Creeper

Creepers are slow, deadly, and possessed
of an unusual air of menace. Appearing as
a cross between a plant and some kind of
tailed turtle, these solitary creatures are
greatly feared by those who have witnessed their
deadly skills in battle.

**Physical Description:** Creepers grow to be just under
4 feet tall. A hard shell of bark-like matter covers their
hunched backs and serves as protection from wouldbe predators. Luminous eyes help cut throughout the
darkened caves and canopied bogs of their primary
homelands. Compact, corded fibers supply their short
limbs with strength akin to crashing trees and rolling
stones.

**Society:** Creepers tend toward solitary lives when
young adults but often seek out a community as they
reach a maturity and self-awareness. Surprisingly
this community does not necessarily have to be one
of other creepers; rather each creeper tends toward
advisory, monitoring, or other ancillary roles to a
larger group of nearly any species or people. This may
stem from their ability to reproduce by spores and
thus not requiring others of their species to continue
their kind. Despite asexual reproduction creepers still
present vestigial genders.

**Relations:** Creepers are inclined to live in small communities of like-minded individuals. Some say this is
from a deep distrust in all other living things while
others attribute this to a fear of the self, that they
will harm those they come to love. Historical examples support both ideas and perhaps the truth lies
between them. Of the other species common to the
Quiet Lands, wolgers are most frequently allied with
creeper folk. Often times a single Cabal of sages will
support one or more tribes of wolger. Ancestral rivalry between the wyrmkin and
creepers has been a source of atrocities
on both sides. Tensions are high
between the two people.

**Alignment and Religion:** Creepers
tend toward extremes of a singular
aligned aspect being either focused
or passionate toward a singular end.
Creepers hold great reverence for
the Pasha of Stone who guided the
Guardians to create the Caves of
Ryatha and elevated the creepers
awareness of the cosmos. Ancient
scraps of lore tie them to the Zealous
Fortress but this connection is all but
the vaguest of apocrypha in the
current age. Few species bear the
Brionithic Empire enmity as much as
the creepers.

**Adventurers:** Creepers understand
the concepts of fate, duty, and obligation. Many of them make their
way into the Multiverse under one
of more of these burdens. Those that
reach Hyraeatan often find themselves enmeshed with the Foreseen or
sword the Hands of Onus. Rarer still a visitor
to the Caves of the Zoadar informs a young
creeper that they are to leave with them as
advisor or companion.

## **Creeper Species Traits**

* **+2 Strength, +2 Charisma, -2 Dexterity:** Slow and deliberate, creepers are full of quiet power.
* **Small:** Creepers are Small and gain a +1 size bonus to AC and attack rolls as well as a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks, but they take a -1 penalty to their CMB and CMD.
* **Slow Speed:** Creepers have short legs, even for a Small species, and thick, slow-moving blood. They have a base speed of 20 feet.
* **Bonus Essence:** Creepers draw steady streams of essence to their focused wills and start play with 1 bonus essence point in their pool.
* **Essence-Born:** Creepers are plants with the akashic subtype, though their surprisingly humanoid physiology means they lack the immunities to mind-affecting effects, paralysis, poison, polymorph, and stunning that the plant type usually grants.
* **Lantern Eyes:** Creeper’s eyes glow with a sickly yellow light in the dark, granting them darkvision out to 60 feet and a +2 racial bonus to Intimidate checks while in areas of dim light or darkness.
* **Sleep Immunity:** Creepers are immune to magical sleep effects.
* **Slasher:** Creepers are particularly proficient with small stabbing and cutting weapons like knives. Whenever a creeper deals damage with a light or one-handed weapon that deals either piercing or slashing damage, they deal an additional 1 point of precision damage. A creeper may invest essence into this ability to improve its effects.
	+ *Essence:* For each point of essence invested into this ability, the creeper deals an additional 1d6 points of precision damage when attacking with a light or one-handed piercing or slashing weapon.
* **Languages:** Creepers begin play speaking Common and Sylvan. Creepers with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following languages: Draconic, Elven, Giant, Gnome, and Terran.

## **Creeper Favored Class Options**

The following favored class options are available to all
characters of this species who have the listed favored
class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class
reward.

* **Alchemist:** Add +1 on Craft (alchemy) checks to craft poison and +1/3 on the DCs of poisons the alchemist creates.
* **Bard:** Add +1/4 point of slashing damage to weapon attacks of allies benefiting from a bardic performance of the creeper.
* **Eclipse:** Gain +1/2 point of slashing damage to attacks benefitting from precision bonuses or bonus dice when attacking through an occultation.
* **Guru:** Deal +1/2 point of slashing damage when dealing damage with a weapon-like veil.
* **Medium:** Increase the medium’s spirit bonus by +1/6.
* **Nexus:** Add +1/4 to DCs of any veil ability triggered by or tied to a slashing attack.
* **Occultist:** Add 1/2 point of mental focus per day.
* **Radiant:** Add +1/2 point of slashing damage to natural attacks of creatures summoned by radiant veils.
* **Rogue:** Deal an additional +1/3 point of bleed damage whenever the creeper deals sneak attack damage with a weapon benefiting from their slasher species ability.
* **Sage:** Add a +1/2 bonus on the sage’s saving throws to resist [electricity] and [fire] attacks.
* **Slayer:** Deal +1/2 point of slashing damage to attacks benefitting from slayer species bonus dice when attacking a studied target.
* **Sorcerer:** Add one spell known from the sorcerer spell list. This spell must deal slashing damage or target a weapon, and be at least one level below the highest spell level the sorcerer can cast.
* **Vizier:** Add a +1/2 bonus on the creeper’s Intimidate skill checks that benefit from the Lantern Eyes bonus.
* **Zodiac:** Any champion the creeper manifests gains a +1/4 bonus to the DC of a single non-dismiss spell-like or supernatural ability of the creeper’s choice, chosen at the time the champion is manifested.