Vishkanya

## Overview

Vishkanya are a race of subtly reptilian humanoids, created by the unwillingly immortal rakshasa to purge all living creatures from the world and finally end their suffering of infinite reincarnation. With bodies covered in minute scales that can shift color, shape, and size to infiltrate the lives of other races, and minds of merciless predators who see all other lifeforms as cowardly prey, vishkanya are consummate hunters and destroyers of all intelligent life. Though vishkanya have no friendships outside their race - and indeed, those non-vishkanya who realize their true nature are quickly disposed of - they may occasionally form tentative alliances with living creatures who would benefit from a genocide or mass extinction. Vishkanya are bloodthirsty but not stupid, and understand that they cannot achieve their goals alone, no matter how much they would enjoy being the last living creature in the world, and thus spend most of their time planning or maneuvering into positions that will allow them to snuff out the most life with as little danger or effort for themselves as possible.

## Mechanics

Standard Racial Traits

* **Ability Score Modifiers**: Vishkanyas are graceful and elegant, but they are often irrational. They gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, and –2 Wisdom.
* **Type**: Vishkanyas are humanoids with the vishkanya subtype.
* **Size**: Vishkanyas are Medium creatures and thus have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
* **Base Speed**: Vishkanyas have a base speed of 30 feet.
* **Languages**: Vishkanyas begin play speaking Vishkanya. Vishkanyas with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aklo, Draconic, Elven, Goblin, and Sylvan.

Defense Racial Traits

* **Poison Resistance**: A vishkanya has a racial bonus on saving throws against poison equal to its Hit Dice.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

* **Keen Senses**: Vishkanyas receive a +2 racial bonus on Perception checks.
* **Deceptive**: Vishkanya clans that make their livings robbing or killing humans train to distract targets at critical moments. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Bluff checks.

Senses Racial Traits

* **Subtle Appearance**: Vishkanyas have normal (human-like) eyes, and their beauty is more conventional. They gain a +4 bonus on Disguise checks to look fully human.

Offense Racial Traits

* **Poison Use**: Vishkanyas are skilled in the use of poison and never accidentally poison themselves when using or applying poison.
* **Toxic**: A number of times per day equal to his Constitution modifier (minimum 1/day), a vishkanya can envenom a weapon that he wields with his toxic saliva or blood (using blood requires the vishkanya to be injured when he uses this ability). Applying venom in this way is a swift action.
* **Vishkanya Venom**: Injury; *save* Fort DC 10 + 1/2 the vishkanya’s Hit Dice + the vishkanya’s Constitution modifier; *frequency* 1/round for 6 rounds; *effect* 1d2 Dex; *cure* 1 save.
* **Weapon Familiarity**: Vishkanyas have weapon familiarity with all hidden weapons, as well as blowguns, kukri, and shuriken.

## Society

Vishkanya are not welcomed into any society and do not form settlements of their own, but instead disguise themselves as other races and seamlessly take on the roles, behaviors, and customs that allow them to achieve their goals. Vishkanya prefer to infiltrate settlements and kingdoms with high levels of corruption or authoritarianism, as these environments allow vishkanya to do their preferred dirty work to gain power or to wield gained power to utterly devastating effect without fear of punishment. When vishkanya become aware of each other, they use the influence of their personas to collaborate, though each competes for a level of destruction greater than the other at all times. In the cases where a vishkanya notices a rakshasa, which they kill immediately and without thought of consequence - their instinctive cruelty is heighted to overpowering levels towards the creatures that they were made to destroy. Otherwise, there is no feeling known to vishkanya stronger than their self-preservation and their hunting instinct.

## Religion

Vishkanya rarely experience religious fervor to the point where they seek it out or allow it to direct their decisions, but they do worship a small array of gods. Alessandra Juntoso and Masik both share vishkanya reverence, and as much as Masik dislikes their purposeful hunting of his creations, he doesn't shy away from granting the most faithful among them divine power. Also regularly worshiped is the Apparition of Ketar Mozog, whose powerful instinct drives the vishkanya, the Apparition of Agathon, whose suffering fills them with joy, the Apparition of Dowager Empress Kyouko, who distorts servitude into usurpation and misuse of power, and the Apparition of Jolein Composed of Desire, who grants vishkanya secrecy. Though none - even among vishkanya - know why, many are also drawn to worship the Apparition of Fa'qamuu Twice-Heavenbound; perhaps by an aversion to the everlasting and permanent things of the world that is hidden underneath their more obvious violent urges.

## Relations

Vishkanya are universally hated or disliked, though this manifests in different ways for different races. Aasimar and tieflings are likely to actively hunt down vishkanya, especially plumekith aasimar, who may strike out at vishkanya even before knowing of their true identity - though beastbrood tieflings prefer, instead, to ally with them to cause as much despair as possible.

Aphorites dislike the disorder that vishkanya invite into their lives and ganzi are disturbed and dismayed by the vishkanya's ability to imitate - both things that stand out to the other races more so than the vishkanya's cruelty.

Changelings and skinwalkers, as outcasts, are considered useful tools by vishkanya, and they are often set up - willingly or unwillingly - as pawns at the edges of vishkanya influence, which leaves them divided - such generosity always comes at a price, but it may be better than the outright hostility of other races.

Dhampir consider the vishkanya to be an abortive attempt to end the curse of immortality, and vishkanya avoid dhampir, whose bloodthirst may spur on their own and result in their cover being blown if the dhampir does not attack them first.

Drelmans and ratfolk are most afraid of the vishkanya's infiltration abilities, and often concoct difficult-to-emulate local traditions to flush them from hiding.

Drow and elves rarely find themselves encountering vishkanya, due to the former's unpredictable nature making vishkanya manipulation difficult, and the latter's tendency to accept the vishkanya's persona as truth.

Duergar and dwarves consider vishkanya to be pathetic due to their reliance on petty subtleties - if vishkanya want a fight, the duergar and dwarves would be glad to cooperate, but they prefer to hide.

Fetchlings and ifrit enjoy testing their skills of manipulation against vishkanya, relishing the opportunity to engage in verbal battle, which means that particularly innocent vishkanya and particularly vicious fetchlings or ifrits may end up forming partnerships or rivalries despite their different aims.

Ghorans distrust and fear vishkanya, as it is extremely common for a vishkanya to turn a ghoran new to the world into a pawn, but those who hunt mortal creatures consider them to be near-perfect allies.

Gnomes hate vishkanya, for their violence has brought an end to more interesting projects that can be counted, and the theft of a gnome's intellectual work in order to boost a vishkanya's own status is a virtual guarantee.

Hobgoblins and orcs both eagerly hunt down vishkanya; the former as a test of their own prowess, and the latter in order to prevent their family and home from being taken advantage of or destroyed.

Kitsune and tengu are both rivals of vishkanya, for kitsune enjoy distracting and dissolving vishkanya manipulation with their own pranks and everlasting tales, while tengu seek to duel vishkanya to prove their discernment and strength.

Kobolds hate vishkanya, who often torment kobolds into breakdowns, and though they rarely have the power to fight them directly, they do their best to turn their resources and allies against vishkanya influence.

Lizardfolk and vishkanya tend to avoid one another, as the lizardfolk have little power that can be stolen and used, and vishkanya tend to be killed without warning if they make one wrong move among the insular lizardfolk.

Nagaji are the most likely to kill vishkanya, as they are the easiest to emulate by vishkanya and thus are preyed upon at a much higher rate than other races.

Oreads find vishkanya presences annoying on top of their destructive goals, and drive them away with great vigor.

Parmans, on the opposite end, find vishkanya to be exotic and their danger to be enticing, which presents vishkanya with easier but more complex avenues to accomplish their goals.

Suli and undines often dismiss vishkanya goals and threats as hot air, with suli pointing out their own acceptance of immortal heritage as proof of their superiority and undines looking down on the complexities and instincts of vishkanya as unnecessary and bothersome.

Sylphs are perhaps the only race that vishkanya hate more than they are hated - sylphs eagerly take to vishkanya disguises and manipulation to uncover them for the sake of uncovering them, realizing only afterwards that they may have prevented catastrophe.

Vanara are oddly welcoming of vishkanya, as such meetings allow them an opportunity to test first their insight, and then strength of arms as they crush the discovered vishkanya.

Goblins, unfortunately, love vishkanya due to their amusing disguises and their tendency to incite chaos, which goblins often are unable to mentally connect to any subsequent violence that may occur.