The Power of the Flower!
Introduction
My editor asked me if I had any small projects in the oven, and while I didn’t, I had some half-finished races in my project folder, so after some discussion, this book is the result.
What’s inside?: 20 pages for 6.50 bucks, which includes:
-3 new races:
The Antholaos were inspired by a series of fantasy books by the Mexican writer Juan Comparan (google the books, the covers are great! Don’t know if they are available in English though), where each individual’s head ends in a plant instead of hair. The inspiration ends there. The race itself is a militaristic, female-dominated sentient plant society ruled by an empress. They are carnivores that prefer insect meat, and in fact use insects as cattle, beasts of burden, steeds and even as raw materials in furniture and armor. Since I like to experiment in my designs, all antholaoi emit a magical scent, represented by a racial aroma veil (a new type introduced in this book), of which there are 5. They also age differently, becoming stronger but slower (in the case of females) or swifter but weaker (in the case of males), and at the end they become immobile but can join a special “grove council”, which acts as an advisor to the queen. Apart from their aroma, they have some racial feats that let them control swarms and a special “fragrant knight” archetype. I even included a cool (for me at least) lance veil that can be broken to entangle foes after hitting them. All in all, a very physical race that sports cool visuals and has some unusual characteristics. Oh, by the way, their names come from Greek, and are flower-themed. I chose Greek because why not?
Hanabito are the brainchild of James Ray, head designer and editor of Azoth games, and IIRC are based on certain character from the Wolf’s Rain anime. Hanabito are biological constructs, having that type but with the akashic, augmented plant, and living machine subtypes. They are build up from extraplanar flowers and have some really unique abilities. They get to shape the cool Songstress’s Voice, a voice veil previously published in the author’s blog. They also have a unique connection to their plane of origin, granting them abilities towards said plane, can feel if a portal goes to their plane, and can even use locate portal once a week. They can speak with plants too, and can take essence drain to concentrate their poisonous blood. Another ability they have is resistance to mind-affecting, disease, poison and paralysis, and can invest this resistance with essence. They can even use photosynthesis, requiring just water to survive! They also have many variant abilities that will let a player have a unique playing experience. This is balanced by a net -2 on ability scores, including a nasty -4 to Strength. They also sport a unique favored class bonus that is very “steal-able” for other akashic races, granting bonus essence that can only be invested in their racial veil, and picking that bonus enough increases their maximum essence capacity for it, how cool is that? They also get many favored class bonuses for non-akashic classes. A cool, complex race that is perfect for experienced players.
Xquenda are the last race. They aren’t really inspired by anything, answering the question “If the Akashic Records store the memories of all creatures, what would happen with those of the most ancient ones?”. And so, they are a fey race born from the memories of other fey, and as such they are well-regarded by them. They also get 2 points of essence, one of which cannot be used by the xquenda themselves but can be granted to an ally with a special use of the Aid Another action. They are also one of the few small akashic races, perfect for fans of the small folk. Among their other abilities, they can also see essence in others, gaining the Elevated Sight feat as a bonus. Their names come from one of the many native languages from Mexico, as is their outlook of life.
-3 new feats: Grow Plant Creature is a Hanabito feat that lets you grow a Hanabito youth by paying a lot of gold, potentially letting a Hanabito create a couple of their kind. Bug Herder is a very basic akashic “feat tax” that lets an Antholaos use Handle Animal or Wild Empathy with bugs, with the Bug Master giving you the powerful ability to control an insect swarm.
-Supplementary Material: The Fragrant Knight, while not exclusive to the antholaoi, are knights that must swear an oath of fealty to the empire, and must belong to a small selection of orders. They get the ability to shape an enhanced weapon veil, and get some bonus essence to empower it, loosing the Tactician line of abilities. They aroma veil is also enhanced, having greater range and inflictin a penalty to its effect to those they challenge, loosing the Banner abilities. They don’t lose mount, which they keep to ride giant vermin like wasps or spiders (well, at least that was my intention).
Grassteel is a new material perfect for druids, and is grown from special plants by channeling essence into them. They take full damage from fire, though.
Hanabito Cradle is a special item used in the creation of these folk, but can also be used to heal plant creatures and other plants (antholaos would love this) by investing essence in it.
-8 new veils: This section includes the rules for aroma veils, based on the stench ability of troglodytes. Amon the non-arome veils we have Floral Nostrum is a variant of the Fungal Panacea veil that occupies the shoulders chakra, and it grants the ability to grow some blossoms that work as the polypurpose panacea spell, with the exact effect chosen at the time of shaping; the veil also grants a bonus to one charisma-based interaction skill, changeable as a swift action. Their bind ability improves the effects gained from this veil. The Songstress’s Voice is a voice veil that lets you calm emotions, as the spell, by singing, and when bound it can generate other emotions a couple of times per day. There are 6 possible emotions (apathy, courage, despair, hope, quiescence and resolve), and you can choose which emotions affects whom in the area; a cool, iconic veil! The last non-aroma veil is the Worming Thornlance, a lance used by antholaoi knights that takes the shape of a wooden lance that can be broken after a mounted charge or critical, the embedded tip sprouting tendrils that impede the target’s action. I made this lance because there weren’t any lance veils LMAO, and I needed one for my fragrant knights ;)
The next 5 veils are from the “Sents of the Flower Empire”, designed with the antholaos in mind but available to many classes. They all share the same characteristics: they occupy the body slot, have the aroma and poison descriptors, have a 30 foot area of effect, and grant alchemical bonuses. Adelfa’s Whiff was one of the first ones I designed, and while looking at very poisonous plants, I envisioned an assassin called Adelfa, whose perfume was the last thing her targets smelled. It creates a smell that reacts to toxins, damaging those already poisoned, with essence increasing this damage and even increasing the DC of poisons a little within range. The bind is a powerful effect that emulates the green ray of a prismatic spray spell. The Corpse Titan Malodor stinks LMAO. It represents one of the weirdest plants in nature, the biggest flowers in the world that exude the stench of rotten meat, sickening everyone in the area and if enough essence is invested, stagger them; the bind make one target in the area nauseated for a couple of rounds, which at that level is justified. Dire Bouquet is the aroma used by the palace guards, inflicting a penalty on dexterity checks and skill checks, or stunning a specific target within the area for a couple of rounds when bound. Fragrant Princess’s Aroma helps you with diplomacy, and when bound functions as a symbol of persuasion. Zantedech’s Perfume is aphrodisiac, making targets in the area fascinated by the veilweaver, and stunning creatures in the area when bound or and staggering them for a couple of rounds.
-Bonus Content: This includes the Diva archetype for the fisherking, transforming the class into an akashic singer and master of the Songstress’s Voice veil, perfect for Hanabito. It also includes the Quantum Quartz Earrings minor veil and the Entangles Gem magical item that works with said minor veil.
Of Note: I think the races herein really stretch what a race is in the game, and they are very different among themselves. I particularly enjoy the Songstress’s Voice veil and the Diva archetype.
Anything wrong?: I think the races should have included a 1st level typical member, like other races do in the Bestiaries, but I thought about that after the publication.
What I want: I want to write more material for the Xquenda, which have a lot of potential being creatures born of the Akashic Memories.
What cool things did this inspire?: The wasp-riding antholaos knight is something I would love to play, wielding the Worming Thornlance. Also, the Hanabito are such an intriguing race I have already thought on how to make one or two NPCs with them.
Do I recommend it?: For people that want moar races, specifically akashic ones, I think this book delivers. All races have the potential for further expansions. For example, how would a Hanabito made from an abyssal flower be? What other iconic antholaos characters are there, like assassins following Adelfa’s teachings? Or what about a vizier path for Xquenda that improves their hair abilities using their innate connection with the Akashic Records? Anyway, if you are interested, you can find the book Here