NATHAUAN
The long-lived nathauans are dark cousins of the fey creatures of the surface world, distantly related to the elves, but not in the same way that drow are. Nathauans value their privacy and customs, and are often slow to make friends and quick to make enemies. Such alliances or rivalries can last for generations. Nathauans typically view other sentient races as inferior and occasionally consume them for sustenance, considering their flesh to be a delicacy. Most nathauans have a dark sense of humor and prefer to make threats to get others to follow their orders rather than employing diplomacy. However, once nathauans form familial bonds, they are quite loyal to and affectionate with their partners and family.
Physical Description: Although generally taller than humans, nathauans possess a graceful, fragile physique that is accentuated by their short, pointed ears. Their eyes are wide and almond-shaped, and filled with large, vibrantly colored pupils, typical in shades of red, violet or green. Their teeth are also filled with sharp, shark-like teeth that are perfect for consuming meat; nathauans do not eat vegetables. While nathauan clothing is often dark and utilitarian, there are members of their race who prefer more personal flair and garb themselves in suitably militaristic or otherwise impressive clothing.
Society: Nathauans prefer to shape their environs to suit themselves, often transforming large cavern complexes into cities of dark and somber beauty.
Relations: Nathauans are prone to dismissing or bullying other races. They typically do not care for neighboring races to venture too closely to their territory and will often engage in bloody border disputes with drow, duergar and svirfneblin. They regard surface creatures as weak "sunlanders" who are afraid of the shadows and who have no appreciation for the power of the nathauan peoples.
Nathauans have no qualms about engaging in acts of cannibalism or betrayal. They will occasionally kill and consume older and weaker members of their own race for special occasions, finding such activities to be perfectly normal and acceptable.
Alignment and Religion: Nathauan are reserved, but seemingly capricious creatures, yet value strength and beauty. Most nathauan are lawful evil, enjoying a rigid structure of mores and rules that dictate their lives, and enjoy circumventing their own rules in order to profit at the expense of others. Nathauans tend to worship darker gods, particularly those of trickery, strength or magic. Their patron goddess, Sybé of the Phantom Lights, is a goddess of trickery and dark magics.
Adventurers: Many nathauans embark on adventures out of a desire to explore the world, leaving their desolate underground realms to search for powerful new magics or to seek out lost kingdoms established millennia ago by their forefathers. Nathauans generally eschew melee classes like barbarians and monks because of their frailty, preferring instead to pursue their natural talents and take up spellcasting classes such as wizards, witches, and clerics, as well as more subtle classes such as rangers and rogues. It is exceptionally rare to find paladins among the ranks of this dark race.
Male Names: Bratheon, Frontes, Jendaris, Meridion, Stathael, Tesredar, Ythael, Zalaedik.
Female Names: Amantadala, Cenriote, Evandara, Kridae, Meristrae, Pharaxa, Seliadi, Troinadara, Valeriana.
Racial Traits
The following racial traits are available for a nathauan character to take at character creation.
Nathauan Cunning
Growing up with the dangers that the subterranean world presents has honed your senses.
Benefit: You gain a +2 trait bonus on Initiative checks.
Nathauan Magics
Nathauans are a magically gifted race and as such, magic comes easy to them.
Benefit: Their inborn talents grant them mastery of a cantrip. Choose a 0-level spell. You may cast that spell once per day as a spell-like ability. This spell-like ability is cast at your highest caster level gained; if you have no caster level, it functions at CL 1st. The spell-like ability’s Save DC is Charisma-based.
Racial Traits
- +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma: Nathauans are typically nimble and studious, but not quite so charming to others.
- Medium: Nathauans are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- Normal Speed: Nathauans have a base speed of 30 feet.
- Darkvision: Nathauans can see in the dark up to 60 feet. See Vision and Light.
- Magical Affinity: Nathauans are exceptionally skilled at recognizing magic when they encounter it and can use detect magic at will.
- Illusion Resistance: Nathauans receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions.
- Intimidating Presence: Nathauans receive a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate skill checks.
- Light Vulnerability: A nathauan not under heavy cloak or cover within an area of bright light or sunlight immediately takes 1 point of Constitution damage, and 1 additional point per hour it remains in the area.
- Spell Resistance: Nathauans possess innate spell resistance equal to their character level +6.
- Weapon Familiarity: Nathauans are proficient with khopeshes, and treat any weapon with the word “nathauan” in its name as a martial weapon.
- Languages: Nathauans begin play speaking Common and Undercommon. Nathauans with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Abyssal, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome and Goblin.
Random Starting Age
Adulthood Intuitive1 Self-Taught2 Trained3
60 years +4d10 years
(64 - 100 years) +5d10 years
(65 - 110 years) +6d10 years
(66 - 120 years)
1 This category includes barbarians, oracles, rogues, and sorcerers.
2 This category includes bards, cavaliers, fighters, gunslingers, paladins, rangers, summoners, and witches.
3 This category includes alchemists, clerics, druids, inquisitors, magi, monks, and wizards.
Random Height and Weight
Gender Base Height Height Modifier Base Weight Weight Modifier
Male 5 ft. +2d10 in.
(5 ft 2 in. - 6 ft. 8 in.) 120 lbs. +(2d10×5 lbs.)
(130 - 220 lbs.)
Female 4 ft. 7 in. +2d10 in.
(4 ft. 9 in. - 6 ft. 3 in.) 100 lbs. +(2d10×5 lbs.)
(110 - 20
Bumping in the hopes of getting some feedback.
Spoiler the fluff. We're here to help balance the race stats, not the fluff. Also I recommend adding Race points to the stats so it's easier to judge.
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Spoiler the fluff. We're here to help balance the race stats, not the fluff. Also I recommend adding Race points to the stats so it's easier to judge.
You might be here to just deal with the crunch but I like to help with the whole thing if I can. The mechanics made sense, mostly, I referred to the fluff because I like to write and I like to read this kind of thing. If it needs clarification on some level he needs to know that too so that he knows that not everyone may understand what he's written in the same way that he does.
Captain Emberwrath,
What part(s), exactly, gives you the conflicting impression?
Insanity Logic,
It's only 9 race points in total. I'm confident that the race is well-balanced. Feedback is appreciated, however.
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Captain Emberwrath,
What part(s), exactly, gives you the conflicting impression?
Insanity Logic,
It's only 9 race points in total. I'm confident that the race is well-balanced. Feedback is appreciated, however.
The alignment and religion part mainly. Usually strength and trickery are associated with chaos as is the kind of circumvention of rules that I'm reading into the wording, though that part may just be me. I can read things differently than some at times.
I'm just used to seeing those two aspects attached to a different alignment category, or whatever the term is for the various parts (i.e. chaos, law, good, and evil).
It may be just me, but would you mind explaining it a little bit more, at least in a reply post so I can understand where you're coming from?
Captain Emberwrath,
The nathauan have a set of values that do allow for deception; which is perfectly valid when you think of the idea of a "lawful" alignment. As long as the code allows for certain activities, they're still adhering to it. Don't forget that lawful evil characters are often motivated by self-interest, but they know that the order of things ultimately protects them.
Think of the legal system that we have in place now. If you can get away with something bad that's completely within the rules, you'll do it if you're lawful evil. You'll push that boundary if you must and you'll bend the law (i.e. circumvent), but not break it. If the code says that you can't kill another nauthauan (which it doesn't, by the by), you can circumvent the code by hiring an assassin to kill the other nauthauan for you. If the law states that you cannot trade with humans, it's perfectly within the rules to trade with other races that do trade with humans.
As far as the associated values of their gods, trickery is a trait that is associated with the Lawful Evil gods Asmodeus, the god of assassination Achaekek, the archdevil Dispater, Lorthact the Infernal Duke, Yaezhing the Minster of Blood, and the giant deity Zursvaater. Strength is also associated with the Lawful Evil gods Geryon (the archdevil), the goblin deity Hadregash, and the giant deity Minderhal. As you can see, there is strong precedent for both of those traits to be associated with Lawful Evil alignment.
Does this help to explain the concepts more clearly?
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Captain Emberwrath,
The nathauan have a set of values that do allow for deception; which is perfectly valid when you think of the idea of a "lawful" alignment. As long as the code allows for certain activities, they're still adhering to it. Don't forget that lawful evil characters are often motivated by self-interest, but they know that the order of things ultimately protects them.
Think of the legal system that we have in place now. If you can get away with something bad that's completely within the rules, you'll do it if you're lawful evil. You'll push that boundary if you must and you'll bend the law (i.e. circumvent), but not break it. If the code says that you can't kill another nauthauan (which it doesn't, by the by), you can circumvent the code by hiring an assassin to kill the other nauthauan for you. If the law states that you cannot trade with humans, it's perfectly within the rules to trade with other races that do trade with humans.
As far as the associated values of their gods, trickery is a trait that is associated with the Lawful Evil gods Asmodeus, the god of assassination Achaekek, the archdevil Dispater, Lorthact the Infernal Duke, Yaezhing the Minster of Blood, and the giant deity Zursvaater. Strength is also associated with the Lawful Evil gods Geryon (the archdevil), the goblin deity Hadregash, and the giant deity Minderhal. As you can see, there is strong precedent for both of those traits to be associated with Lawful Evil alignment.
Does this help to explain the concepts more clearly?
That does help quite a bit thank you.