Aphorite

## Overview

Aphorites are mortals who experience the influence of an inevitable on their ancestry, at their birth, or during their time in the womb. As inevitable are the servitor race of Másik, aphorites have a reputation as being 'improved' versions of mortals, and certainly act as such. A young aphorite will consistently excel in a certain field, as their focus renders them nearly immune to boredom and strain, although with the ascension of the aphorite, the association of aphorites with Másik has waned slightly and the expectation of the race to engage in scholarly pursuits has grown far stronger- luckily, their natural aptitude for the theoretical and near-perfect memory means that such choices are rarely difficult for them.

## Mechanics

* **Ability Score Modifiers:** They gain +2 Strength and Intelligence but suffer –2 Dexterity
* **Type:** Aphorite are outsiders with the native subtype
* **Size:** Aphorites are Medium creatures and have no bonuses of penalties due to their size.
* **Base Speed:** Aphorites have a base speed of 30 feet.
* **Languages:** Aphorites speak Common and either Celestial or Infernal. An aphorite with a high Intelligence score can choose from the following as bonus languages: Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Ignan, Infernal, or Terran.

### Defensive Racial Traits

* **Aphorite Resistances:** Aphorites have electricity resistance 5 and a +2 bonus on saves versus poison and mind-affecting effects.
* **Crystaline Dust (Su):** An aphorite can manifest a haze of crystalline dust that forms into indistinct runes and glyphs surrounding its body. This effect grants the aphorite a 20% miss chance against melee and ranged attacks. Activating this dust is a move action, but it can be maintained each round as a free action. The effect cannot be disrupted, but it ends immediately if the aphorite is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a free action to maintain it each round. An aphorite can use this ability a number of rounds per day equal to its Hit Dice, but the rounds do not need to be consecutive.

### Feat and Skill Racial Traits

* **Skilled:** Aphorites gain a +2 racial bonus on checks with a single Craft skill of their choice.

### Magical Racial Traits

* **Spell-Like Abilities (Su):** Aphorites can use protection from chaos once per day as a spell-like ability (caster level equal to the aphorite’s class level).

### Senses Racial Traits

* **Darkvision:** Aphorites have darkvision 60 feet.

## Society

As native outsiders, aphorites only breed true with others of their race, so it's rare to find settlements with significant numbers of aphorites outside of the University of Architectural and Focal Studies. Despite their appearance, aphorites find social and cultural norms easy to adapt to, especially when those include valuing intellectual achievement or skill mastery. As a race, they have an innate drive to specialize and excel at subjects that appeal to them, often to the exclusion of all else. Thus, most aphorites do well in settlements that have a consistent routine and are developed enough where specialized labor is common and accepted. They can flounder when expected to acquire a variety of unrelated abilities, or worse, express their individuality. Aphorites are often so devoted to their efforts that they think of it as their identity, and have great difficulty undertaking creative or original works outside of their chosen field.

## Religion

Aphorites gravitate towards Masik, Jolein Composed of Desire, and Zhihao Jin, as the deities of failure, knowledge, and invention represent the most omnipresent forces in their struggle towards perfection in their chosen field. Some do take advantage of their inborn strength and venerate Pahala Kadam, and others offer gratitude to Ketar Mozog and Dowager Empress Kyouko for the stability that they provide to lives and societies. However, it is possible to count on one hand the aphorites that follow Vicenta Salcedo, whose encouragement of self-expression seems contradictory to a race that tends to define themselves by their work.

## Relations

As native outsiders descended from deific servitors, aphorites feel a kinship with aasimar, tieflings, and ganzi, who experience similar pressures to devote their lives to greater divine forces - assuming that they have not chosen to serve an opposing god, which creates enmity on a deeper level than mortals can know. As Masik has no true enemies, this enmity is most often reserved for aphorites who think of themselves as taking after Jolein Composed of Desire.

Aphorites fit in well into cultures that value hard work and consistency, including races such as drelmans, dwarves, duergar, hobgoblins, nagaji, oreads, and parmans.

They don't get along with fetchlings due to their wanderlust, and though gnomes are equally motivated to focus on a single project as aphorites, their ability to quickly switch from one project to another is incomprehensible to the latter.

Changelings, dhampir, and kitsune may be utterly ignored by aphorites, or the subject of uncomfortable scrutiny if their field of study involves hags, undeath, or fey.

Drow and elves both welcome aphorites into their societies, sharing longevity and an appreciation of the intellectual arts, but rarely find any common ground to begin true friendship.

Ghorans find that any relationships with aphorites noticeably deteriorate after they rebirth themselves, leading such things to be short-lived.

Grippli, lizardfolk, orcs, skinwalkers, and vanara are usually found in the subsistence societies that aphorites have difficulty living within.

Halflings and undine both have high opinions of aphorites in general, but can find them creepily obsessive and too outwardly emotional, respectively.

Ifrits and vishkanya tend to get along badly with aphorites due to their individuality and fickleness, which makes it difficult for the focused aphorites to relate or keep up.

Kobolds and ratfolk find aphorites particularly agreeable due to their respectable skills and amazing focus, and will often go to great lengths to create and maintain relationships.

Sylphs and tengu can both be great friends to aphorites, as long as sylphs do not overstep their boundaries and tengu do not plagiarize the aphorite's work.

Suli are usually too proud to coexist very easily with aphorites, but a well-adapted aphorite and an appreciative suli may well forge an unbreakable bond.

As for goblins, their existence is one source of inspiration that aphorites will always tolerate - at least, until their notes or work is endangered.

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