Ashray

Few races are as enigmatic or tragic as the ashray. To truly understand their origins, one has to have a small amount of knowledge of chronomancy (time magic) and its potent consequences. From what can be pieced together from countless observations of an ashray’s “phantom plays” (described later), it would seem that the ashray’s were once a drylander race known as the Ashokrans. Unfortunately, all trace of the race has been wiped from existence in the material plane. In an attempt to use chronomancy to shape the race into an aquatic race during the time of the Great Flood, the Ashokrans triggered a paradox in which the only resolution was for time to eliminate the race entirely, filling in their accomplishments and impact on the world throughout history with the works of other races.

Time is not helpless. Unlike many of the musing of sages on the subject of time travel, there is no butterfly effect in which small events lead to huge changes in history. Quite the opposite happens. Whenever a traveler disrupts fixed points in time, time immediately tugs back, instantly filling in paradox and discrepancies with whatever non-fixed points it can. The Ashokrans, in arrogance, believed they could manipulate time in such a way as to disable this failsafe. In many ways they were successful. They had managed to manipulate their own evolution to cause themselves to be an aquatic race. From what can be ascertained, they also managed to keep this transformation stable for decades by sending an army of chronomancers throughout time, undoing all the little vibrations time would take to set the timeline straight again.

Unfortunately, time won out and the race faded from reality along with the memory of all of their accomplishments. However, there is one place in the multiverse that remembers all things. It is a place where realities and alternate timelines coexist. In this realm, the Well of Worlds, the ashrays persist. However, in many ways it is a fate worse than death. Ashrays have no recollection of the race they once were, forever destined to exist only through the observation of others, their own memories inextricably linked to other’s memories of themselves.

**Physical Description:** Ashrays are humanoid and look vaguely similar to sea elves, with webbed fingers and feet, pointed ears, and pale blue skin. However, they have many other traits that often have others confuse them for undead more often than elves. First, bright red external gills emanate from their rib cages, and are often mistaken for viscera. Their long flowing hair and ribbon-like fins billow unceasingly, independent of water currents or their surroundings. Their coloration is odd as well, as their eyes, hair, fins and skin are all the same pale blue color, which would make them terribly monochromatic if it were not for their bright red gills and seemingly random stripes and spots that are the same shade of blood-crimson. To complete their ghostly appearance, they seem somewhat transparent at times, especially when you are not looking directly at them.

To add to their unearthliness, an ashray’s most remarkable trait is not physical. When not in the proximity of a sapient being, the ashray ceases to be a living being. It instead becomes a “phantom play;” an intangible illusion of its pre-ashray self, reenacting a snippet of the tragedy that led to the creation of the ashrays that it set on repeat for all eternity, until another sapient being returns to observe the ashray in person. These plays are only visible through scrying and other divination magic.

**Society**: Ashrays are societal amnesiacs. While they retain the basic sensibility needed to survive as an adult as well as personality predispositions, the memory of all ashrays begins when it was observed (and remembered) for the first time. From this point forward an ashray can exist and persist so long it is personally observed and remembered. If an ashray is ever forgotten by all who encountered it, its life effectively becomes reset to its originally observed state. As a result, most ashrays are desperate for constant companionship and are terrified of being alone. They also do whatever they can to be memorable.

As far as anyone can ascertain, though they have male and female anatomies, ashrays cannot have children. New (memory wiped) ashrays come into existence in the Well of Worlds when one is forgotten or slain. In a way, they are immortal, though their memories are assuredly finite.

**Relations:** While nearly all races view ashrays as both disturbing and tragic, ashrays themselves will go through great lengths to appease everyone that they interact with. As a result, most races will tolerate them, despite their inherent freakishness.

**Alignment and Religion:** Ashrays can be of any alignment, and have no religions of their own (that they can recall).

**Adventurers:** Ashrays adventure for two main reasons; for companionship and to perform memorable deeds. While they tend to gravitate towards arcane classes, they can be virtually any class.

**Names:** Ashrays are often named by those that discover them, and therefore have no conventional naming practices. Most just go by simple nicknames.

## **ASHRAY RACIAL TRAITS**

* **+2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom:** Ashrays are smart and charming, but often a bit naïve.
* **Racial Buoyancy:** -0; **Depth Tolerance:** immune to pressure
* **Medium:** Ashrays are Medium creatures and have no bonus or penalty due to size.
* **Type:** Planars are outsiders with the native and aquatic subtypes.
* **Darkvision:** All planars have Darkvision up to 60 feet.
* **Landwalker:** Most planars can move on land at 75% of their swimming movement rate. (Apsaras are the exception).
* **Hydro-respiration:** The respiration organs of planars require water instead of oxygen. While the planar can avoid suffocation by absorbing water from the humidity in the air while on land, areas of low humidity will cause the planar to suffocate.
* **Fast Swim Speed:** Ashrays have a base swim speed of 40 feet.
* **Frightful Gaze:** Creatures within 30 feet of an ashray that meet its gaze must succeed at a Will saving throw (DC 10 + the 1/2 ashray’s character level + the ashray’s Charisma modifier) or stand paralyzed in fear for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. A target that successfully saves cannot be affected by the ashray’s frightful gaze for 24 hours.
* **Impermanence:** When not within sight of a non-ashray with an Intelligence score of greater than 2, the ashray fades out of existence and becomes a phantom play (that has no memory and cannot interact with this world in any way except visually). The ashray will immediately begin existing again (as if no time had passed) as soon as a qualifying creature is in range. If the ashray is ever forgotten from living memory (usually though the demise of all that interacted with them), the ashray ceases to exist. When slain, the ashray’s corpse fades away and survivors will find it difficult to remember details about the ashray.
* **Observational Persistence:** Ashrays do not sleep. In addition, ashrays have immunity to death effects, disease, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning.
* **Vulnerable to Sunlight:** Ashrays take 1 point of Constitution damage after every hour they are exposed to sunlight.
* **Languages:** Ashrays begin play speaking Halbok. Ashrays with high Intelligence scores can choose from Aquan, Ancient, Common, Lok'tar, Sylvan, or Sahu.