boura words that describe the band's origin, favored armaments, main hunting ground, or other such things.
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Boura-Boura Racial Traits
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• Dexterity -2, Constitution +2, Intelligence -2; boura-boura are slightly tougher than humans, but not nearly so smart or advanced in most regards, and they are slightly less nimble in most situations due to their posture, quills, and plates.
• Base speed 30 ft
• Medium size: As Medium-sized creatures, boura-boura have no modifiers based on size.
• Type: Boura-boura are Humanoids of the Boura-Boura subtype.
• +2 racial bonus on grapple checks and Climb checks: The extra flexibility of boura-boura arm and leg joints helps out in some situations.
• Armor Restriction: Boura-boura cannot wear armor made for other races, due to the obstruction of the spines on their back, so they can only wear armor made for boura-boura. Such armor tends to be thicker in the front to make up for lacking back protection. Magic armor normally adjusts itself to fit the wearer, and thus ignores this restriction.
• +2 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks: Boura-boura are capable hunters, talented in the art of the hunt.
• +1 natural armor bonus to Armor Class: Boura-boura have plates and quills that are tougher than skin, and protect them somewhat from harm.
• Swifter Recovery: After each day of rest or light activity, a boura-boura naturally heals additional hit points equal to 1 + his or her Constitution modifier; if the modifier is negative, the boura-boura instead heals no additional hit points in this manner.
• Quills: A boura-boura may attack with its quills as a natural weapon, essentially turning around for a moment and body-slamming an opponent with the quills on his or her back. Boura-boura are proficient in using their quills as a natural weapon, and the attack deals 2d4 damage plus the boura-boura's Strength modifier if successful; not one-and-a-half-times, unlike most creatures with a single natural weapon. The quills threaten a critical hit on a natural roll of 18, 19, or 20, dealing double damage on a critical hit. Any successful hit with the quills dislodges 5 quills for each point of damage dealt (excluding any bonus damage, and excluding any extra damage from scoring a critical hit), which remain stuck in the opponent until removed. The quills do not cause additional harm while embedded, but each quill in the victim prevents its damage from being healed until removed (magical or psionic healing automatically expels the quills if it would heal the damage they dealt). A boura-boura only has approximately 100 effective quills at a time, and it takes a year for any lost quill to regrow. Quills dislodged from the boura-boura do not cause harm to him or her when dislodged. Boura-boura quills are often used by their kind to create items such as javelins, speartips, darts, quill-blades, arrows, inkpens, caltrops, and more, but normally these quills are not useable in the creation of masterwork items. They are, however, suitable substitutes for standard wooden and metal materials in the aforementioned types of item.
• Poison: Any successful hit from a boura-boura's quills natural attack injects poison into the foe, but quills that have already been injected poison before will not be able to inject any more, except that quills remaining on the boura-boura (not dislodging in foes or objects) replenish their poison sacs after a month. The poison has a DC of 10 plus the boura-boura's Constitution modifier, and opponents injected with it must immediately attempt a Fortitude save, then attempt another 1 minute later. Each failed save causes 1 point of temporary Dexterity damage. Boura-boura are immune to the poison of their own quills and those of other boura-boura. This is only effective as an injury-type poison.
• Stigma: The boura-boura are poorly regarded by other races and often misjudged due to their appearance and reputation. In most situations they suffer a -4 circumstance penalty on Charisma checks and Charisma-based checks, for the purpose of determining initial reactions and changing the reactions of others to them.
• Poor Metabolism: Boura-boura burn through energy from food and drink faster than humans, so they must eat and drink twice as much to avoid starvation or dehydration.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Boura. Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Aquan, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, or Orc.
• Favored Class: A boura-boura's favored class is barbarian.

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Racial Paragon Class
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Boura-Boura Paragon
Alignment: Any.
Hit Dice: D8.

Class Skills: The boura-boura paragon's class skills, and the key ability for each, are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier. Multiply this amount by 4 at 1st-level in the class if it is also the boura-boura's 1st character level.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Boura-boura paragons are proficient in simple weapons, martial weapons, light armor, shields, and tower shields. They are also proficient in the quill-blade, called goma-bahardu in the Boura language, a unique boura-boura weapon.

Extra Poison (Ex): While advancing as a boura-boura paragon, the individual's poison sacs grow slightly and become more efficient, producing a venom of greater purity. However, this only truly helps when the boura-boura uses their quills natural weapon, not when they remove the venom or the quills for external use; the venom quickly loses its extra potency when exposed to the open air, through a chemical reaction. When the boura-boura does attack with his or her quills natural weapon, the poison injected by those quills is more effective, increasing the poison's save DC by the boura-boura's level in this class.

Track: A boura-boura paragon receives the Track feat as a bonus feat at 1st-level in this class.

Bristleback (Ex): By 2nd-level in this class, you have dedicated extra time praying to Bhikael and sacrificing offerings, and she has blessed your quills to grow further, stronger, and tougher, making you more deadly in the hunt. Now it is a natural quality of your body, and it takes half the normal amount of time for your quills to regrow. The base damage for your quills natural weapon improves to 2d6, and you gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls with that natural weapon. Your quills are now useable in the crafting of masterwork items, though they do not automatically bestow masterwork quality (a crafter must still complete the proper Craft checks to make their items masterwork).

Weapon Focus: A boura-boura paragon receives one copy of the Weapon Focus feat as a bonus feat upon reaching 2nd-level in this class. The normal restrictions of that feat apply, so the boura-boura must select a weapon for it that has not already been selected by him or her for a previous Weapon Focus feat, if any.

Blood Frenzy (Ex): Once a boura-boura paragon reaches 3rd-level, he or she has attained an even higher state of aggression when incited by bloodshed and violence. When the boura-boura paragon damages a living foe in combat with a slashing or piercing attack, except when that damage is fully prevented (such as by Damage Reduction), the boura-boura flies into a vicious blood frenzy. In this state of heightened aggression, the boura-boura gains +1 on attack rolls and damage with unarmed strikes, natural weapons, and manufactured weapons, as well as grapple checks, grapple damage, and melee touch attacks to initiate a grapple. This does not apply on disarm attempts or trip attempts. The boura-boura also adds +5 feet to his or her base movement speed in this state. However, as long as the blood frenzy lasts, the boura-boura paragon suffers a -1 penalty to Armor Class from recklessness (lost whenever a Dexterity penalty to AC would be lost). A blood frenzy lasts for 1 round, plus 1 round per point of positive Constitution modifier, and does not return for the remainder of the combat encounter. The round in which a blood frenzy is provoked does not count against the maximum duration of the blood frenzy.

Hunter (Ex): Boura-boura paragons learn to be even greater hunters and warriors than other boura-boura. At 3rd-level in this class and onward, the boura-boura paragon gains a +2 racial bonus on Survival checks and Initiative checks.

Class...Base......Fort....Ref.....Will.....Special
Level...Attack...Save...Save...Save...Class Features
1.........+1........+2......+0......+0......Extra Poison, Track
2.........+2........+3......+0......+0......Bristleback, Weapon Focus
3.........+3........+3......+1......+1......Blood Frenzy, Hunter
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Racial Feats
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Boura-Boura Ardor (Special)
Your love of revelry, primal music, and athletic activities is nearly as strong as your devotion to Bhikael. Drunken debauchery and frenzied gladiatorial competitions are your favored pasttimes, always with a prayer and offering to glorify Bhikael of course.
Prerequisites: Boura-boura race, any chaotic alignment, Str 13+, Con 13+, Cha 13+.
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus on all Jump, Perform, and Tumble skill checks. Additionally, you gain an extra +1 bonus on melee attack rolls whenever you are under the effects of any Rage, Frenzy, Fury, Heroism, Inspire Courage, or Inspire Greatness effect, or when affected by a Good Hope spell (or an Emotion (Hate, Hope, or Rage) spell in 3.0 rules). This benefit does not stack with itself.

Boura-Boura Hardiness (Special)
You have toughened your body with exercise and painful, strenuous training. With Bhikael's blessings, your body has quickened its already-swift natural healing processes.
Prerequisites: Boura-boura race, Toughness, base Fortitude +2 or higher, Con 19+.
Benefit: Every four hours that you rest (being asleep, unconscious, or undertaking no more than light activity), your body naturally heals a number of hit points equal to your Constitution bonus. This is separate from any other natural healing, and will not increase your current hit points above your maximum. Similarly, after each minute of being unconscious, your body naturally heals an amount of nonlethal (subdual) damage equal to your Constitution bonus, separate from any other natural healing.
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Design Notes
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none as of yet
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Plot hooks
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• none as of yet

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[smootrk]

I have 'created' two warforged variant races, which you can access through my signature. One is a Forgotten Realms specific to Thay, but a few flavor tweaks can modify the origin. The other is a Yuan-ti inspired variant, but is not FR specific at all, being quite suited for any campaign using a Reptillian master race.

Feel free to add them to your que of races, even though they are not true creations, but variants on a theme.

 

[Jacob the Impaler]

Posted this awhile ago, right after I finished Watership Down:

LAPINES

Lapines are an often misunderstood race. They are essentially large, intelligent rabbits who maintain many traits of their smaller cousins. According to legend, they were formed during the last part of the Age of Creation to humble the Old Giants. The Old Giants grew great amounts of oversized food and prospered, spreading across the lands. A creator, out of spite, mischief or a genuine effort to maintain balance, created Lapines to destroy their crops. They were very successful and multiplied like, well, rabbits.
In more recent years, their numbers have been dwindling due to human expansion into pastures and hill land. More often than not, Lapines tend to be stoic and accepting, remembering the legend of how El-ahrairah, the first lapine, was promised that his children would never be destroyed.
Description: Lapines are very much like rabbits, except they stand upright, anywhere from 4½’-5½’ tall, and can manipulate with their front paws. Their fur can be any color, from arctic white to pitch black. Most are inclined to be gray or brown. Their eyes are always dark. Females are usually taller than males, but males tend to weigh more. Males weigh 75-110 lbs while females weigh 50-80 lbs. Their clothing, if they choose to wear any, are usually human or elvish styles from the area.
Personality: Lapines are often called cowards by outsiders. Although they do prefer to avoid trouble if necessary, they can be fierce opponents if cornered or their homes are threatened. Lapines are easy-going and friendly, although they are always cautious around newcomers, especially strange-looking or monstrous ones. They have a strong sense of community and care for each other, not expecting anything in return. Despite their jumpiness, they always love a good time. Dancing, song, storytelling and races or other feats of agility are common forms of entertainment. At the first sign of danger, they usually flee for safer ground, where they have a better chance of defending themselves. They take threats seriously, and do not consider possibilities of false alarms.
Relations: Lapines are an accepting people and often live in human or elvish lands in warrens with their own kind. They get along especially well with Halflings and gnomes. They do not usually live near dwarves, and are often unsure about their mannerisms. Half-orcs are viewed with utmost suspicion, as are other monstrous beings.
Alignment: Lapines are often neutral, with chaotic or good tendencies. There are very few evil lapines.
Lapine lands: Lapines once dominated the countryside with healthy warrens, although now they usually have to share land with growing populations of humans or elves. They prefer fertile meadows with rolling hills, where they can take care of vast vegetable gardens and dig warm burrows. Depending on the area, lapines live in warrens ranging in population from twenty to several hundred. Elders are usually elected as warren leaders, mainly because they’re too old to do anything else.
Religion: Lapines usually revere Obad-Hai, although there are few clerics among them. They have their own legendary figure that they admire far more – El’ahrairah. He was the first and greatest Lapine, raised up from the humble rabbit and promised that his children would never die out.
Language: Lapines have their own language, Lapine. It uses soft syllables and uses simple structures. It uses the common script, although lapines seldom find the need to write anything down.

RACIAL TRAITS:
+2 dexterity, -2 wisdom: Lapines are agile and fast, but they are hasty and seldom think things out
Medium-sized
Base speed: 40
Bite attack: 1d3 damage + ½ strength bonus
+2 racial bonus to listen checks
+2 racial bonus to hide checks when in the wilderness
-2 to swim checks: Lapine fur makes swimming uncomfortable at best
+4 racial bonus to jump checks
Lapine leap (Ex): Treat lapines as twice their height when determining jump distances, running leap requires only 10 feet
Low light vision
-1 on all saves related to fear: Lapines are easily frightened
Other: Lapines are strict vegetarians. They will eat grass or clover, but prefer leafy greens and roots, especially carrots.
Languages: Common and Lapine
Favored class: Rogue

Age:
Adulthood: 10
Middle age: 25
Old: 40
Venerable: 55
Maximum age: +3d4 years

 

[Arkhandus]

Well dang, I'm performing another thread-necromancy for this, but only because I got all caught up in resuming my Rhunaria campaign, working, and spending time with visiting relatives lately.

I still think this thread is a cool idea, and still deserves contributions. I've got a few races in the works that I'll be adding this week, and if I get the time, I may finally get back to finishing the background descriptions and such for my earlier races. I also still need to stat up the quill-blade for boura-boura, and I may shift around their racial paragon class' benefits (bristleback should probably be the 3rd-level benefit or 2nd-level benefit, instead of 1st-level, swapped with the blood frenzy or the extra poison).

Next up..... My attempt at an LA+0 race with regeneration, and my attempt at an LA+0 construct race, and some other stuff.....