Atlantean

Alternate Atlanteans

“*Such was the vast power which the god settled in the lost island of Atlantis . . .” — Critias*

When the Olympian gods were dividing the lands among themselves, Poseidon was granted the island that would become known as Atlantis. This land was rich in resources including having vast amounts of the very rare metal orichalcum.

Atlanteans are an offshoot of humanity that due to hubris, akashic energies, and a divinely created cataclysm have adapted to existing beneath the waves. While this did slightly humble them, they managed to maintain much of the akashic and technological advancement they attained at the height of their power. Since sinking beneath the waves, Atlanteans have developed a tendency towards isolationism and xenophobia that would beggar most Elven nations.

**Physical Description:** Atlanteans are largely physically indistinguishable from humans they are descended from. Though as a whole they do tend towards olive complexions. Additionally, due to the properties of the trace amounts of orichalcum in their blood, Atlanteans also have longer lifespans than humans.

**Society:** When the gods turned their wrath upon Atlantis they did not manage to destroy its civilization. In spite of their fortunes, the Atlanteans held onto most if not all of the advancements they made. Due to this modern Atlantis can be considered a post-scarcity civilization, and mystical and technological marvels are commonplace on the sunken isle and its remaining territories. This fact informs some of their general feeling of superiority over other races.

The overwhelming majority of Atlanteans live in relative comfort and hard labor is nearly unheard of, as such tasks are left up to constructs and various devices. For this reason, Atlantean society puts a strong emphasis on the pursuit of intellectual and artistic labors. Atlantis is ruled over by a council of kings, which is headed by a high-king who is a direct descendant of the first son of Poseidon and Cleto.

**Relations:** While Atlanteans are generally similar to their human cousins, they have lost their expansionist tendencies and have relatively static populations. However, they do tend to be more arrogant and self absorbed than humans. This is both enhanced and tempered their general attitude of noblesse oblige towards their “lessers”.

Atlanteans almost never allow outsiders into their watery domain and are very secretive about their homeland when asked for details about it.

**Alignment and Religion:** Atlanteans tend toward lawful alignments, greatly respecting the authority of kings and other rulers. Though no real stigma is attached to divine worship, due to their past Atlanteans are often maltheistic. Atlanteans that do pursue religion often venerate gods of crafting, knowledge, and the sea.

**Adventurers:** Atlantean adventures are very rare. Atlanteans that take up adventuring often do so in pursuit of exotic knowledge, rare materials, or perhaps even means of restoring their civilization to premience.

**Male Names:** Akakios, Demosthenes, Kallinikos, Philokrates, Solon, Timaios, Zotikos

**Female Names:** Agathe, Doris, Euphemia, Ligeia, Myrto, Sophia, Xanthippe

Random Starting Ages

1 This category includes barbarians, oracles, rogues, and sorcerers.

2 This category includes bards, cavaliers, fighters, gunslingers, paladins, rangers, summoners, and witches.

3 This category includes alchemists, clerics, druids, inquisitors, magi, monks, and wizards.

Ageing Effects

Random Height and Weight

 Female

## Standard Racial Traits

* **Ability Scores:** Being an offshoot of humanity, Atantean characters gain a +2 racial bonus to one ability score of their choice at creation to represent their varied nature.
* **Essence Infused:** Atlanteans are humanoids with the akashic and human subtypes.
* **Medium:** Atlanteans are medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
* **Base Speed:** Atlanteans have a base speed of 30 feet.
* **Aquatic Adaptation:** Due to their extensive use of akashic techniques and orichalcum, Atlanteans quickly adapted to life beneath the waves and have passed this as an instinctual response to their descendants. While completely submerged in liquid, and for 1d6 rounds thereafter, Atlanteans are considered to have the Mermaid's Tail veil shaped and do not count it against their total veils shaped or their veil slots. When shaped in this way, this veil lacks a visual manifestation and gains the undetectable descriptor. If an Atlantean can bind veils to the Feet or Belt chakras, they also gain the benefits of having this veil bound to one of those chakras as long as they could normally bind veils to it. Since this veil does not count against the Atlantean’s veil slots or chakras, they can still shape and bind a different veil into the same slot as it freely.
* **Orichalcum In The Blood:** All Atlanteans have traces of the akashically reactive metal orichalcum in their blood and start play with 1 bonus essence point in their pool. Additionally, Atlanteans that gain levels in a veilweaving class, or that take an archetype or class template that grants the ability to shape veils, gain the ability to shape the minor veil Penannular of Prestidigitation in addition to their normally shaped veils. This minor veil does not count against their total veils shaped.
* **Natural Specialist:** Atlanteans have a strong tendency towards pursuing excellence in their specialties and receive Skill Focus as a bonus feat at 1st level.
* **Undersea Vision:** Atlanteans have darkvision 120 feet when underwater, but otherwise have no darkvision at all.
* **Languages:** Atlanteans are more insular than humans and begin play speaking Common and Atlantean. Atlanteans with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aboleth, Aquan, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, and Orcish.

Non-Human Atlanteans

## Alternate Racial Traits

**Builder:** While Atlanteans as a whole are no strangers to advanced technology, some have a special knack for its use and construction. These gifted Atlanteans gain Technologist as a bonus feat and a +1 racial bonus on Craft (mechanical) and Knowledge (engineering) checks. This racial trait replaces natural specialist.

**Constant Aquatic Adaptation:** Some Atlanteans are born uncommonly well adapted to life in the water. The Mermaid's Tail veil granted by their aquatic adaptation ability is always treated as being shaped. In addition the DC to dispel this veil is increased by +5. This racial trait replaces natural specialist.

**Natural Swimmer:** Some Atlanteans show the signs of interbreeding with aquatic races. Atlanteans with this trait have slightly webbed fingers and toes, or short fins on their limbs, and gain a 20 foot swim speed. This racial trait replaces natural specialist.

**Primordial Blood:** Some Atlanteans awaken to akashic adaptations that are different from the fellows. This is the result of a distant commingling between an Atlantean ancestor and a primeval entity of the swamp. While completely submerged in liquid, and for 1d6 rounds thereafter, Atlanteans with primordial blood are considered to have the Swamp Creature's Flesh veil shaped and do not count it against their total veils shaped or their veil slots. When shaped in this way, this veil lacks a visual manifestation and gains the undetectable descriptor. If an Atlantean can bind veils to the Hands or Chest chakras, they also gain the benefits of having this veil bound to one of those chakras as long as they could normally bind veils to it. Since this veil does not count against the Atlantean’s veil slots or chakras, they can still shape and bind a different veil into the same slot as it freely. This racial trait replaces aquatic adaptation.

**Strong Primordial Blood:** The blood of the swamp flows strongly in some Atlanteans. The Swamp Creature's Flesh veil granted by the primordial blood alternate racial ability is always treated as being shaped. In addition, the swim speed granted by this veil's bind effect increases by 5 feet. This racial trait replaces natural specialist.

**Water Sense:** A rare few Atlanteans can use water as a medium to detect the essence within other creatures, granting them blindsense 30 feet against creatures that are touching the same body of water. This ability can be invested with essence, for each point of essence invested in this ability its range increases by +5ft. This racial trait replaces undersea vision.

## Atlantean Race Traits

The following race traits are available to Atlanteans.

**Child of the Kings' Guard:** One or both of your parents are members of the Atlantean military, and they taught you a few things as you grew up. Your penalties on attack rolls made underwater are reduced by 1. Additionally, you may substitute this trait for Combat Reflexes as a prerequisite for the Aquatic Advantage feat and the swim speed granted by your Mermaid's Tail veil counts as a natural swim speed for the purposes of fulfilling the prerequisites of that feat.

**Impart Energy:** Many Atlantean technologies use orichalcum as a power source. You have leaned the trick of using the orichalcum in your blood in a similar manner.

Once per week, you can take a point of essence burn to restore charges to a technological item, or battery, you are touching. This is an extraordinary ability and functions like the spell *recharge*, except that it only restores a number of charges up to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1). Essence burn taken in this way lasts for 24 hours. The extraordinary ability’s save DC is Constitution-based.

**Provincial Strength:** You hail from the outer fringes of the Atlantean realm. So you have more experience with physical labor than many of your fellows. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Swim checks and Swim is a class skill for you. In addition, you treat your Strength score as 2 higher for the purpose of determining your carrying capacity while underwater.

## Favored Class Options

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

* **Barbarian:** Add a +1/2 bonus to trap sense.
* **Bard:** Increase the competence bonus granted by your inspire competence performance by +1/5.
* **Daevic:** Treat one of your Passion veils as being invested with +1/5 additional essence.
* **Druid:** Add +1/2 to wild empathy checks made to influence creatures from watery environments.
* **Eclipse:** Gain +1/5 point of essence.
* **Fighter:** Gain +1/4 bonus to CMB on trip attempts.
* **Fisherking:** Gain 1/5th of an akashic feat
* **Helmsman:** Gain +5 feet on range increments of bonded vessel’s ranged weapons on or underwater.
* **Huay:** Increase the essence capacity of the Mermaid’s Tail veil by 1/5.
* **Guru :** Gain +1/5 point of essence.
* **Machinesmith:** Gain 1/5 of a machinesmith trick.
* **Nexus:** Gain +1/5 point of essence
* **Oracle:** Add +1/6 to the oracle’s level for the purpose of determining the effects of one revelation.
* **Radiant:** Choose one veil with the healing or cold descriptor and increase the hit point healing or damage of the veil’s abilities by 1 point.
* **Rajah:** Increase the essence capacity of your “The First” title by 1/5.
* **Ranger:** Increase favored terrain bonuses by +1/4 (Urban or Water only).
* **Rogue:** Add +1/2 to sneak attack damage rolls made with bite attack.
* **Sorcerer:** Add one spell known from the sorcerer spell list. This spell must have the Water descriptor and be at least one level below the highest spell level the sorcerer can cast.
* **Stormbound:** Increase the essence capacity of your Storm veils with the Cold or Water descriptors by +1/8.
* **Truenamer:** Add +1 foot to the range of your recitations. (+5 feet to the range every 5 times the truenamer takes this bonus)
* **Vizier:** Gain +1/5 point of essence.
* **Volur:** Select a single veil with the [brand] descriptor: Treat its DC as +1/5 higher when shaping it using your brandshaping ability. A specific veil may only receive a total +1 bonus from this favored class bonus at a time.
* **Wizard:** Increase caster level for Water spells by +1/3.
* **Zodiac:** Add 1 point of cold damage to all attacks you make with the weapon form of a water element constellation, and to the natural attacks and weapons of any water element champion you manifest.