Ahooling

These are the children of the dreaded, winged, nightmare beasts of the Underworld, the ahool. Compared to their elders they are considerably smaller and less of a threat, but denizens of the depths would find reason to disagree. The demanding life of ahool society irons out the failings and weaknesses of these youthful creatures quickly, but when one is led too far astray or abandoned by their tribe, they pursue whatever path life provides for them (sometimes never reaching their full primal potential). Small collectives of ahooling are said to live outside the incredibly fierce societies of the predatory ahool, eschewing the bestial traditions of their greater cousins.

## Ahooling

**Physical Description:** Ahooling are not considerable in size, though they tend to be very lean and well-muscled. Each bear marks of what it may grow into as the ahooling ages, but the creatures are remarkably adaptive and their bodies evolve to suit their behaviors and environments. Still, they all bear some similar traits—long, piercing fangs that peek from out of their mouths, bodies covered in fine, coarse dark brown hair, vestigial wings that just out of their shoulders, taloned hands, and large ears that rise from their narrow skulls in short triangular folds of flesh. The irises of ahooling are predominantly yellow—the eyes of nocturnal predators.

**Society:** The core of their being demands a diehard approach to life from the ahool, and even their lesser cousins, the ahooling, find their cultures to be largely predicated upon extreme Darwinism—the strongest survive. The collection of trophy fetishes is common to these Underworld beastmen, though only the strongest wear them openly; duels for assuming the spoils of victory from another are commonplace. Ahooling treasure the drinking of blood; the more types of creatures one can legitimately claim to have succored from heightens their social status. Thus, the most respected of the beastmen are either fierce combatants or purveyors of their most valued cultural tradition: vino sanguinis (blood wine). While few in number, ahooling moss caverns (which are located on the floor of a cave rather than on the ceiling, unlike the ahool’s moss gardens) are always ruled over by a native that has traveled the Underworld and returned ascended, a full ahool. When found by their more bestial cousins, these conclaves are quickly subsumed, whittled down until only the toughest ahooling remain. Their warriors are as much hunters as anything else, but the lesser beastmen show greater reverence for the arts and magics, allowing for their settlements to survive hidden from their stronger cousins.

**Relations:** Ahooling are respected and feared by other Underworlders, regarded as powerful— albeit dubious—allies. Some can be quite civilized, but they are all naturally cutthroat survivalists and barbarism is typically the word of the day. Most explorers remain wary of the ahooling; they avoid killing captives, instead subjecting them to long, torturous existences as preferred livestock for the vino sanguinis brewers.

**Alignment and Religion:** Ahooling are predominantly chaotic and evil, but not exclusively so. More than a few of the true ahool’s demonic lesser forms were discovered by well-intentioned adventurers that cleansed them, creating good impurities in the creatures before letting them loose once again in the Underworld. Sometimes these impurities surface in an ahooling, creating a beastman devoted to the purest ideals and goals. Though quite rare, paladin ahooling (and ahool) are spoken of in hushed tones by the malicious elder denizens of the endless caves, and ruthlessly sought out whenever a true ahool learns of their existence.

**Adventurers:** The demanding lives of ahooling turn them into exquisite hunters, effective scouts, deft warriors and brutal barbarians. Those that leave their home moss cavern exemplify the drive and focus of their race—these explorers find their primal urges to fight and thrive to prove invaluable as they travel across Aventyr. While they are normally best suited to bear a weapon, some take to spellcasting and make powerful sorcerers or oracles.

**Male Names:** Asht’haht, Gympth, Kolschak, Riktha, Rorsk’haht, Tek’ta’kaht, Worlpth

**Female Names:** Errell’atht, Fisscourth, Graix, Nedrazt, Preall’atht, Sol’kla, Syrralth, Vanes’satht

### Ahooling Racial Traits

* **+2 Strength, –2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma:** Unlike their elder counterparts, ahooling are not particularly intelligent, but their bodies are prodigiously strong and their presence is potent.
* **Ahool:** Ahoolings are monstrous humanoids.
* **Medium:** Ahoolings are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size. Normal Speed: Ahoolings have a base speed of 30 feet on land.
* **Darkvision:** Ahoolings can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Underworld Resistances: Ahoolings have cold resistance 5 and sonic resistance 5.
* **Natural Weapon:** An ahooling has a bite attack that deals 1d6 points of damage. The bite is a primary natural attack, or a secondary natural attack if the creature is wielding manufactured weapons or making other natural attacks.
* **Vestigial Wings:** Ahooling have wings that do not provide the lift required for actual flight, but do have enough power to aid flight attained by some other method, and grant a +4 racial bonus on Fly checks.
* **Light Blindness:** Exposure to bright light blinds ahoolings for 1 round. They are dazzled as long as they remain in areas of bright light.
* **Languages:** Ahoolings begin play speaking Draconic. Those with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Abyssal, Celestial, Dwarven, and Undercommon

### Ahooling Scaling Advice

The ahooling is balanced against the stronger of the core races and planar races like the aasimar.

*For grittier games:* For low-powered, grittier games, eliminate the underworld resistances.

*For high-fantasy games:* For more high-powered campaigns, consider granting the base fly speed of the fledgling ahool racial paragon class from the get-go. Truly high-powered games may consider granting the benefits of the fledgling ahool racial paragon class to the ahooling as he reaches the respective character levels for free, quasi-gestalting the character.

### Ahooling Moss Caverns

The homes of ahooling are expansive networks of caverns overgrown with moss that hangs from the ceiling and traps in moisture, making the interior warm and inviting when compared to the cold passages of the Underworld. Were it not for the greater respect that lesser beastmen show for magic, these settlements would never survive. A character that succeeds on a Knowledge (nobility) check (DC 20 - settlement’s size modifier x 2) can determine from the tribal markings and level of pageantry shown around an ahooling moss cavern to determine just how barbaric—and dangerous— its residents are likely to be. A moss cavern of ahoolings typically becomes an ahool moss garden (suspended in the air) after whatever initial founder’s influence has completely passed into the annals of history.

### Racial Subtypes

The ahooling don’t have subtypes in the strictest sense, but rare archetypes of the fledgling ahool monster class breed aquatic and grounded cousins that disperse into swarms of crabs and rats, respectively. The former loses its fly speed but gains a swim speed and the aquatic subtype, while the latter gains a climb speed. Upon apotheosis, the aquatic ahool gains additional abilities in the water and the terrestrial ahool increases their terrestrial talents.

### Favored Class Options

Instead of receiving an additional skill rank or hit point whenever they gain a level in a favored class, ahooling have the option of choosing from several bonuses, depending upon the character’s favored class. The following options are available to all ahooling who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the listed favored class reward.

* **Alchemist:** Add +1/5 bleed damage to the alchemist’s bomb attacks. This bleed damage only applies to targets of a direct hit.
* **Barbarian:** Add +½ to the barbarian’s cold resistance and sonic resistance.
* **Bard:** Add +¼ to the DC to resist the bard’s bardic performance when using fascinate.
* **Cavalier:** Add +¼ to the natural armor of the cavalier’s mount.
* **Cleric:** Add +½ to the cleric’s channel energy total when dealing damage to creatures of evil or good alignment.
* **Druid:** Add +1 to the druid’s cold resistance or sonic resistance.
* **Fighter:** Add +1 to the fighter’s CMB when making a grapple check.
* **Fledgling ahool:** Add +2 ft. to the fledgling ahool’s fly speed. This option has no effect unless the fledgling ahool has selected it at least 3 times (or another increment granting a bonus in increments of 5 feet); a fly speed of 44 feet is effectively the same as a fly speed of 40 feet, for example, and a fly speed of 46 feet is effectively the same as a fly speed of 45 feet.
* **Inquisitor:** Add +¼ to the inquisitor’s saving throws when resisting divine spells and spell-like abilities.
* **Magus:** Add +¼ to the magus’ saving throws when resisting arcane spells and spell-like abilities.
* **Monk:** Add +1/3 dodge bonus to AC for attacks made by airborne creatures.
* **Oracle:** Add +½ to the oracle’s level for the purpose of determining the effects of the oracle’s curse ability.
* **Paladin:** Add +2 feet to the size of all the paladin’s aura class features. This option has no effect unless the paladin has selected it 3 times (or another increment granting a bonus in increments of 5 feet); an aura of 14 feet is effectively the same as a 10-foot aura, for example, and an aura of 16 feet is effectively the same as a 15-foot aura.
* **Ranger:** Choose a weapon from the following list: bolas, flails, javelins, longspears, and nets. Add +1 on critical hit confirmation rolls made while using that weapon (maximum bonus of +4 per weapon). This bonus does not stack with the Critical Focus feat.
* **Rogue:** The rogue gains a +½ bonus on Acrobatics, Escape Artist and Use Magic Device checks.
* **Sorcerer:** Add +½ point of sonic damage to spells that deal sonic damage cast by the sorcerer.
* **Stonespeaker:** Add +1/6 to the number of times per day the stonespeaker can use the elemental shape ability.
* **Summoner:** Add +½ hit point and +1/5 natural armor bonus to the summoner’s eidolon.
* **Witch:** Add one spell from the witch spell list to the witch’s familiar. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level she can cast. If the witch ever replaces her familiar, the new familiar knows these bonus spells.
* **Wizard:** Add +¼ bonus on concentration checks made to cast a wizard spell defensively.

### Racial Class

Fledgling Ahool (Paragon Class)

Ironsinger (Prestige Class)

### Ahooling Equipment

Ahooling Macuahuitl

Moss Net

Moss Rope

Staunching Moss

### Ahooling Feats

Enduing Wings

Primal Companion

Primal Speaker

Sanguine Aficionado (Combat)

Terrifying Swoop (Combat)

Vampiric Charge (Combat)

Vicious Bite (Combat)

### Ahooling Magic Items

Blood Darts

Demonic Tooth

True Ahool Crown

### Ahooling Spells

Ahool Frenzy

Haunting Glide

Wine to Blood