Greetings again!
I have been working for the last several years on my own homebrew using Flavor from such sources as Jack Vance's Dying Earth, Ken Hood's Sleeping Imperium, Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, The anime Last Exile, and Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, etc. As any project of this scope it is incomplete but I have come fairly far. I have a full document detailing the rules governing the homebrew, but suffice to say that it is a high powered campaign world and even the basic races are significantly more powerful that a standard campaign.
These worlds in my campaign have existed for millions of years with intelligent species and none of them except the humans resemble any typical fantasy races. I have tried my best to make every race unique, although I have obviously taken inspiration (in some cases, STRONG inspiration) from various sources (I'm sure some of you will spot some of them), In a few cases I have even stolen ideas directly, although for the most part I have tried to change them enough that it is not direct plagerism (is that how it is spelled?) and I have always given credit to my sources of inspiration.
Remember, these races are meant to be balanced against EACH OTHER, not any other standard.
I have decided to include two races per post from now on as this should give people sufficient material to comment on. Please let me know what you think, be it constructive critisism or even just a nod that you like them (or dislike them).
Links to the other races of Ej'aeka
Humans of the Empire
The Aon'daaf and Axud'fia
The Dax'jeut and Duzk'enuh
The Eif'veum and Juga'doiq
The Uas'raok and Zuufu'nien
And now, the Aon'daaf and the Axud'fia:
(Please note that ONLY game statistics are Open Game Content and all the flavour text is MY own, PLEASE do not use it without my express permission.
Nokwmaa:
The Nokwmaa are a race of half-undead librarians and mercenaries. Their outlook on life is extremely depressed and most other species do not understand why the Nokwmaa continue to live at all. Yet continue to live they do, and they make some of the best sages and mercenary warriors in the worlds.
History:
The Nokwmaa are a very pessimistic race. Their species originated when pregnant women of any species were killed and rose as undead. The children birthed from these wombs bore no physical relation to the species of the mother and were killed in fear and disgust by the other races. Gradually it was found that these children were in fact living creatures with no more of a special predisposition to violence and destruction than any other race. Furthermore, it was found that the Nokwmaa bred true, and whenever they mated with another species the children were always Nokwmaa. Due to the grisly birth of their species and the initial loathing from other races that greeted them, the Nokwmaa do not care very much for creation. Creation and birth to the Nokwmaa are things to be reviled and only accomplishments in the future need be looked upon. When asked how or why their race was born, a typical Nokwmaa reply would be “Who cares, it was horrible and all we have to look forward to is death. Why would we want to dwell on that?” Despite this lack of creation myths, the Nokwmaa are historians by nature and prefer to follow the histories of other races and cultures.
Physical Appearance:
Nokwmaa stand from 8 feet to 10 feet tall, and weigh anywhere from 250 to 400 pounds. They are lean and lanky, and usually walk with a pronounced slouch that makes them seem much shorter. Their skin ranges in color from dark gray to light gray and is often covered with red markings, a racial tradition somewhat similar to tattoos but with a different procedure for putting them on. Their eyes are pale yellow, and glow slightly in the dark. They are completely hairless creatures. They have large beak like noses, and extremely long arms. Nokwmaa have a tendency to pick up various knickknacks from places they’ve visited, and often display these on their clothing, or on a thread around their neck. Females are slightly shorter and have smaller noses. Both sexes have small horns sprouting out the sides of their temples. These horns curl forward and upward and end in sharp points at about the same level at the top of the head.
Possessions:
The Nokwmaa are historians and librarians, fighting all enemies to preserve knowledge, including the hardest one to beat, Time. The Nokwmaa are very attached to material objects, and often collect “souvenirs” from important places or times in their lives. Often these small items gather into a massive collection by the time a Nokwmaa is elderly. The importance of these things is seemingly insignificant to anyone other than the Nokwmaa that they belong to, but to the owner, these trivial objects are more important than life itself. For the most important items that have been found, the Nokwmaa will actually string them onto a necklace and carry them everywhere it goes. Nokwmaa also have a traditional racial weapon. The Dortmund sword is a large blade, almost four feet long attached to an equally long handle. They use this in a spinning, whirling attack method and a great number of young Nokwmaa are taught its use. Nokwmaa usually disdain the use or armor in favor of long robes, or a simple tunic and breeches. All their clothing is designed for travel.
Living Quarters:
Purely Nokwmaa settlements are rare, but when they occur they almost uniformly take the form of a monastery or ancient library. These repositories of knowledge are used as a base of operations for the Nokwmaa, who travel the world in order to record the current events, before finally returning to their libraries to categorize their new histories. A typical Nokwmaa library is a dusty, dismal place, perfect for the attitude of these beings. Most of these structures are massive, the size of a large castle or fortress, with many levels both above and below ground. Nearly all of this space is taken up by room after room of dusty, dry, but well organized texts of history and lore. The few floors devoted to living space are dark and dismal as well, and a gloomy atmosphere pervades the entire structure. Libraries are most often constructed of stone or metal, to prevent catastrophic fires. A typical Nokwmaa library will house between five and ten thousand Nokwmaa at any given time.
Calendar:
Nokwmaa use the standard Ej’aekian calendar. In fact they may have been the ones who first invented it. They have no special holidays or celebrations.
Social Skills:
The Nokwmaa are filled with a vague distrust for all other species, and even a bit for their own species. They are consumed with their depression and gloom and rarely are hesitant to voice this with anyone they speak to. Most other races consider the Nokwmaa to be horrible for social occasions, but useful when lore is needed. The Nokwmaa view change as inevitable and yet somehow still depressing. Respect is only given to individuals if the Nokwmaa’s well-being is on the line.
Diet:
The Nokwmaa can eat any standard food, although for some reason they prefer to stay away from strong flavors of any sort. Enjoyment of food and drink is a foreign concept to them, and most Nokwmaa eat only sparsely to keep themselves alive. When eating in a (barely) comfortable environment, the Nokwmaa will gather in a single to place to eat together. This is not because they wish to enjoy each other’s company, but instead because they can get the eating over with faster. Most “traditional” Nokwmaa food is a colorless yet nutritious gruel with barely any taste. Visitors of other races find it barely palatable, but the Nokwmaa eat it without complaint.
Fashion and Dress:
The Nokwmaa prefer two distinctly different styles of clothing. Either they wear large robes that conceal their appearance and protect them from the elements, or they wear baggy trousers and a tight shirt that allows freedom of movement. When they do wear armor, it is almost always light armor that allows freedom of movement. The Nokwmaa never wear bright colors, and usually try to find the most dismal, dark, and depressing combination of colors they can find. These types of clothing are almost universally accepted in all social occasions.
Education:
All Nokwmaa are taught basic reading and writing skills, as well as a knowledge of how to learn. This means that all Nokwmaa are generally better educated in the basics than most other races. While their ingenuity may not extend to the creation of things, or warfare, the Nokwmaa are considered the best historians in the world and their libraries are filled with sages on almost every subject. The Nokwmaa are one of the few races in the worlds that still study epistemology, or the study of knowledge itself. This means that often they are more knowledgeable about many subjects than anyone else, but do not have the applicable skills to use this knowledge to its fullest.
Communication:
The Nokwmaa are one of the few races with no language of their own. They speak the common trade tongue to help them in their travels. The Nokwmaa’s focus on knowledge and learning, however, means that most Nokwmaa speak several other languages as well. Most Nokwmaa speak whatever language they can in the most dismal of tones, leaving everything in either a distressing tone or speaking in a monotone the entire time.
Professions:
The Nokwmaa have learned that one of the best ways to study history and the world is to travel and experience things, although they say that they do not enjoy anything, every Nokwmaa goes through a period (sometimes an entire lifetime) of travel. They search the world for new knowledge and try to record any significant events that happen around them. They have found that mercenary service can often be the best way to accomplish this and many times, Nokwmaa will group together as a mercenary group, hiring out to other races in order to experience history as it happens. These Nokwmaa mercenaries are considered some of the toughest in the world, and often form elite troops for small but wealthy countries. The only times when a Nokwmaa is outcast from its own species is when a rogue embraces some foreign philosophy and forgets the importance of their eternal quest for knowledge. These rare individuals are seen as abhorrent and are shunned by their fellow Nokwmaa.
Medicine:
Due to their half-undead nature the Nokwmaa are unusually resistant to magical healing. The positive energy channeled to perform such feats usually fails unless it is highly powered. Because of this, the Nokwmaa have had to rely on natural healing to a much higher degree than most other races. The Nokwmaa have a high degree of those educated in the natural healing and surgery methods. Although they are not necessarily the best at what they do, there are more non-magical Nokwmaa healers than almost any other race. These services are sold to other races, and freely given to Nokwmaa who cannot pay. In the mercenary companies, the Nokwmaa medics are considered some of the best non-magical combat medics in the worlds. On a different note, Nokwmaa births are usually easy and do not pose a significant threat to either the mother or the child. Nokwmaa pregnancies almost never result in more than a single child, and the pregnancies themselves are quite rare. Also unusual is this races resistance to natural insanity. For a race as eternally depressed as the Nokwmaa, there are almost no suicides or unusual mental deficiencies. The Nokwmaa are well adapted to their outlook on life.
Social Factors:
The Nokwmaa are gloomy and depressed in their dealings with every race and this extends to the way they treat everyone. A Nokwmaa will look for the worst in everyone and simply assume that everyone is trying to cheat him somehow. This does not necessarily mean that the Nokwmaa will try to cheat the people back, or lie, steal or anything else. The Nokwmaa seem somehow resigned to the fact that their world is an awful place with no redeeming values. The Nokwmaa are rarely shocked by anything and usually meet every surprise with a glum face and stoic resolve to put up with everything that comes their way. Likewise, the Nokwmaa are not generally embarrassed by anything. They feel that in worlds as hopeless as that of Ej’aeka, anything is acceptable.
Religion:
The Nokwmaa do not fervently believe in anything, let alone gods. Religion for the Nokwmaa does not exist in an organized fashion. There are no Nokwmaa churches or temples. There are a rare sect of Nokwmaa that worship a god of hopelessness and despair, but they have no temples as their very doctrine teaches the futility of such constructs. The closest thing that the Nokwmaa have to an organized religion is their reverence for history and knowledge. The Nokwmaa libraries have similarities to certain churches and organizations, but the libraries do not espouse anything except the acquisition of new knowledge and history. Because of their eternally dour nature, the Nokwmaa are not overly disturbed with death. When one dies there is a small ceremony that is held mainly to get rid of the body in an efficient manner. Grieving is unnecessary because the Nokwmaa firmly believe that the life that was lost was futile anyway.
Transportation:
The Nokwmaa have a certain distrust of mechanical methods of travel. While they will use such transport if necessary, they much prefer to travel slowly on their own two feet. This affords them a better view of their surroundings and the possibility to record any events of historical import that they may come across.
Protection:
The Nokwmaa protect their own survival by being sure not to cross any of the other races. Their libraries are important stores of knowledge that are accessible to all the races. The Nokwmaa mercenary companies are quite powerful and willing to hire on to anyone. This means that the Nokwmaa are considered neutrally by most other races, and even allowed to continue living in lands controlled by these other races.
Nokwmaa Racial Traits:
• +2 Dexterity
• +2 Strength
• +2 Intelligence
• - 2 Charisma
• Large sized creatures
• Nokwmaa base speed is 40
• Darkvision 60’
• +2 racial bonus on Intimidate, Hide, and Move Silently skill rolls
• All Nokwmaa gain proficiency in the Nokwmaa Great Sword, their traditional weapon.
• Nokwmaa begins with the Gifted Student feat at first level.
• The Nokwmaa begin the game with two free ranks in the Knowledge (Epistemology) skill.
• Can communicate with and ask simple questions of any dead or undead creature with an intelligence check versus DC 15+1 per 10 years the being has been dead or per 100 years if the being is undead
• Nokwmaa have cold resistance of 5
• +2 to saving throws versus necromantic spells and abilities as well as any rolls to prevent Madness or Insanity.
• Due to their half-undead nature Nokwmaa have an innate spell resistance equal to 14 whenever divine healing magics are applied to them. This may not be turned off.
• Automatic Languages: Luzian Imperial Common. Bonus Languages: Any 2
• Favored Class: Warlock or Rogue
Nup’tsuu:
The Nup’tsuu are a strange race of plant-based life forms. They look completely alien and have almost no humanoid features. Originally evolved from a breed of carnivorous plant, the Nup’tsuu gain some energy from photosynthesis, but gain the majority from eating meat. The Nup’tsuu have also evolved to use a form of built-in wheel, allowing them incredibly fast movement on smooth flat surfaces.
History:
The Nup’tsuu do not have myths in the same sense that most humanoids do. As an effectively immortal species, the Nup’tsuu still have members of their species alive who existed during various stages of their evolution. This means that many facts about their race have not devolved into myth, instead it is known what happened, or at least the way those few survivors tell the stories. The Nup’tsuu believe that they were created by the planets as a race to thin out the mammalian population. It is the firm belief of nearly every Nup’tsuu that at one point in the past mammals had become too prevalent in the world. In response the worlds themselves (living beings in the view of most, although not all, Nup’tsuu) used their forests and plants to cause hyper-evolution in a certain species of carnivorous plant, creating the Nup’tsuu as a race after only a few hundred years. This event happened at close to the same time as the massive Anori expenditure that refueled the Sun, so it is possible that the magical reverberations helped this as well. The Nup’tsuu have a belief that they originally were meant to hunt down and eat the mammal population that was severely taxing the worlds’ resources. Since that time, the Nup’tsuu have helped to contribute to the complete lack of mammalian over-population that now exists in the worlds. The Nup’tsuu do not hold the view that Mammals are evil, or need to be destroyed, in fact, now that mammalian over population is no longer a problem, they quite enjoy the company of other humanoids. Although it may seem that Nup’tsuu would try to actively eat as many mammals as possible, most realize that simply eating small creatures as is necessary to survive makes enough of a difference to the worlds.
Physical Appearance:
The Nup’tsuu look a bit like a large tapering cone with an inner “cup” on their bottom surface. They stand between 1.3 and 1.7 meters tall and weigh around 50-60 kg. Around the rim of this “cup” there are hundreds of short tentacles. They have three “arms” equidistantly placed around the circumference of their body with three eyes equidistantly placed above and between these tentacles. As the top of the cone tapers off there is a small tentacle with a large “mouth” that resembles a Venus flytrap with hardened bark-like “teeth”. The arms are tentacles about 1 meter long each. About 7 cm from the end of each tentacle, they split into three smaller tentacles capable of fine manipulations. The cup can hold a smooth ball about 75 cm in diameter. The Nup’tsuu use this ball to wheel around and can attain incredible speed; their balance in impeccable. They may only use the ball on very smooth surfaces however. When on rough surfaces they must drop their ball and use their tentacles to move. Without the wheel, the Nup’tsuu move very slowly, but also very steadily. Their mouth can nip creatures lightly and the digestive fluid that they secrete is highly corrosive.
Possessions:
The Nup’tsuu have come to use a rather unusual blend of typical technology and grown items. There are master creators among the Nup’tsuu that design living plant-based items that have certain functions among the Nup’tsuu. Metallic technology interests the Nup’tsuu as well, however, and in recent millennia there have been many creations that are a blend of normal and biological technology. The Nup’tsuu have plants that grow rope, houses that live and need to be trimmed, and plant-based highways that are perfect for wheeling around. In addition they have vehicles, and airships from the Originators, most of which have been augmented in some way with bio-technology. Even odder than the life-tech that the Nup’tsuu have blended is their newest research, which allows mineral matter to be “grown” in the same manner as plants. The Nup’tsuu are not an especially violent race, and do not have much weapons technology. What weapons they do have are usually high powered and used mainly for defense. Nup’tsuu armor is unusually shaped and is often a metallic harness with tough, bark-like growths custom grown to fit its wearer.
Living Quarters:
The Nup’tsuu grow their own houses out of certain species of plants that have been bred for this. Most often the Nup’tsuu use certain funguses that grow quickly into a new building. Creating basic buildings takes an average of ten to twelve days, while more splendid, multi-storied creations can take months to grow properly. Most of these buildings regulate themselves during the seasons and over time can re-grow any damage done to them. As these constructs are actually alive there is very little possibility of fires, and the few that do get started are usually put out quickly and efficiently. The rarest of buildings are created using the Nup’tsuu’s talent of growing metal and stone. These buildings are reserved for important or military buildings. The mineral-grown buildings looks like large plants made of the appropriate material. Oddly they can repair themselves the same way that a plant based building can. Nup’tsuu cities resemble large three dimensional forests. Instead of trees, however, there are numerous pod-like buildings at all levels, connected by long, flat roads grown from other plants. This maze of interconnecting roads ascends somewhere from several hundred to several thousand feet and the entire structure is the city.
Calendar:
The Nup’tsuu have adopted the standard calendar to mark the passing of time. Naturally, however, they do not keep track of the time at all. Since Nup’tsuu do not die after a certain time-period they are much less obsessed with time and death than other sentient mammals.
Social Skills:
The Nup’tsuu have been blessed with virtual immortality. Because of this, they have developed an irreverent, humorous attitude toward everything. In a world where they will continue to exist as long as they can eat and drink, the Nup’tsuu have found that everything is quite funny, and deserves an appropriate response. They show very little, if any respect to anyone or anything, and while always quite friendly, many races have a difficult time dealing with the complete lack of humility or seriousness. The Nup’tsuu love change and work to constantly experience new things. Few things are as unpleasant to a Nup’tsuu as monotony and boredom. Indeed, the Nup’tsuu love all the other races if for no reason other than the constant entertainment they provide. Many Nup’tsuu travel in order to explore, and are incredibly outgoing individuals, trying to experience everything they can at all times.
Diet:
The Nup’tsuu are carnivorous and require meat to survive. They must eat approximately half as often as other races because they have a partial form of photosynthesis. In addition to this requirement of meat, a Nup’tsuu must absorb water (which they do through their foot-tendrils) in amount equal to half what humans need. Nup’tsuu can eat almost any type of meat and both meat and water can be in any condition without causing any harm to the Nup’tsuu. Oddly, Nup’tsuu can absorb alcohol and many have found that they enjoy being intoxicated almost more than other races. Most Nup’tsuu do not eat in social situations, but it is considered polite to offer a guest a large bowl of sweet water to stand in.
Fashion and Dress:
Nup’tsuu rarely wear clothing of any type. Instead they often wear large belts or robes with numerous pockets, or a variety of pouches to keep their possessions in. Nup’tsuu can tattoo themselves with certain dyes that last fifty to sixty years before finally fading away. Many Nup’tsuu use these to paint certain distinctive patterns that distinguish themselves from the rest of their race.
Education:
The Nup’tsuu do not have a formal education system. Instead all younglings are taught basic survival skills, and if they ever show an interest in other skills, they can learn. Since their race is effectively immortal, the Nup’tsuu have very little worries about providing jobs or useful trades. Most Nup’tsuu are so inherently curious about the world that they will pick up nearly any profession that they have a chance to learn.
Communication:
The Nup’tsuu do not speak. In fact, they are incapable of making noise in the same way most creatures do. Instead the Nup’tsuu are naturally telepathic and can speak to any creature within a short range of themselves. This telepathy does not allow them to read minds, but simply to communicate in the same fashion that most humanoids do, by communicating surface thoughts. The Nup’tsuu must learn another creature’s language before it is able to converse in that way, so language still is a barrier. Also any Nup’tsuu that gain truly Psionic powers must treat the Telepathy skill as completely separate from the Nup’tsuu telepathy. The Nup’tsuu have never had to develop body language because communicating through telepathy allows all nuances that are felt in a thought to be understood. Therefore groups of Nup’tsuu having a conversation often look like they are not moving at all. Curse words for Nup’tsuu are simply strong negative emotions sent as a pulse around them. Although it is not a native skill to them, many Nup’tsuu lean to read and write any languages that they pick up in their travels.
Professions:
The Nup’tsuu rarely concern themselves overly with matters of profession. All Nup’tsuu usually pick up many useful skills over the years and can work enough to survive. Any pursuit is considered reasonable and the Nup’tsuu admire skill in any field, even ones they have never seen.
Medicine:
The Nup’tsuu can slowly regenerate from almost any wound. Similarly to other plants, pieces that are lost from the Nup’tsuu are slowly re-grown over the course of a year or two. Similarly, normal diseases and illnesses do not affect the Nup’tsuu at all. Unfortunately they have their own illnesses that are completely different from mammalian diseases. This means that Nup’tsuu medicine is a completely different form from Mammalian medicine, and the two only overlap in the most general of cases. The Nup’tsuu do pass healing knowledge on to one another, but for the most part, Nup’tsuu simply survive as they can and do without widespread healing techniques. On a slightly different note, the Nup’tsuu have three distinct genders and that they can change given an entire season at root. A Nup’tsuu starts off as a Carrier, a gender that implies the ability to bud new Nup’tsuu. The Carrier must be pollinated by both the male and female genders in order to bear young. These new Nup’tsuu appear as large pods growing out of the sides of the Carrier. They stay attached for an entire season before one to three fall off and the rest whither away. These young podlings must take root and be fed and watered as a normal plant for one year before they sprout a mouth, eyes, and arms and uproot themselves as fully realized young Nup’tsuu.
Social Factors:
The Nup’tsuu consider nearly every action to be acceptable. As a race with a very non-human view of the world many things do not bother Nup’tsuu. Embarrassment and social taboos do not actually exist in natural Nup’tsuu society. When among other species, many Nup’tsuu will at least make an attempt to follow social convention, but this often fails and many other species will give Nup’tsuu special leeway when they do things that would normally be socially unacceptable. Nup’tsuu are on a lifelong (and a long life it is) quest to experience everything. This means that every Nup’tsuu encountered will have different goals and motivations, and even these can change when something has been experienced. In addition to being one of the most socially unacceptable races, the Nup’tsuu are also some of the most understanding and rarely give in to anger.
Religion:
The Nup’tsuu as a race do not believe in Gods per se, instead they believe that the worlds are in fact living creatures and that their race was created by the god-worlds as an equilibrium to mammalian life. Many Nup’tsuu are reverent of the worlds, but few actually worship them. The few churches that the Nup’tsuu actually do maintain are most often non-denominational and are simply restful places to worship.
Transportation:
The Nup’tsuu most often rely on good road systems and their own natural form of transportation. When very long distances are to be traveled, the Nup’tsuu have vehicles grown from their odd bio-mineral fusion technology. When attempting to travel across rough ground the Nup’tsuu must abandon its wheel and move using their tentacles.
Protection:
The Nup’tsuu have rarely needed to protect themselves as a species. Most other races enjoy the presence of Nup’tsuu and do not war on them. When the rare attack does happen the Nup’tsuu have powerful weapon systems used to defend their cities.
Nup’tsuu Racial Traits:
• + 2 Intelligence
• +2 Constitution
• +2 Wisdom
• - 2 Dexterity
• - 2 Strength
• - 2 Charisma
• Medium Sized Creatures
• Base Speed 75 (with wheel, smooth ground only), 15 (without wheel)
• When the Nup’tsuu are equipped with a wheel, they may run with no penalty for any speed or time.
• The Nup’tsuu have a limited form of photosynthesis. This allows them to go twice as long as other races without food or water. A Nup’tsuu absorbs water through its foot-tentacles and eats only meat.
• The Nup’tsuu are blessed with a minor form of immortality. They live until they die in combat or from disease, they do not die of natural causes.
• The Nup’tsuu may bite an opponent; this deals 1d4 damage from the bite and an additional 1d4 damage from their digestive acid.
• Nup’tsuu telepathy allows them to either broadcast to all creatures within one hundred feet, or contact a specific creature that the Nup’tsuu has contacted before within a one mile radius. The Nup’tsuu may only speak through the telepathy, it cannot read thoughts, and it only becomes active to reception when a person is specifically trying to contact them or when the creature speaks out loud. Nup’tsuu telepathy is a completely different form from that of the Psionic skill.
• A Nup’tsuu can see in all directions at once, this makes it impossible to sneak up on them.
• A Nup’tsuu may take the Multi-dexterity and Multi-Wielding feats. In addition, the Nup’tsuu is considered to have ambidexterity automatically on the creation of the character.
• Automatic Languages: Nup’tsuu, Luzian Imperial Common, 1 Bonus Language
• Favored Class: Any
I have been working for the last several years on my own homebrew using Flavor from such sources as Jack Vance's Dying Earth, Ken Hood's Sleeping Imperium, Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, The anime Last Exile, and Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, etc. As any project of this scope it is incomplete but I have come fairly far. I have a full document detailing the rules governing the homebrew, but suffice to say that it is a high powered campaign world and even the basic races are significantly more powerful that a standard campaign.
These worlds in my campaign have existed for millions of years with intelligent species and none of them except the humans resemble any typical fantasy races. I have tried my best to make every race unique, although I have obviously taken inspiration (in some cases, STRONG inspiration) from various sources (I'm sure some of you will spot some of them), In a few cases I have even stolen ideas directly, although for the most part I have tried to change them enough that it is not direct plagerism (is that how it is spelled?) and I have always given credit to my sources of inspiration.
Remember, these races are meant to be balanced against EACH OTHER, not any other standard.
I have decided to include two races per post from now on as this should give people sufficient material to comment on. Please let me know what you think, be it constructive critisism or even just a nod that you like them (or dislike them).
Links to the other races of Ej'aeka
Humans of the Empire
The Aon'daaf and Axud'fia
The Dax'jeut and Duzk'enuh
The Eif'veum and Juga'doiq
The Uas'raok and Zuufu'nien
And now, the Aon'daaf and the Axud'fia:
(Please note that ONLY game statistics are Open Game Content and all the flavour text is MY own, PLEASE do not use it without my express permission.
Nokwmaa:
The Nokwmaa are a race of half-undead librarians and mercenaries. Their outlook on life is extremely depressed and most other species do not understand why the Nokwmaa continue to live at all. Yet continue to live they do, and they make some of the best sages and mercenary warriors in the worlds.
History:
The Nokwmaa are a very pessimistic race. Their species originated when pregnant women of any species were killed and rose as undead. The children birthed from these wombs bore no physical relation to the species of the mother and were killed in fear and disgust by the other races. Gradually it was found that these children were in fact living creatures with no more of a special predisposition to violence and destruction than any other race. Furthermore, it was found that the Nokwmaa bred true, and whenever they mated with another species the children were always Nokwmaa. Due to the grisly birth of their species and the initial loathing from other races that greeted them, the Nokwmaa do not care very much for creation. Creation and birth to the Nokwmaa are things to be reviled and only accomplishments in the future need be looked upon. When asked how or why their race was born, a typical Nokwmaa reply would be “Who cares, it was horrible and all we have to look forward to is death. Why would we want to dwell on that?” Despite this lack of creation myths, the Nokwmaa are historians by nature and prefer to follow the histories of other races and cultures.
Physical Appearance:
Nokwmaa stand from 8 feet to 10 feet tall, and weigh anywhere from 250 to 400 pounds. They are lean and lanky, and usually walk with a pronounced slouch that makes them seem much shorter. Their skin ranges in color from dark gray to light gray and is often covered with red markings, a racial tradition somewhat similar to tattoos but with a different procedure for putting them on. Their eyes are pale yellow, and glow slightly in the dark. They are completely hairless creatures. They have large beak like noses, and extremely long arms. Nokwmaa have a tendency to pick up various knickknacks from places they’ve visited, and often display these on their clothing, or on a thread around their neck. Females are slightly shorter and have smaller noses. Both sexes have small horns sprouting out the sides of their temples. These horns curl forward and upward and end in sharp points at about the same level at the top of the head.
Possessions:
The Nokwmaa are historians and librarians, fighting all enemies to preserve knowledge, including the hardest one to beat, Time. The Nokwmaa are very attached to material objects, and often collect “souvenirs” from important places or times in their lives. Often these small items gather into a massive collection by the time a Nokwmaa is elderly. The importance of these things is seemingly insignificant to anyone other than the Nokwmaa that they belong to, but to the owner, these trivial objects are more important than life itself. For the most important items that have been found, the Nokwmaa will actually string them onto a necklace and carry them everywhere it goes. Nokwmaa also have a traditional racial weapon. The Dortmund sword is a large blade, almost four feet long attached to an equally long handle. They use this in a spinning, whirling attack method and a great number of young Nokwmaa are taught its use. Nokwmaa usually disdain the use or armor in favor of long robes, or a simple tunic and breeches. All their clothing is designed for travel.
Living Quarters:
Purely Nokwmaa settlements are rare, but when they occur they almost uniformly take the form of a monastery or ancient library. These repositories of knowledge are used as a base of operations for the Nokwmaa, who travel the world in order to record the current events, before finally returning to their libraries to categorize their new histories. A typical Nokwmaa library is a dusty, dismal place, perfect for the attitude of these beings. Most of these structures are massive, the size of a large castle or fortress, with many levels both above and below ground. Nearly all of this space is taken up by room after room of dusty, dry, but well organized texts of history and lore. The few floors devoted to living space are dark and dismal as well, and a gloomy atmosphere pervades the entire structure. Libraries are most often constructed of stone or metal, to prevent catastrophic fires. A typical Nokwmaa library will house between five and ten thousand Nokwmaa at any given time.
Calendar:
Nokwmaa use the standard Ej’aekian calendar. In fact they may have been the ones who first invented it. They have no special holidays or celebrations.
Social Skills:
The Nokwmaa are filled with a vague distrust for all other species, and even a bit for their own species. They are consumed with their depression and gloom and rarely are hesitant to voice this with anyone they speak to. Most other races consider the Nokwmaa to be horrible for social occasions, but useful when lore is needed. The Nokwmaa view change as inevitable and yet somehow still depressing. Respect is only given to individuals if the Nokwmaa’s well-being is on the line.
Diet:
The Nokwmaa can eat any standard food, although for some reason they prefer to stay away from strong flavors of any sort. Enjoyment of food and drink is a foreign concept to them, and most Nokwmaa eat only sparsely to keep themselves alive. When eating in a (barely) comfortable environment, the Nokwmaa will gather in a single to place to eat together. This is not because they wish to enjoy each other’s company, but instead because they can get the eating over with faster. Most “traditional” Nokwmaa food is a colorless yet nutritious gruel with barely any taste. Visitors of other races find it barely palatable, but the Nokwmaa eat it without complaint.
Fashion and Dress:
The Nokwmaa prefer two distinctly different styles of clothing. Either they wear large robes that conceal their appearance and protect them from the elements, or they wear baggy trousers and a tight shirt that allows freedom of movement. When they do wear armor, it is almost always light armor that allows freedom of movement. The Nokwmaa never wear bright colors, and usually try to find the most dismal, dark, and depressing combination of colors they can find. These types of clothing are almost universally accepted in all social occasions.
Education:
All Nokwmaa are taught basic reading and writing skills, as well as a knowledge of how to learn. This means that all Nokwmaa are generally better educated in the basics than most other races. While their ingenuity may not extend to the creation of things, or warfare, the Nokwmaa are considered the best historians in the world and their libraries are filled with sages on almost every subject. The Nokwmaa are one of the few races in the worlds that still study epistemology, or the study of knowledge itself. This means that often they are more knowledgeable about many subjects than anyone else, but do not have the applicable skills to use this knowledge to its fullest.
Communication:
The Nokwmaa are one of the few races with no language of their own. They speak the common trade tongue to help them in their travels. The Nokwmaa’s focus on knowledge and learning, however, means that most Nokwmaa speak several other languages as well. Most Nokwmaa speak whatever language they can in the most dismal of tones, leaving everything in either a distressing tone or speaking in a monotone the entire time.
Professions:
The Nokwmaa have learned that one of the best ways to study history and the world is to travel and experience things, although they say that they do not enjoy anything, every Nokwmaa goes through a period (sometimes an entire lifetime) of travel. They search the world for new knowledge and try to record any significant events that happen around them. They have found that mercenary service can often be the best way to accomplish this and many times, Nokwmaa will group together as a mercenary group, hiring out to other races in order to experience history as it happens. These Nokwmaa mercenaries are considered some of the toughest in the world, and often form elite troops for small but wealthy countries. The only times when a Nokwmaa is outcast from its own species is when a rogue embraces some foreign philosophy and forgets the importance of their eternal quest for knowledge. These rare individuals are seen as abhorrent and are shunned by their fellow Nokwmaa.
Medicine:
Due to their half-undead nature the Nokwmaa are unusually resistant to magical healing. The positive energy channeled to perform such feats usually fails unless it is highly powered. Because of this, the Nokwmaa have had to rely on natural healing to a much higher degree than most other races. The Nokwmaa have a high degree of those educated in the natural healing and surgery methods. Although they are not necessarily the best at what they do, there are more non-magical Nokwmaa healers than almost any other race. These services are sold to other races, and freely given to Nokwmaa who cannot pay. In the mercenary companies, the Nokwmaa medics are considered some of the best non-magical combat medics in the worlds. On a different note, Nokwmaa births are usually easy and do not pose a significant threat to either the mother or the child. Nokwmaa pregnancies almost never result in more than a single child, and the pregnancies themselves are quite rare. Also unusual is this races resistance to natural insanity. For a race as eternally depressed as the Nokwmaa, there are almost no suicides or unusual mental deficiencies. The Nokwmaa are well adapted to their outlook on life.
Social Factors:
The Nokwmaa are gloomy and depressed in their dealings with every race and this extends to the way they treat everyone. A Nokwmaa will look for the worst in everyone and simply assume that everyone is trying to cheat him somehow. This does not necessarily mean that the Nokwmaa will try to cheat the people back, or lie, steal or anything else. The Nokwmaa seem somehow resigned to the fact that their world is an awful place with no redeeming values. The Nokwmaa are rarely shocked by anything and usually meet every surprise with a glum face and stoic resolve to put up with everything that comes their way. Likewise, the Nokwmaa are not generally embarrassed by anything. They feel that in worlds as hopeless as that of Ej’aeka, anything is acceptable.
Religion:
The Nokwmaa do not fervently believe in anything, let alone gods. Religion for the Nokwmaa does not exist in an organized fashion. There are no Nokwmaa churches or temples. There are a rare sect of Nokwmaa that worship a god of hopelessness and despair, but they have no temples as their very doctrine teaches the futility of such constructs. The closest thing that the Nokwmaa have to an organized religion is their reverence for history and knowledge. The Nokwmaa libraries have similarities to certain churches and organizations, but the libraries do not espouse anything except the acquisition of new knowledge and history. Because of their eternally dour nature, the Nokwmaa are not overly disturbed with death. When one dies there is a small ceremony that is held mainly to get rid of the body in an efficient manner. Grieving is unnecessary because the Nokwmaa firmly believe that the life that was lost was futile anyway.
Transportation:
The Nokwmaa have a certain distrust of mechanical methods of travel. While they will use such transport if necessary, they much prefer to travel slowly on their own two feet. This affords them a better view of their surroundings and the possibility to record any events of historical import that they may come across.
Protection:
The Nokwmaa protect their own survival by being sure not to cross any of the other races. Their libraries are important stores of knowledge that are accessible to all the races. The Nokwmaa mercenary companies are quite powerful and willing to hire on to anyone. This means that the Nokwmaa are considered neutrally by most other races, and even allowed to continue living in lands controlled by these other races.
Nokwmaa Racial Traits:
• +2 Dexterity
• +2 Strength
• +2 Intelligence
• - 2 Charisma
• Large sized creatures
• Nokwmaa base speed is 40
• Darkvision 60’
• +2 racial bonus on Intimidate, Hide, and Move Silently skill rolls
• All Nokwmaa gain proficiency in the Nokwmaa Great Sword, their traditional weapon.
• Nokwmaa begins with the Gifted Student feat at first level.
• The Nokwmaa begin the game with two free ranks in the Knowledge (Epistemology) skill.
• Can communicate with and ask simple questions of any dead or undead creature with an intelligence check versus DC 15+1 per 10 years the being has been dead or per 100 years if the being is undead
• Nokwmaa have cold resistance of 5
• +2 to saving throws versus necromantic spells and abilities as well as any rolls to prevent Madness or Insanity.
• Due to their half-undead nature Nokwmaa have an innate spell resistance equal to 14 whenever divine healing magics are applied to them. This may not be turned off.
• Automatic Languages: Luzian Imperial Common. Bonus Languages: Any 2
• Favored Class: Warlock or Rogue
Nup’tsuu:
The Nup’tsuu are a strange race of plant-based life forms. They look completely alien and have almost no humanoid features. Originally evolved from a breed of carnivorous plant, the Nup’tsuu gain some energy from photosynthesis, but gain the majority from eating meat. The Nup’tsuu have also evolved to use a form of built-in wheel, allowing them incredibly fast movement on smooth flat surfaces.
History:
The Nup’tsuu do not have myths in the same sense that most humanoids do. As an effectively immortal species, the Nup’tsuu still have members of their species alive who existed during various stages of their evolution. This means that many facts about their race have not devolved into myth, instead it is known what happened, or at least the way those few survivors tell the stories. The Nup’tsuu believe that they were created by the planets as a race to thin out the mammalian population. It is the firm belief of nearly every Nup’tsuu that at one point in the past mammals had become too prevalent in the world. In response the worlds themselves (living beings in the view of most, although not all, Nup’tsuu) used their forests and plants to cause hyper-evolution in a certain species of carnivorous plant, creating the Nup’tsuu as a race after only a few hundred years. This event happened at close to the same time as the massive Anori expenditure that refueled the Sun, so it is possible that the magical reverberations helped this as well. The Nup’tsuu have a belief that they originally were meant to hunt down and eat the mammal population that was severely taxing the worlds’ resources. Since that time, the Nup’tsuu have helped to contribute to the complete lack of mammalian over-population that now exists in the worlds. The Nup’tsuu do not hold the view that Mammals are evil, or need to be destroyed, in fact, now that mammalian over population is no longer a problem, they quite enjoy the company of other humanoids. Although it may seem that Nup’tsuu would try to actively eat as many mammals as possible, most realize that simply eating small creatures as is necessary to survive makes enough of a difference to the worlds.
Physical Appearance:
The Nup’tsuu look a bit like a large tapering cone with an inner “cup” on their bottom surface. They stand between 1.3 and 1.7 meters tall and weigh around 50-60 kg. Around the rim of this “cup” there are hundreds of short tentacles. They have three “arms” equidistantly placed around the circumference of their body with three eyes equidistantly placed above and between these tentacles. As the top of the cone tapers off there is a small tentacle with a large “mouth” that resembles a Venus flytrap with hardened bark-like “teeth”. The arms are tentacles about 1 meter long each. About 7 cm from the end of each tentacle, they split into three smaller tentacles capable of fine manipulations. The cup can hold a smooth ball about 75 cm in diameter. The Nup’tsuu use this ball to wheel around and can attain incredible speed; their balance in impeccable. They may only use the ball on very smooth surfaces however. When on rough surfaces they must drop their ball and use their tentacles to move. Without the wheel, the Nup’tsuu move very slowly, but also very steadily. Their mouth can nip creatures lightly and the digestive fluid that they secrete is highly corrosive.
Possessions:
The Nup’tsuu have come to use a rather unusual blend of typical technology and grown items. There are master creators among the Nup’tsuu that design living plant-based items that have certain functions among the Nup’tsuu. Metallic technology interests the Nup’tsuu as well, however, and in recent millennia there have been many creations that are a blend of normal and biological technology. The Nup’tsuu have plants that grow rope, houses that live and need to be trimmed, and plant-based highways that are perfect for wheeling around. In addition they have vehicles, and airships from the Originators, most of which have been augmented in some way with bio-technology. Even odder than the life-tech that the Nup’tsuu have blended is their newest research, which allows mineral matter to be “grown” in the same manner as plants. The Nup’tsuu are not an especially violent race, and do not have much weapons technology. What weapons they do have are usually high powered and used mainly for defense. Nup’tsuu armor is unusually shaped and is often a metallic harness with tough, bark-like growths custom grown to fit its wearer.
Living Quarters:
The Nup’tsuu grow their own houses out of certain species of plants that have been bred for this. Most often the Nup’tsuu use certain funguses that grow quickly into a new building. Creating basic buildings takes an average of ten to twelve days, while more splendid, multi-storied creations can take months to grow properly. Most of these buildings regulate themselves during the seasons and over time can re-grow any damage done to them. As these constructs are actually alive there is very little possibility of fires, and the few that do get started are usually put out quickly and efficiently. The rarest of buildings are created using the Nup’tsuu’s talent of growing metal and stone. These buildings are reserved for important or military buildings. The mineral-grown buildings looks like large plants made of the appropriate material. Oddly they can repair themselves the same way that a plant based building can. Nup’tsuu cities resemble large three dimensional forests. Instead of trees, however, there are numerous pod-like buildings at all levels, connected by long, flat roads grown from other plants. This maze of interconnecting roads ascends somewhere from several hundred to several thousand feet and the entire structure is the city.
Calendar:
The Nup’tsuu have adopted the standard calendar to mark the passing of time. Naturally, however, they do not keep track of the time at all. Since Nup’tsuu do not die after a certain time-period they are much less obsessed with time and death than other sentient mammals.
Social Skills:
The Nup’tsuu have been blessed with virtual immortality. Because of this, they have developed an irreverent, humorous attitude toward everything. In a world where they will continue to exist as long as they can eat and drink, the Nup’tsuu have found that everything is quite funny, and deserves an appropriate response. They show very little, if any respect to anyone or anything, and while always quite friendly, many races have a difficult time dealing with the complete lack of humility or seriousness. The Nup’tsuu love change and work to constantly experience new things. Few things are as unpleasant to a Nup’tsuu as monotony and boredom. Indeed, the Nup’tsuu love all the other races if for no reason other than the constant entertainment they provide. Many Nup’tsuu travel in order to explore, and are incredibly outgoing individuals, trying to experience everything they can at all times.
Diet:
The Nup’tsuu are carnivorous and require meat to survive. They must eat approximately half as often as other races because they have a partial form of photosynthesis. In addition to this requirement of meat, a Nup’tsuu must absorb water (which they do through their foot-tendrils) in amount equal to half what humans need. Nup’tsuu can eat almost any type of meat and both meat and water can be in any condition without causing any harm to the Nup’tsuu. Oddly, Nup’tsuu can absorb alcohol and many have found that they enjoy being intoxicated almost more than other races. Most Nup’tsuu do not eat in social situations, but it is considered polite to offer a guest a large bowl of sweet water to stand in.
Fashion and Dress:
Nup’tsuu rarely wear clothing of any type. Instead they often wear large belts or robes with numerous pockets, or a variety of pouches to keep their possessions in. Nup’tsuu can tattoo themselves with certain dyes that last fifty to sixty years before finally fading away. Many Nup’tsuu use these to paint certain distinctive patterns that distinguish themselves from the rest of their race.
Education:
The Nup’tsuu do not have a formal education system. Instead all younglings are taught basic survival skills, and if they ever show an interest in other skills, they can learn. Since their race is effectively immortal, the Nup’tsuu have very little worries about providing jobs or useful trades. Most Nup’tsuu are so inherently curious about the world that they will pick up nearly any profession that they have a chance to learn.
Communication:
The Nup’tsuu do not speak. In fact, they are incapable of making noise in the same way most creatures do. Instead the Nup’tsuu are naturally telepathic and can speak to any creature within a short range of themselves. This telepathy does not allow them to read minds, but simply to communicate in the same fashion that most humanoids do, by communicating surface thoughts. The Nup’tsuu must learn another creature’s language before it is able to converse in that way, so language still is a barrier. Also any Nup’tsuu that gain truly Psionic powers must treat the Telepathy skill as completely separate from the Nup’tsuu telepathy. The Nup’tsuu have never had to develop body language because communicating through telepathy allows all nuances that are felt in a thought to be understood. Therefore groups of Nup’tsuu having a conversation often look like they are not moving at all. Curse words for Nup’tsuu are simply strong negative emotions sent as a pulse around them. Although it is not a native skill to them, many Nup’tsuu lean to read and write any languages that they pick up in their travels.
Professions:
The Nup’tsuu rarely concern themselves overly with matters of profession. All Nup’tsuu usually pick up many useful skills over the years and can work enough to survive. Any pursuit is considered reasonable and the Nup’tsuu admire skill in any field, even ones they have never seen.
Medicine:
The Nup’tsuu can slowly regenerate from almost any wound. Similarly to other plants, pieces that are lost from the Nup’tsuu are slowly re-grown over the course of a year or two. Similarly, normal diseases and illnesses do not affect the Nup’tsuu at all. Unfortunately they have their own illnesses that are completely different from mammalian diseases. This means that Nup’tsuu medicine is a completely different form from Mammalian medicine, and the two only overlap in the most general of cases. The Nup’tsuu do pass healing knowledge on to one another, but for the most part, Nup’tsuu simply survive as they can and do without widespread healing techniques. On a slightly different note, the Nup’tsuu have three distinct genders and that they can change given an entire season at root. A Nup’tsuu starts off as a Carrier, a gender that implies the ability to bud new Nup’tsuu. The Carrier must be pollinated by both the male and female genders in order to bear young. These new Nup’tsuu appear as large pods growing out of the sides of the Carrier. They stay attached for an entire season before one to three fall off and the rest whither away. These young podlings must take root and be fed and watered as a normal plant for one year before they sprout a mouth, eyes, and arms and uproot themselves as fully realized young Nup’tsuu.
Social Factors:
The Nup’tsuu consider nearly every action to be acceptable. As a race with a very non-human view of the world many things do not bother Nup’tsuu. Embarrassment and social taboos do not actually exist in natural Nup’tsuu society. When among other species, many Nup’tsuu will at least make an attempt to follow social convention, but this often fails and many other species will give Nup’tsuu special leeway when they do things that would normally be socially unacceptable. Nup’tsuu are on a lifelong (and a long life it is) quest to experience everything. This means that every Nup’tsuu encountered will have different goals and motivations, and even these can change when something has been experienced. In addition to being one of the most socially unacceptable races, the Nup’tsuu are also some of the most understanding and rarely give in to anger.
Religion:
The Nup’tsuu as a race do not believe in Gods per se, instead they believe that the worlds are in fact living creatures and that their race was created by the god-worlds as an equilibrium to mammalian life. Many Nup’tsuu are reverent of the worlds, but few actually worship them. The few churches that the Nup’tsuu actually do maintain are most often non-denominational and are simply restful places to worship.
Transportation:
The Nup’tsuu most often rely on good road systems and their own natural form of transportation. When very long distances are to be traveled, the Nup’tsuu have vehicles grown from their odd bio-mineral fusion technology. When attempting to travel across rough ground the Nup’tsuu must abandon its wheel and move using their tentacles.
Protection:
The Nup’tsuu have rarely needed to protect themselves as a species. Most other races enjoy the presence of Nup’tsuu and do not war on them. When the rare attack does happen the Nup’tsuu have powerful weapon systems used to defend their cities.
Nup’tsuu Racial Traits:
• + 2 Intelligence
• +2 Constitution
• +2 Wisdom
• - 2 Dexterity
• - 2 Strength
• - 2 Charisma
• Medium Sized Creatures
• Base Speed 75 (with wheel, smooth ground only), 15 (without wheel)
• When the Nup’tsuu are equipped with a wheel, they may run with no penalty for any speed or time.
• The Nup’tsuu have a limited form of photosynthesis. This allows them to go twice as long as other races without food or water. A Nup’tsuu absorbs water through its foot-tentacles and eats only meat.
• The Nup’tsuu are blessed with a minor form of immortality. They live until they die in combat or from disease, they do not die of natural causes.
• The Nup’tsuu may bite an opponent; this deals 1d4 damage from the bite and an additional 1d4 damage from their digestive acid.
• Nup’tsuu telepathy allows them to either broadcast to all creatures within one hundred feet, or contact a specific creature that the Nup’tsuu has contacted before within a one mile radius. The Nup’tsuu may only speak through the telepathy, it cannot read thoughts, and it only becomes active to reception when a person is specifically trying to contact them or when the creature speaks out loud. Nup’tsuu telepathy is a completely different form from that of the Psionic skill.
• A Nup’tsuu can see in all directions at once, this makes it impossible to sneak up on them.
• A Nup’tsuu may take the Multi-dexterity and Multi-Wielding feats. In addition, the Nup’tsuu is considered to have ambidexterity automatically on the creation of the character.
• Automatic Languages: Nup’tsuu, Luzian Imperial Common, 1 Bonus Language
• Favored Class: Any
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