Alraun

*I must admit that though the wonders of Oustomia are vast, it did not take​​​​​​​ overly long for me to ponder not just upon my own origins but those of my kin as well. How many came before me, I wondered, and how is it that some alraun are stout as a dwarf while others are as lithe as an elf or ugly as an orc? The created are strange and different, true, but they are things borne from the minds of the living races—not blood and the will of the world. My times with the crew of the Featherflight were educational, so I tended a missive to my old friend Captain Pritchard Fanstali asking for passage, and reminding him of my part in saving him and the crew from a barbarian tribe. Perhaps a bit anxious to leave after the wanderlust got me, I hired a cuazaj to bring it to him. That was a mistake, one I’m never making again. Pritchard came quick — it would just be the two of us, a mistake he promises never to make again--and we got on our way before too long, but a whole attack wing of those accursed creatures ambushed us not long after leaving port. To avoid them we steered into a lightning storm and crashed into the canopy. It took us three weeks to make repairs and get airworthy again, and by then the headwinds were against us so it took two more weeks to reach this house of academia. And now that I’m here, quite a long way from my home, you mean to tell me you have no titles on alraun other than ones I’ve already read? Everyone knows we just began appearing recently! This is a fine day indeed for the temples of Espen. Maybe I’ll find a library of Noresche. They may be crazy, but at least they’re not useless!*

*—Landare Broadswill (recorded by dictasphere on [Year] in the Library of Espen on Mt. Kilwali)*

## **Alraun**

Alraun are creatures of the new world, appearing in the Forest not long after the cataclysm that shattered the Walkways. Though scholars remain uncertain, 7th Sphere adherents believe that alraun are the forest’s attempt to understand the old world by birthing its own humanoids. Born of the blood of the other races, these creatures have no culture or history of their own and aren’t readily accepted by the other peoples of Oustomia. However, whether birthed spontaneously or by mating with another humanoid race, the alraun are propagating across the world in ever-increasing numbers.

### **Physical Description**

Alraun are subtle creatures that appear to be regular humanoids (such as halflings, dwarves, elves, half-orcs, humans, and so on) when looked upon from afar, though up close the greenish cast around their eyes or their green or rose-red hair marks them as different. Most appear very much like their parent race, only appearing to be more than they seem when using their unique physical abilities.

### **Society**

With no centralized culture or heritage to share, alraun must integrate themselves into other societies. While some peoples don’t accept alraun, the ones that can hide their true natures or manage to acclimate freely find their naturally alluring persona and drive to understand their part in the world make them adroite socialites.

### **Relations**

The subversive nature of alraun cause many other creatures to view them with fear and suspicion, and most alraun are wise to the paranoia of others and take care to hide their origins, only imparting all of their secrets to those they completely trust, creating bonds that often last for life.

### **Alignment and Religion**

Alraun can be of any alignment and worship any deity, often adapting the alignment and religion of those they first encounter upon birth, although others may actively seek out a particular alignment or religion in an attempt to better understand their place in the world.

### **Adventurers**

Adventuring is second nature to alraun, almost as though it were in their blood, and many alraune wander the world at some point, if only to find a place to call home. Alraun often find they possess an innate ability to manipulate the minds of others, becoming fast-talking rogues, bards, or eliciters.

### **Male Names**

Biljka, Gortsaran, Landare, Malzemeler, Posteren, Warshad

### **Female Names**

Ceti, Novietot, Pabrika, Roslyna, Tanim, Uzine

## **Alraun Racial Traits**

* **+4 Charisma, -2 Constitution, -2 Wisdom:** Alraun are the result of a humanoid’s blood interacting with an alraune plant to spontaneously create an adult creature. The resulting creature is weaker and lacking in experience, but often created in the perfect image of that race’s idea of beauty and charm.

* **Type:** Alraun are always created in the image of another humanoid race; they are humanoids with the alraun subtype and one other subtype as determined by the race the alraun was patterned after. An alraune takes no penalties to their Disguise checks when attempting to pass as a member of this race.

* **Size:** Depending on their base race, an alraun can be Medium sized or Small sized. Medium-sized alraun have no bonuses or penalties due to their size. Small-sized alraun gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus to attack rolls, a -1 penalty on combat maneuver checks and to their CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks. Alraun have a space of 5 feet by 5 feet and a reach of 5 feet.

* **Base Speed:** Alraun have a base speed of 30 ft.

* **Darkvision:** Alraun possess Darkvision 60 ft.

* **Languages:** Alraun begin play speaking [Language]. Alraun with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages)

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* **Blood Sense:** Alraun have the natural ability to sniff out blood; this functions like the scent ability, but only for creatures taking bleed damage or badly wounded creatures (creatures with 25% or fewer hit points).

* **Sense Poison (Sp):** Alraun gain the use of detect poison as an at-will spell-like ability, using their class level as their caster level.

* **Prehensile Vine:** Alraun can extend woven vines from their body to form a tentacle or tail-like extension, which may be used to hold objects or retrieve small, stowed objects carried on their persons as a swift action. Prehensile vines cannot be used to wield weapons.

* **Silver Tongued:** Alraun gain a +2 bonus on Diplomacy and Bluff checks. In addition, when an alraun uses Diplomacy to shift a creature’s attitude, they can do so up to three steps up rather than just two.

## **Racial Subtypes**

*All alraun bear similarities to one another, but like the diverse fauna of Oustomia’s endless forests, there are many different varieties.*

**Draide alraun** possess the ability to extend multiple vines from their person, giving them a sure grip and enhanced abilities. *The following racial traits replace **carrion sense, sense poison, and silver tongued.***

* **Additional Vine:** A draide alraune possesses two prehensile vines instead of only one.

* **Climber:** Draide alraun have a climb speed of 20 feet, and gain the +8 racial bonus on Climb checks that a climb speed normally grants.

* **Viney Grip:** A Draide’s vines can extend from any part of their body, wrapping objects and equipment with ease. A draide gains a +2 racial bonus to combat maneuver checks to disarm or grapple, and to their CMD against disarm and grapple attempts.

**Fermon alraun** secrete pheromones that make them remarkably amiable. *The following racial traits replace **carrion sense, sense poison, and prehensile vine.***

* **Emissary:** Once per day, fermon alraun can roll twice when making a Bluff or Diplomacy check and take the better roll.

* **Odor of Susceptibility:** Any non-ally creatures within a 10-ft.-radius of a fermon alraun suffer a -1 penalty to Will saving throws and Sense Motive checks. Creatures that do not breathe are immune to this ability, but creatures with scent are affected when within 20 ft. of a fermon alraun. Creatures can only be effected by one fermon alraun’s odor of susceptibility at a time (the penalty incurred by the ability does not stack with itself).

**Merral alraun** are never birthed very far from a pond, stream, or lake, and their abilities make them particularly well suited to aquatic environments. ***The following racial traits replace carrion sense, sense poison, and silver tongued.***

* **Amphibious:** Merral alraun can breathe both air and water.

* **Sensitive Hairs:** While underwater, a merral alraun’s hairs extend several feet away from its body, granting it blindsense 15 feet.

* **Swim:** Merral alraun have a swim speed of 30 feet, gaining the +8 racial bonus on Swim checks that a swim speed normally grants.

**Poison eater** alraun are filled with vicious toxins and use their poisoned blood to deadly effect in combat. *The following racial traits **replace carrion sense, prehensile vine, and silver tongued.***

* **Poison Eater:** Poison eater alraun are immune to poison and a number of times per day equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum 1/day), can envenom a weapon that it wields with its toxic blood (a poison eater alraun must be injured when it uses this ability). Applying venom in this way is a swift action.

* **Alraun Poison:** Injury; save Fort DC 10 + 1/2 the user’s Hit Dice + the user’s Constitution modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Dex; cure 1 save.

* **Poison Taster:** For every dose of poison that an alraun consumes, they gain one additional use of their own poison. If not used within 24 hours of ingestion, any additional doses of poison eater poison are lost.

**Sanguine alraun** find that the taste for blood never leaves them. *The following racial traits replace **sense poison, prehensile vine, and silver tongued.**'*

* **Sanguine Magnet:** When a sanguine alraun deals a critical hit, the target of the attack takes bleed damage equal to the weapons critical multiplier. This bleed damage stacks with other spells and effects that deal bleed damage, but not with itself.

* **Sanguine Target:** A sanguine alraun can use a target’s blood as a component to heighten its magic. If the sanguine alraun possesses some of a target’s creature’s blood (for instance, when holding a weapon that has inflicted bleed damage or a critical hit on the target) the creature suffers a -1 penalty to all saving throws against the alraun’s supernatural abilities and magic.

## **Racial Archetypes**

### **Bodysnatcher (Rogue Archetype)**

*Some alraun are driven by a compulsion to embrace their plant heritage, learning techniques and abilities that truly set them apart from others of their ilk - there are no greater impersonators in all of Oustomia than the alraun bodysnatchers.*

**Subduing Sneak Attack (Ex):** When dealing lethal damage with sneak attack, a bodysnatcher’s damage dice are 1d4 instead of 1d6. When dealing nonlethal damage with sneak attack, abodysnatcher’s damage dice are 1d8 instead of 1d6 and if using a weapon that deals lethal damage, the attack penalty for dealing nonlethal damage with a lethal weapon is reduced to -2.

***This ability modifies sneak attack.***

**Perfect Disguise (Su):** At 3rd level, the bodysnatcher learns how to alter their vocal cords, appearance, and physical demeanor by subconsciously drawing these traits from a creature to better impersonate them. After spending one uninterrupted minute in physical contact with an unconscious creature, the bodysnatcher gains a +2 racial bonus to Bluff and Disguise skill checks made to impersonate that creature for a number of days equal to their rogue level. While the creature is still unconscious, these bonuses double. A bodysnatcher can only use perfect disguise on one creature at any given time.

At 6th level and every three levels thereafter, this bonus to skill checks increases by +2.

***This replaces trap sense.***

**Cocoon (Su):** At 8th level, the bodysnatcher gains the ability to grow and detach a cocoon-like plant from its body once per day with 1 hour of work. The cocoon has a number of hit points equal to 1/10th the bodysnatcher’s hit points and hardness equal to 1/3rd the bodysnatcher’s rogue level. Growing a cocoon deals 2 points of Constitution damage to the body snatcher. A cocoon fills either a 5-ft square or a 10-ft cube if crafted to accommodate a Large creature. If an unconscious creature is placed inside the cocoon, they may potentially remain asleep inside indefinitely. So long as they are inside the cocoon they are allowed a Fortitude save once pery day (DC 15 + 1/2 the bodysnatcher’s rogue level + the bodysnatcher’s Charisma modifier) to attempt to wake up. Any amount of damage dealt to a cocooned creature grants an additional Fortitude save with a bonus equal to 1/2 the damage dealt. If this saving throw is not passed nor the creature removed from the cocoon, the creature cannot wake up.

Once per day from anywhere, the bodysnatcher can pull an answer to a single, specific question from the creature’s mind. This is a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to its rogue level. The question is answered in 25 words or less, and only to the best of the creature’s knowledge. The cocooned creature gains no saving throw against this ability.

A cocoon dies in 48 hours if no creature is placed inside, but can feed off of an unconscious creature’s life energy to stay alive until the creature’s natural death.

***This replaces the rogue talent gained at 8th level***