Touch of the Inhuman: Beast

## Introduction

Beast touched are usually created by the Named Beasts, but some other powerful entities with strong ties to animals can create beast touched, such as various gods of animals. Named Beasts are the most common source, and they come in all different shapes and sizes. Named Beasts take the form of a spiritual representation of a single kind of animal, such as Wolf being the Named Beast of all wolves, the fundamental nature of all wolves combined into one being. These powerful spirits often descend to the mortal plane for a variety of reasons, ranging from an urge to experience the mortal world’s natural places, to protect their animal children, or even to take mortal wives and husbands. Sometimes, they will bless the child of a skillful hunter who earned their respect, or one who has done some great kindness to the Named Beast’s children. Sometimes they simply bear a half-mortal child and then disappear. Other beastly spirits and deities will sometimes bless the children of their priests to show their favor.

## Description

**Physical Description:** Beast touched are some of the most inhuman-looking spirit-touched. Typically, they take on the appearance of an anthropomorphic animal or a very animalistic human, their appearance matching the sort of beast the Named Beast represented, or one of the favored animals of the beastly spirit or deity. In rare cases, they may take on the appearance of humans with some beastly features, such as an animal’s head, or feathers for hair, or clawlike hands.

**Personality:** Beast touched, being so obviously inhuman, are dramatically set apart by their nature. In old world societies, they are often killed at birth or kept hidden from the rest of the world. Invariably, those that survive in these societies are poorly-adjusted, sometimes furious at the people that rejected them, sometimes ashamed of themselves and their ‘monstrous’ form. In new world societies, they enjoy a bit more acceptance, but still are almost never truly ‘part of’ the people they live with. Whatever their origin, they float through human lands like drops of oil in a lake, never mixing.

**In the World:** Beast touched usually arise in native societies, as most colonial powers kill them at birth out of fear and superstition. those that do survive in colonial regions usually live in hiding, in the shadows. Beast touched take on many roles, usually settling upon roles that set them apart from their human neighbors. They may become priests as they learn about the spirits that made them what they are. Many become hunters, drawn inexorably to wild places and the thrill of the hunt. Some beast touched become Chosen, called by spirits of the natural world to protect the balance of nature. In the old world particularly, beast touched may become rogues, trading on their bestial parent’s aptitude for stealth.

## Ability Modifiers

* **+2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence** The beast touched are in tune with their environment and have sharp senses, but they simply aren’t as clever as the average human.

## Universal Abilities

* **Natural Weapon:** Beast-touched are granted the weapons of their feral parents, gaining one of the following natural weapons. This is a primary attack, or a secondary attack if the creature is wielding manufactured weapons.
* **Fangs:** The beast touched gains a bite attack that deals 1d6 points of damage. This attack can take the form of sharp teeth, a ripping beak, or deadly mandibles.
* **Claws:** The beast touched gains a pair of claw attacks that deal 1d4 points of damage. This attack can take the form of claws, talons, or pincers.
* **Horns:** The beast touched gains a gore attack that deals 1d6 points of damage. This attack can take the form of horns, antlers, or tusks.
* **Slam:** The beast touched gains a slam attacks that deals 1d6 points of damage. This attack can take the form of strong legs, hard fists, or a hard skull.
* **Sting:** The beast touched gains a sting attack that deals 1d4 points of damage. This attack can take the form of a stinger, a sharp spur, or a spike.
* **Beast Tongue:** Beast-touched are further gifted with the ability to communicate with the animals of the world. They gain the ability to speak with any animal as though they were under the effects of a permanent Speak With Animals spell. Not all animals they encounter will be willing to talk, friendly, helpful, or even honest.

## Varied Abilities

* **Amphibious:** The beast touched possesses both gills and lungs. They gain the ability to breathe both air and water freely.
* **Armored Hide:** The beast touched has tough hide, scales, or even bony armor. They gain a +2 natural armor bonus to armor class.
* **Balancing Tail:** The beast touched possess a long, flexible tail that serves to balance their weight. They gain a +4 racial bonus to acrobatics checks made to cross narrow or uneven surfaces, and are not considered to be flat-footed while doing so. They also gain a +2 bonus to combat maneuver defense when resisting trip attempts.
* **Burrow:** The beast touched can dig with great speed. They gain the ability to burrow 5 feet though earth, clay, gravel, or sand as a move action. They cannot burrow through stone. As a full-round action, they can fortify the tunnel as they dig, leaving a usable tunnel large enough for a medium creature to squeeze through. They cannot leave a usable tunnel unless the material they’re burrowing through can support it. Unless leaving a tunnel, they cannot breathe while underground, and must hold their breath and take only short trips.
* **Camouflage:** The beast touched has special coloration that allows them to hide more easily in some terrain. They gain a +2 racial bonus to stealth checks. In addition, they select one of the following terrain types: Cold, Desert, Forest, Jungle, Mountain, Plains, Swamp, Underground, or Water. Their racial bonus to stealth increases to +4 in this type of terrain.
* **Climb:** The beast touched is a skillful climber. they gain a climb speed of 30 feet. This climb speed grants a +8 racial bonus to climb checks, and they can take 10 on climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
* **Endurance:** The beast touched is at home in difficult environments. They gain a +4 racial bonus on constitution checks and fortitude saves to resist fatigue or exhaustion, as well as any other ill effects from running, forced marches, starvation, thirst, and hot or cold environments.
* **Extra Weapon:** The beast touched bristles with natural weapons. They gain a second natural weapon from their Natural Weapon ability.
* **Scent:** The beast touched has a sensitive nose. They gain the scent ability.
* **Sharp Senses:** The beast touched has sharp eyes or ears. They gain a +4 racial bonus to perception checks.
* **Sprint:** The beast touched is particularly fast. They gain the run feat as a bonus feat, and their base speed increases by 10 feet.
* **Swim:** The beast touched is a swift swimmer. They gain a swim speed of 30 feet. This grants a +8 racial bonus to swim checks to perform a special action or avoid a hazard, they can always choose to take 10 on swim checks, even if rushed or threatened, and they can take the run action while swimming, provided they swim in a straight line.
* **Low-Light Vision:** The beast touched has exceptional night vision. They gain low-light vision, allowing them to see twice as far as normal in low light conditions. They gain a +2 racial bonus to perception checks at night.
* **Winged:** The beast touched has feathered, leathery, or even insect like wings, and while they cannot fly, they can use them in some capacity. They take no damage from falling, as though subject to a constant non-magical feather fall effect, as their wings give them enough lift to avoid falling painfully. In addition, they gain a +2 racial bonus on acrobatics checks from the extra balance and lift their wings offer.
* **Venom:** The beast touched possesses potent venom. They must possess the bite or sting natural weapons to select this ability. Their bite or sting attack inflicts poison on a successful hit. When they select this ability, they must choose the type of poison.
	+ **Life-Stealing Venom:** Injury; save Fort (DC = 10 + 1/2 beast touched’s hit die + their constitution modifier); frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1 Con; cure 1 save.
	+ **Paralytic Venom:** Injury; save Fort (DC = 10 + 1/2 beast touched’s hit die + their constitution modifier); frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Dex; cure 1 save.
	+ **Weakening Venom:** Injury; save Fort (DC = 10 + 1/2 beast touched’s hit die + their constitution modifier); frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Str; cure 1 save.

## Feats

* [Grab]
* [Powerfull Charge]
* [Pounce]
* [Rake]
* [Trample]