Ambymander

Nestled between the Cerulean Seas and Celadon Shores, slightly to the east, is tiny island chain of Ziliti, notable for only one thing; it is the home to the ambymanders. Ambymanders and their animal counterparts, ziliti salamanders, originated on the largest island of this chain from a large, inland, freshwater lake. Over time, ambymanders migrated to the other isles with the help of boats made from large, thorny bean pods. This migration also paved the way for the ambymander to not only gain a thirst for exploration, but to adapt to a marine environment.

**Physical Description:** Ambymanders are Small-sized neotenic salamanders, closely related to the tiger salamander and the axolotl. Their heads are wide, and their eyes are lidless. Their limbs are stubby and possess short, webbed digits and opposable thumbs. While opposable thumbs are not unheard of among amphibians, they are rare among salamander species and may have developed to better grasp mangrove roots and other shoreline vegetation for stability to aid with natural camouflage. As a creature with very few natural defenses (or offenses for that matter), the ambymander relies on its coloration and small leaf-like appendages that resemble kelp fronds to better blend in. Males are identified by their larger and more colorful head- fronds, while females are noticeable for their wider bodies. Three pairs of external, filament-lined gill stalks (rami) originate behind their heads and are used for respiration. Ambymander bodies are mostly greyish-cyan speckled with blue, coral, orange, yellow and green. Their “fronds” are usually tipped in bright colors, typically a blend of yellow, orange, and red.

Ambymanders have barely visible vestigial teeth that are rarely used for chewing. They typically eat tiny fish and other sea life, which they suck down whole. They especially delight in dining on frog and fish eggs.

**Society:** Ambymanders live mostly in small villages near freshwater lakes. Their own language (Ziliti) consists of hisses and whistles, which they produce with their gills. While they can learn common and other languages, other races find their voices irritating, as their "accent" still includes the shrieks and hisses of their native tongue.

On the surface, ambymanders seem rather peaceful, perhaps even docile. However, underneath this placid façade rests the soul of a madman. Ambymanders can be ruthless sociopaths, taking joyful glee in carnage and destruction. They delight in thrill seeking and adventure. In addition to camouflage, they rely on their charm and clever trickery to survive their wild endeavors. Despite their volatile natures, ambymanders are not necessarily evil and are prone to succumb to their easygoing demeanors whenever things are either too dull or too serious.

**Relations:** Adventurous ambymanders have made their way both to the Cerulean Seas and to the Celadon Shores in recent years, sailing in on their adorable little pod-boats. In the Cerulean Seas, they have been welcomed by both the mogogols and the viridian naiads. On the Celadon Shores, they have already joined the Hanran in the fight against the marine empire, as they love a good fight and still rely on fresh water for drink and reproduction. As of yet, their populations are still too small to have garnered any sort of reputation.

**Alignment and Religion:** Most ambymanders are chaotic neutral, though good, evil and even lawful specimens have been known to exist. While ambymanders lack religion of their own, they will align themselves with alien religions that match their personal needs.

**Adventurers:** Ambymanders love adventure and exploration, and while they are not particularly materialistic, they do like acquiring items to aid them with mayhem and mischief. Most ambymanders become rogues, though sorcerers, sirens, and mariners are also fairly common among their ilk.

**Male Names:** Chutha, Ethuth, Hepthith, Hethech, Thethethip, Thichich

**Female Names:** Eshich, Grush, Keshi, Shesha, Shuha, Wechish

## **AMBYMANDER RACIAL TRAITS**

* **+2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, –2 Strength:** Ambymanders are hardy and pleasant, but not very strong.
* **Racial Buoyancy:** -15A, **Depth Tolerance:** 300 feet
* **Small-sized:** Ambymanders are Small creatures and thus gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a –1 penalty to their CMB and CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
* **Type:** Trueforms are Magical Beasts with the trueform subtype.
* **Darkvision 60 feet:** Darkvision is the extraordinary ability to see with no light source at all, out to a range specified for the creature.
* **Low-light vision:** Characters with low-light vision have eyes that are so sensitive to light that they can see twice as far as normal in dim light.
* **Animal Mimicry:** When not wearing any equipment, trueforms can easily pass as the normal animal that they are closely related to. A successful Bluff check grants them the ability to blend in with or pass as a normal, "non-sentient" animal.
* **Bestial Empathy:** Trueforms share an affinity with other animals (or vermin) of their own species. For example, a squibbon shares affinity with all octopi, delphins with all dolphins, carchardians with all sharks, and so on. Trueforms gain the ability to communicate with these creatures as if under the effects of a *speak with animals* spell (caster level equal to 1/2 the trueform’s character level, rounded up). In addition, they gain a +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy checks when dealing with these animals. Whenever these trueforms initiate an exchange, animals begin with a starting attitude of indifferent. This is a supernatural ability.
* **Normal Swim Speed:** Ambymanders have a base swim speed of 20 feet.
* **Landwalker:** Ambymanders have a base land speed of 20 feet.
* **Hand-equivalent appendages:** Trueforms such as the kawauso and squibbon can use tools with their natural anatomy; kawauso using a combination of their mouth and dexterous paws and squibbons using their tentacle-like arms. Regardless of the number of anatomical protrusions (provided that they are not missing any), their ability to use weapons and tools is equivalent to a humanoid of the same size with two normal hands. Those trueforms with hand-equivalent appendages can also wield non-trueform weapons using their normal ability modifiers.
* **Dual Respiration:** Ambymanders can breathe air through their mouths and water through their gills.
* **Camouflage:** Ambymanders receive a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks in areas with dense aquatic vegetation.
* **Freshwater Dependent:** Ambymanders do not consider seawater to be a viable drinking source.
* **Weapon Familiarity:** Trueforms are proficient with all natural weapons and treat any weapon with the "trueform" quality as a martial weapon. As a consequence of form, many trueforms cannot effectively wield manufactured weapons without this quality.
* **Regrow Limbs:** A trueform with this ability can regrow severed or destroyed limbs, tentacles, tendrils, tails (etc.) in 3d4 weeks without the aid of magical healing. Magical healing that does not convey regeneration or the ability to regrow limbs has no effect on this ability.
* **Languages:** Ambymanders begin play speaking Ziliti. Ambymanders with high Intelligence scores can choose any of the following: Aquan, Common, Draconic, and Lok’tar.